Nor“Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship”¹.

What does it mean to be a living sacrifice?

Evangelical Missionaries Working Themselves To Death?

Does being an Evangelical Missionary or for that matter a Christian, mean that I have to work myself to death?

Being a living sacrifice is something I have been struggling with all my Christian life. None of the common explanations makes any sense to me.

When I was a child, I attended Christian Children’s camps. It was not uncommon, when talking about living sacrifice and evangelical mission, for the speakers to tell the following story:

Two preachers were sitting in a room. One young the other much older. “I’m so tired, said the younger to the elder. I think that I must be doing something wrong. I never imagined that ministry would be so tiring. The older missionary sits up and says by way of encouragement “To the contrary you must be doing something right. You are supposed to be tired or you would be doing something wrong. You know that the scriptures say that you are to be a living sacrifice.”

My thought at that time was if that is what it means to serve the Lord I am never going to be able to achieve it. Over time I have decided that the older missionary was quite wrong.

The Lord Resting His Head

The Lord may have had nowhere to rest his head ² but that does not mean that he didn’t make every effort to try.

I am convinced that this is a reference to the itinerant nature of the Lord’s mission and to let the disciples know that is what they and we were in for. But it was not a reference to Him or us never being able to get rest.

For example, he always tried to escape the crowds³. Logically, if being a living sacrifice meant that one had to run oneself into the ground, it would seem to contradict the heavenly Father’s edict to have a Sabbath and other Holy days of rest.⁴

More than this the very term is contradictory to the above concept. You can’t be a “Living” Sacrifice if you are half-dead. No, all in all, the concept of killing yourself for the Lord seems to me to be very Pharisaical.

Aroma Pleasing

Apart from death, there is another aspect to sacrifice. Whenever the sacrifices are mentioned in the Old Testament at some point in time they will often be followed up with “an aroma pleasing to the Lord”⁵. This changes the meaning of a living sacrifice from one of death to one of Life.

More than that, the term “living sacrifices” comes from Paul’s favourite book of the Bible, Isaiah‬.

It says:

‬“I will set a sign among them, and I will send some of those who survive to the nations—to Tarshish, to the Libyans and Lydians (famous as archers), to Tubal and Greece, and to the distant islands that have not heard of my fame or seen my glory. They will proclaim my glory among the nations. And they will bring all your people, from all the nations to my holy mountain in Jerusalem as an offering to the Lord—on horses, in chariots and wagons, and on mules and camels,” says the Lord. “They will bring them, as the Israelites bring their grain offerings, to the temple of the Lord in ceremonially clean vessels. And I will select some of them also to be priests and Levites,” says the Lord.⁶”

The phrase “as an offering to the Lord” clearly refers to the people streaming to the holy mountain of the Lord.  Thus they are a “living sacrifice”.

In the Isaiah context, Paul, in a very real way, explains what he means by being a “living sacrifice”, in the remaining part of the letter to the Romans.

What Does it Mean To Te A Living Sacrifice? 

We are required to live our lives as “an aroma pleasing to the Lord”. Surely, if we follow the rest of the letter to the Romans (12:2 – 16: 24) this is meant to mean:

1. Honour God
2. Be humble by having an honest assessment of yourself.
3. Respect and be accountable to the rest of the body of Christ.
4. Respect God’s ordained authorities.
5. Going where He wants us to Go (with as much rest as possible) ⁷
6. Growing in Grace every Day.

By doing the above, are we not being a living sacrifice and “an aroma pleasing to the Lord”?

Fairdinkum

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1. 1. Romans‬ ‭12:1‬ ‭NIV‬
   2. Mt 8:20
   3. Mt 14:13, Lk 9:18, Mt 14:23, Jn 6:15
   4. Ex.20:8
   5. Nu 28:27 ESV
   6. ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭66:19-21‬ ‭NIV‬‬
   7. Romans 14:18

O” Then said Jesus to his disciples, If any man will follow me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.” ¹  The strangeness of a message of Good News that is Catching Flies with Vinegar.

A Pastor Gathered All The Children

A Pastor gathered all the children around him to give a brief lesson before dismissing them for the children’s church. He started by saying, “I’m going to describe something, and I want you to raise your hand when you know what it is.” The children nodded eagerly.  “This thing lives in trees (pause) and eats nuts (pause)…” No hands went up.  “And it is grey (pause) and has a long bushy tail (pause)…” The children were looking at each other, but still no hands raised.  “And it jumps from branch to branch (pause) and chatters and flips its tail when it’s excited (pause)…” Finally, one little boy tentatively raised his hand. The pastor breathed a sigh of relief and called on him.   ”Well,” said the boy, “I KNOW the answer is supposed to be Jesus …    but it sure sounds like a squirrel to me!

Scripture also is too often not what we understand it to be.

We All Have Our Crosses To Bear

I have often heard it said, “We all have our crosses to bear”. As though the crosses were some trauma or difficulty that God sends to add extra burden to our lives. It is not unusual for us to share our Crosses. How hard God has made life for us. Even when not mentioned.

I can’t help but think that there is something wrong with our spiritual state when we do this. “Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am submitted to God the Father and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light,” ² said Jesus. He came to ease our burdens not enhance them.

