True Forgiveness

Well, good evening, and it's good to be with you again this evening.

We've had a joyful day here in Lewis.

We were able to visit the sister congregation in Carloway

and to celebrate with them the refurbishment of their building.

And it's great to be back together with you this evening.

We're going to begin our time by singing to God's praise.

And before we do, I wanted to read some words from the 98th Psalm,

which we'll sing in just a moment.

But the psalmist writes,

So sing to the Lord a new song, for he has done marvellous things.

His right hand and his holy arm have worked salvation for him.

Make a joyful noise to the Lord all the earth.

Break forth into joyous song and sing praises.

Well, let's begin our time together this evening in doing just that,

as we sing together the first six verses of the Sing Psalms version of Psalm 98.

We'll sing Psalm 98 to the tune, Gainsborough.

O sing a new song to the Lord.

O sing a new song to the Lord.

O sing a new song to the Lord.

O sing a new song, dear the Lord.

For what wonders he has done.

His right hand and hand, his holy arm,

The victory have won.

The Lord declared his saving word,

And made it to be known.

To all the nations of the world,

His righteousness is sure.

His steadfast love and faithfulness,

He has remembered well.

The covenant he made with them,

The hearts of Israel.

And all the nations of the earth,

Have seen what God has done.

Our God who prays deliver us,

By his right hand alone.

Acclaim the Lord, O all the earth,

Shall loudly and rejoice,

Make music and be jubilant,

To them with a pure voice.

With heart make music to the Lord,

With heart his praises sing,

With trumpet and with all rejoice,

Before the Lord again.

Let's continue now in praying to our gracious God and Father.

Let us pray together.

Gracious God, we do rejoice this night,

As we lift up our voices to praise you,

As we sing to you a new song.

Lord, we remember that you are the king,

Over this whole world.

Before you the nations are a drop in a bucket,

They are as dust in your hand.

For you are the king of kings,

And the Lord of lords.

We bow our knees before you,

Our gracious God,

Knowing that you are the one who holds sway

Over all the peoples.

And that you are the one who has sent salvation

To all lands.

That you are saving work.

That your righteousness about which we have sung

Has been made known to all nations.

In and through your son.

Our savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

And so this evening we turn our attention to him.

Giving him the love and the praise of our hearts.

Recognizing that he is the one by whom,

And through whom,

And for whom all things were created.

We humble ourselves before the one who stepped down.

Who stepped into this world that he had made.

And which we had tarnished with our sin and our disobedience.

We thank you that he was willing to go all the way to Calvary's cross.

To experience rejection at the hands of men.

To taste death for all.

To suffer for us.

That we might be redeemed from our sins.

We might be reconciled to you as our God and as our Father.

And that we might one day.

Be presented holy and blameless and above reproach before you.

And so we rejoice.

As the psalmist rejoiced in your victory.

In your mighty works of salvation.

In your righteousness.

In your righteousness.

We are conscious that one day the world will be judged in righteousness.

But this day, this night.

The judge comes to us as Lord and Savior.

And he speaks to us once more of your steadfast love.

And of your faithfulness.

This weekend we are reminded once more of the new covenant made in his blood.

A covenant that promises to us the forgiveness of all of our sins.

That promises that our hearts might be filled with your Holy Spirit.

And that we might walk in newness of life.

Gracious God, as we gather tonight.

To worship you.

To wait on you.

To hear what you have to say.

We ask that the peace of Christ might dwell among us.

That we might dwell together in peace and unity.

That we might maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bonds of peace.

Grant us, we pray, soft hearts.

To forgive one another.

To bear with one another.

If there has been any wrong committed against us.

Help us to put on compassionate hearts.

And to be reminded once more of what we have been forgiven from in Christ.

That we might graciously forgive others.

As we have freely received, so might we freely give.

So we ask you, Lord, help us to walk in newness of life.

To live in unity.

As brothers and sisters should.

That you might bestow the blessing upon us as individuals.

And as a congregation of Christ's people.

We ask that that itself would be a witness.

To the wider world who might look in.

Who might listen in.

And who might themselves learn of the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In whose name we gather.

And in whose name we pray.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

Well, last night we thought of true forgiveness.

True faithfulness, I should say.

As we studied together in Nehemiah chapter 9.

