#24 God Forgives Sins, not Excuses

[45]”Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. [46]He told them, ‘This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, [47]and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.’” [Luke 24:45-47]

Three things stand out for me as I read this scripture:

1. “repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached” God forgives sins, not excuses. In fact, it is our excuses which get in the way of God’s forgiveness. They keep us from making a commitment to Christ, as we refuse to take responsibility for our own life. We can’t blame others, our situation, our finances, health, or any excuse: we are all sinners of our own free will. In order to receive God’s unconditional love, we must surrender unconditionally. That means without excuses, “without one plea” as the gospel hymn reminds us:

“Just as I am - without one plea, But that Thy blood was shed for me,

And that Thou bidst me come to Thee, O Lamb of God, I come!” [1]

2. “in His name” There is no other way of salvation but through the redemptive power of Jesus death and resurrection for those who receive Him.

[11]“Jesus is 'the stone you builders rejected, which has become the cornerstone.' [12]Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved." [Acts 4:11-12]

3. “to all nations” No one is excluded, but all are bid to come to Jesus. Jesus fulfills the covenant that God made with Abraham that all nations will be blessed and Jesus’ Holy Spirit empowers the church to carry this message as the new Israel to all nations and peoples.

As redeemed Christians here on earth, we need reminders about sin and forgiveness. So we are reminded of our eternal forgiveness when we celebrate the Lord’s supper, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” [Matthew 26:28] Also we are charged in the Lord’s prayer to carry that forgiveness forward, to say to God “to forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us.” [Luke 11:4] This means that we must always be conscious of what Jesus has done for us in humble and grateful service to others.

[1] Charlotte Elliot, 1835

#23 The Patient Father

[Matt 21:28] "What do you think? There was a man who had two sons. He went to the first and said, 'Son, go and work today in the vineyard.' [29] 'I will not,' he answered, but later he changed his mind and went. [30]"Then the father went to the other son and said the same thing. He answered, 'I will, sir,' but he did not go. [31]"Which of the two did what his father wanted?" "The first," they answered. Jesus said to them, "Truly I tell you, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. [32]For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him.”

Here we see a parable about brothers from the lips of Jesus concerning a father who requests that his two sons go work in the vineyard. The first son speaks from his feelings and declines, but because of his father’s patience, he “comes to his senses,” regrets his decision, and makes the correct one. I notice that Jesus says the first son changes his mind, not his heart. I think the first son’s heart has always been with the father, but he was rash in refusing to work. The father is patient enough to withhold judgment until the actions are seen.

The first son does what he felt like but at least learns from his mistakes. He is honest about his feelings, and can recognize his regret! He now knows that he made a wrong turn and deals with it. This son is represented by the hated tax collectors, prostitutes, and people of ill-repute, the outcast and marginalized, who repented when they heard John the Baptist preach about the kingdom of God. This is for those of us with the right heart, but the wrong actions. God will be patient with us if we wake up, repent when we do wrong, and keep listening for His voice (through prayer, reading scriptures, listening to Christian elders). So we need to be tuned to God’s voice. The first son sins, knows that he sinned, repented, and found fulfillment working in the Father’s house.

The second son is self-righteous and cannot see that he is off the path. The second son is being righteous as far as lip-service goes; speaking the words his father wants to hear. He knows what is right, but fails to do it, apparently without remorse. Jesus says that this son represents the Pharisees who do not believe the message of John the Baptist that they too should repent. They think that they possess enough moral strength on their own to live a righteous life, and fall way short. So Jesus gives them this warning through the parable – it’s not too late to listen, repent and work in the Father’s vineyard. But they won’t be first in line!

The parallel with this parable of two sons and the parable of the prodigal son and his elder brother seem identical in their actions with the father. [Luke 15:11-32]

God the Father is much more interested in faith in action, even when it is a stumbling faith. Christianity has never been just about what is right or wrong – the world knows that. But doing right can only be done with the help of the Holy Spirit, which comes from repentance and submitting to God, not trying hard to be righteous on our own. Doing the will of the Father is not a matter of being perfect, but being teachable, open to God’s voice and encouragement.

#22 The God of History and the Nations

Advent, from the Latin, means coming, from which we also get the word adventure. So for the church, Advent is the season when we celebrate two comings: Looking back on His birth and forward to His coming again. One is without fanfare and noticed by only a few and the other in full view of all.

