Forgiveness: Self Awareness and the Cross
Lead Pastor: Rollan Fisher
Focus: We will finally have the freedom to love Jesus and others when we realize how much forgiveness is offered at the cross.
Luke 7:36-50
One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet, weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.
Now when the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something to say to you.” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher.” 41 “A certain moneylender had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. 42 When they could not pay, he cancelled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled the larger debt.” And he said to him, “You have judged rightly.”
Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. 45 You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. 46 You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. 47
Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, “Who is this, who even forgives sins?” And he said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
Comparisons
Comparisons can be good for godly motivation or destructive separation.
Comparisons provide godly motivation when they propel you to a greater love for Jesus and others.
Comparisons are destructive when they produce judgments towards others giving you a false sense of superiority, value or worth.
Jesus was providing godly motivation for the Pharisees by comparing their love to the gratitude of the sinful woman.
He allowed no mention of the woman’s sin being greater than that of the Pharisees’.
Christ is our standard for righteousness.
The only person to whom we should ever compare ourselves is Jesus, who will be our ultimate judge (John 5:22, 23).
In this we are both humbled and liberated knowing that Christ has come to be our glorious Savior.
This allows us to relate with those who were formerly natural enemies and covenant with those who have been likewise redeemed, living now under the Lordship of Christ.
You are Closer than You Think
“The reason there are so many exhortations in the New Testament for Christians to love other Christians is because . . . the church itself is not made up of natural “friends.” It is made up of natural enemies. What binds us together is not common education, common race, common income levels, common politics, common nationality, common accents, common jobs, or anything else of that sort. Christians come together not because they form a natural collocation, but because they have all been saved by Jesus Christ and owe him a common allegiance. In this light we are a band of natural enemies who love one another for Jesus’ sake. That is the only reason why John 13:34–35 makes sense when Jesus says: “A new command I give you—Love one another as I have loved you.”’ . . . Christian love will stand out and bear witness to Jesus because it is a display, for Jesus’ sake, of mutual love among social incompatibles.“
-Don Carson
So again, it does not matter another’s income, education or achievement level - if you think yourself morally superior, then you’ve become their judge, and the poisoning of your relationship ultimately follows.
Beware the trap of the Pharisees.
The Pharisees were religious, but their comparisons drove people away from God rather than towards him.
So what can come against such a supernatural testimony and display to which Don Carson refers?
A lack of self awareness.
Self-Awareness and the Cross
We all need a dose of self-awareness realizing that the cross of Christ is the great leveling agent of humanity.
The self awareness that Jesus was bringing to the Pharisees was to result in a greater love for God and others on whom they would naturally place judgment.
In the woman’s case above, Jesus was clearly placing a premium on humility, self-awareness and an indebted sense of devotion to God.
We all need to have a greater awareness of our own sin.
When we are truly walking in the revelation of the forgiveness of Jesus, an awareness of our own sin does not lead to further condemnation, but a greater sense of liberty and desire for obedience because of God’s grace towards us.
As with the sinful woman, the kindness shown to us is what provokes us to love Jesus and others more out of great gratitude towards God.
A greater awareness of our sin keeps the cross of Christ at the center of our thoughts and the joy of our salvation in our hearts.
No one is too high and no one is too low to lack the need of the cross of Christ.
Without an awareness of our common need for forgiveness, divisions abound in relationships and society at large.
“Forgiveness flounders because I exclude the enemy from the community of humans even as I exclude myself from the community of sinners. But no one can be in the presence of the God of the crucified Messiah for long without overcoming this double exclusion—without transposing the enemy from the sphere of monstrous inhumanity into the sphere of shared humanity and herself from the sphere of proud innocence into the sphere of common sinfulness. When one knows that the torturer will not eternally triumph over the victim, one is free to rediscover that person’s humanity and imitate God’s love for him. And when one knows that God’s love is greater than all sin, one is free to see oneself . . . and so rediscover one’s own sinfulness.”
-Miroslav Volf
Don’t forget yourself.
The opposite of humility is self-righteousness.
Remembering others’ sin but not our own is pride.
Self-righteousness is a sin which sets your internal estimation of yourself in superiority to those who surround you.
It leads to a vitriolic condemnation of others and cuts off our ability to appeal to them on the basis of the gospel of Christ.
Never exalt singular issues or agendas over the gospel of Christ (I Corinthians 15).
The reality is that we live in a fallen world and people will sin.
The hope for the nations is to change hearts and not just policies.
Our job is to remain in Christ and in a posture to love sinners, build bridges and bring them home to God through repentance and faith in Jesus.
The Pharisees' lack of self-awareness prevented them from doing so with the sinful woman.
So again, beware the trap of the Pharisees.
The Pharisees were religious, but their lack of self-awareness built divisions rather than bridges between themselves and others.
Forgiven Much to Love Much
We will love Jesus and others fervently when we realize that God has treated us undeservedly.
Luke 18:9-14
He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: 10 “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. 11 The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. 12 I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ 13 But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ 14 I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.”
We are to fight the battles of the Lord, but realize that in any contest of ideas, both parties need to be taken to not only the judgment seat, but also the cross of Christ for an opportunity to find mercy through repentance.
When I am emptied of self-righteousness, I can be filled with the love needed to lead others to such faith in Jesus.
This love provides me the ability to speak the truth with Christ’s and others interests in mind, knowing that God will look out for and exalt me as I do so.
I know that if I humble myself before God and in my treatment towards others, God himself will work on the behalf of righteousness in my situation.
If I am godless or self-righteous in my treatment towards others, God will humble me and frustrate my cause.
Proverbs 24:17-18
Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles, lest the Lord see it and be displeased, and turn away his anger from him.
Again, beware the trap of the Pharisees.
The above Pharisee was religious, but his self-righteousness brought the displeasure of God rather than his approval.
There is a difference between confidence and arrogance.
We should have great strength produced from our confidence in God.
However, we want to forever make our boasts in Christ alone (I Corinthians 1).
The closer you get to God, his purity and his holiness, the greater awareness you have of your own shortcomings and sin.
Self-righteousness is a tell-tale indicator of one’s true proximity to God.
We have the ability to walk in the freedom of forgiveness even when we don’t see eye to eye with others.
Living a life of forgiveness does not mean that you agree about everything, but that you learn to live graciously and lovingly towards one another.
When God has clearly spoken in his word, he demands obedience.
Where there is Biblical silence, there is room for discussion based on the character, ways and heart of God so that we might be led by the Holy Spirit and find the mind of Christ.
The only agreement that is imperative is agreeing with God and his word.
And in this word we are commanded to be reconciled with God and one another through the cross of Jesus Christ.
Why?
Because as Martin Luther King wrote,
“He who is devoid of the power to forgive is devoid of the power of love. . . .We can never say, ‘I will forgive you, but I won’t have anything further to do with you.’ Forgiveness means reconciliation, and coming together again.”
So let’s pursue love of both Christ and one another today being humbled by the cross and strengthened by God’s great forgiveness offered to us.
Second City Church - Pastor Rollan Fisher 2021