If life is truly burdensome for us, then it seems to me that we have to reexamine just whose burden it is we are carrying. Surely if our load is too heavy it is certainly not a burden of the Lord’s making. If that were the case then we have so badly reinterpreted our  text about taking up our cross. So much so, as to completely play into the hands of the devil himself. He must love it when we Christians are so ignorant of the Scriptures that the work of scripture twisting is made easy.

If taking up our cross is not about carrying burdens, what is it?

Good News Like Catching Flies With Vinegar

Taking up your cross is teaching that the message of salvation is never going to be met well. Rather it would be a vile odor to those who are perishing. Everybody needs the Good News but it is like Catching Flies with Vinegar rather than honey. This raises the question:

“How do we make that which is by nature offensive, non-offensive without compromising it?”

This is interesting since it seems to me that many are trying to do just that – they are trying to water down or soft-peddle the gospel so that it is non-offensive.

Can it be done?

The answer is a definite “NO.”

It is not possible to make something that is by nature offensive to the vast majority of non-believers, non-offensive without compromising it. The Gospel is offensive. It cannot be made more palatable without leaving a false Gospel in its stead.

The Offensive Nature Of The Gospel

What do I mean by the offensive nature of the gospel?

Consider this: what could be more offensive than to say to someone you are a sinner? The Bible declares this, yet sometimes we prefer to say, “We have all made mistakes.”

Now, I know that some of us have used this term by way of trying to bring an old term into a modern world without intending to soft-peddle the gospel. But consider the implication. A mistake is something unintentional and meant without malice. But sin is an act of deliberate rebellion.

So let’s bring the word sin into the modern world. You have deliberately and maliciously rebelled against God. How offensive is that?

Being A Martial Artist

I am not saying that we shouldn’t look for better ways to present the gospel. Being a martial artist I have my own particular “hook” that I try to use to open the door to the gospel. I ‘am’ saying that we cannot and must not be afraid of the gospel. It is good news but it is like Catching Flies with Vinegar.

Sometimes I’m sorely tempted to compromise the Gospel. As are all of us who are seeking to share Christ. Part of my outreach when I teach Judo, is to try to present a relevant passage of scripture at the end of the lesson as part of the Mokso or meditation for the night. Often have thought of sanitizing that passage to make it more palatable to a wider audience. I have to be regularly reminded that, as a student of conflict and courage I have to be driven to share the message boldly. Without reservation. Knowing that it is the Holy Spirit that works a change in a person’s heart. Giving them the faith to understand and embrace the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

The encouragement is this, we should not feel compelled to change the Gospel to make it less offensive.

Samurai

One of the teachings that the Nabeshima samurai clan shared is this:

“If you have a message, even if you know that it contains your own death warrant, and you are ordered to deliver it with your own hand, you should not flinch from this duty, but gladly perform it and place the message in no one’s hand but he to whom it is intended.”

One of the clan’s 4 daily vows says:

1. “I will be of use to the Master”.
2. “OUR” Master has given us the very commission mentioned.
3. We are to deliver a message which may, at times demand the life of the deliverer.
4. We must deliver this message truly and without flinching, regardless of the outcome.

If Samurai no believers get why shouldn’t we?

This is our duty as “retainers” of the Master Jesus.

Nailed To A Plus Sign

A young man was making poor grades in school, particularly in math. His parents tried various things, none of which seemed to produce the desired improvement. Finally, they decided to enrol him in a private school. At the end of the first grading period, the young man came home and proudly presented his report card to his parents. What a shock! All his grades had improved significantly. Most noticeably, he received his first-ever “A” in math. Overjoyed they question him. Wanting to determine what it was that had finally produced the improvement they had sought.

“Was it the non-traditional teaching methods in the private school?” No.

“Then was it the strict discipline?” No.

“Was it the smaller class sizes and more individual attention?” No.

“Well, what WAS it then that caused such a big turnaround?” they asked.

“Well,” the son replied, “when I walked into that school on the first day and the first thing I saw was that man nailed to that plus sign, I KNEW I’d better take math seriously here.”

Nail Your Colours To The Mast

One of my mentors used to always say to us young Christians, “If you are going to go on with your Christian walk you have to nail your colours to the mast”. The world around us must never be left in doubt where your allegiances lay.

Do you belong to Christ or are you ashamed of him?

I used to be frightened of sharing what I believed. By people who used to insist that I had no right to inflict my beliefs on them. Often so intimidated I would hesitate to say what I had done for the weekend. Particularly if it involved some religious activity.

Then one day it dawned on me.. “Hang on, every time these people open their mouths they are inflicting their beliefs on me. Why am I not just as entitled to tell people the fun I had on Sunday at church? Maybe I heard a great sermon? Perhaps I met some great people at a Christian event or a verse of scripture. Is that not just as legitimate to talk about as the non-believers weekend?”

If that guy can be nailed to the plus sign for me, I am compelled to do so just as much as the young man did in his maths.

Winston Churchill

Winston Churchill told the British people that he had nothing to offer them but “blood, sweat, toil, and tears” in their fight against their enemies. We must take our faith just as seriously. Jesus spoke of the necessity of total commitment. We need to live our faith. Pray for those who are persecuted. Killed, all over the world, for doing their duty to the Master. Delivering the message without fear.

May their sacrifices urge us to greater courage in our faith, and the fulfilment of our duties to Christ. It is good news but it is like Catching Flies with Vinegar.