The Messiah will be born in Bethlehem. “But you, Bethlehem Ephrathah, though you are small among the clans of Judah, out of you will come for me one who will be ruler over Israel, whose origins are from old, from ancient times.” [Micah 5:2]

This ruler will come from the line of Judah. “The scepter will not depart from Judah, nor the ruler’s staff between his feet until he comes to whom it belongs and the obedience of the nations is his.” [Genesis 49:10] Jacob’s last blessing upon Judah.

Every 50th year, all people should move back to their original tribal towns (so that the Messiah would be born in the proper place). “Consecrate the 50th year and proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants. It shall be a jubilee for you; each one of you is to return to his family property and each to his own clan.” [Leviticus 25:10]

Israel was not faithful during all her years of judges and kings so God made the Babylonians remove Israel from the land to make up for all the years it did not celebrate the Jubilee. [10] “This is what the LORD says: ‘When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my good promise to bring you back to this place. [11] For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” [Jeremiah 29:10-11]

For 400 years Israel lived under foreign rulers: first the Median-Persian Empire, then the Greek Empire, and finally the Roman Empire. They evidently did not celebrate the Year of Jubilee even then, because Mary & Joseph were living in Nazareth, not Bethlehem during her pregnancy.

“The Lord works out everything for His own ends.” [Proverbs 16:4a] One of the miracles we neglect to recognize at Christmas, is that God shows He is in charge of all nations, and His purposes will be fulfilled. God moves in mysterious ways, His wonders to perform. God used Caesar to get Joseph and Mary to Nazareth!

In the 400 years since the Exile to Babylon, the educated people of the world now all spoke common Greek besides their native language; the Romans had built a network of roads to be used not only by the military, but commerce and personal travel, so the Gospel would spread out to the whole world in a common language.

[1] “In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. [2] (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) [3] And everyone went to their own town to register. [4] So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. [5] He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. [6] While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, [7] and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.” [Luke 2:1-7]

This was no “accident” but the combination of God’s sovereignty and human free will. God’s will is like rain on the mountain: no matter how many dams or blocks we make, that water will make it down to the rivers and the sea, just as He intended and yet we all still have our free will.

#21 You are worth more: Father Parables (4)

[Mt 6:24] “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one ad despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
[25]“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? [26] Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow nor reap nor store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? [27] Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” [28] “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor nor spin. [29] Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. [30] If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you – you of little faith? [31] So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ [32] and your heavenly Father knows you need them. [33] But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. [34]Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”[1]

For the last few weeks in this blog, we have seen that Jesus has been telling us that His Father and our Father is more than we can dream or imagine. Now, Jesus tells us that in our Father’s eyes, we are more than sparrows, lilies, sheep and oxen.

1. We must decide whether to serve God or Mammon (the world/flesh/Devil). We can live either by the flesh (our own power) or the spirit (God’s personal power). We don’t have a choice as human beings to be lords of the world – we can only decide which lord to follow.

2. Here we see the Father in relationship to nature. He is creator, the God of nature – He is not nature. And there is no “Mother Nature” in Christian parlance. This is “our Father’s world” and we are stewards of His creation, not servants of nature. Jesus shows us a Father who is in charge of every detail of creation, not just the Creator, but the Sustainer, the One who keeps the heavens in their order. He is the One who feeds the birds, grows the grass, and dresses the flowers. And we see that God attends to the minutest detail, even numbering the hairs on our head (not the number – how many – but each one is numbered!) Jesus uses monetary value (our value system) to show the Father’s care for us; if two sparrows are sold for a penny, how much more are we worth?

3. In the past few weeks, we have learned to ask, seek, knock, wait and now not worry. If there is anything that can impede our ability to hear God, it is worry. It is like having the sound of static in our head while we’re trying to listen to that small, still voice. Is there anything more difficult than worrying about not worrying? Worry debilitates us, causes us to waiver in our prayers. We must worry about who we follow, not the details.

4. And Jesus now tells us that we are worth more than sparrows, grass & things. So, regardless of how bad our own self-image is, or our image of a father, Jesus is telling us that his Father loves us even more than we can hope for, and that we are worth more to Him that we could ever imagine.



[1] (Matthew 6:24-34)