Today’s devotion is based on the Message: Purpose Revealed (Watch Here)
Sent to forgive!
What am I supposed to do?
This is an honest question when someone sends us someplace.
Go to the grocery store and pick up eggs and milk.
Go to the locker room and change your clothes for practice.
Go to the home improvement store and get a pipe to fix the sprinklers.
When we are sent, there is a purpose.
Go and forgive or not forgive sins.
Who?
Me?
Yes, you.
Jesus sent his disciples, his followers with the following words:
John 20:21 Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” 22 And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. 23 If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
What is implied in these words is the assumption they knew both what forgiveness was and when to forgive AND when not to forgive sins.
For us, perhaps the easier is knowing when to forgive sins. In fact we are probably taught that whenever someone does sin against us, we are to forgive them their sins.
But what about times when we say to some, “Your sins are not forgiven.”
The times I’ve had to say this are rare, but the impact of the words are deep.
Who are we to announce to someone that their sin is not forgiven? Isn’t that being judgmental?
Is it judgmental to yell at a child running into the street after a ball, “Stop! Don’t go into the street?” Is it judgmental to tell someone that their drug addiction is going to eventually kill them and lose everything important to them?
No it’s not. In love we warn these individuals because we know the path they are on are physically and emotionally destructive. We LOVE them enough to warn them. They may or may not listen, but the motivation is one of love.
When we withhold the pronouncement of forgiveness, we are doing so because someone is breaking the law of God, not our own preferences, or church traditions, but God’s holy law. We know with certainty what Paul said in Galatians 5:19-21:
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
“I warn you…” Paul says.
Warnings are given because love desires to prevent someone from harm.
When we, on the basis of God’s law, tell someone “Your sins are not forgiven,” we are warning them that if they are to persist in their sin, they will miss out on the kingdom of God, heaven.
That’s a big deal…a very big deal!
Jesus wants all to be saved and come to a knowledge of the truth. He does not desire the death of the wicked, but that all would call on him and be saved. The heart of Jesus is to guide people away from sin to the peace that only he can give.
To do that, we must be willing, in love, to not only say, “You are forgiven,” but also be willing to warn with the words, “You are not forgiven.”
Jesus sends us to do both because he loves us and every soul whom we meet.
Apply: How do these words of Jesus reframe your thoughts about withholding forgiveness from someone?
Prayer: Lord Jesus, thank you for loving us enough to warn us of the serious consequences of sin and loving us enough to forgive our sins to give our hearts peace. Help us with discernment and confidence to announce forgiveness or the lack there of. AMEN