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Looking Forward to the Great Celebration

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on November 11, 2007| Leave a Comment »

When we share together in the Lord’s supper there are a lot things going on:

  • We are remembering Jesus
  • We are proclaiming his death and the salvation that comes through this
  • We are offering up a sacrifice of praise and thanks for our salvation
  • We are recovenanting with God – or to say it a bit differently, remembering our baptismal commitment to walk in Jesus’ way
  • And we are sharing fellowship with Jesus and each other

And then one other, which is our focus, we are looking forward to the great celebration. This great celebration is called . ..

The Messianic banquet

. . . or the banquet of the Messiah. This is when we will celebrate with Jesus his victory and our salvation in the age to come, after his second coming. It was seen as a kind of Passover meal. A celebration of deliverance on a cosmic scale. Jesus agrees with this as we will see below.

Perhaps the best known reference  to this is in Revelation 19:9, which talks about this meal as “the marriage supper of the Lamb.”

The most detailed text, however, is Isaiah 25:6-8. The banquet itself is described in v.6 – “On this mountain the Lord of hosts will make for all people a feast of rich food, a feast of well-aged wine, of rich food full of marrow, of aged wine well refined.” This will be an amazing feast with fine, luxurious foods and wine.

Why will we celebrate? God will take away death. This will be the time of resurrection. Vs. 7-8a – “And he will swallow up on this mountain the covering that is cast over all peoples, the veil that is spread over all nations. He will swallow up death forever.”

Also, we will rejoice, for God will give us peace and joy. V. 8b – “and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces, and the reproach of his people he will take away from all the earth, for the Lord has spoken.”

Jesus talks about this party a lot

1) It will be “a great banquet” – Luke 14:16 (from the parable of the banquet). There will be wine – Mark 14:25, and excellent food. In a parable that speaks of this it talks about “oxen and fattened calves” – Matthew 22:4. It is also compared to a wedding feast in Matthew 25:10.

2) Jesus will serve at table – Luke 12:37 (from another parable about this event). This speaks of the second coming when Jesus will return. Speaking of himself, Jesus says, “Truly, I say to you, he will dress himself for service and have them recline at table, and he will come and serve them.” Its pretty cool to have Jesus serve you dinner.

3) The Old Testament saints will be there – Luke 13:28. He says, “Abraham and Isaac and Jacob and all the prophets” will be there.

4) The apostles will be there – Luke 22:28-30. He said to them, “You are those who have stayed with me in my trials, and I assign to you, as my Father assigned to me, a kingdom, that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.”

5) Lots of other people will be there too – Luke 13:29. “And people will come from east and west, and from north and south, and recline at table in the kingdom of God.” There will be people from different periods of time, different races, continents, cultures and nations. All those who respond to Jesus’ invitation to come will partake – Luke 14:21 (parable of the banquet). And the table will be full – Matthew 22:10 (parable of the wedding banquet).

It will be an awesome celebration! What I want to say, then, is that

The Lord’s supper is an anticipation of this celebration

Jesus himself makes the connection between the Lord’s supper and the Messianic banquet in two places:

First in Luke 22:15-16, just before they share the Lord’s supper together. He says, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” He connects the Lords’ supper with the Passover meal and then connects both of these to the coming Messianic banquet

The other place is Matthew 26:29 just after the he has shared the Lord’s supper with them. He says, “I tell you I will not drink again of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.” He connects the Lord’s supper with sharing a meal with them in the future – the Messianic banquet.

So the Lord’s supper points ahead to something greater than it. And every time we partake we are reminded of and anticipate what is to come when we will celebrate with Jesus in the Kingdom. So we are waiting for this – but also, and this is amazing, so is Jesus!

Even now Jesus is waiting for the great celebration

We already looked at Matthew 26:29, so lets look at Mark’s version. Mark 14:25 says, “Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Jesus promises not to celebrate until that day – when we are all united and celebrate together – the salvation he has given to us.

Jesus is not off celebrating without us. Jesus is waiting and anticipating when we can all share together as well.

Lets remember this and think of this as we partake of the Lord’s supper together today. William Higgins

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A note on the connection between the hallowing and kingdom requests

Posted in Ezekiel 36, Luke 11, Mark 6, Uncategorized, tagged , , on October 10, 2007| Leave a Comment »

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Jesus, our Savior

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on September 9, 2007| Leave a Comment »

Today, I want to share with you about Jesus and how he is our Savior.

The Scriptures present a dire picture of our condition

That’s because when we sin, there are always consequences. Galatians 6:7 says, talking about sin, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.” This is an unfailing law for every person on earth – no exceptions. Paul says, “don’t be deceived” because for some reason we always think that it won’t apply to us. But it does.

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What to do when there is conflict

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , on August 26, 2007| Leave a Comment »

We are bringing our summer series to a close today. We’ve been looking at building healthy relationships with each other in our church community. We talked about: Repentance, forgiveness, going to the one who has wronged you to seek peace; anger; gossip; and last week not judging. Today we deal with conflict.

The first thing I want to say is that –

Conflict is a normal part of life

 Given our different backgrounds, life experiences, personalities, and understandings of things – it is inevitable. We will have disagreements in faith and practice – all the way to what the color of the carpet should be & everything in between!

What I am sayings is that it is not a sin to disagree. In fact, it is not even a failure to disagree. Often conflict means that we are getting into real relationships with each other. We are getting past the small talk. Working through these conflicts can be tremendous for building true community.

