forgiveness

Editorial – Have You Lost Sight of Jesus, part 1

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There is One who is altogether lovely. Unless our gaze is fixed upon Him, the heading and bearing of our life will never stay in the direction which is for our highest interest. Often, for people of all ages, life itself appears empty, hollow, and without satisfaction. But when the life is focused upon Him, everything comes into perspective. Duty, sacrifice, goals and aims, what to strive for and what to lay aside—all become clear. What do you see when you look toward Jesus for a “thoughtful hour each day”?

Jesus by a voluntary act of free-will offered Himself as a sacrifice for the sins of the entire world. His sacrifice is for the sins I have committed, and I receive a personal pardon for sin when I repent, confess, and put my trust in Him.

Many Christians believe this and they think that it is “righteousness by faith.” Indeed it is part of it, but not even one person can be saved just by having his sins pardoned (justification, pardon and forgiveness are all the same thing). We know this for sure from Jesus’ statement to Nicodemus that unless a person is born of the Holy Spirit He cannot enter the kingdom of God. John 3:5.

There are other things that need to happen in order for you to receive the richness and fulness of the blessing that Jesus wants to give to you. Do you understand who the real Jesus is? The devil is constantly trying to confuse people either about the divinity or the humanity of Jesus. If you lose sight of the fact that He is a divine Person who is equal with the Father, (See Adventist Apocalypse, 368.) not only will you lose sight of the magnitude of the divine sacrifice, but you will not realize the value of His virtue or character either.

In heathen religions, in order to be holy, men perform various acts of penance, sacrifice and suffering. In some religions it is believed that the merits gained by one person for his good works can be transferred to another who has done less good works.

If we have real New Testament Christianity we do not do any works to gain merit, in fact we believe that as far as merit goes, the best and most godly Christian is utterly helpless and has no merit of any kind of his own. (See Philippians 3.) Any merit that we have as Christians is of grace and is given to us as a free gift when we put our trust in Jesus. His life and character being divine, His divinity places Him above the law. Since all created beings are created under law, the law is greater than any created being but the law is not greater than the Lawgiver. The obedience of the highest angel in heaven to the law of God is simply his reasonable and just duty as a created being and gives him no “excess” merit, power or grace to give to a fallen sinner.

But there is One who is above the law. His character has infinite excellence and virtue. Being the Creator, the rightful Owner and Sustainer of all things, He has the divine right to impart any blessings that He may choose, to those who realize their utterly helpless condition and ask for His help.

More than this, because of His abiding unchanging love for every person of the human family, He has an intense desire (that we mortals are prone to lose sight of) to give the priceless gift of His own perfected virtue to every human being who opens his heart to receive it. 2 Peter 1.

To receive this is to receive the character of Jesus or in simple language, we learn how to think the way He thinks, we learn how to talk the way He talks, we learn to act the way He acts, we learn to live the way He lives, we treat our enemies the way He treated His, in brief we live the life of Christ. This is New Testament Christianity.

The outward evidence that we are having this experience, is perfect obedience to the law of God. If I am not obedient, any theology or study or talk about salvation or holiness or righteousness is just talk, I am not yet experiencing the real thing. Anybody who thinks that good works are not important does not understand the first principles of either righteousness or faith. In the New Testament the law and the gospel are not two unrelated things but are bound together as one complete whole. Romans 8:1–4.

The End

Forgiveness

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“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven.”

Luke 6:37

Notice in the last part of that verse we are told that if we forgive, we will be forgiven. True forgiveness comes from only one Source—the Lord. As human beings, we sometimes like to think that the other person deserves what they get because of what they have done. Somehow we find it so hard to find forgiveness from the heart. When mistreated or, in our opinion, been dealt with unfairly, it is so easy to justify our desire to retaliate. We need so much help with that.

Forgiveness is a gift from God and is given to us from above. It not only comes from God but is required by Him and is an essential characteristic to have if we are ever to enter into His kingdom. Jesus has told us in the Lord’s prayer that He would forgive those who have forgiven others or as we forgive others. In our personal lives we need to learn how to forgive from the heart.

One of the best ways to learn how to do this is to contemplate on the life of Christ. We are told, “It would be well for us to spend a thoughtful hour each day in contemplation of the life of Christ. We should take it point by point, and let the imagination grasp each scene, especially the closing ones. As we thus dwell upon His great sacrifice for us, our confidence in Him will be more constant, our love will be quickened, and we shall be more deeply imbued with His spirit. If we would be saved at last, we must learn the lesson of penitence and humiliation at the foot of the cross.” The Desire of Ages, 83. Take each point one by one and meditate on each scene.

As we think about the value of things in this life we see that sin is the most expensive thing that is in this world. You may think it is expensive to buy a fancy car. You may think it is expensive to buy a luxurious house. But the most expensive thing in the world is sin, because sin cost the blood of our Saviour, God’s only dear son. It is only by His blood that we are cleansed from sin, and by accepting the gift we were offered at Calvary that we are able to forgive others.

The forgiving spirit is a gift to each of us from God. We cannot buy it. We cannot earn it, but we must accept it. It is well for us to remember that God forgives. In fact, in Micah 7:19 it says, “He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

He takes our sins and casts them into the depths of the sea where they cannot possibly be retrieved. He not only forgives us, but He casts away our sins so that they are not part of us anymore. David said that he takes our sins and puts them away as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12). This is the extent that we are to forgive others and to the same measure that we forgive, we will be forgiven.

One of the Bible writers that many of us, if not all of us, have gained a real Christian experience from is Paul. He witnessed the forgiveness of sin, which contributed to his conversion and subsequent life. The letters he wrote to encourage the early church, which make up a large part of the New Testament, have been a wonderful blessing and encouragement to Christians throughout the ages.

“The Saviour had spoken to Saul through Stephen, whose clear reasoning could not be controverted. The learned Jew had seen the face of the martyr reflecting the light of Christ’s glory—appearing as if ‘it had been the face of an angel’ (Acts 6:15). He had witnessed Stephen’s forbearance toward his enemies and his forgiveness of them. He had also witnessed the fortitude and cheerful resignation of many whom he had caused to be tormented and afflicted. He had seen some yield up even their lives with rejoicing for the sake of their faith.

“All these things had appealed loudly to Saul and at times had thrust upon his mind an almost overwhelming conviction that Jesus was the promised Messiah.” The Acts of the Apostles, 116.

Paul said he witnessed Jesus Christ through Stephen in his forbearance towards His enemies and his forgiveness. Paul thought upon that forgiveness and the appearance of Stephen as he gave up his life—his face looked like an angel.

I have long thought about how he was converted by that forgiveness and how important it is to each one of us. We never know how our actions or our expressions will affect the experience of another person. Let us from day to day continue with a forgiving spirit and a Christlike experience.

Remember always that others need our love and they need our forgiveness. May we always remember to do this as day by day we walk in the Christian way.

Ruth Grosboll, matriarch of Steps to Life, lived a long life in the service of her Master. She served as a missionary nurse in Myanmar, formerly Burma. In her later years she held the position of receptionist and correspondent at Steps to Life Ministry, blessing many people with her heartfelt encouraging letters. She is sadly missed to this day.