Fairdinkum

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1. Mt 16:24
2. Mt 11:29-30

“Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and you remember that your brother has something against you; Leave your gift before the altar, and go and first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift ¹. So goes one of the most commonly quoted passages used for Holy Communion (Eucharist) and forbearance.

Through all the teachings, parables and prayers of Jesus, the thread of love weaves all other Biblical truths into a tapestry.  Love is expressed as obedience in the passage above. In His upper room discourse ², Jesus shared with his disciples that He and His Father would dwell with those who obey His commands.

How do we do this, practically speaking?

We want God to dwell in our hearts. By extension, in our cities. But that level of obedience is much easier to talk about than to live out.

Because the quality of our interpersonal relationships matters to God, it should matter far more to us.   Working hard and well at resolving strained relationships is the central qualifier for receiving God’s blessing. We can ramp up all kinds of plans and projects. But if we are not dwelling together in unity ³, we’ll miss the blessing from above.

The heap of unresolved hurts and offences in the church must grieve God deeply.  Doesn’t this at least partially explain why many churches and cities do not see Jesus “disclosing” Himself in greater measure?

The Challenge To Work At Healthy Relationships

The challenge to work at healthy relationships is always relevant to our nuclear families and our church or mission organizations.

We are called to “Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Overall, we are called to put on the virtues of love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.”⁴

When you are next preparing to take the Lord’s supper, take a few moments to pray for and consider the communion and forbearance with all those that we have struggled with in our recent history. Then, when you are ready take the bread.

It doesn’t always work.  There are no perfect Christian communities.  In many cases, the Lord deals with people’s hearts over time, convicting, softening and preparing them to resolve issues.  As members of the body of Christ, we must make the admonition of Romans 12:18 our ceaseless aim: “If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone.”    It entails a great deal of emotional work. But committed we must be. We must extend the longsuffering forbearance to one another over the long haul.

======================

 1. Matt. 5: 23-24

2. Jn. 14:21, 23

3. Ps 133

4. Col. 3:13,14

Some say that we should break down the denominational barriers to show our unity. I say that I am happy to have as many denominations as people want. Including those who are of the denomination of no denomination. That is, those who are theologically opposed to being members of a church. That is what true community is.

I have one proviso though. I am opposed to those who do not build the Kingdom of God. By that, I mean any group or individual that separates themselves from a congregation should be able to be tested by that standard.

For example, in any group or individual that separates themselves from a congregation, if it can be seen that the Kingdom of God is being strengthened by that separation then it is possibly of God. Or if the new congregation that is formed genuinely helps support and build each other up and that has a positive outflowing to the rest of the kingdom of God, then it is possibly of God.

The Charismatic movement

Take the Pentecostal/ Charismatic movement. For many years it was viewed with fear and suspicion. I even remember getting instructed by some very well-respected elders of both missions and churches as to how evil this movement was. I remember being given books that set out to convince people like me, of the unbiblical nature of the movement. The problem was that such books and arguments were often much more unbiblical than the thing they were trying to discredit.

There is a dark side. Because it concentrates on emotion it often breeds discord. Because it is so self-assured it breeds a sense of snobbery. But these are things that are common to most churches and have little to do with the theology which is the core of the movement. Today most churches, that were originally opposed, acknowledge the truth of much of the central doctrine of the Pentecostal/Charismatic movement. Many have a practical application of the gifts of the Spirit in their own congregations.

If we go back through history we see that most of the great movements in the church have been through the movement of the Spirit such as the Charismatic movement. History has shown that the kingdom of God has been advanced significantly by such movements. Thus opposition is not an indicator that God is not in something. Its fruit is.

In Contrast

In contrast to this if a group or person appears not to be affecting lives for the long-term good of the rest of the body of Christ then it is possibly not of God.

That opens up the door of course to what we should do with those fringe groups such as Jehovers Witnesses, Mormons and the myriads of other sects.

Should we maintain fellowship?

Probably not.

But neither does that mean we should reject these people outright as non-believers. These people, when they are not using their variation of the text, know their Bible better than most Protestant, Catholic or Orthodox Christians. More often than not they are a better witness than many other believers.

There are some things not open to debate. Believing on the Lord Jesus Christ as the triune God and the one and only resurrected Saviour for one. But if you know your Bible and focus on Jesus as Lord and Saviour you would be surprised at their faith. The state of their salvation is a question for God. But they are not non-believers. We can celebrate that. We can also celebrate those who are called to minister to such groups and pray that they go about it the right way rather than alienating them.

So Many Denominations

But why should I be so happy to have many denominations?

Because God is a God of Creation. Nature and man are the foundation of inspiration for endless diversity. So long as there is unity in that diversity we should be happy. Yes, even excited about the many different cultures in God’s Kingdom. Just as we celebrate the many different cultures on the earth we should celebrate the many different cultures in His community. That community can and is expressed in many different ways.

Living Under The Same Roof

For instance, I do not support the idea that a community is only a true community if it is living together under the same roof. Despite some vehemently holding to this idea, it is not a culture that is supported biblically as something that we should all do.

But is it a legitimate form of Christian Living?

Yes!

It is not specifically forbidden in God’s word and it has some significant advantages that are Biblical. We should celebrate such groups as well as their calling. Such groups have gifts and abilities that God has given them to live like this. It is not for everyone, however, and we should not be put off our celebration by those who would insist on creating disunity and discord by demanding that we hold to this belief one way or the other.

