In Jesus Holy Name June 28, 2020
Text: Colossians 3:12-14 Pentecost IV - Redeemer
“You Can Forgive The Past”
The Declaration of Independence declares that all men are created equal. It was and remains the American dream. We all know it has been applied inconsistently, but it remains a dream. Abraham Lincoln opposed slavery under its banner. Franklin D. Roosevelt in proposing the New Deal by cited its promise. The greatest speech of the 1960s civil rights revolution, was the speech by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. pushing the words of our founding fathers into reality.
It was a masterful speech given front of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C. Thousands gathered as he preached on the immortal principle that all men are created equal by God. It is a truth engraved into the American soul. It is a principle of Christianity. It is America’s gift to the world. Like all dreams and principles it is a dream still seeking fulfillment.
To forgive the past injustice, to forgive past grievance, allows and creates opportunity for change. Senator Tim Scott of South Carolina is still working to implement the promises of our Declaration of Independence. It is God who has forgiven our past and gives each Christian the opportunity for change. Let me share the story of Martin Luther King Sr., often called “Daddy King” by those who knew him.
When Martin Luther King Sr. died in 1984, one black leader said, “If we started our own country, he would be our George Washington.” In his eighty-four years he endured more than his share of suffering and hatred. During his childhood in Georgia, he witnessed lynchings. When he tried to register to vote in Atlanta, he discovered that the registrar’s office was on the second floor of city hall—but the elevator was marked Whites Only, the stairwell was closed, and the elevator for blacks was out of order.
Martin Luther King Sr. is mostly remembered for the accomplishments of his son, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.—leader of the nonviolent civil rights movement, cut down by an assassin’s bullet in 1968. But that was not the end of his pain. During a church service in 1974, as his wife played “The Lord’s Prayer,” a young black man rose in the congregation and began shooting. Mrs. King collapsed in a hail of gunfire while Daddy King watched in horror from the pulpit.
Near the end of his life, he spoke about the policy of nonviolence he had come to embrace. He said: “There are two men I am supposed to hate. One is a white man, the other is black……. and both are serving time for having committed murder. I don’t hate either one. There is no time for that, and no reason either. Nothing that a man does takes him lower than when he allows himself to fall so low as to hate anyone.”
Then came a question: “How can a man not hate when his wife and oldest son have been murdered? It seems natural and even proper to hate killers, doesn’t it?” The answer comes back, “There is no time for that.”
To hate is to live in the past, to dwell on deeds already done. Hatred is the most damaging emotion, for it gives the person you hate a double victory—once in the past, once in the present.
There is no time to hate? Not if you have learned how to forgive. Forgiving does not mean whitewashing the past, but it does mean refusing to live there. Forgiveness breaks the chain of bitterness and the insidious desire for revenge. As costly as it is to forgive, lack of forgiveness costs far more.” Sermon Ray Pritchard June 14, 2020
Each year our congregation sets a goal to read more in the bible this year than last year. Each week I have published “The Thought for the Week”, which encouraged you to watch a video than read a portion of scripture. This week we are beginning to read another letter that the Apostle Paul wrote to the Christians in Colossae. This is one of my favorite letters. In both his letters he reminds the new Christians from all ethnic backgrounds that under the banner of Jesus prejudice must cease to exist. “Neither Greek nor Jew, Scythian, slave or free, but all in Christ.” “Jesus is our peace, he has destroyed every barrier, any dividing wall of hostility.” Ephesians 2:14
In chapter 3 Paul provides guidelines for Christian behavior. In both letters Paul has a lengthy section on “rules for Christian behavior”. This was very important for people living in a pagan culture with pagan values. Pagan values involved worship of self, greed, filthy language, lying to others to get ahead, sexual immorality, prejudice & hatred, filthy language, rotten speech, stealing and cheating. Hatred, rage, & anger are not compatible when living the Christian life.
Paul is very clear that once you become a follower of Jesus these old habits must no longer be practiced. Yes, evil still exists, but in the midst of evil Christians are called to be the salt and light. These words of Paul are good reminders for us as we seek to live in our present culture.
What qualifies as rotten speech which leads to anger and hatred?
Here are a few examples:
Vulgarity, obscenity, indecent language.
Racial or ethnic insults. Abrasive humor.
Harsh words. Mean-spirited comments.
Gossip, rumors, false accusations.
Public criticism of your spouse or children.
Yelling and screaming.
Exaggerating the faults of others.