 Conflict was certainly a part of the early church

  • In Acts 6:1 we find that the Judean Christians overlooked the needs of the Hellenistic Christians in terms of passing out the food rations to the widows. It says, “Now in these days when the disciples were increasing in number, a complaint by the Hellenists arose against the Hebrews because their widows were being neglected in the daily distribution.”
  • In 1 Corinthians 1:11 we see that there was quarrelling among different groups in the Corinthian church. It says, “For it has been reported to me by Chloe’s people that there is quarreling among you, my brothers and sisters.”
  • And in Philippians 4:2-3 we find two coworkers of Paul who could not get along. It says, “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel . . ..”

Conflict is normal and when we see it among us we should not be surprised. I mean, think about it, if the apostolic church had it – certainly we will! The key is how you respond to it. This is where we get into trouble; this is where we can fail or fall into sin. So let me share with you seven things to do when there is conflict that will help us to work toward peace.

 1. Love the person

Let’s look at 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 in terms of conflict. “Love is patient and kind” in the midst of conflict. “Love does not envy or boast. Love is not arrogant or rude” in how it responds to the other. “Love does not insist on its own way.” It is open to hear the other; it is yielding. “Love is not irritable or resentful. Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.” It is not happy if the other person is shown to be wrong. The focus is on what is best and right. “Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends.” Even when there is conflict.

This is how we should treat others with whom we disagree. We should never demonize them, tear down, or think the worst of them just because they dare not agree with us. Loving the other person is foundational.

 2. Go to the other person

It is not necessary that we agree on everything, but in some cases we have to come to a resolution to move forward or to get along. In these cases – don’t go to someone else and gossip, go to the person you disagree with. This comes from Matthew 18:15. This is talking about when someone has wronged you, but the principle of face to face contact certainly applies here also.

 3. Work hard to understand the other person’s point of view

James 1:19 says in part, “Know this, my beloved sisters and brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak . . ..” You should be quick to hear the one who disagrees with you. You should be slow to speak, actually listening and not just waiting to give your side. Understand their position clearly and why they hold it. You should be able to make their case for them.

4. Seek to find a mutually satisfying resolution

In Acts 6 we saw how there was a conflict in the Jerusalem church over the food allotment for widows between the Judean Jews and the Hellenistic Jews. Well, they came together and found a solution that satisfied everyone. The apostles would focus on preaching and prayer and they appointed seven deacons to tend to the practical needs of the community, including the widows.

Notice as well that these deacons all seem to have Hellenistic names. So the majority, the Judeans worked hard to take care of the concerns of the Hellenists. They put them in charge of the food allotment.

This is an example to us. Out of love and respect we work to deal with the issues in a way that is acceptable to all.

5. If necessary, accept mediation

 If the two of you can’t work something out, let someone else come in who is good at working at resolutions; perhaps even a conflict mediator. In Philippians 4:2-3 Paul says, “I entreat Euodia and I entreat Syntyche to agree in the Lord. Yes, I ask you also, true companion, help these women, who have labored side by side with me in the gospel . . ..” Paul is talking to a specific person and asking him to help these women get along. For the sake of peace, be willing to accept this kind of help with your conflicts.

6. In some cases we might need to accept the disagreementand move  forward separately but peacefully

 Now often Christians separate over the smallest of issues; even just over having a conflict! But in some cases the disagreement is over central values or issues of  conscience. This is different.

Paul & Barnabas could not agree on an important issue: taking Mark along with them on their second missionary journey. Mark had abandoned them on the first trip. Acts 15:39 says, “And there arose a sharp disagreement, so that they separated from each other.” One did ministry in one place and the other did ministry in another place.

Christians will not always agree on things. This is why we have different kinds of churches. But let it be without bitterness and spite. Notice that we find Paul later praising Barnabas (1 Corinthians 9) and wanting Mark’s services (Colossians 4).

 7. In some cases we might need to allow mature believers to render a  resolution

In 1 Corinthians 6:5, after rebuking them for taking each other to court (which Christians should never do), Paul says, “Can it be that there is no one among you wise enough to settle a dispute between the brothers?” Paul is saying, in essence, form your own (Christian) court. Gather mature, wise believers who can offer a resolution that both parties bind themselves to, even if it is not exactly what they wanted, for the sake of peace.

In all of this –

Our goal is to live in peace with one another

Listen to these admonitions to peace in the New Testament, which certainly apply to situations of conflict:

  • “Be at peace with one another” – Mark 9:50
  • “Be at peace among yourselves” – I Thessalonians 5:13
  • “Live in harmony with one another” – Romans 12:16
  • “Let us then pursue what makes for peace and for mutual up-building” – Romans 14:19
  • “Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed your were called in the one body” – Colossians 3:15
  • “Pursue peace with everyone” – Hebrews 12:14

We find this peace, not by sweeping conflict under the rug, or living in denial, but by dealing with it in the ways that we have looked at.

Sometimes it takes hard work to deal with conflict

And the temptation is to deny it or sweep it under the rug. Just because conflict is normal, doesn’t mean it is easy. It can be very painful, distressing and trying. But as Paul says, “If it is possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all” – Romans 12:18. This doesn’t mean live peaceably until it seems impossible and then don’t live peaceably. It means for your part do everything you can to live in peace with others. You can’t force someone to live in peace with you. But do all you can from your end.

