Sunday, November 6, 2016

LOVE: FORGIVES, REJECTS EVIL & REJOICES WITH TRUTH

LOVE: FORGIVES, REJECTS EVIL & REJOICES WITH TRUTH
The Most Excellent Way- Part XI I Corinthians 13
            In his book,“What’s So Amazing About Grace,” Phillip Yancey tells the story of Ernest Hemingway. Hemingway grew up in a very devout evangelical family, and yet there he never experienced the grace of Christ. He lived a life of no morals that most of us would call "dissolute"… but there was no father, no parent waiting for him and he sank into the mire of a graceless depression. A short story he wrote perhaps reveals the grace that he hoped for. It is the story of a Spanish father who decided to reconcile with his son who had run away to Madrid.
            The father, in a moment of remorse, takes out this ad in El Libro, a newspaper. "Paco, meet me at Hotel Montana, Noon, Tuesday… All is forgiven… Papa." When the father arrived at the square in hopes of meeting his son, he found eight hundred Pacoes waiting to be reunited with their father. Was Paco such a popular name? Or is a father's forgiveness the salve for every soul? This story expresses one of the most powerful aspects of God’s love which is forgiveness. When God forgives, he forgets and he doesn’t keep a record of our wrongs anymore.
            In our series called, “the Most Excellent Way,” we have learned so far that, Love is being patient, Love is kind, Love does not envy, Love does not boast, Love is not arrogant, Love is not rude and Love is not selfish, Love is not easily angered. Today we will look at other aspects of Love: Forgiveness, rejection of evil and rejoicing with the truth.
            The apostle Paul was writing to the believers who were living in a depraved culture without standards and morals. Paul’s appeal to them was, not to imitate the customs of the sinful society they were living in, instead model holy way of living by forgiving one another, rejecting evil and rejoicing with the truth. Let’s unpack these three crucial aspects of love further and see how they impact our lives in a society that is turning more and more ungodly.

I. LOVE KEEPS NO RECORD OF WRONGS: (Forgiveness)
            Let’s admit that when it comes to admitting our own wrong doings we seemed to struggle with short term memory, but when it comes to pointing other’s wrongs we seemed to have endless memory, at times with very specific details. The presidential elections is a clear example where the media, and the experts dig up the incidents of the candidates that happened several years ago. Is this an act of love? Or an act of making the opponent look bad. Where do they find such information? Apparently, they kept either written or video recordings of such events.
            If that is how the world operates, Paul is showing us Christians how to operate differently. A few years ago I was counseling a couple, where the husband wanted to show me the angry behavior of his wife which he proudly video recorded for me to believe that he was innocent. Is that an act of love? Where is trust and forgiveness in that kind of relationship?
            There was a disciple named Peter, who once asked Jesus, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times? Jesus answered I tell you not seven times, but seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22. Of course, Jesus did not mean 490 times, but rather he was saying do not keep a record of how many times you forgive someone.
            Some of us here may be are in the habit of keeping a record of the wrongs of others. You are unable to let go of them and forgive your offenders. If you are one of those then you need to hear the message of Paul, love keeps no record of wrongs. Can you imagine if only God kept a record of our wrong doings, how many volumes may have been filled up by now?  
            If only God has to deal with us based on all the sins we have committed against him and one another none of us would stand a chance. But what keeps us in right standing with God? His nature of forgiveness. “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.
            If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:7-9. This scripture tells us that God not only forgives our sins but also makes us clean. In the same way, we the forgiven sinners are to be merciful and forgiving towards those who might sin against us and do away with any record keeping.
             Paul writing to the Ephesians encourages them to practice Christ like forgiveness towards one another. “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. So, next time when you are tempted to pull up a record of wrong doings of a brother or sister in the Lord against you, remember love keeps no record of wrongs.

II. LOVE DOES NOT DELIGHT IN EVIL (Rejection of evil)
            When Paul said, love does not delight in evil to the Corinthians what might have been going on in his mind? Were there actually some people within the Church delighting in evil, or taking pleasure in doing or endorsing evil acts? As you study closely, you will find so much evil right within the Corinthian church. For one, there was a man having an incestuous relationship with his father’s wife. Others were involved in sexual immorality, acts of homosexuality, cheating, adultery, greed, idolatry and drunkenness. When all that was going on, it looked like the leadership in the church was not condemning instead they were delighting in such evil.
            Our society is no different than the Corinthian society. Evil is widespread. We seem to praise the wicked and condemn the righteous. We value strong and competent people regardless of their moral and ethical failures.  We condone sin and frown upon right and healthy living.
Many of us during the week are called to work in an environment where there is no fear of God. We hear profanity, see frivolity, and come across people who simply delight in evil. In the midst of such environment do we also go with the flow and delight in evil or live a righteous life?
            Regardless however great our society may be, with all its wickedness one day it is doomed to perish, and along with it all those who practice wickedness. If that is the case how then can we save people from that eternal destruction? There is only one way, by pointing them to the truth of the gospel. When people know the Truth, they can be set free and be saved.
            We have an example in Lot who lived in Sodom and Gomorrah the two most corrupt and evil cities in the world. Yet Lot did not compromise, but lived a righteous life. “if he condemned the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah by burning them to ashes, and made them an example of what is going to happen to the ungodly; and if he rescued Lot, a righteous man, who was distressed by the depraved conduct of the lawless (for that righteous man, living among them day after day, was tormented in his righteous soul by the lawless deeds he saw and heard) if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to hold the unrighteous for punishment on the day of judgment.” 2 Peter 2:6-9.

III THE TRUTH ALWAYS SETS US FREE. (Rejoicing in truth)
            In a highly skeptic and pluralistic world for anyone to say that, “The truth always sets us free,” is rather scandalous. Such a bold statement begs us this question “What is Truth?”  Over 2000 years ago, a Roman governor asked a man who was condemned to be executed
“What is Truth? The irony was that the man who claimed himself to be the truth was standing right in front of the governor, yet he did not know that truth is not a concept but is a person named Jesus. There are many people who are seeking truth, yet when they come face to face with the truth they have a hard time believing it and even much harder time accepting it.
Yet there are many others who have had an encounter with the truth and were saved. Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the father except through me.” John 14:6.
            Paul wrote to the Thessalonian believers, that they were to be thankful for this great gift of salvation “But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers and sisters loved by the Lord, because God chose you as first fruits to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.”  2 Thess 2:13. Our faith in the truth has saved us and the sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit goes on throughout our lives unless we resist the work of the Holy Spirit. Those of us who have been saved by grace let’s continue to rejoice with the truth.
Let us remember, while we were yet sinners Christ died for us. When we called upon his name Christ forgave our many sins and made us righteous in Him. As Christ forgave our sins we too are called to forgive those who have offended us and not to keep a record of their wrong doings. Though we live in a wicked society, we are neither to practice nor to delight in evil, but to pray for our friends, and neighbors and live a righteous life as best as possible.
            Finally, we are called to rejoice with the truth, because the truth always sets us free from our bondages. I want to close with these words of Peter to the believers who were being persecuted for their faith. I Peter 5:10-11, “And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself restore you and make you strong, firm, and steadfast. To him be the power for ever and ever. Amen