Holding Everything in Common

Talking about expressions of community. Some other expressions of community that require everything to be held in common. The idea is that no one owns anything. Everything is community property. These are good examples of diversity.

Many say that this does have biblical support in Acts chapter 2:44. “And all who believed were in the same place and had everything in common” (Lexham English Bible). The words “in common” are interpreted as meaning everything was communal property. Unfortunately, this is a poor understanding. The Greek word in this text, for common is κοινός, (Koinos) and can indeed mean common or shared. But it is most commonly the Greek translation of the Hebrew for: profane; dirty, unclean and unwashed¹. Thus the actual meaning of this text is more likely to mean that they held things as not having any significant value so they were happy to use it to help others in more need than them. This was not a socialist society.

But is it a Legitimate form of Christian Living?

Yes!

There is nothing wrong with holding things as communal property if you can live that way. But it is also ok to hold things as private property.

Nevertheless, whilst not holding the same view as hard-liners above, we can celebrate the fact that such groups give us the freedom to hold things in common if we wish.

Unity Through Diverse And Common Belief

With the proviso above, there are other forms of unity based on common belief that we should celebrate. We should celebrate our commonality as well as our doctrinal differences. For it is in celebrating them and talking together about them, that we learn more about ourselves and our own standing with the Father.

But how do you stop from being buffeted about by such discussions?

I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again “READ YOUR BIBLE”!

There are false doctrines. But there are doctrines different from ours that hold truth. We have to hold these in tension and if we can’t completely resolve them we have to hold up the blood that was shed on the cross as the solution and celebrate our diversity with Jesus being our Unity.

If you don’t know your Bible then you are susceptible to many or all of the false doctrines of the world. But just like the prophet talked about a plumbline we are given a plumbline to see the contrast between right and wrong.

This is what he showed me: Behold, my Lord was standing beside a wall built with a plummet, and a plummet was in his hand. 8 And Yahweh said to me, “What do you see, Amos?” And I said, “A plummet.” And my Lord said, “Look, I am going to set a plummet in the midst of my people, Israel. I will not pass them by again. 9 The high places of Isaac shall become desolate and the sanctuaries of Israel shall be laid waste. And I will rise against the house of Jeroboam with the sword.²

That is worth celebrating.

Celebrating Community

True community is where 2 or three are gathered in His name ³. Where 2 or more of you agree it shall be done ⁴. Whatever flavour the church service is and whatever the structure of the building. If any of that helps you to come together then that is a true community.

We are called to fellowship. Called to celebrate. We are called to seek Unity amongst our diversity.

What is communion if it is not about community?

That is what the term “communion” means. It is the coming together that puts us in touch with each other and the Father. The celebration that puts us in touch with God’s creation. It is our sharing with each other that puts us in touch with each other. Our coming together, sharing and celebrating that helps create unity.

Let us come together to share and to celebrate and enter into it with open heart and commitment.

Amen.

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1. (Mk. 7:2, Ac. 10:14, 28, 11:8, Rom. 14:14, Heb. 10:29, Rev. 21:27) Alexander Souter, A Pocket Lexicon to the Greek New Testament (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1917), 136.
2. W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Am 7:7–9.
3. Mt 18:19–20.
4. Mt 18:19.

How do you go about forgiving when you are angry at those who hurt you?

What do you do to make the anger subside?

How do you curb the resentment?

What do you do to make the pain go away?

I’ve had many conversations about this. Both with God and others. One of the issues that I had to deal with was my Charismatic church experience. As many of you may know, in Charismatic circles, it is an imperative that you, not only forgive others of their sins but that you receive forgiveness for yourself and that you examine your history and discover what sins you have committed and seek forgiveness for them. Forgiving when you are angry seems perfectly reasonable. On the face of it. I’m sure that you are asking yourselves, “What possible problem I could have with such a thing?”

Forgiveness and Feelings

I have posted about the problems associated with delving into your past. But I would like to approach the issue of forgiveness and feelings first. The problem is, in the Charismatic circles I have been in, there is an expectation that your feelings reflect the level of forgiveness you have offered or received. I am not a person whose emotions develop from anger into warm fuzzies very easily.

When I used to worship in Pentecostal and Charismatic churches I would be so ashamed that I could not say to someone, “I forgive you” and instantly feel a sense of peace inside towards them. I have always felt a great admiration for those people who could say I forgive you and have their emotions instantly feel that forgiveness towards the other person. Even though I suspect this is mostly for show and not a reality.

One of the reasons I stopped regular worship with Charismatic fellowships was this very thing. As much as I admire people who can say I forgive you and their emotions instantly feel that forgiveness. I can’t do it!

And you know what?

In my discussions with God, people I trust and, most of all, reading The Bible, I discovered don’t have to!

Love and Forgiveness Actions

There is not one reference that I can find in the Bible that says when I forgive someone my emotions have to be in the same place. The Bible says that I have to love and forgive my enemies, it doesn’t say that I have to feel warm and fuzzy towards them. No implication, that I am aware of in scripture says that loving and forgiving my enemies suddenly makes them my friend.

You see forgiveness, everywhere in The Bible is a verb. A doing word. An action word. It requires us to do something.  Love, whilst on many occasions a noun in Scripture, is defined by verbs like kindness etc.
Biblically speaking, despite many bible dictionaries associating them with feelings, love and forgiveness are not determined by how one feels.