Let us each commit to do everything in our power to live in peace with one another, by working through our conflicts even when it is hard.

William Higgins

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Judgment or Mercy?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , on August 19, 2007| Leave a Comment »

What you give to others,  is what you will get from God

 We are looking again at our relationships with each other and how to be a healthy community. Today we look at the topic of judging. Our text is Luke 6:37-38 – “Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

“Don’t judge me!”

 . . . is a phrase you hear all the time these days. It means, “don’t tell me what I am doing is wrong;” “don’t put your values on me.” In our culture it is live and let live. Everyone does what is right in his or her own eyes. As long as you aren’t hurting others, its OK. And this has come into the church as well as we privatize our lives so that we think that what we do is not anyone else’s business.

Needless to say this isn’t what Jesus meant when he said “Do not judge.” We know this because:

  • Jesus pointed out sin in people’s lives all the time and he called them to change. For instance in Luke 16:14-15 – “The Pharisees, who were lovers of money, heard all these things, and they ridiculed him. And he said to them, ‘You are those who justify yourselves before men, but God knows your hearts. For what is exalted among men is an abomination in the sight of God.’” Jesus was never afraid to point out sin
  • Also, Jesus taught that in the church we are to hold each other accountable for our behavior – Matthew 18:15-17. This is what we call church discipline. This involves pointing out sin in other’s lives and calling them to repent. Paul even calls this process “judging” in             I Corinthians 5:12-13.

So clearly pointing out sin and calling people to repent is not what Jesus is forbidding.

What then does Jesus mean??

There are three clues from our text:

Clue #1: “Judge not” is linked to the phrase – “and you will not be judged.” This last phrase is a reference to the final judgment. So “judge not” is connected to the final judgment, which links it with things like: the end of mercy; a final verdict; and punishment for sins.

Clue #2: “Judge not” equals “condemn not.” They are in synonymous parallelism with each other. This means that they say the same thing in slightly different ways. To condemn means to pronounce a person guilty and enact punishment on the person.

Clue #3: “Judge not” means the opposite of “forgive” and “give” (mercy). They are in antithetical parallelism with each other. So to judge is to withhold mercy or forgiveness.

So when we see someone struggling with sin, Jesus forbids that we: condemn, seek to punish them, write them off (give a final verdict on them so that we don’t need to worry about them anymore), withhold mercy, or withhold forgiveness even if they repent. Rather, in mercy we seek to help them out of their sin and then forgive and restore.

  • We are to act redemptively, not punitively
  • We are to help them up, not put them down
  • We are to always leave open the possibility that they might change, not close the door of mercy on them

Examples of these different approaches 

These help us see the contrasts between these responses to sin in people’s lives:

The tax collectors and prostitutes: The scribes and the Pharisees pointed out their sin but only to condemn them; only to write them off as beyond mercy. Jesus pointed out their sin but showed concern and love for them. He went to them and sought to help them out of their sin.

The adulterous woman – John 8: Her accusers pointed out her sin and only sought to punish her; to stone her to death. But Jesus had mercy on her. He called her to stop sinning. He took a redemptive approach.

The Gentiles – Romans 2: Many Jews had judged the Gentiles as hopelessly evil and wrote them off. They simply avoided them. Paul loved and worked with the Gentiles. He reminds these Jews that it is “the riches of God’s kindness and forbearance and patience” that leads people to repentance (2:4), not hard hearted condemnation.

What about in our day? How do you respond to those who struggle with drug abuse, giving in to homosexual desires, or those who have a  history of being a sex offender? Do you seek to condemn, punish, write them off, put down, ridicule? Or in mercy do you seek to act in redemptive ways to help them with their problem?

Why this kind of judging is forbidden

1) Because this is not the final day. 1 Corinthians 4:5 says, “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes.” Now is the day of grace – 2 Corinthians 6:2 – not judgment. As James says God is “able to save” sinners – 4:12.

Even notorious sinners can repent. Paul said, “I received mercy, so that in me, as the foremost sinner Jesus Christ might display the utmost patience, making me an example to those who would come to believe in him for eternal life” – I Timothy 1:16. God is busy extending mercy to sinners, and so should we. Final judgment must await the appointed time when Jesus returns. Even with church discipline, this is not a final verdict. We hope and pray for their repentance.

2) Because we are not qualified to make such judgments. It is God who judges. James says, “There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?” – 4:12. And only God is able to judge. Paul says, “God will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart” – I Corinthians 4:5.

3) Because we are ourselves only forgiven sinners. How can we, who escaped God’s condemnation only by God’s mercy, turn around and withhold mercy from someone else and condemn them? We have no ground to stand on.

Scripture talks about this a lot: Romans 2:1 – “For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.” John 8:7 – “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” Matthew 18:32-33 – in the parable of the unforgiving servant the master says, “You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?”

Finally, a warning and a promise

Jesus said in Luke 6:38 –  “the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” In the parallel in Matthew 7:2 he said, “For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.” This teaches us that how we treat others now is how God will treat us on the final day. This principle can work against us or for us.

The warning: If we judge and condemn when we see sin in someone’s life; if we are harsh with others, if we reject others as rejected by God, if we exclude others from the realm of whom we love – God will do the same to us. The same measure will be applied to us.