Hard Heart, part 3

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The effect of sin is to make the heart hard. The more a person sins, the harder the heart becomes. This is truth that the Bible expresses repeatedly. Jesus talked about it a lot. When the disciples asked Jesus why He spoke in parables, He said, “Because this people’s heart has become hard.” Ellen White says that men’s hearts today are harder than they were in the days of Christ. When you understand the cure for hardness of heart, you not only know what to do so that your marriage will not end in divorce, but you will know how to win souls to Christ.

I was studying to be a minister and after I had studied for a while and had my first district, I realized that I still did not know anything about what I was supposed to be doing. I knew a lot of history, had studied public speaking, biblical languages, sociology, and psychology, but I still did not know what I was doing. When I first went to work as a pastor, I was pastoring churches alone. I prayed and said, “Lord, You’re going to have to help me. I don’t know what I’m doing out here. I don’t know what to do.” And in His providence, I believe, the Lord sent to me a man who was a very experienced evangelist, and I had an opportunity to work with him on several occasions, sometimes for weeks at a time. He had won thousands of people to Christ and he taught me something that I have never forgotten. When we were out visiting he used to quote to me repeatedly. “You should not feel it your duty to introduce arguments upon the Sabbath question as you meet the people. If persons mention this subject, tell them that this is not your burden now. But when they surrender heart and mind and will to God, they are then prepared candidly to weigh evidence in regard to these solemn, testing truths.” Evangelism, 228. This evangelist would say that until a person had surrendered his heart, mind, and will to the Lord, he was not prepared to hear any doctrines.

There are millions of people in America today who believe that the seventh day is the Sabbath and are not keeping it. They know truth, why do they not follow it? Because they have not surrendered heart, mind, and will to the Lord. Their hearts are hard.

Reach the Heart

“God’s plan is first to reach the heart.” Ministry of Healing, 157. Their hearts are hard and God’s plan is first to reach the heart. When you understand this principle, it starts to make sense why Ellen White said that a Christian family could do more good than all the sermons that could be preached. When you walk into a home and there is no bickering, fighting, and hard-heartedness, but the people in that home express affection and sympathy toward each other and are courteous and kind, it is like the atmosphere of heaven. This is so powerful that Ellen White says the influence of a Christian family can do more good than all the sermons that can be preached because it reaches the heart, and “The truth expressed in living, unselfish deeds is the strongest argument for Christianity.” Manuscript Releases, vol. 2, 240.

Jesus spent more time healing than He spent preaching. Until the door to the heart is open, preaching does no good. “Even the most hard hearted and apparently sin-encased souls may be approached in this way and understand something of the mystery of godliness and become so charmed that they will not rest until they have a knowledge of Jesus Christ and His saving grace.” Counsels on Health, 537.

The most hard hearted can be reached by helping where they need help. Different people need different kinds of help. Everywhere, people are in distress. Now people may not think you are doing evangelism when you go to help people in distress, but that is the first step. Because until the door of the heart is open, anything else is of no avail.

If a person has surrendered his heart to Jesus, everything else is going to come along. Because if you have somebody’s heart, you have all of them. Helping people where they need help; when they are sick and when they are in distress, opens the door to their heart. It softens the heart.

Point Them to Calvary

Ellen White instructed, “The minister should come close to the trembling one, and point him to Calvary, lifting up a crucified and risen Saviour as the sinner’s only hope.” Review and Herald, May 31, 1892. Often times we come into contact with people and we do not realize their condition or the struggles of their mind. They feel discouraged and stuck in a rut of sin. They need to be pointed to Calvary. This is what will happen, “There are many whose hearts are as hard as the beaten highway, and apparently it is a useless effort to present the truth to them; but while logic may fail to move, and argument be worthless to convince, let the laborer for Christ come close to such in Christlike sympathy and compassion, and it may be that the love of Christ will subdue and melt the soul into tenderness and contrition.” Ibid.

Sin makes us hard-hearted. As long as we are living a life of sin, our heart is getting harder. But when a person comes to Calvary, something happens in the heart. Sin is seen in a different light. It does not look so wonderful anymore. It completely changes your mind about sin. Ellen White said that the cross of Christ is the theme around which all other truths cluster. The cross of Christ needs to be dwelt upon in every sermon. Why? Because our hearts are hard and if they are not melted, all the truth that we can preach and teach, will do no good. She said, quoting from the apostle Paul, “The world by wisdom, knew not God. Let the wayward and hard-hearted be led to the feet of Jesus; here they may learn precious lessons of love of their Creator and Redeemer, and hope will spring up.” Ibid.

Jesus’ own disciples were hard-hearted. Luke says their hearts were still hardened. Eventually they were cured except for Judas. Peter thought he knew his own heart, but he did not. He denied his Lord, a very hard-hearted thing to do. It cut Jesus to the heart to realize that Peter would do that to Him. After Peter denied Him, Jesus looked straight at Peter. If Jesus had been angry with him, Peter would have committed suicide. But he saw no anger, only love.

A Broken Heart?

One of the things that has to happen to the hard heart before that person can be taken to heaven is, his heart has to be broken. The Bible teaches that our hearts have to be broken or we cannot be saved. Jesus said, “And whoever falls on this stone will be broken; but on whomever it falls, it will grind him to powder.” Matthew 21:44. Those are the two choices that every person must make. If you fall on the rock, your own hard heart will be broken, but if the rock falls on you, it will grind you to powder. When Peter ran out of the judgment hall back to Gethsemane, his heart was broken. “Then he went out and wept bitterly.” Matthew 26:75. Peter went right to the place where Jesus had prayed a few hours before, and he fell down, weeping. It was there that he was converted. He was cured from his hardness of heart and he never again was a boastful, arrogant person like he had been.

If we come to Calvary and understand what really happened, it will break our heart. The reason it will break our heart is because we are sinners. When your heart is broken, then it can become soft and tender; not hard-hearted anymore. Until your old heart is broken, you cannot receive a new heart.

“There is a sad lack of tenderness and sympathy among the servants of Christ. They do not love as brethren. They are harsh and dictatorial. Especially is their conduct toward the erring destitute of pity or compassion. Said the apostle, ‘Considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted.’ We shall surely be judged by our Heavenly Father in the same manner that we have judged others. ‘With what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged.’ ‘He shall have judgment without mercy that hath showed no mercy.’ Oh that these hard-hearted, exacting ones would fall upon the Rock and be broken, lest theirs be the terrible alternative, that the Rock shall fall upon them and grind them to powder.” Review and Herald, December 20, 1881. If I am harsh, dictatorial, or exacting, what is my problem? I am hard-hearted and I have to fall on the Rock and be broken so that I can become tender and sympathetic and receive a new heart.

Do Justly and Love Mercy

We need to cultivate mercy and the love of God among us as Adventists. One of the things that I am most concerned about in the Historic Adventist movement today is the way that we treat each other. I want us to think very seriously about our condition and realize that we may not be in as good a condition as we think. It is evident by the way that we treat each other in our homes and churches that we are not ready for heaven. The way we talk about one another, the way we act toward one another is not Christlike. We have to be changed in heart if we are going to heaven.