It is only in the English language and in our culture that we have turned these words into feelings.

From the Hebrew and the Greek

Here are the translations to forgive from the Hebrew and the Greek

afiemi aphiemi {af-ee’-ay-mee};v from hiemi (to send, an intens. form of eimi, to go)

AV – leave, suffer,forsake, let alone, to permit, allow, not to hinder, to give up a thing to a person. Go away from one, in order to go to another place, to depart from any one, to depart from one and leave him to himself so that all, mutual claims are abandoned, to desert wrongfully, to go away leaving something behind, to leave one by not taking him as a companion, to leave on dying, leave behind one, to leave so that what is left may remain, leave remaining, abandon, leave destitute.
apoluw    apoluo {ap-ol-oo’-o}; v From which we get the word “apology”

(to detain no longer), a petitioner to whom liberty to depart is given by a decisive answer, to bid depart, send away,to let go free, release, to loose a captives bonds and bid him depart, to give him liberty to depart, to acquit one accused of a crime and set him at liberty, indulgently to grant a prisoner leave to depart, to release a debtor, i.e. not to press one’s claim against him, to remit his debt.

You gotta be careful of this next one.”
used of divorce, to dismiss from the house, to repudiate.

The wife of a Greek or Roman may divorce her husband.
(“I forgive you “. OK but I get the house and the Kids.) to send one’s self away, to depart

carizomai charizomai {khar-id’zom-ahee} middle voice from ; v

AV – give, freely give, deliver, grant;

to do something pleasant or agreeable (to one), to do a favour to, gratify, to show one’s self gracious, kind, benevolent, to grant forgiveness, to pardon to give graciously, give freely, bestow, to forgive, graciously to restore one to another. to preserve for one a person in peril.

How We Act Towards One Another

Love and forgiving when you are angry is not about feelings. It’s about how you act toward one another. The only real references in scripture, concerning feelings, are responses to being forgiven. Over time, if one functionally forgives someone, then eventually the feelings may follow. But as far as The Bible is concerned, that is almost irrelevant. In fact in Matt.18:22-35. The implication is almost one of Jesus’s saying to Peter:

Tough I don’t care how you feel. You have to do it.

This is even though verse 35 says unless you forgive your brother from the heart.

The word “Heart” here can mean that you have to feel the emotion associated with forgiveness. But it can also mean, by an act of will or intelligence, that you put everything into the act of forgiveness to make it so. This is how I understand it. Given that it is the only reference that could imply that we have to act with our emotions and that it is talking about an action it seems unlikely that it could mean anything other than an act of will or intelligence.

So we are being told that forgiving someone means treating them as best as we are able like someone who has not mistreated us. We are being told to treat those who have grieved us with kind acts and do good things for them. No matter how we feel about it. Small acts of kindness and common courtesy show we have forgiven them.

People Who Are Ignorant Of Their Sin Against You

But these verses are about forgiving when someone comes to you and asks for forgiveness. About passing on the forgiveness that you have received: What about when people are ignorant of their sin against you?

Well, we are required in Matthew 18:15 -17 to go and approach people and confront them with the wrongdoing.

What if that’s not practical?

Well, Jesus gives us the ultimate example of forgiveness when it is not practical to confront.

When he was on the cross it was not practical for him to approach the ignorant.

Even though the cross was pretty confronting in itself, He couldn’t confront those who didn’t know they were doing the wrong thing by crucifying Him.

What did he do?

In Luke. 23:34 He prayed for them.

Again forgiveness becomes a verb, a doing word, an action. Nevertheless, we should try to deal with forgiveness issues as soon as possible. The earlier the better.

Forgiving When You Are Angry And Speak The Truth In Love

Ephesians 4: 15, tells us to “speak the truth in love!” Let me give a word of warning here. This verse has been so abused by Christians. Speaking the truth in love is not an excuse to get your own back. If you are approaching a person to get satisfaction it is not love. If you are about getting something out of your confrontation this is not forgiveness you are seeking but revenge.

Speaking the truth in love means that you want to prevent further harm. It’s about making the other person aware that they are heading into danger. It also has nothing to do with how you feel but the facts. You are hurt. But your approach must be about finding a way to avoid future hurt. Not about getting your pond of flesh.

Avoid A Blue

This means that we have to do it in such a way as to avoid a blue. An argument will only make things worse. Forgiving when you are angry means biding our time whilst you wait for things to settle enough before we broach the subject. We may even have to wait until the other person is ready to hear.

What can we do then?

We can throw out the olive branch. We can provide an opening or opportunity for them to let you speak. But more importantly, we can do things for them. As before Small acts of kindness and common courtesy. Show we have forgiven them.

Yes, there are cases where the nature of the offence is too serious to wait and in those cases, we have to follow the rules in Matthew 18: 15-17. But not from your sense of indignation.

Remember Matthew 18:18-20 says judge not so that you will not be judged. In other words, you are going to be judged by the same standard as you use to judge others. This verse does not imply in any way that we should not judge sin as some have suggested. Quite the opposite. It warns us to be wary of the standards we use. Remember the Lord’s prayer. Forgive us as we forgive others or in the same way that we forgive others.

But if we understand that forgiveness is a doing word then most times we can afford to wait. God has already forgiven us. There is no condemnation.