But the promise is this – if we act in merciful ways toward the one struggling with sin, God will be merciful to us and in great abundance. Jesus says – “a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap” – Luke 6:38

It can go either way. Its up to you! So let’s choose to be merciful, so that we will receive mercy from our heavenly Father.

William Higgins

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How to handle your anger – Ephesians 4:26-27

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , on July 22, 2007| Leave a Comment »

Ephesians 4:26-27 – “Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no opportunity to the devil.”

Last week we looked at the dangers of anger. Although God gives us anger as a way of motivating us to point out and correct wrongs, because we are weak and self-centered, our anger tends to lead to more unrighteousness and injustice. James 1:20 says, “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

We also looked at the many warnings in the scriptures about the dangers of anger. If you allow unrighteous anger in your life it will destroy your relationships with others and with God.

We begin today by noting that –

Not all anger is unrighteous

  • In Mark 3:5, when many objected to his healing on the Sabbath, Jesus was angry. Angry that they couldn’t get it that people in need should be helped, perhaps especially on the Sabbath. This grieved him.
  • In 2 Corinthians 7:11 Paul commends the Corinthians for their indignation to clear their name about a matter he addressed in an earlier letter.
  • Of course, our text, Ephesians 4:26 – “Be angry and do not sin,” shows that you can be angry without sin.

How to express your anger in a righteous way

If not all anger is unrighteous, what’s the difference? There are three characteristics of the righteous expression of anger:

1. Be slow to anger. Another way of saying this is don’t be quick-tempered. Proverbs 14:29 says, “Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly.” James 1:19 says “let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger.” (In almost any argument or disagreement, isn’t it nearly the opposite? We are slow to hear, but quick to speak and quick to anger.)

There are several aspects to slowness of anger:

  • Don’t judge by appearances: John 7:24 says, “Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.” Make sure what really happened. Don’t assume you know the whole story from afar. Be slow to get upset in these situations. Check things out first.
  • Patience with one another: Colossians 3:13 says, “bear with one another.” Patience means long-suffering, which means that you suffer for a long time. We are to suffer with each other and our weaknesses for a long time. Don’t’ have a quick trigger. Learn to put up with others’ quirks and idiosyncrasies.
  • Overlook an offense: Don’t always feel you have to respond in anger to everything; be willing to overlook the small or insignificant stuff. As Proverbs 19:11 states, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.”

In all these ways we are being slow to anger; careful and cautious before we become angry. This is all about restraint and self-control.

2. Let your anger motivate you to act. If it is a situation that you have checked out and it is real, and serious enough that it cannot be overlooked, you need to act. Not in the heat of anger or a fit, but after you are able to think clearly, and gather yourself together. The point is – don’t put it off for weeks, or months. Ephesians 4:26 says, “do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Work to resolve the issue. It is dangerous to let your anger become deep seated within you. Don’t let bitterness take root.

3. Act in accord with God’s righteousness. Our text gives us a caution here with regard to anger. Ephesians 4:27 says, “give no opportunity to the devil.” When we act in anger in a way that is not according to righteousness, we end up with broken relationships and sinful anger in us, which Satan loves and uses. It’s like opening a door and inviting the devil into your life.

There are several aspects to acting in righteousness with our anger:

  • Don’t give full vent to your anger. Rather, exercise restraint. Proverbs 29:11 says, “A fool gives full vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back.” Never vent or unleash your full anger against someone. It will only destroy.
  • Act in love for the person. Our natural tendency is to let our anger move us to vengeance, punishment or retribution; to give back what we got. Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:15 – “See that no one repays anyone evil for evil, but always seek to do good to one another and to everyone.” We are to love those who harm us and return good for evil.
  • Go to the person in peace and seek resolution of the issue. Matthew 18:15 says, “If your brother or sister sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.” Luke 17:3 adds,  “if he repents, forgive him.” We are to give mercy and forgive.

In all of this what I am saying is – use anger according to God’s righteousness. Let your anger stir you up – not to destroy, tear down or punish, but rather to find peace and healing of relationship with the one who has wronged you.

What if there is no resolution?

If a person is unwilling to deal with the issues; they won’t repent – what do you do with your anger then? Having done all this so far, can we now strike out and punish?! No. In this situation you must learn to give your anger to God.

Paul says in Romans 12:19-21  -“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” To the contrary, “if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

Give your desire for justice over to God. God can handle these things. And we trust that God will act on our behalf as God sees fit to make things right for us. As Jesus says in Luke 18:7 – won’t God act to give justice to those who cry out to him? Yes. God will act for us.

  • If you don’t give your anger over to God, you will be overcome by evil (v. 21); filled with unresolved anger, bitterness and rage with no way to address the situation according to God’s righteousness.
  • But if you give your anger over to God and move on with mercy and love for the person, then you have overcome the evil done to you. You have overcome it with the good of mercy and love.

Finally, you need God to help you

Anger can be powerful; it can enslave you. To be free is a matter of the transformation of your heart. Something has to change within you. And you can’t do that in your own strength. Remember – sin is powerful, but God is more powerful! So seek God’s help when you struggle in this area of anger and allow God to set you free.

William Higgins

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The Danger of Anger

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on July 15, 2007| 2 Comments »

Anger is something we all struggle with, and it can really damage and destroy our relationships with each other. It also is a false substitute for the process of dealing with those who have offended you. Instead of going to the offender in love and seeking peace, as Jesus teaches, we go in anger to verbally (or otherwise) punish them. So today we look at the danger of anger and next week, Lord willing, righteous anger.