“We must deal justly, love mercy, and walk humbly before God. We must let Christ into our hearts and homes. We must cultivate love, sympathy, and true courtesy one to another. The reason that there are so many hard-hearted men and women in the world is that generous affection has been regarded as weakness. If we would have tender hearts such as Jesus had when He was upon the earth and sanctified sympathy such as the angels have for erring mortals, we must cultivate the simple, unaffected affections of childhood, then we should be directed by heavenly principles which are refining and elevating in their tendency.” Signs of the Times, November 10, 1887.

A heart like the Pharisees had, Ellen White says, is the natural human condition because of sin. Have you received a new heart? That is what it means to be born again. When that happens, I am not so concerned about whether my wife makes me happy. I am not thinking of getting rid of her. I think completely opposite. My thinking is that I vowed before God to make this woman happy and I am going to be true and faithful to her and make her happy. What happens to me is not of the most consequence. The other person is of the most consequence because my heart is tender, sympathetic and I cannot stand to see that person hurt. When we can stand to see our spouses and our families and our church members hurt, that is proof there is something the matter with our heart. Jesus could not endure it. Ellen White says that He could not witness a wrong word or act without pain which showed in His countenance. He could not hurt anybody! Has your heart been changed? Have you fallen on the Rock and been broken?

If I Be Lifted Up

God was providing everything the Children of Israel in the wilderness needed, but they were hard in heart and were murmuring and complaining. So God gave them a bigger problem. He removed His protecting hand. Poisonous snakes in that wilderness began biting and Israelites started to die by the thousands. God told Moses to make a serpent of brass and put it up on a pole and to tell the Children of Israel, “If you will look at that serpent, you’ll be saved.” Jesus told Nicodemus that the serpent represented Jesus. “And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life.” John 3: 14, 15. In the same way that they had to look at that serpent, Jesus said, the Son of Man had to be lifted up and if you will look at Him and keep looking at Him, and put your trust in Him, something will happen in your heart. It is a divine science that we cannot explain. The Bible says, “Look unto Me and be saved all the ends of the earth for I am God and there is no other.”

What happens when a person comes to Calvary and starts to meditate on what it means? To most Christians today Calvary is just a story. They have a crucifix in their car, they have pictures in their homes of Christ on the cross, but they do not understand. Ellen White says that if we are going to be saved at last we must learn the lesson of penitence and contrition at the foot of the cross. We have to stay there long enough so that our heart gets changed, the old heart is broken, and we receive a new heart. We need to spend time studying the life of Christ, especially the closing scenes. It would be well for us to spend an hour a day, Ellen White says, studying His life, taking it point by point, especially the closing scenes.

What will happen if you do that? “Look alone to Jesus as your righteousness and your sacrifice. As you are justified by faith, the deadly sting of the serpent will be healed.” Sons and Daughters of God, 222. We have been stung by the serpent. The sting of sin makes the heart as hard as stone. People can be hurting all around and you do not know it. By familiarity with sin we become accustomed to it.

The Devil Wants to Destroy Your Family

The devil is trying in every way to destroy the church of God today, and the most effective way he has is to destroy the family. The way to save the church is to save the family. The way to destroy the church is to destroy the family. It is that simple. “No unpleasant words are spoken in heaven. There no unkind thoughts are cherished. There envy, evil surmising, hatred, and strife find no place. Perfect harmony pervades the heavenly court. Well does Satan know what heaven is, and what the influence of the angels is. His work is to bring into every family the cruel elements of self-will, harshness, selfishness. Thus he seeks to destroy the happiness of the family. He knows that the spirit governing in the home will be brought into the church. Let the father and mother always be guarded in their words and actions. The husband is to treat his wife, the mother of his children, with due respect, and the wife is to love and reverence her husband. How can she do this if he treats her like a servant, to be dictated to, ordered about, scolded, found fault with before the children? He is forcing her to dislike him and even to hate him.” Upward Look, 163.

The devil’s plan is to destroy the church. How does he do it? He destroys the home first and he gets us to treat each other in a hard-hearted way. And as we keep doing it, our hearts just become harder and harder. God’s plan is for me to come to the cross, and as I keep studying it day by day, the contrast between His heart and my heart becomes painful. It breaks my heart and when my heart is broken, then God can give me a new heart that is merciful, loving, sympathetic, and tender. A heart that cannot bear to see somebody in my family or in my church hurting. I have to go and try to help them if anybody is hurting. That is the way Jesus was. And when you have a heart like that, you are never asking the question, “Is my wife making me happy or not?” The question you are asking is, “Are my wife and children happy?” If they are not happy, what should I do so they will be happy?”

We will have the same care for people in the church. We will not be able to see people in the church hurting and not do anything. And what will that do to the church? You will start having brotherly love grow up in the church. We have a desperate need today in our churches for brotherly love. Our hearts are hard. They need to be broken and we need a new heart. Jesus wants to give me a new heart that is tender, merciful, loving, sympathetic, kind; a heart that is so tender that I cannot bear to see somebody in my family or my church hurting. When we get it, there will be all kinds of problems in our churches that will be solved. Pray earnestly and ask the Lord to give you that new heart, He has promised to do it!

The End

Hard Hearts, part 1

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Have you ever been in a situation where somebody came to you with either scripture, or a statement from the writings of Ellen White with the sole purpose of trying to trap you and show you how wrong you were with this text of scripture or this quotation? What did you do? Often, persons are not looking for evidence because they have already made up their mind. If you give an answer, it seldom accomplishes anything.

Jesus dealt with this frequently, and most of the time He never gave an answer. However, there are a few times recorded in Scripture when He did. I am intrigued with the reasonings of men and how they were so sure they had the Lord trapped. “The Pharisees also came to Him, testing Him, and saying to Him, ‘Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason?’ ” Matthew 19:3. This question had been debated for a long time among Jewish leaders with a great difference of opinion. One school of thought taught that a man could divorce his wife instantly for anything he did not like, period. The other school of thought taught there ought to at least be some big reason before a man could divorce his wife. This was a popular debate question. Could you divorce your wife for any reason or could you not?

Because of your Hard Hearts

“And He answered and said to them, ‘Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning ‘made them male and female.’ ” That is singular, one man, and one woman. Could Adam divorce his wife? Not if he wanted to be married. Jesus continued, ” ‘For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’ So then, they are no longer two but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let not man separate.” Matthew 19:4-6. A human being is not to separate something which God has joined. The Jewish leaders thought they had Jesus trapped because they knew Deuteronomy 24. “They said to Him, ‘Why then did Moses command to give a certificate of divorce, and to put her away?’ He said to them, ‘Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so.’ And I say to you, whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another, commits adultery; and whoever marries her who is divorced commits adultery.” Matthew 19:7-9

Why were they allowed, under the old covenant, to divorce? Because of the hardness of their hearts. They were hard-hearted. No hard-hearted person is going to heaven. That is reality. If I am hard-hearted, something has to happen to my heart or I cannot go to heaven.

Why do people get divorced? Because they cannot get along. The same things that happen in our homes so that we cannot get along, happen in church. And sometimes groups of churches begin working together and then they cannot get along. Why is it? Is it because we are hard-hearted? When we go to heaven, we will not cross the street in the New Jerusalem to avoid meeting someone we could not get along with here in this earth.