What if We Have Hurt Them?

Then love requires that we take whatever steps we can to apologize. If they will not accept or are not ready we can show love by showing kindness to them and not pushing them. Again God will have already forgiven us.

Forgiving when you are angry takes a long time. The emotion of forgiveness can be a long time coming. It does take time to heal. It is absurd to think that all people are going to have the gift of emotionally forgiving instantaneously. A new relationship has to be established.

Forgiving someone means that we have to establish a whole new boundary of trust. Even when forgiven, We have to bear the consequences of our sins. The story of David and Bearshba and the loss of their baby is a perfect example of that in 2 Sam. 12: 13 -1 4

Incidentally, when confronted with their sin, almost none of the other Kings asked God for forgiveness and so the Kingdom of David was never restored.

In Mt 10:16, Jesus himself said we need to be as:

“wise as serpents and as gentle as doves”.

If someone stole our purse from us we would be unwise to trust that person with our purse straight away. Both for our sake and theirs. But for the sake of forgiveness, we can start to trust them in other things. Until greater trust is reestablished. That is what the ultimate goal of forgiveness is. It is not forgiveness in itself, but the rebuilding of a relationship.

To the best of my knowledge and according to the definition I have just given, I have forgiven all those who have hurt me and done wrong to me.

I am on the road to the ultimate goal of forgiveness.

Leave pain to do its healing in its own time.

The best part about things like this taking time, is it allows you time to learn.

Fairdinkum

I have a problem, theologically, with delving into the past of my life and seeking forgiveness. When I was a younger Christian, in fact when I was younger period, I had a lot to do with Para church organizations.

It was a big thing back then, to set aside time to deliberately search through one’s memories to see what things you had done wrong. Then, set about sending letters or making contact in some way with someone so that you could set it right.

Theoretically, the concept is a good one and it is still promoted widely. The idea is that by confronting your past and confessing sin from one’s past you are humbled and thus become open to the Holy Spirit.

Over time I came to realize that this idea comes with two big floors.

1. It is Hard To Be Humble

The first is that, too often, the humility that it was intended to produce, produced the very opposite. I need to emphasise here that this did not occur all the time but often enough to be disturbing. Most people practising this concept were more arrogant. Maintained a sense of spiritual superiority about what they were doing. Instead of being a channel of the Holy Spirit, they became a barrier to working together. The idea only works if you can remain humble. Being aware that you were the perpetrator and approaching the one you perpetrated against does not make you superior in any way.

What’s more, I was not immune. I can’t help wondering how many I turned away from God at that time, rather than toward.

The irony is that I find people are more inclined to come to Jesus through floored people than they are through the spiritually superior. I don’t mean people who openly flaunt their sin, I mean those who are aware they don’t meet the standard but continue to walk the journey.

I also realize that this is the sort of character that this method was intended to produce. Instead, it produces too many who think they have “made it”. The exact opposite that is intended.

2. A Road To Depression

The second of these floors is that there are others who, when they delve into their past, end up going down the path of condemnation. Instead of being released, many people spiral down into depression because the state of their life becomes overwhelming and they can see no way out.

Prayer Counseling

Prayer counselling has become very popular. But in the wrong hands, it becomes a disaster. I accept that by saying this I could get pelted with virtual stones because this method of counselling has some very avid fans. But that doesn’t change the fact that prayer counselling has been a complete failure for not too few.

More than that the avid fans can be scathing to anybody who doesn’t succeed. In the sense that they try to justify the method by condemning the person being counselled and failing, as not doing it properly. Or worse telling them that their salvation in Jesus is under threat.

The Facts, All Too Often Missed

To begin with, when I first came to Jesus all my sins were forgiven. If my sins are forgiven by God who else can condemn me? This is clearly outlined in Romans chapter 8.

As well as my sins being already completely forgiven, I don’t find any scriptural reference for searching your past for sins gone by. Now I am open to any reference that people want to give me. I will happily go away and examine them and come back and discuss them. If I haven’t already looked at them. But just at the moment, I am at a loss to scripturally justify the belief that as Christians we should delve into our past to find things that we should seek forgiveness for.

Zacchaeus

The story of Zacchaeus is often touted as an example of how we should delve into our past.  Making restitution for the things we have done wrong. Zacchaeus says, “I will give half my belongings to the poor and if I cheated anyone, I will pay him back four times as much.

The use of the “if” in the statement is very interesting. Some have used it to justify the idea that we should look into our past and make recompense. But the reality is that we have no idea what he meant by this “if”. Was he going to look into his accounts and see if he had cheated anyone? Or did he reimburse times 4 anyone who came to him and could show that they had been cheated?

To assume that he was going to look into his books is not necessarily valid. Mind you I think that we would all prefer to think that the tax man would do such a thing to our tax returns. More than that we would hope that someone who had been converted would want to make some sort of restoration to show that the conversion was genuine.

But nowhere in the text or any other text that I am aware of, does Jesus or the author, indicate that anything but the immediately obvious should be dealt with, to show genuine conversion. Nor is there anything, that I am aware of, that would indicate that our relationship with God is altered by anything but the immediately obvious.

Arrogance And Pride

In contrast, the dangers of a theology of delving into the past are arrogance and pride. Because of a sense of superiority; a sense that one is better than others because one has done this delving; a sense of condemnation because one cannot face or come to terms with the past; a distortion of one’s understanding of humility; a belief that this is right because it is supported by certain schools of modern psychology and psychiatry.