James 1:19-20 says, “Know this, my beloved sisters and brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

Anger is meant to lead us to righteousness

Anger is a God given desire for justice; that things be done rightly and fairly. This is the way that God has made us to function. It arises when we think that we or others have been wronged in some way. And it prompts us to act to make things right. God gave this to us to promote righteousness. It is meant to lead to the pointing out and correction of injustice

However, our anger often leads us to sin. There is a paradox here, for even though it is meant to promote righteousness, our anger often does not promote true righteousness. As James 1:20 says, “the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God.”

Why? 1) Anger is difficult to control. It is explosive, like a fire that quickly rages out of control. As Proverbs 27:4 says, anger is “overwhelming.” We become angry but can’t control our anger. 2) Our anger is often guided by our own distorted sense of what God wants us to do. It stirs us up – but to do what? We often have a warped understanding of justice that turns our behavior into hateful vengeance. And as Christians, we often forget the way of Jesus and ignore God’s call to mercy, love of enemies and forgiveness. Instead, in our anger, we seek to punish others.

So, in the hands of self-centered, weak humans (like all of us) anger leads us not to do God’s righteousness – but to do our own unrighteousness. Proverbs 29:22 says,  “one given to anger causes much transgression.” Psalm 37:8 says, “Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”

Examples of how anger often leads us to sin against others

1) Instead of loving others – it can lead us to murder – Genesis 4:5-7. Cain felt he had been wronged when God did not accept his offering, but did accept his brother’s. This made him angry. He did not control his anger and it led him to murder his brother. 

2) Instead of building up others – it can lead us to tear down others with our words – Matthew 5:22. “. . . Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” Jesus teaches here that angry words that tear down, simple insults and expressions of judgment, are also a form of murder. They are also a breaking of the sixth commandment

3) Instead of living in peace with each other – it leads to quarreling and strife.  Proverbs 15:18 says, “A hot-tempered person stirs up strife.” Anger often leaves in its wake wounded people and broken relationships.

4) Instead of kindness to others – it leads us to be cruel in our words and actions – Proverbs 27:4. Our anger makes us say things and do things that are extreme and cruel to others – things we wouldn’t do and say if we were not angry.

5) Instead of being willing to love and forgive – it leads us to hold on to bitterness. Bitterness is an unwillingness to forgive. Ephesians 4:31 says, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you.” Notice the connection between bitterness and anger is this verse.

6) Instead of acts of love for others – it leads us to do acts of malice. Malice has to do with acts of hatred towards others. This also comes from Ephesians 4:31, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice.”

Not only does it destroy our relationships with others . . .

Unrighteous anger destroys our relationship with God

We cannot be in right relationship with God, when we are not in right relationship with others. This is a principle that the NT teaches. We see this in the following.

1) It blocks our ability to be in relationship with God.  I Timothy 2:8 says, “I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling.” It is inconsistent to pray when there is quarreling and unresolved anger – as if nothing is wrong. Matthew 5:24 teaches us to first be reconciled to the one you have offended by your angry words, before you come to worship God. We must deal with those we have wounded through our anger first

2) It leads to our condemnation before God. Galatians 5:19-21 teaches that outbursts of anger are works of the flesh. It then goes on to say, “Those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Colossians 3:8 says, “But now you must get rid of all such things – anger, wrath . . ..” These things are a part of our old life that is to die. In verse 6 Paul says, “on account of these things the wrath of God is coming.” Our sinful anger lead to an outbreak of God’s righteous anger. Matthew 5:22 teaches that even simple words of angry insult like “you fool,” will lead to our condemnation before God as a breaking of the sixth commandment.

The danger of anger

What I’m saying is that anger is so hard to control, so easily corruptible, so easily leads us to sin, and the consequences are so grave – we must beware!

1) Anger is so dangerous . . . If we are angry, we must be very careful for sin. As Ephesians 4:26 says, “Be angry, but do not sin.”

2) Anger is so dangerous . . . We should not befriend someone who cannot control their anger. Proverbs 22:24 says – “Make no friendship with a person given to anger, nor go with a wrathful person.”

3) Anger is do dangerous . . . We should be careful not to provoke others to anger – which could cause them to stumble into sinful anger.  Ephesians 6:4 says,  “Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger . . ..” This admonition can certainly be more broadly applied in other relationships.

Conclusion

Next week we’ll talk about righteous anger – What anger looks like when it is not out of control; when it has not forgotten Jesus’ call to love our enemies; when it is not busy destroying our relationships with others and with God. But for today I want us to hear, and take home, and ponder the serious warnings in the scriptures about the dangers of anger – that we should beware!

William Higgins

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What to do if a fellow believer wrongs you. Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:3

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , , , on June 17, 2007| Leave a Comment »

In working with those who seek to join the church, I try to make a point of telling people, “You aren’t joining a group of angels. You most likely will have conflict, be wronged, or have cause to get angry at times.” I say this to get rid of any illusions to the contrary or false expectations

Church is real life, with real people and if we seek to be a close community, that is involved in each others’ lives this stuff will happen

And so I ask, “Are you committed to working through this kind of stuff?” Jesus calls us to live in peace, not just walk away from each other when there are problems – like the world does. We are to be a different kind of community; one empowered by God to live in peace with one another.