We must gain victory, or we are not going to heaven, because there will be no hard-hearted people there. “The spirit that is cherished in the home is the spirit that will be manifested in the church.” Signs of the Times, July 1, 1892. Why can we not get along in church? Why can Historic Adventists not get along? Because we do not get along at home. When we know how to get along at home, we will know how to get along in the church.

We Must Be Cured

At a Bible training school on April 1, 1906, Ellen White said, “Oh how my heart trembles for us all. Unless the hard-heartedness is melted away by the grace of Christ we shall never know what heaven is. I am pained beyond measure when I see and feel the hard-hearted methods of dealing with the Lord’s heritage. I feel so ashamed in behalf of Christ as I see how little respect and reverence are shown toward the purchase of His blood.”

The Lord has promised, “Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.” Ezekiel 36:25-27. A heart of stone is a heart that is hard. The Lord says, “I’m going to take that heart out of you and I’m going to put another heart in you, a heart of flesh.”

Before we look at the cure, we have to understand what the problem is and how we get the problem. So I want to ask the question, why and how are we so hard-hearted? It has been a problem with the human race for thousands of years. They had the problem in Moses’ time. Jesus said, That’s why God allowed you to divorce your wives. It wasn’t because He wanted you to do it. In Malachi 2:16, the Lord says, “He hates divorce.” But He allowed them to do it because they were hard-hearted.

Early Training

One of the primary reasons we become hard-hearted is because that is the way we grew up. As parents we have a tremendous obligation toward our children so that they do not grow up hard-hearted. The Lords messenger says, “We must let Christ into our hearts and homes if we would walk in the light. Home should be made all that the name implies. It should be a little heaven upon the earth, a place where the affections are cultivated instead of being studiously repressed. Our happiness depends upon this cultivation of love, sympathy, and polite courtesy to one another.” Review and Herald, June 22, 1886. Our happiness depends on the “cultivation of love, sympathy, and polite courtesy to one another.” Ibid.

Sympathy is entering into the feelings of another person. When my wife is happy, I am happy. If I discover that my wife is sad, I feel some sadness coming into my heart. “The reason why there are so many hard-hearted men and women in our world, is because true affection has been regarded as weakness, and has been discouraged and repressed.” Ibid. If you do not want your child to grow up hard-hearted, every day there should be expression of affection. Do not let the devil tell you there is anything weak about it or any reason that you should not do it. Your children should hear much more affection than they hear of reproof. Before you reprove one of your children ask yourself how many times you have expressed affection to them today. Be fearful to reprove if you have not expressed affection to them.

Affection can be expressed by actions. We need to acknowledge when others do something nice for us. Recently, my wife and I had a wedding anniversary. That day we were preparing to leave and were busy from early morning until late at night. We did not take any special time to ourselves. Something really nice happened. Our daughter had purchased gifts for both of us and we both deeply appreciated her expression of love.

Are members of your family doing nice things for each other and expressing affection? If not, your children may be growing up hard-hearted. What a tragedy. Ask the Lord to help you to never let another day go by without expressing affection to the people in your family several times a day. “The better part of the nature of those of this class was perverted and dwarfed in childhood; and unless rays of divine light can melt away their coldness and hard-hearted selfishness, the happiness of such is buried forever. If we would have tender hearts, such as Jesus had when he was upon the earth, and sanctified sympathy, such as the angels have for sinful mortals, we must cultivate the sympathies of childhood, which are simplicity itself. Then we shall be refined, elevated, and directed by heavenly principles.” Review and Herald, June 22, 1886

Children are tender in heart and they will stay tender in heart if we do not make them hard-hearted when they are growing up.

Good Friends

In the Bible is the example of a man who grew up tenderhearted, but as an adult he became hard-hearted. Solomon did not grow up in an ideal home. His father had killed Uriah the Hittite in order to marry his mother. After that time, David lost moral influence with his family, especially his children. He could not talk to his children about sin and tell them not to do it because they could immediately say, “Well, Dad, why did you do it?” There were a lot of things that he would have liked to have said and done which he could not. This is one of the reasons, if you are a parent, that it is so necessary to avoid sin. Young people, very quickly spot a double standard.

Solomon was tenderhearted when he first became the king of Israel but he became a hard-hearted tyrant. “He imperiled his soul’s interest by the formation of friendships with the Lord’s enemies. What carefulness should be exercised in the formation of friendship.” General Conference Bulletin, February 25, 1895. If you form friendships with people of this world who are unconverted, it will cause you to become hard in heart and it will destroy your very capacity for happiness. “What carefulness should be exercised in the formation of friendship. Companionship with the world will surely lower the standard of religious principle. Solomon’s heathen wives turned away his heart from God. His finer sensibilities were blunted.” Ibid.

Sensibility means you are sensitive to something. Enjoying music depends on sensitivity of the ears. Enjoying food depends on the sensitivity of the tongue. All pleasure depends on sensitivity and when you lose sensitivity, you lose the capacity for pleasure and happiness. That is one of the terrible things about sin and being hard-hearted. Solomon’s capacity for pleasure was decreased. Whenever you engage in sin, your capacity for pleasure and happiness is decreased. Not because God made some arbitrary decree. You are doing it yourself and you are hardening your heart and decreasing your capacity for happiness. When Solomon’s finer sensibilities were blunted he lost his sympathy for men and his love for God. The result was, “his conscience was seared and his rule became tyranny.” Ibid. We will become hard-hearted by forming friendships with worldly people.

Forgiving Each Other

The third way we become hard-hearted is because of our failure to forgive. Have you ever met somebody who is holding a grudge? Maybe somebody really did something bad or said something bad against them and maybe it was a long time ago, but they are still holding a grudge. Holding a grudge has a terrible effect on your heart.

“We must forgive those who trespass against us, if we would obtain pardon and grace when we approach the mercy-seat. Mercy and love must be cherished by all who would be followers of Jesus. When Peter asked, ‘Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?’ Jesus replied, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times: but, up to seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21, 22. He then enforced the duty of forgiveness, by the parable of the two debtors. [Matthew 18:23-35] One was forgiven a debt of ten thousand talents, and then refused to show mercy to his fellow-servant who owed him a hundred pence. The pardon granted to that hard-hearted servant was revoked, and he was delivered to the tormentors.” Review and Herald, December 26, 1882. If we do not have the spirit of forgiveness, we are hardening our hearts. The worse that is said or done to you, the more necessary it is for you to forgive. If you do not forgive, and you keep holding that in, your heart is going to get hard.

All Bible references are from the New King James Version.

To be continued next month…

The Power of Forgiveness

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In the area of forgiveness and as far as the gospel is concerned, Seventh-day Adventists believe differently from many other denominations and Christians. We believe that the gospel of Jesus Christ is at the heart of the Three Angels’ Messages, and for that reason it is called the everlasting gospel. It was first preached in the Garden of Eden and then repeated through many prophets and apostles. Jesus Christ presented this same gospel to the dying humanity in this world. For many thousands of years it has never been altered or changed.