Having said all that, it is clear, that some people have gained considerably from this kind of delving. Especially when it has been done in a controlled way. From this, I conclude that sometimes, when things are not going as well as they should with our lives, we need help identifying the source of the problem. Scripture does tell us to:

“Therefore confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another, so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous person accomplishes much”

W. Hall Harris III et al., eds., The Lexham English Bible (Bellingham, WA: Lexham Press, 2012), Jas 5:16.

But I see no reason why this should lead us to believe that we have to agonize over our lives to make spiritual progress. It also must not promote the things that I have mentioned above.

AA 12 Steps

Some may point to the 12 steps of Alcoholics Anonymous (AA), as proof that this kind of thing works. Even though AA is a diest organisation, not a Christian organisation it certainly has had an impact on millions of lives.

However, even these 12 steps do not promote endlessly delving into the past: steps 7 – 9 state:

7. Made a list of all persons we had harmed, and became willing to make amends to them all.

8. Made direct amends to such people wherever possible, except when to do so would injure them or others.

9. Continued to take personal inventory and when we were wrong promptly admitted it.

Modifying statements like “wherever possible” and “except when to do so would injure them or others”, is no carte blanche deconstruction of one’s life.

The Serenity Prayer

Even the Serenity Prayer, common to most if not all AA type and related groups, has modifiers.

God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
the courage to change the things I can,
and the wisdom to know the difference.

The Preferred Option

I must therefore conclude that the preferred option scripturally is that we approach our sins as we become aware of them. We should not go searching for them. Unless there is some indicator that things are not right where we are. As with AA.

In other words, seek to solve the immediate problem do not create one. I do need to say that sometimes this requires some very skilled handling. We all need to be humble enough to accept that some things are beyond us. Most times all that is needed is a good friend, colleague or pastor to talk to. Not someone who has done a 10-week course.

For there is now no condemnation for them in Christ Jesus. For the law of the spirit has made me free from the law of sin and death. Rom. 8: 1-2.

Fairdinkum

Richard

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Philippians 4:8. In other words be inspired by Good News, not Bad.

We all know how hard it is to abide by this verse. I mean let’s face it, it’s just easier to keep a conversation going if we are talking about the negative things in life.

I recall reading about a newspaper, determined to concentrate on only the good things in life.

It failed.

The reality is that bad news sells. We only need to look at this example to prove that we live in a world of children of darkness rather than light.

Let Us Try An Experiment

1. You need two volunteers sitting next to each other and some listeners.
2. Now, the person on the left will ask the other person, “How are you?”
3. The person on the right needs to answer without saying anything negative.
4. When a negative comment is made, stop the conversation.
5. Everybody else listening needs to put their hand up if they hear a negative comment.

Now if that wasn’t hard I don’t know what is. The fact is we are negative out of habit and the society around us capitalizes and encourages it. But we are children of light and we should be doing everything in our power to combat this negativity. There is power in rejoicing but the complement to rejoicing is to be positive people.

Inspiring Buildings

I recognise that Robert Schuller has attracted a lot of negative attention. Some, if not much, of it may be deserved. But that just enhances my argument that the world goes toward the darkness rather than the light. Many years ago, I had the opportunity to visit his Crystal Cathedral. Much to the protest of the friend I was staying with. Who saw the whole thing as an empire-building effort on the part of Robert Schuller. But she went with me because I was a tourist and I wanted to see it.

The building is impressive and there is something there that even she detected. Which was a surprise to me given her protests. You see something which is inspiring is hard to overcome with darkness.

I remember a youth group that I helped run. One day I challenged them to try and think of things we could do as a youth group that inspired us. We did a few things that each of them wanted to do and I know that even today they think of those times with fondness. But I also remember one particular event. We went to the top of the Rialto building. One of the highest at the time. The view inspired me. I don’t know about you, but inspiration is the thing that drives me more than anything.

Inspired in New York

I remember being inspired while visiting New York. One of the beauties of being in the Christian world is the number of contacts you can acquire and impose upon for free accommodation. I had planned on visiting Teen Challenge but somehow letters had passed in transit and there was no accommodation till Monday and I arrived on Saturday night.

I went to my backup plan and called on some people that I had come to know when my late best friend Eric and I were living in a Kibbutz in Israel. It turned out that they had just had a death in the family and could not accommodate me either. So I went to my next backup and made my way to the youth hostel.

But they were full.

I finally decided that I would forget the cost and stay at the hotel where the youth hostel was situated. It hurt a little, money-wise, but I had to have a place to stay. By this time, however, I was bored and I went out for a walk.

Before I arrived in New York I had been in Washington DC. The other travellers that I had met in the Youth Hostel there, assured me that one of the cheapest and most entertaining things to do in NY was to visit the coffee houses and strike up a conversation with the NY’kers that were sitting at the table. So off I went.

You know what?

Every coffee house I went to was empty! There was not a sole to be found. Perhaps they saw me coming. I said to myself, “This is NY, there are millions of people living here, you have got to be kidding”.

Inspired By The Empire State Building

I decided to try to alleviate my boredom by going to the Empire State Building.  When I got there I found a sign posted out the front saying there was Zero visibility at the top.