Proverbs 18:21 says, “The tongue has the power of life and death.” Every time you open your mouth, either life or death comes out. When there is spiritual death on the inside, it will eventually show up in your words and actions.
Everywhere we look these days we sense the culture is in both shock and upheaval. We must pray for peace and leaders who can bring calm to our streets. May God raise up Christian men and women to heal the divide. There was an old time preacher who liked to lean forward and say, “If you’re going to be a Christian, be one!”
What is the cure for sick and struggling culture? When Christians stand in the gap and put into practice the words of Jesus. We know that forgiveness starts with God. Forgiveness comes down to us, and then goes out to other people. We forgive as God has forgiven us. We are to extend grace to others as God has extended grace to us. We, the undeserving, having been showered with God’s grace in Christ. In turn we give to other undeserving sinners (who have sinned against us) the same outpouring of grace.
From God to us…… to others
Grace to us, ……..grace to others.
We do for others what God has done for us.
He has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west.
He has put our sins behind his back.
He throws them into the depth of the ocean.
He remembers them no more.
He blots them out.
He cancels the debt we owe.
He declares us not guilty.
This is why Martin Luther King Sr said: “There are two men I am supposed to hate. One is the white man, the other is the black man who killed my wife. I don’t hate either one. There is no time for that, and no reason either. To hate is to live in the past, to dwell on deeds already done.
I have no time to hate? Not if you have learned how to forgive. Forgiving does not mean whitewashing the past, but it does mean refusing to live there. Forgiveness breaks the chain of bitterness and the insidious desire for revenge. As costly as it is to forgive, lack of forgiveness costs far more.”
We have “the forgiveness of sins according to the riches of his grace” (Ephesians 1:7). He forgave us freely, instantly, totally. Can we not do the same for those who have hurt us so deeply?
The message is simple and clear: Go and do for others what Christ has done for you. Forgiven people forgive people. But it is not always easy. We do not always do it well but it is the first thing we do as we seek to imitate Jesus. As a nation we can not forget our past, nor erase our past. In Jesus the future can change. Change begins with me and you.
We must then ask the question, “How much do we want to be like Jesus?” He was a forgiving man who came to create a race of forgiving men and women regardless of ethnic background.
If you want to know what love is like, go to Golgotha and fix your eyes on the man hanging from the center cross. Study what he did, and you will know true love. Then go and do for others what God has done for you. Amen
I have provided some thoughts in our bulletin for your personal discussion.
Confession, Repentance, and Forgiveness
Jesus calls every believer to forgive others, because we have been forgiven. Sometimes it is easy. Sometimes it is not. But we practice forgiving others in the hope of imitating our Lord who has forgiven us. Maybe one of the issues with forgiveness is: “can we forgive ourselves for offenses given, and personal ethical failures.” The ultimate test of (agape) love is how you respond when someone hurts you. “Seventy Times Seven” Hoyer
The following steps are suggestions regarding the act of forgiveness in your relationships with people. God’s forgives and forgets when we confess and place our trust in the substitutionary death of Jesus on the cross. (I John 1:9-10)
1. Forgiveness is not “minimizing the seriousness” of the offense, to others, against God.
2. Being wounded and being wronged by others are two different things:
a. Being wounded is accidental
b. Being wronged is intentional
c. Breaking God’s commandments is intentional and wrong.
3. Forgiveness is instant, it is an act of our will, not emotions. Trust must be rebuilt over a long period of time.
a. Forgiveness takes care of the damage done by “letting the person off the hook” but doesn’t guarantee
the relationship will be restored.
b. Forgiveness is not resuming a relationship without changes.
c. God’s forgiveness is unconditional….in other words we do not have to do something good first to receive
His forgiveness, but once received God’s forgiveness, He wants us to change our behavior. To live a life
influenced by the Holy Spirit. Galatians 5:16-26 Colossians 3:1-14
4. To restore a relationship with another human being who is the offender, the offender must:
a. Demonstrate genuine repentance
b. Make restitution wherever possible
c. Prove they have changed over time.
d. This is also God’s call to us…. To “keep in Step with the Holy Spirit” and begin to imitate Jesus after we
have been forgiven.
5. If a person repeatedly wrongs you, you are obligated by God to forgive that person. But you are not obligated
to trust that person and let them continue to hurt you.
6. I relinquish my right to get even.
7. Three reasons to forgive others:
a. God has forgiven me
b. Unforgiveness allows bitterness to grow and it makes you more bitter
c. You are going to need more forgiveness in the future.