We are really looking once again at Luke 17:3 – “If a brother sins, tell him to stop; if he repents forgive him.” We have dealt with what repentance looks like. And we have dealt with what forgiveness looks like. So today we look at what it means, in the words of this verse, to “tell him or her to stop.”

I am also bringing in Matthew 18:15. It says, “If your brother (or sister) sins, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone.

Here is a checklist of seven things to do if a fellow believer wrongs you:

1. Make sure that you really have been wronged

This may seen strange to say, but sometimes our feelings get hurt or we get annoyed and angry, but we haven’t been wronged – at least not seriously. So we need to be discerning.

Is it a misunderstanding?  When people don’t communicate well, or don’t know each other well, or don’t understand each other (maybe they come from different cultural backgrounds) this is always a real possibility. In some cases you may think you have been wronged, but really the different parties just aren’t able to communicate with each other.

Is it a personality clash? Some people just don’t get along! They annoy each other and set each other off. They will probably never be close friends. And that’s OK. God likes different kinds of people. We are not all the same or even similar. We have to love each other, but we don’t have to be best friends.

This is a part of life – just don’t read into the other’s actions the worst possible motive, or make the worst assumptions just because your personalities clash. Colossians 3:12-13 says, “Put on . . . compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another . . ..” We need to learn to bear with one another in love.

 

Also, when there is an offense, ask, “Is this a minor issue that can be overlooked? For example if someone agrees to help you to do some project, but they forget about it and don’t show up – well this made you work more and maybe messed up your plans, but how badly have you been wronged? Proverbs 19:11 says, “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is one’s glory to overlook an offense.”

How do you know if it needs to be dealt with? Check your anger level. Does it leave you feeling resentment or even a desire to get even? If there is abiding anger then deal with it.

2. Take the initiative and go

When there is a real wrong, Jesus tells us, “go” – Matthew 18:15.

I want us to notice first of all that if someone wrongs you, they should take the initiative to come to you and repent. This is what Jesus teaches in Matthew 5:23-24. Speaking to the person, he says, if you have offended someone – “.. . leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother . . ..” If you have done the wrong you are to go and make it right.

But if they don’t, don’t just let it slide. You are to go to them. In some cases, they may not be aware of what has happened or how you feel about it.

3. Go and deal with the person face to face

Jesus says, “between you and him alone” – Matthew 18:15. It needs to be a private conversation. In other words don’t go public with it at this point. Also, don’t go to someone else with gossip. Keep it between the two of you.

Now in some circumstances there has to be others involved. If the other person is intimidating or has power over the one who is wronged, for instance. But even here, when someone goes along, it is still to be seen as a private event, not a pubic one.

4. Go in order to make sure what happened

Jesus says, “go . . . between you and him” –  Matthew 18:15.

Don’t rely on hearsay, you know, when someone tells you that so and so did something or said something about you that was wrong.

Jesus tells us, “Do not judge by appearances, but with right judgment” – John 7:24. If you go to the person you may find that it ends up to be a misunderstanding or a minor issue. And then this becomes the opportunity to clear things up.

And even if it is obvious that you have been wronged (there is not hearsay involved), don’t reach a final verdict about all that has happened, or what they were thinking, or their motivation. Talk to the person that has wronged you to get the whole story, not just your side.

(In some cases this step may be unnecessary – when the wrong is great and the motivation is publicly known.)

5. Go in order to restore the person

In other words, go for the right reason. There is always the temptation to go off on them in anger. But the goal here is to “gain” your fellow believer. Jesus says, “go . . .. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother (sister)” – Matthew 18:15.

In the case of a personal wrong, it means personal reconciliation. But it also means on another level the restoration of someone caught in sin back to a right relationship with God

If this is our goal, we have to deal with our anger before we go. As Paul says about confronting people in general, “If anyone is caught in any trespass, you who have the Spirit should restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness – Galatians 6:1 (NRSV).

6. Lay out the wrong and call the person to account

Jesus says, “tell him his fault” – Matthew 18:15. This word means to admonish, chastise, reprove or call to account. In Luke 17:3 the word for “tell him to stop” means to rebuke, censure or chide.

You are to confront the person – this is what you did and it was wrong and you need to do something about it

7. If the person listens to you, accept their repentance

Jesus says, “If he listens to you, you have gained your brother (sister)” – Matthew 18:15. “Listen” here means they really hear you, with the implication that they act appropriately with repentance.

This is what we talked about last week. In the words of Luke 17:3, “If a brother sins, tell him to stop; if he repents (if he listens to you and repents) forgive him.”

Here is a summary of –

The seven steps

  1.     Make sure that you really have been wronged
  2.     Take the initiative and go
  3.     Go and deal with the person face to face
  4.     Go in order to make sure what happened
  5.     Go in order to restore the person
  6.     Lay out the wrong and call the person to account
  7.     If the person listens to you, accept their repentance

Finally there is the question you have all been thinking about –

“Do I have to?”

I don’t know anyone who wants to go and confront someone about a wrong. Our culture values privacy and conflict avoidance. In our culture we almost always choose not to deal with these kinds of issues. We afraid and we think it is all too messy. In fact, we are willing to sacrifice the relationship with each other, rather than to try to deal with the issues and find healing.