Now my family will tell you that I have a controlled fear of elevators. My eldest son will attest to the fact that it is not a good idea to stir Dad up about this fear whilst in a faltering lift. When we were in Disneyworld there was a ride that I desperately wanted to go on, that involved an elevator. I sent two of the boys ahead of me with instructions to let me know if they thought I would cope. They came back with this response: “Dad it is an awesome ride!” Which got me very excited. And then they dropped the other shoe and said “But you’d never cope”.

So with this in mind, you can understand the measure of my boredom I had in NY if I tell you that I rode no less than three elevators to get to the top of this building to see the sites of Zero visibility. But I was inspired. Not by the zero visibility but by the need to overcome the boredom. The only way to overcome the darkness was to go forward into the positive.

The World Trade Centre still stood proudly at the time. So I decided to challenge my boredom once more. But when I saw the glass elevators on the outside of the building I decided that I was not that inspired to overcome my boredom.

Inspired in Queensland

But I do remember one year in Queensland.

We went to a park where you were able to walk through the canopy of the park via suspension bridges. There was one tree that had a ladder attached so you could climb right to the top without damaging the tree. I made it to the top of that tree and the view was magnificent. I was inspired. Not only that I managed to climb to the top, despite my fear of heights.

I was told I also inspired the lady behind me. This was very pleasing. She very generously offered to take my photo. Mind you, part of her inspiration was that she could see from my white knuckles I was not capable of removing my hand from the guardrail. I was so terrified.

Positive Thinking Books

Being positive is something that can only be developed. We have to work hard at it. The world abounds with books on positive thinking and such books are often shallow and attract very heavy criticism from the media and the world. The irony is, that it is often this same media that promotes these books.

The thing is, positive thinking books are promoted because the world knows that there is often something in positive thinking. But being the world that is more attracted to darkness rather than light. It becomes part of the game to pull down that which has been built up and destroy that which has been created.

It gets worse though. Because there is a counterfeit for every good thing and it is just perfect to promote something full of wholes because it is much more sensational to pull it down when it fails. So we end up with this insidious circle where we build up that which is bad so that we can create more attention to it when it brings about disaster.

As I said there is something in Positive thinking or it wouldn’t attract such attention.

The Power of Positive And Possibility Thinking

In my view, two of the best Positive And Possibility Thinking books are:

“Possibility Thinking by Robert Shuler” (hard to find now).

and

“The Power of Positive Thinking” by Norman Vincent Peel.

I remember a very dark time in my life a good number of years ago. I found nothing to be inspired by. A friend gave me a book called “The Power of Positive Thinking”. This too has come into a great deal of praise and criticism. One of my colleagues in Bible college called it pulling yourself up by your bootstraps.

But it inspired me. I was lifted by one reading in particular.

Isa 40:31* Yet, the strength of those who wait with hope in the LORD will be renewed. They will soar on wings like eagles, will run and won’t become weary. They will walk and won’t grow tired.

We are called to build each other up. Inspire ourselves with whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.

But we are not left alone to do it. We have the power of the Holy Spirit to call on.

So here is my challenge let us be positive with each other.

Fairdinkum.

The Scene at Mt. Sinai

As he descended from the sacred heights of Mt. Sinai, he encountered a scene that shook him to his core. The Israelites, whom he had led out of Egypt with the promise of a covenant with the one true God, were now entangled in revelry and debauchery. Moses smashed the tablets of stone (Ex.32:19).

A Moment of Divine Displeasure

Moses, the chosen intermediary between God and His people, felt the weight of divine displeasure upon witnessing such flagrant disregard for the sacred covenant. The Ten Commandments, inscribed upon stone tablets by the very finger of God, represented the cornerstone of this covenant.

A Symbolic Act of Separation

There is little doubt that he was angry. It would be inconsistent with his character not to be. Moses smashed the tablets of stone. But, despite his anger, in a moment that reverberated through history, was this a fit of rage? Or was he making a calculated decision? Was this a deliberate act of separation between the holy and the profane? The sanctity of the commandments could not be tainted by the irreverence of the people. It is something worth pondering.

Divine Wrath and Righteous Indignation

Were Moses’ actions impulsive or driven by a profound understanding of the gravity of the situation? The Israelites’ behaviour warranted divine wrath, and Moses, in his role as mediator, enacted a visible demonstration of God’s righteous indignation.

A Lesson in Spiritual Integrity

The breaking of the tablets served as a poignant lesson in spiritual integrity. It underscored the importance of upholding the sanctity of divine principles even in the face of human frailty and disobedience. For Moses, it was a solemn duty to preserve the purity of God’s commandments.

A Call to Repentance and Renewal

The shattered tablets served as a call to repentance and renewal. It was a stark reminder of the consequences of straying from the path of righteousness and a plea for the Israelites to return to their covenantal obligations.

Divine Forgiveness and Restoration

Despite the severity of the moment, it was not devoid of hope. In the aftermath of the Israelites’ repentance, God, in His mercy, provided Moses with new tablets upon which the commandments were once again inscribed. It was a testament to the enduring nature of God’s forgiveness and His willingness to restore those who seek redemption.

The breaking of the tablets by Moses at Mt. Sinai was far more than a mere act of frustration or anger. It was a symbolic gesture that delineated the boundaries between the sacred and the profane, a demonstration of divine discipline tempered with mercy, and a call to spiritual renewal and obedience.