Christians of other faiths often proclaim with jubilance that they are saved and have been forgiven. What does forgiveness mean to you? I have literally had a resurrection experience (after heart surgery), and I really feel that the life I now enjoy in my heart is a new life. This is a gift from God. We cannot entertain, we cannot abuse, we cannot create a single day of our lives, but the new heart experience is a precious gift from God every day. Each inhale and exhale, each heartbeat every moment of your life is an infinite, which should be received with gratitude.

Forgiveness is the act of pardon after a guilty party recognizes his/her wrong and repents. It can be the result when two parties both recognize they have not been right or fair and they forgive each other. Of course, we can never say we forgive God, but what happens between God and us when He forgives us? The answer to this is really the center discussion of the gospel. Our salvation begins with forgiveness. Through God’s grace and mercy, He forgives our sins, which is the beginning of our salvation.

When we believe that Jesus Christ has forgiven us, we believe that something tremendous was done on Calvary. Jesus was crucified on the cross as a redemptive sacrifice for us and prepared a platform for our salvation. This is not just the fact of forgiveness but the power of forgiveness. We all believe in God’s mercy and His love, but His forgiveness is more than a judicial act, it is more than a legal action from our condemnation. After all, we are condemned sinners and can do nothing about our sins. We cannot forgive ourselves, or save ourselves from sins or from our own false information. We are puppets to sin and can do nothing, except to trust that God will save our souls from condemnation and from guilt.

Unlike ourselves who have to physically put action to our words to accomplish any act, God is the Creator of all things. When He speaks, whatever it is that He says, happens. “By the word of the Lord were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth.” Psalm 33:6.

There is power in God’s word. When He speaks something is created, something is going to be transformed and changed. So when God forgives, something happens. His Word is a full promise of His forgiveness, and when read and received and believed and the gift of forgiveness is accepted, it changes the heart and behavior of the penitent. We celebrate the Sabbath because our God is the Creator. He has done His own work for our salvation. When we accept His work we accept His creative power. It is this power that keeps us from falling into the same sins; it guarantees us salvation and holiness.

Jesus Heals a Paralytic

“And He entered into a ship, and passed over, and came into His own city. And, behold, they brought to Him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed: and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee.” Matthew 9:1, 2.

Not only does Jesus heal a person by His power, but at the same time gives a living illustration to future Bible students’ understanding of what it means to be forgiven; to see what it means to be touched by God and be forgiven. Mark records this same incident in his epistle chapters 1 and 2, where we find out that the house in which this healing took place was the house of Peter. Wherever Jesus was, the crowds gathered, and Peter’s house was packed with people. Others stood by the doors and windows, everywhere; people surrounded the house that not a single other soul could enter.

This story reminds me of an experience I had several years ago while in China. I was standing in a small room (to hold about 100 people). I stood in the front and watched the people as they came in. They kept coming until I was pushed into the corner. I counted 92 people in that small room. It was jammed packed, and when I looked up there were two heads hanging down from the holes in the ceiling, not able to come down because there was no more room.

There was such a crowd that not another person could fit into the house of Peter where Jesus was. There was a man who heard that Jesus Christ had even cured others of the leprosy. His heart pounded with joy at the thought of seeing Jesus. He believed that his own crippled condition would be cured and his own sins forgiven, if he could only get into the house and talk to Jesus. He asked his friends to take him to Jesus. Seeing the crowd, they were not discouraged but took him up onto the roof and tore apart a section large enough to lower him down into the room.

You can only imagine the reaction of Peter seeing his home being demolished and the revival meeting being interrupted. This man needed Jesus, more than anybody that was crowded in the house. With ropes they lowered him on his bed. His muscles had become hard and stiff like a stick, and he could not move his hands or his feet. There are many Christians today that, even though they go to church every Sabbath, are crippled. They do not know how to walk, how to witness, how to share with others their salvation experiences. They are lame and palsied; they always need to be carried by their pastors and elders and their brothers and sisters in the church. They are sick and do not know how to move around and show the world about God’s healing power.

If you are one of those Christians, you need to come to Jesus Christ and be revived and healed by His power. We are talking here about the power of forgiveness. When the paralytic was lowered, Jesus Christ looked at him and had pity. When we come to Jesus Christ, we faint with yearning hearts appealing to Him and say, “Jesus, I’m here. All I want is Your simple touch. I believe and trust Your power. So come, put Your hand on me and save me.”

When we come as we are with that simple yearning heart not desiring anything else, Christ will perform the miracle that only the Creator can perform. Jesus said this: “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee” (Matthew 9:2). Jesus saw this as more important than physical healing. Healing came secondary as a result of the forgiveness of his sins. Do you want to receive the forgiveness that God wants to give you? So many Christians do not realize that to be forgiven by the Saviour is the most important single thing for your soul in the entire world. When Jesus looked at the man on the stretcher, He saw the heart-felt desire of his soul. He had made many mistakes, and when he was young, he was intemperate and committed many sins. He had many regrets in his life, and when he came to Jesus Christ, the thing that he really wanted was the assurance of his own salvation. Can I be saved? Can my sins be forgiven? He witnessed the priests, the scribes, Pharisees and Levites, who served in the service of the synagogues, look at him demeaningly because of his affliction. As he reviewed his life, all he saw was filthiness and wickedness and questioned if there was hope for him. He longed to find the hope and assurance of forgiveness and salvation from Jesus.

As he was being lowered down, Jesus could read his heart. So the first thing he spoke was, “Son, be of good cheer. Don’t be so desperate. Don’t be distressed or depressed. You have a hope, be of good cheer, my son. Your sins are forgiven.” Matthew 9:2. He was so happy and relieved from the burden of sins and the guilt of condemnation that he wanted to jump up and stand. Jesus told him, “Arise, and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thine house.” Mark 2:11.

There were many witnesses to this event. “And, behold, certain of the scribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk?” Matthew 9:3–5.

Which one is easier? Is it easier to say your sins are forgiven? This can be spoken by anyone. Actors and actresses can say it, and I can say it. Jesus called Himself, Son of man. He became one of us, assumed our sinful nature, the incarnation, and lived our lives in our shoes, a holy life by the touch of the fullness of the Holy Spirit, a sinless life. You see, this was not because He was a different man. He was the same man with the same nature as we have, but He was filled with the Spirit of God.

New Life in Jesus

This same life of Jesus is available to all who consecrate themselves to Him; a life that is powered of God, with the authority of God. Jesus, as one of us, and as the Son of man, He had the authority and the power of God to forgive sins. I am not saying that we can have power to forgive sin, but Jesus did in His Father’s power. He and His Father identified with each other.

Jesus said, “But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, (then saith He to the sick of the palsy,) Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.” Verse 6. Jesus was here demonstrating the freedom of forgiveness. He said, Get up, take your bed with you and walk home. You are not tied to that filthy bed anymore. You do not have to stay there anymore. Rise and walk. You are, by the cords of condemnation, no longer tied down, but are free to live a new life. God has forgiven you and has given you the power to rise and to walk.

He immediately understood the meaning of freedom from sin, and in the sight of the crowd, he arose and took up his bed. He could walk again!

When the people saw him and heard him praising God’s name, they were amazed, having never seen anything like this happen before. As he departed to his house, multitudes saw it and marveled, glorifying God Who had given such power unto man.