But Jesus values peace among his followers and not our desires for privacy or conflict avoidance. And so he tells us: Go to the one who has wronged you and seek peace.

 

It may be hard, but it is the only way the relationship can heal. Especially if the person hasn’t come to you, or isn’t even aware of the problem

So we need to set aside our fears, our cultural values, and whatever else stands in the way. We need to walk in faith, and do what Jesus tells us to do, even when it is difficult.

William Higgins

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What does forgiveness look like?

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , on June 10, 2007| Leave a Comment »

We are dealing with community life skills that we all need to be able to be a healthy church community in our relationships with each other.

We talked about repentance last time and ended with Luke 17:3 – “If a fellow believer sins, tell them to stop; if they repent forgive them.” To heal a relationship damaged by sin you need both repentance and forgiveness. And so we look at forgiveness today.

Jesus has some strong things to say about our need to forgive others their wrongs against us

1. If the person repents – you must forgive. As we just saw, “If a fellow believer sins, tell them to stop; if they repent forgive them” – Luke 17:3.

2. If you don’t forgive – you won’t be forgiven by God for your sins. Jesus says, “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” – Matthew 6:14-15.

3. You should forgive whenever someone comes to you in repentance. In Luke 17:4 Jesus says seven times in one day. In Matthew 18:22 Jesus says, seventy times seven – or 490 times. These are both meant as overstatements to make the point – forgive whenever someone comes seeking it.

If we ask, “why forgive?” the answer comes in the parable of Matthew 18:23-35. It is an evil hypocrisy and inconsistency to receive forgiveness from God for what is a huge debt that you owe to God and not forgive others what is relatively speaking a small debt. You can’t receive mercy – and then not give mercy.

Three components of forgiveness

So, a person comes to you – with repentance – and you want to forgive them – what does this look like?

1. Set aside your anger and the desire for judgment. When you have been wronged, anger is the natural response. In fact it’s the way God has made us. Anger is given to us as a way of stirring us up to seek out what is right for ourselves and others.

The problem, of course, is that we can’t usually handle our anger, because our fleshly desires corrupt it and turn it into a vehicle to simply get back at those who hurt us. So our anger leads us to seek out judgment of the other person. We want to get even; to make them pay; to harm them in return. We stew in anger and hostility until judgment is done or we sink into bitterness if it is not done.

But Jesus tells us in Luke 6:37-38-

judge not, and you will not be judged forgive, and you will be forgiven
condemn not, and you will not be condemned give (mercy), and it will be given to you

Judging and condemning are the same thing here and they are the opposite of forgiving and giving mercy. Jesus teaches us that we have to choose. You can’t have both at the same time. Forgiveness means setting aside this anger and desire for judgment

This is not based on emotions – you most likely won’t feel like doing it – it’s a decision you make. Also, this is not an overlooking of the wrong that was done. It is a search for a different kind of resolution – other than payback. One that brings peace and wholeness rather than more wounding and harm.

2. In mercy release the person of their debt to you. There is actually an economic background to the idea of forgiveness in Scripture: Sin is seen as a debt that is owed – Matthew 6:12. The word that Jesus uses here – “forgive” means to release someone of a debt.

This shows us that we owe each other to do what is right and good. And when we fail in this by wronging them we are in debt to them. To forgive someone is to release them of this moral debt to you.

So when someone comes to you with genuine repentance, seeking mercy, “I owe you and I can’t ever really make it right” – forgiveness means releasing them of this debt that they can’t pay.

But note, it has to be real, not a show or a put on, or a social courtesy. It has to be “from the heart” – Matthew 18:35. Also, once it is dealt with and you are satisfied that there is real repentance – you must really let it go. You don’t keep bringing it up.

3. Begin the relationship anew. The goal with any broken relationship is reconciliation. As Jesus says in Matthew 5:24 to the one who does the wrong – “leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother.” He also says in Mark 9:50 – “Be at peace with one another.” This can happen when you have true repentance and true forgiveness  – the relationship can heal.

Now this doesn’t mean that you can always pick right up where you left off. Some wounds go deep and need time to heal, time to reestablish trust – and that is fine. It’s a process. The key is that you are in relationship – and you are working at healing.

 Clarification: What if there is no repentance?

In popular language “forgiveness” is something we can just do internally by ourselves – an inner release of anger and debt. But in Scripture “forgiveness” has to do with all three components. There has to be repentance that deals with the issues and leads to reconciliation. Both parties need to be involved.

What should we do when there is no repentance? It is similar to the teaching on forgiveness:

  • We give up our anger and desire for judgment.
  • We choose to love them even as we are to love all our enemies. (And what is an enemy except one who harms you and doesn’t care or repent.)
  • And we stand ready to forgive them if they ever repent and work toward true reconciliation.

Finally –

What is more powerful –  the evil deed or love that forgives?

In some cases forgiveness is seemingly unthinkable – the pain is too deep. I think of sexual abuse, child abuse, or the murder of someone you love. But even in these catastrophic cases, each of us have to choose:

  • Will we allow the evil done to us to be the most powerful reality – and let it enslave us and twist us and deform us and make us bitter?
  • Or will we act on the belief that love is more powerful – and choose to make the hard choice to forgive and allow God to set us free?

It can be an incredible struggle to forgive. We could say like Jesus said to the rich man, “with man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible” – Matthew 19:26. It takes God acting in us and through us to make the decision to forgive and to live out that decision throughout our lives.

