OOPS (Part 2)

-- { Matthew 18:21-22 }  ²¹ Then Peter came and said to him, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?’ ²² Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy times seven.  -- NRSV

Dear Friend, grace and peace be unto you from God our Father, and our Lord and Savior, Jesus, the Christ.  Amen.

After last weeks sermon my wife, Sandy, said on Sunday afternoon, “I think I just made an oops.”  She had dried some towels in the dryer with one of her tops.  It did turn out to be an oops because lint got all over her top and it took quite a bit of work to get it off.  The only fear I have in doing this little series is that the only thing you and I are going to be able to remember is “Oops.”  But maybe that is a start.

What would it be like for you to live in an attitude of forgiveness?  How often are you supposed to forgive a person?  Does God expect you to forgive and forgive – no matter the abuse or number of times a wrong is done to you?  The answer is yes, but forgiveness is one of the hardest lessons for you and I to learn.  Jesus has much to say to us about forgiveness in our Gospel today but we are only going to look at the first two verses.  

THERE IS A SPIRIT AND PRACTICE OF FORGIVENESS (18:21-22)  We read, “Peter came and said to Jesus, ‘Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive?  As many as seven time?’  Jesus said to him, ‘Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times.’”

Oops, or “sin” means “to fall short” or “to fail.”  Last week we looked at ways in which we could fail in our relationships with one another – sin against one another - falling short of God’s expectations of us.  

We also looked at the importance of going to the person who has wronged us and seeking reconciliation.  But when you go you must go in an attitude of forgiveness.  The reason you will confront one who has hurt you is because you love them, forgive them and desire reconciliation.

Before we go any farther we need to define “forgiveness.”  The Greek word is “aphesis” and means a dismissal, release or sending away.  Forgiveness is our releasing and sending away any bitterness or resentment that we have against another because they have hurt us in some way, putting it out of our life so that it no longer interferes with our relationship with the person that hurt us.  A wall has been erected between you and another because they have hurt you and you choose to tear that wall down and continue the relationship.  Or if you are truly blessed with a forgiving spirit you will forgive before the wall is even erected.  You will forgive and love the person through the hurt.

What can we learn from this exchange between Peter and Jesus?

1. Peter is asking, “Is forgiving a follower of Yours (Jesus) different from what we know under Jewish Law?”  Jewish rabbis taught that a person should be forgiven three times (according to Amos 2:6 and Job 33:29).  Peter is being very generous in choosing seven times, a number that represents perfection.

2. Jesus answered that forgiveness is unlimited.  The Greek text here can read either 77 times or 70x7=490 times.  Either translation refers to an unlimited amount.  Why?  Because if God does not number your sins why should you number the sins against you?

Psalm 130:3-4 states, “If you, O Lord, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?  But with you there is forgiveness.”

In using this number what was Jesus getting at?  He was showing that to truly forgive like God wants you to, forgiveness must be in your heart, your attitude of life.  It is more than the mind simply saying the words.  It comes from the heart as when Jesus said from the cross, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34)

A true spirit of forgiveness will tolerate being wronged and hurt over and over and over again.  Why?

1. Because forgiveness is a quality of the Holy Spirit.  It is bigger than we are.  It comes from the grace of God.

2. Because a forgiving spirit desires good human relationships.  Offending others is common among us.  We are all sinful and unclean.  If we kept score there would be little time for anything else.  

To keep relations healthy you need to know at least four things:

3. Because a forgiving spirit is the result of becoming a new creation in Jesus.  The nature of Jesus, which is a nature of understanding, compassion, and love is part of one’s life.

4. Because peace and health can be preserved only through a forgiving spirit.  An unforgiving spirit is as destructive as the wrong caused by the offender.

Just think about it for a moment.  As long as there is an unforgiving spirit within you there can never be peace.  An unforgiving spirit negatively affects your relationship with others and with God.  It also can have devastating physical and psychological effects on you.  

St. Peter put it this way in I Peter 4:8, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.”

FORGIVENESS IS THE POWER OF THE CROSS

Jesus said from the Cross, “Father, forgive them for they do not know what they are doing.”  This is what Jesus has done for us.

How can we take upon ourselves the name “Christian” if we do not forgive?  Forgiveness is the underlying message of the Cross!   You must develop a new nature of forgiveness and compassion and mercy and love toward others.

We note two very important things:

1. For you to forgive it must come from your heart, from a new nature created by Jesus and the Holy Spirit within you.  Pray for the Lord to pour His grace upon you to create a forgiving spirit within you.  

2. If you find it hard to forgive others it may be because you do not know the forgiveness of God in your own life.  It is only in knowing God’s forgiveness for yourself on the Cross, that you can develop a spirit of forgiveness toward others.  Pray for Him to open your eyes to what Jesus’ death on the Cross really means for you.

What is the life application for us from these last two weeks texts?

1. When you commit an “oops” (sin) against another, recognize it immediately and sincerely say “I’m sorry.”  

2. When someone commits an “oops” against you say, “That really hurt me and if our relationship is going to continue you need to say, ‘I’m sorry.’”  Why do you do this?  It is not for yourself, as you will see in the third point.  You do this for the one who hurt you because you care for their life and faith.  They are a child of God.

3. When someone commits an “oops” against you, go the extra mile of the true radical follower of Jesus and forgive them immediately, loving them to death.  Don’t let the wall of bitterness go up but squelch that wall with an outpouring of love.  Love your offender to death!  That is what Jesus did and wants you and I to do.  Let your love cover the sin.

Let us pray.  O Lord, you know our hearts.  We can become pretty hard.  Some times we are so callused and unforgiving how dare we call ourselves Christian.  At this very moment we may be holding bitterness and an unforgiving spirit against another because they have oopsed us, hurt us.  We know that this is not what You call us to do.  You call us to forgive and love.  That is pretty radical for us.  Soften our hearts by your Holy Spirit and give us a forgiving spirit, binding us together in love. In Jesus Name,

  Amen.