When Christians experience this same power of forgiveness in their lives, others will notice they have been touched by the power of God and freed from the power and bondage of sin and been released by God’s word; their sins are forgiven.

When Christians are released from this bondage and arise and live and walk, praise and pray, and help others and live like a forgiven person, others will witness the true gospel of Jesus Christ. This is what it means to “Fear God, and give glory to Him.” Revelation 14:7.

Understanding Forgiveness

Do you really understand what it means to be forgiven? When God forgives, He does not only forgive the sinful records of the past, as does a judge in a courtroom, reminding you of the amount of sins you have committed and then forgiving them. There is legal forgiveness, which is seen in the sacrificial service. But His main objective in forgiving is to heal. He restores you from the condemnation of sin. He cleanses, He claims you from the power of sin so that you do not sin anymore. Forgiveness releases you from the chains and bondage of sin so that you become a new person, a free person. That is not merely a judicial act, but that is power, the healing power of Jesus Christ who frees us from the bondage of Satan.

Jesus Christ, our God who created us, came down to this earth to save us from sin, not in the sin. I really believe it; do you? When we really understand this, then we will understand what is God’s salvation.

“But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through His name.” John 20:31. If we believe in Jesus’ name, then we are going to be saved. When we are saved, we are going to receive the life of God. When God gives us this life, we will be revived in Spirit, in our thoughts, in our desires, in our intentions. Our plans, our thoughts and our lifestyles are all going to be changed. We are new creatures, and we don’t dwell in the past anymore. We become a living witness of the Saviour, who has forgiven our sins. Salvation brings with it the forgiveness of God. When we come to Jesus Christ with a contrite heart, and say, “Lord, Jesus, I’m a sinner, I’ve sinned against Thee, only against Thee. Forgive me, cleanse me, and give me a new heart.” When we come to Jesus with all our heart, begging for forgiveness, Jesus Christ is going to forgive us with the power of the Creator. He will give us a new heart, new thoughts, new motivations, new desires, created for His honor and glory. This is the gospel!

No Sin Too Bad

One time when I was in China, a pastor’s meeting was called. With the political climate, the meeting had to be held secretly. The pastors were asked to write questions for me to answer, and when one question came and was translated I thought it a bit odd, as I thought everyone at the meeting were either evangelists or pastors. The question was, “Pastor Kang, can God forgive my sins? Can my great sins that I have committed in the past be forgiven, even me and my sins?” That was not the kind of question I expected from anyone in that group. So, after the meeting I requested that the person who asked that question remain. I found out that the man was a layman who had tagged along with his pastor, for he wanted to attend the meeting and listen to the lectures.

This big man began to sob as he told his story. He told me, “Pastor, I had a wife and children and I was a gangster, a loan shark. I went from business to business and house to house to get the money for our boss and our gang groups. I have committed many, many great sins. I cannot even look up to heaven. I do not know if God is able to forgive me or not. I don’t know if He really wants to forgive me or if I’m condemned. But I heard you and I have a little hope in my heart. Can God forgive my sins?” I asked if he believed in the word of God, the Bible. He did, so I asked him to open his Bible and read a few verses with me.

“He will turn again, He will have compassion on us; He will subdue our iniquities; and Thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.” Micah 7:19.

“Come now, let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.” Isaiah 1:18.

I asked him, “Can you believe it? Do you see any conditions mentioned here? As long as you come to Jesus Christ, and say, ‘Lord Jesus, I’m a sinner, forgive me.’ That’s all it takes, if you come with all your heart.” I asked him, “Do you believe in His promise?” And he said, “Yes. I want to believe this promise.” “Do you want to, or do you believe it?” And he said, “I believe it.”

Praise God! I knelt down with him and I prayed, going over the promise of Jesus again in the prayer. I told the man to thank Him for His forgiveness. I finished the prayer saying, “Jesus, You heard his confession; he came to You with all his heart. As You have promised, forgive his sin now, so he may go with a happy heart and with a healing touch.”

With tears in his eyes, the man rose, he hugged me with a hug so hard it was suffocating.

You may attend church for twenty or thirty years or for all your life, but are you really forgiven? Do you know for sure that Jesus Christ has forgiven your sins?

When God forgives you, He reclaims you from the condemnation of sin. He heals you from all the scars and takes away the excess baggage loaded with past sins. When God heals the palsy and says, “Son, thy sins are forgiven,” at that same time He says, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” He means arise from your past. Shun all those weaknesses and problems, sorrows, pains and sufferings that are caused by your sins and iniquities. Arise from that; you don’t have to be entangled with them anymore. He is healing you just as He created the earth. He created the trees and flowers, the sun, moon and stars and with that same power He will heal you. He commands you, come, arise and walk in newness of life.

There is a power in God’s forgiveness, something happens. Many Christians believe that when God forgives, something happens on God’s part, that a contrite heart and confession in the spirit of repentance will cause in God’s heart the release of His anger and condemnation. They forget that God the Father is the One who sent Jesus Christ to save us. Long before we have a contrite heart, like the father of the prodigal son, He already has determined in His mind to forgive us. It was when the prodigal son remembered the love of his father that he rose and turned and began to walk home. But even before he made that decision to return, his father turned on the lantern on the porch every night in anticipation. He was waiting and waiting for his son to return. So when his father saw him in the distance, he immediately recognized him, saying, “That is my son!”

When the distance was still far, the father ran and embraced his son in his bosom and accepted him, even before he said, “Father, forgive me.” His father had already forgiven him, and just like that father long ago, our heavenly Father is waiting for our return. Many people say they are forgiven and that maybe it is only in the books or records, but God’s intention is to heal our soul from the problems caused by our iniquities.

This is good news. When God forgives, something happens to us, not to God. We can rise with healing.

“Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son; in whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Colossians 1:12–14.

Through the blood of Jesus Christ, we are redeemed. Many Christians have a different gospel, claiming the forgiveness of God while retaining habitual sins in their heart. They claim forgiveness of the records of sin only and without the power to cleanse the heart.

“But forgiveness has a broader meaning than many suppose. When God gives the promise that He ‘will abundantly pardon,’ He adds, as if the meaning of that promise exceeded all that we could comprehend: ‘My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts’ (Isaiah 55:7–9). God’s forgiveness is not merely a judicial act by which He sets us free from condemnation. It is not only forgiveness for sin, but reclaiming from sin. It is the outflow of redeeming love that transforms the heart.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 114.

Pastor David Kang is the director of Light for Life U.S. Ministry operation out of Fort Lee, New Jersey. His sermons are broadcast weekly on New York and Virginia Korean television stations. Pastor Kang also frequently travels to Asia where he trains pastors who often work “underground.” 

Lord’s Prayer Series – Freedom in Forgiveness

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Human beings were never created to be independent creatures although some of us sometimes might like to think that we are. In this sinful world wherever there is more than one person, it is inevitable that differences will arise. If you have ever needed to apologize to somebody, you would have had to recognize that you are not independent and that it takes effort and compromise to sustain a proper relationship with others.

The fifth petition in the Lord’s Prayer is a request for forgiveness. It reads: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors [those who are indebted to us].” Matthew 6:12. We need to ask for forgiveness because we are sinners, because we are dependent, and because our conduct has been unworthy toward the One on whom we are dependent.