But if we make the choice we can put into practice the admonition of Paul in Romans 12:21 – “Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.” Instead of being overcome by the evil done to us, we can overcome it with good – the power of love and forgiveness.

William

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What does repentance look like? Luke 15:11-24

Posted in Uncategorized, tagged , , , , , on May 27, 2007| Leave a Comment »

Repentance is talked about a lot in Scripture. It is our proper response to God when we sin. It is also our proper response to other people we have wronged. We will focus on this second part – if I sin against someone and want to make it right, what should I do?

We will look at the story of the prodigal son. Jesus uses this story to illustrate what true repentance looks like – both toward God and toward other people at the same time. We will also look at other scriptures that fill out the meaning of repentance toward the one we have harmed.

The prodigal son definitely sinned against his father:

  • After he got his share of his father’s property he squandered it all in a far country on reckless living – v. 13.
  • He disobeyed his father – v. 29. (No doubt his father told him not to go away and be reckless, but he did it anyway).
  • He devoured his father’s property with prostitutes – v. 30.

So he’s a good candidate to teach us about repentance.

The meaning of repentance

Based on how the word “repentance” is used in the New Testament, it means – a change of heart and mind that leads you to do what is right. We see this in the prodigal son – vs. 17-18. First, “he came to himself” – he had a new realization; a new perspective on his situation. What he has done is wrong. Second, he went back to his father to make things right. So here we see a change of heart and mind that led to appropriate action.

I want to emphasize this second point. Repentance is not just something that happens within you – an inner intention or feeling bad about what you did. Repentance leads to appropriate action so that you stop doing what is wrong and you do what is right. As John the Baptist said in Luke 3:8 –“Bear fruits in keeping with repentance.” What

are these fruits? The context show us that it means doing what is right in our relationships with others. Paul’s

message is stated in Acts 26:20 – “Repent and turn to God, performing deeds in keeping with their repentance.” Repentance always involves right deeds, not just an inner change of heart about our wrong deeds.

Four actions that accompany repentance

We also see in the story of the prodigal son four actions that accompany true repentance – which help fill out for us what repentance looks like.

1) Expressions of humility and regret. The prodigal son said, “I am no longer worthy to be called your son” – v. 19. When you have done what is wrong it is not a time to be proud. It is a time for humility and sorrow. The prodigal recognizes this, for he has not acted as a son. He has greatly hurt his father and wasted his resources.

When we hurt others we need to see and realize the damage and pain we have caused and we need to humble ourselves. After James calls his readers to repentance he says, “Lament and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned into mourning and your joy into dejection” – James 4:9. It is right to feel badly and to have regret. David calls this “a broken and contrite heart” – Psalm 51:17. And you should express this regret to the person you have wronged.

2) Confession of sin. The prodigal son said, “Father I have sinned against heaven and before you” – v. 18. He freely confessed his sin to the one he wronged.

James talks about this, “Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed” -James 5:16. (I take it that this means confessing to the one you have offended).

Confession means being absolutely honest – this is what I did. Confession means owning what you did – I did it and it was wrong – and that’s it. Not – “Yes, I did what was wrong, but it wasn’t my fault – there was this circumstance, and that issue that has to be considered, and look at what you did. . .”  You can imagine if the prodigal lived in our day he might say to his father – “You didn’t raise me right!” No, true confession means you have to own what you did. Proverbs 18:12 says, “Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper,  but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”

3) Seek mercy so there can be reconciliation. The prodigal son said, “How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father” – vs. 17-18. He wanted to be reunited with his father. So he got up and went to him. “Can I at least by your servant?” he is asking.

Jesus talks about this also in Matthew 5:23-24 – “So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your sister or brother has something against you,  leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother or sister, and then come and offer your gift.” If you have wronged someone – don’t even prioritize worship to God (the highest priority) over making things right with the one you have wronged. First go and be reconciled to your brother or sister. You need to try to restore the relationship you have damaged by seeking forgiveness and reconciliation

4) Take responsibility for the consequences of your sin.  The prodigal son said, “Treat me as one of your hired servants” – vs. 19. He was ready to live there as a servant. He knew there were consequences for his actions. Now, his father, in love and grace, accepted him back as a son. But notice – he still lost all that he had, for all the rest that the father had was the other son’s and that would not change.

The example of Zacchaeus’ repentance speaks to this. He was a tax collector who was despised because he made his profit off charging more taxes than were necessary. When he repented he said, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold” – Luke 19:8. He takes responsibility for his sin by giving back of his great wealth to those he cheated and he makes amends to those he stole from. In the same way if you have harmed others in a way that can be made right – do your best to do that; try hard to make it right; make it up to them if possible.

Repentance as a way of life

We all need to learn how to repent and practice this regularly because we all fail at times, sometimes really badly in our relationships with each other.

It is a practice that is necessary first of all because if we don’t repent of our wrongdoing we will be judged by God. Jesus said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish” – Luke 13:3.

But more to our focus, it is necessary because if we don’t repent we can’t work toward restoration of relationships damaged by our sin. We end up hurting each other with no way to find peace; no way to be a community of believers in this place.

Jesus said, “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him” – Luke 17:3. This is directed at the one who is sinned against and teaches that forgiveness is necessary. But notice here – Jesus is also saying you need repentance to heal a relationship wounded by sin. You need both.

William Higgins

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