God sees us and has compassion on us.  

God does not hold our pain, hurt, and unforgiveness against us. 

Forgiveness is not a weapon that God uses to guilt us into forgiving deep hurts. Grieving deeply is part of being God’s Image. 

Your sins are forgiven and you are holy for the sake of Christ, crucified and resurrected.

Jesus forgives our unforgiveness.

Forgiveness can look like releasing the offending party to God’s judgement, justice, and mercy.

Forgiveness can include distrust, and boundaries.

Forgiveness might not include reconciliation.

Forgiveness might include pursuing justice.

 

Law and Gospel Distinctions

Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses.

This is the voice of the law speaking. God will forgive us based on the condition that we forgive first. God forgiving us is conditional. It’s based on our performance. This law verse has been used as a weapon against hurting hearts. The law does not have compassion or empathy. It will kill us. The law does not give us life. It gives death. It is the ministry that brings death.

The Context

Jesus is saying these words in his famous sermon on the mount that spans from Matthew 5-7. This begs the question, why do we call this a sermon? Matthew 5:2 Then he began to teach them. At the end of his teaching Matthew 7 says 28 When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at his teaching, 29 because he was teaching them like one who had authority, and not like their scribes. We can put what Jesus says under the category of teaching. Maybe he is teaching a seminary class? This may or may not be a sermon. 

Is there any gospel given in these three chapters? Yes, actually there is some gospel. There is good news. Jesus is the fulfillment of every law that he teaches on this mountain. We are not the fulfillment of these laws. Matthew 5:17 “Don’t think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I tell you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or one stroke of a letter will pass away from the law until all things are accomplished. The way I understand this mountain teaching is that Jesus is filling every law that he is teaching. He takes us from Mount Sinai to Mount Zion.

In Jesus’ teaching he is expounding on the law in all of it’s glory. Matthew 5:19 Therefore, whoever breaks one of the least of these commands and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does and teaches these commands will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. 20 For I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never get into the kingdom of heaven. Jesus is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. He does and teaches the commands. We are the least in the kingdom, because we break these commands. Jesus is pointing us to himself. By faith in Christ we receive God’s righteousness as a gift. The gift of righteousness that surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees. We are in the kingdom of heaven. Deep breath in, sigh it out.

We have permission to think about these verses through the lens of the gospel. Matthew 6:14 “For if you forgive others their offenses, your heavenly Father will forgive you as well. 15 But if you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses. Jesus fulfilled this law. Jesus forgives our unforgiveness. 

 

Grace and Peace, Through Christ.

Hebrews 12:2 Keeping our eyes on Jesus, the source and perfecter of our faith. For the joy that lay before him, he endured the cross, despising the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. The joy that lay before him is that Jesus fulfilled the law in all of it’s glory, and then took all of those obligations that are opposed to us and against us away by nailing them to the cross. 

Colossians 2: forgave us all our trespasses. 14 He erased the certificate of debt, with its obligations, that was against us and opposed to us, and has taken it away by nailing it to the cross. 15 He disarmed the rulers and authorities and disgraced them publicly; he triumphed over them in him.

This forgiveness law was included at the cross. May Jesus give us comfort and relief from the angst of our pain and hurt. If we are holding on to unforgiveness God sees us, in our grief, and has compassion on us. 

Your sins are forgiven and you are holy for the sake of Christ, crucified and resurrected. The offender’s sins are forgiven and they are holy for the sake of Christ, crucified and resurrected.

 

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A Blueprint for Preaching (or hearing) a Sermon

Jesus is the fulfillment of every law, command, demand, imperative, instructions that the authoritative Word of the Lord gives us. We have permission to read scripture through this lens. We have permission to preach, or fix legal sermons, through this renewed mindset.

Fast forward to Matthew 22:34 When the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they came together. 35 And one of them, an expert in the law, asked a question to test him: 36 “Teacher, which command in the law is the greatest? ”

37 He said to him, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the greatest and most important command. 39 The second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself. 40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.” 

If we can be honest, we don’t love God with all our heart, soul, and mind. We don’t love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus is the only human, he is God in human form, who loved God with all his heart, soul, and mind, and he is the only one who loved his neighbor as himself. This is gospel. Our affections for God are not the litmus test for salvation. 

We have died to the love God, love neighbor law through the body of Christ. We are released from the rule and curse of the law so that we may bear fruit for God. Romans 7

The fruit that we bear for God is faith, forgiveness, and freedom. Faith: we received righteousness as a gift. Forgiveness: our sins are forgiven and we are holy on account of Christ crucified and resurrected. Freedom: freedom from the rule and curse of the good and holy law. We have permission to live in this paradox, as creatures who break the good and holy law all day everyday, and who are righteous and holy as a gift. A mind that is set on the Spirit.

We have permission to turn commands into appeals to a freed conscience. We have permission to use whatever gifts God gives, our abilities, and vocations to help our neighbor out as we are willing and able to, without Moses accusing us of all that we have left undone.

We live in the light of this gospel. Out from under the darkness of the law, and into the light of Christ.

 

Related:

The Finer Points of Legalism