It would be unthinkable to ask help from somebody that you have wronged without at least some form of an apology in which you demonstrate your humility for what you have done. For that reason, the question of sin and our relation to God needs to be adjusted before we can have the proper use of any strength derived from the daily bread that He has lovingly provided for us. Maintaining a spiritual life without pardon is impossible. Forgiveness is one of the greatest needs that we have and it is one of the greatest gifts of God to the human race. This gift is the least deserved on our part and it is the hardest for us to give to others.

It is a wonderful experience to be forgiven for a wrong that we have committed against another person, but we should never forget what it cost the Godhead in order to be able to forgive our sins. The Bible says in I John 3:4 that “sin is the transgression of the law” KJV, or “sin is lawlessness.” This is repeated many times in the book of Leviticus. You sin by doing something contrary to one of God’s commandments. Romans 6:23 says that the wages or consequence of sin is death. The penalty for breaking God’s law is eternal death. His law is unchangeable and Jesus said that not even a part of a letter of it could be changed (Luke 16:17).

Not only is it impossible for God’s law to be changed, but the penalty for breaking it cannot be swept aside or done away with. There is no escaping the death penalty; someone must pay for the sins. Unless accepting the only acceptable substitute, the sinner will pay the price of his own sins and die, never to wake up again. Jeremiah describes the end of the wicked saying, “They will sleep a perpetual sleep and they will not wake up.” Jeremiah 51:39, literal translation.

However, because of God’s great love for His created beings and His unwillingness that any should perish but have eternal life (John 3:16), He provided a way out. A Substitute was provided to take the penalty in the sinner’s place. “For I delivered to you first of all that which I also received: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures.” I Corinthians 15:3. Jesus willingly died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. To those who accept Him as their Saviour from sin and commit their lives to Him, He gives His life, the One He laid down and took up again. The result for those who accept this “payment” by believing in Him, repenting of their sins, and asking for forgiveness is the free gift of eternal life.

Peter said there is not salvation in anybody else; no one else can give you eternal life (Acts 4:12). To accept the sacrifice Jesus offers is the only way that you can have eternal life. Jesus has paid the price for the sins of the world and offers the free gift of eternal life to all. But just like every other gift that God offers, forgiveness is not unconditional. It is only granted, “as we forgive our debtors.” Matthew 6:12. It is impossible to keep an unforgiving spirit toward those who have sinned against you and expect forgiveness from God. It just doesn’t work that way.

To receive forgiveness and be forgiving are among the hardest things for human beings to do. We are debtors to God and our sins incur indebtedness, which must be paid. Jesus, in His mercy, has paid the price of our sins, if we accept Him. We are sinners, and as such, have accrued debt that must be paid. If we do not recognize the payment that Jesus has made, it would indicate ingratitude of the worst possible type.

In His prayer Jesus promised that we will be forgiven as we forgive others or, as some translations say, “As we have forgiven those who are indebted to us.” So God does not promise to forgive us until we have forgiven others. Sometimes because of the restricted nature of our human vision, we do not see the comparison between what we owe God and what other people owe us. Thus it is often very difficult for people to forgive others for what has been done to them, asserting their right to remain angry because of their ill treatment. After all, they maintain, no one knows how bad they were treated.

Among the Jews there was a difference of opinion as to how many times you should forgive an offender. Some thought three times was enough and after that you don’t need to forgive them anymore. So Jesus told a story to illustrate this point. “Then Peter came to Him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21, 22 KJV.

On another occasion, “He [Jesus] said to the disciples, ‘It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come! It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones. Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, “I repent,” you shall forgive him’ (Luke 17:1–4).”

When the disciples heard that they said, “Lord, increase our faith” (verse 5). They had never heard any teaching like that before. They had heard that you should forgive somebody three times. But seven times in one day? Peter thought he was being very liberal in suggesting he would forgive somebody seven times, but he was amazed at Jesus’ response, “seventy times seven.”

Then Jesus told a story that illustrates the measure of forgiveness. You and I owe an infinite debt to God and it is impossible to pay that debt. How can you compute the price of God’s having sent the majesty of heaven to this earth to save a world in rebellion. It is a debt that we can never repay, but if we expect God to forgive us, we have to forgive our fellow men.

“Jesus said … ‘Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.’ ” Matthew 18:22–25. In ancient times, this was the rule of law in many countries. If you owed money and could not repay it, the creditor could have your wife and your children, sold as slaves and all your property sold to pay the debt.

In the story that Jesus told, the king commanded that the man and his family with his property be sold to pay his debt. He was to lose everything because he had incurred a debt that he could never repay, ten thousand talents. So, the story reads, “The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, he released him, and forgave him the debt.” Verses 26, 27.

His master was moved with compassion because this man had gotten himself in such a mess, and he was forgiven the whole debt. Notice what happened when he was free:

“But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him one hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ ” Verses 28, 29. Now this was a small debt of around three month’s wages. It was a debt that could actually be repaid. “So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.” Verse 29, 30.

This was the law of the land in so many ancient countries in the Middle East, Europe and England where people were thrown into a debtor’s prison when they could not pay their debts. It makes you wonder how they could make their payments while in prison, but that was the custom. “So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother their trespasses.” Verses 31–35.

Jesus does not take kindly to the one who receives grace yet does not pass it on to his brother or neighbor. In the little book of James there is a sentence that should strike terror into the heart of many people in this world. It says, “For judgment is without mercy to the one who has shown no mercy.” James 2:13. In the Old Testament, Proverbs 21:13 says, “Whoever shuts his ears to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be heard.” It is clear throughout Scripture that forgiveness is given on the condition that you forgive others just as you wish for God to forgive you.

On the final Day of Judgment there will be many people who will say they have not done anything wrong. They do not realize that Jesus not only talked about sins of commission, but also about the sins of omission. In fact, Jesus made it very plain that many people on that day of final judgment will be condemned, not because they did something wrong, but because they did not do what was right.

There are sins of omission as well as sins of commission. Notice how clearly Jesus explained this in the parable of the sheep and the goats referring to the time when He would come in the clouds of heaven:

“When the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him, and He will separate them one from another, as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats. And He will set the sheep on His right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the king will say to those on His right hand, ‘Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me.’

“Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take you in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison, and come to You?’ And the King will answer and say to them, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.’

“Then He will also say to those on the left hand, ‘Depart from Me, you cursed, into the everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels: for I was hungry and you gave Me no food; I was thirsty and you gave Me no drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in, naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not visit Me.’

“Then they also will answer Him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to You?’ Then He will answer them, saying, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to Me.’ And these will go away into everlasting punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.” Matthew 25:31–46.

Notice what the problem was here. It was not because of some heinous crimes that they had committed that they were refused the gift of eternal life. Rather it was because of the right things they had neglected to do. O, friend, this should cause you to examine your life carefully. Some people think that they are Christians and living a wonderful life because they are not doing anything wrong. But have you asked yourself the question, “What am I doing that is right?” There are sins of omission as well as sins of commission. We must learn to do what is right for it is not enough to simply refrain from wrong.

One of the things that causes grief to parents is the lack of gratitude for what the child has been given as a result of great sacrifice on the part of the parents. The lack of gratitude does not necessarily manifest itself in wrongdoing; but it is just a neglect to express gratitude. This sin of ingratitude, not doing what is right, is often committed by children against their parents when their parents are elderly and most in need of the help of their children.

Do we grieve our heavenly Father by neglected duty, by base ingratitude for what He has done for us? Love is the supreme motive of service and no one can truly or properly love God, if they fail to serve Him and to serve His fellow men. We are hopelessly in debt. None of us can pay the debt, either for the sins we have committed or for the sins of omission—the right-doing that we have failed to do.

If we want to be forgiven for our enormous impossible debt, we must ask the Lord to give us a forgiving spirit toward those who have wronged us. Even our worst enemies must be forgiven from the heart. Your spirit will only be set free when you forgive your enemies. The person who hates his enemy and retains a grudge in his heart only destroys himself, for that enemy is often oblivious to what is going on in the mind or heart of the grudge-bearer. Unforgiveness destroys you spiritually and can even destroy you physically by ruining your health.

Jesus said, as much as you want God to forgive you, then you must forgive those who are indebted to you to the same extent. Friend, to find forgiveness is most liberating. Lay your burden at the cross of the One Who understands how you feel and Who knows the wrongs committed to you. Let Him deal with it in His way and in His perfect timing.

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Keys to the Storehouse – Forgiveness

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Forgiveness does not create character. Many believe that all they need is to be forgiven and they are ready to go to heaven. Could that belief be wrong? The following may give insight about forgiveness and character.

“In the work of restoring man from sin, there are two distinct phases, which every seeker after this restoration needs to understand very clearly and to distinguish, but which are often too little understood.

“First: Those who come to Christ are given forgiveness for all their past sins upon repentance. After man has repented and been forgiven he is not counted as guilty, but he does not yet have a good character—because forgiveness does not and cannot give character—cannot restore the image of God in man; it can only take away the existing condemnation. Therefore God could not restore the eternal life to those who receive forgiveness only, if they were to develop no character. Such people would only continue disobeying and needing forgiveness. …

“Second: A righteous character is developed through continued obedience—through overcoming. This experience must follow that of forgiveness. This is the proof of the sincerity of the repentance. … It is obedience which develops character. ‘Sanctification is the result of lifelong obedience.’ The Acts of the Apostles, 561. Forgiveness may be the work of a moment, but the development of a character cannot be done that quickly.

‘The precious graces of the Holy Spirit are not developed in a moment. Courage, fortitude, meekness, faith, unwavering trust in God’s power to save, are acquired by the experience of years.’ The Ministry of Healing, 454.

“Therefore in the present probation man is given another opportunity to demonstrate his loyalty to God through obedience.

“The great controversy in heaven between good and evil was transferred to this earth. Satan said that the obedience which God required could not possibly be rendered. And in the first probation given to man (Adam), Satan helped man to depart from obedience; and in the second probation which men now have, he does all he can to make it difficult and impossible for man to return to his obedience.

“And so all down through the ages God has been calling for obedience and helping man to obey, while Satan has been saying it could not be done, and doing all he could to prevent it. The history of the world and the church from that time to this would give the impression that Satan has been more successful than has God.” The Place of Health Reform in Character Development, Julius Gilbert White, 5, 6, Light Bearers “Present Truth” Ministries, 1989.

Ask God to forgive you and then make it a point to demonstrate your loyalty to God through obedience to all of His laws, health laws included. God is waiting for each of us to develop a righteous character. He is waiting for you!

Heavenly Father: What a miracle it is that Jesus died that He might cover our confessed sins and by His continued grace we may perfect a character fit for heaven. The devil is roaring to prevent this miracle so I plead for you to “Hold up my goings in Thy paths, that my footsteps slip not” (Psalm 17:5). Amen.

Inspiration – The Duty of Forgiveness

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Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors” (Matthew 6:12), Christ taught us to pray. But it is most difficult even for those who claim to be followers of Jesus, to forgive as He forgave us. The true spirit of forgiveness is so little practised [sic], and so many interpretations are placed upon Christ’s requirement, that its force and beauty are lost sight of. We have very uncertain views of the great mercy and loving-kindness of God. He is full of compassion and forgiveness, and freely pardons when we truly repent and confess our sins. But when the message of God’s pardoning love comes from a heart that has an experimental knowledge of it, to those who have not experienced it for themselves, it is like speaking in parables. We must bring into our characters the love and sympathy expressed in Christ’s life.

Peter, when brought to the test, sinned greatly. In denying the Master he had loved and served, he became a cowardly apostate. But his Lord did not cast him off; He freely forgave him. After the resurrection, an angel told the women who came to the tomb with spices, to carry the glad news of a risen Lord to the “disciples and Peter” (Mark 16:7). And when afterward Christ thrice repeated the question, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou Me?” Peter cast himself on the tender mercy of the Master he had so wronged, and said, “Lord, Thou knowest all things; Thou knowest that I love thee” (John 21:15). And when our Lord entrusted to him the care of his sheep and lambs, Peter knew that he was taken back into divine confidence and affection. To fulfil this charge, he would need to have the mind that was in Jesus Christ; he must copy the Pattern. Henceforth, remembering his own weakness and failures, he would be patient with his brethren in their mistakes and errors. Remembering the patient love of Christ, who had afforded him another opportunity, he would be more conciliatory toward erring ones.

If we have received the gift of God, and have a knowledge of Jesus Christ, we have a work to do for others. We must imitate the long-suffering of God toward us. The Lord requires of us the same treatment toward His followers that we receive of Him. We are to exercise patience and to be kind, even though they do not meet our expectations. The Lord expects us to be pitiful and loving, to have sympathetic hearts. He desires us to show the fruits of the grace of God in our deportment one to another. Christ did not say, You may tolerate your neighbor, but, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself” (Leviticus 19:18). This means a great deal more than professing Christians carry out in their daily life.

When Christ was on earth, instead of removing from the commandments one jot or tittle of their force, He showed by precept and example how far-reaching their principles are, how much broader they are than the scribes and Pharisees thought. They thought that Christ was lowering the Old Testament standard, yet He was teaching the people practical godliness. Christ understood their feelings, and reproved these self-righteous rulers in these words to His disciples; “I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven” (Matthew 5:20). “Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil. For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled. Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven” (verses 17–19).

Christ proceeds to teach that the principles of God’s law reach even to the intents and purposes of the mind. And he plainly states that if we faithfully keep the ten precepts, we shall love our neighbor as ourselves. “Ye have heard,” He says, “that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; that ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for He maketh His sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect” (verses 43–48).

A consistent religious life, holy conversation, a godly example, true-hearted benevolence, mark the representative of Christ. He will labor to pluck sinners as brands from the burning; he will perform every duty faithfully. Thus he will become a beacon light.

Reader, we are nearing the Judgment. Talents have been lent us on trust. Let none of us be at last condemned as slothful servants. Send forth the words of life to those in darkness. Let the church be true to her trust. Her earnest, humble prayers will make the presentation of truth effectual, and Christ will be glorified.

The Review and Herald, May 19, 1910.