Nehemiah 9 · chapter mention

The faithfulness of God to his very often unfaithful people.

And this evening, in just a moment, we'll read from Matthew chapter 18.

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

And think about true forgiveness.

How we, in the gospel, are forgiven all of our sins.

They are cast into the very depths of the sea.

And how we are therefore to forgive one another.

Before we do, we'll sing a psalm once more.

We're going to sing the metrical version of Psalm 133.

To the tune Ardros.

A psalm that speaks of the unity of the Lord's people.

And how good and pleasant it is when brothers and sisters dwell together in unity.

And so we'll sing together Psalm 133.

Behold how good a thing it is and how becoming well together such as brethren are in unity to dwell.

We sing together to the praise of God.

We sing together to the praise of God.

God bless you.

Amen.

God bless you.

God bless you.

God bless you.

God bless you.

And I'm becoming well

Together, sons, a threading heart

In unity to dwell

Like precious coins

Led on the head

The thumb of fear

Did flow

He may prosper

And to the skirt

Let off his garments go

At heaven's dew

The dew of the dew

On Zion hills descend

For hath the blessing

God for us

Thy path shall never end

For hath the blessing

For hath the blessing

Well I want us to read together now from Matthew chapter 18 and verses 15 down to verse 35

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

If you have the same version as I do of the church bible it's on page 993 but the verses can be found in Matthew chapter 18 beginning at verse 15 with the heading if your brother sins against you

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

Let us hear together

Let us hear together the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ

If your brother sins against you

Go and tell him his fault

Between you and him alone

If he listens to you you have gained your brother

But if he does not listen take one or two others along with you

That every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses

If he refuses to listen to them

Tell it to the church

And if he refuses to listen even to the church

Let him be to you as a gentile and a tax collector

Truly I say to you whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven

Whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven

Again I say to you if two of you agree on anything on earth about anything they ask

It will be done for them by my father in heaven

For where two or three are gathered in my name

There am I among them

Then Peter came up and said to him

Lord how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him?

As many as seven times?

Jesus said to him

I do not say to you seven times

But seventy times seven

Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king

Who wished to settle accounts with his servants

When he began to settle one was brought to him

Who owed him ten thousand talents

And since he could not pay his master

Ordered him to be sold with his wife and children

And all that he had

And payment to be made

So the servant fell on his knees imploring him

Have patience with me and I will pay you everything

And out of pity for him

The master of that servant released him

And forgave him the debt

But when the same servant went out

He found one of his fellow servants

Who owed him a hundred denarii

And seizing him he began to choke him saying

Pay what you owe

So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him

Have patience with me and I will pay you

I will pay you

He refused

And went and put him in prison

Until he should pay the debt

When his fellow servants saw what had taken place

They were greatly distressed

And they went and reported to their master

All that had been

All that had taken place

Then his master summoned him and said to him

You wicked servant

I forgave you all the debt

Because you pleaded with me

And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant

As I had mercy on you

And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers

Until he should pay all his debt

So also my heavenly father will do to every one of you

If you do not forgive your brother from your heart

And we thank God for his word to us

Before we study together

We'll sing once more

This time from Sing Psalms

And the 25th Psalm

Which we shall sing to the tune

Heron Gate

Psalm 25

To you O Lord I lift my soul

I trust in you continually

Do not let me be put to shame

Nor let my foes gloat over me

We sing

We sing

In verses 1 to verse 7

We sing

In verses 1 to verse 7

To you O Lord I lift my soul

I trust in you continually

Do not let me be put to shame

To you O Lord I lift my soul

To you O Lord I lift my soul

I trust in you continually

I trust in you continually

Do not let me be put to shame

Do not let me be put to shame

Or let my foes gloat over me

No one who sets his hope in you

No one who sets his hope in you

Will ever suffer such his grace

But those who act with treachery

Humiliating shame will fail

O Lord we feel to me your ways

And all your paths

Help me to know

Direct and guide me in your truth

And stop me ever way to go

You are my Savior and my God

All day I hope in you alone

Remember Lord your love and grace

Which from past ages you have shown

Do not recall my sins of youth

Or my rebellious evil ways

Remember me in your place of

For you O Lord I live in your ways

For you O Lord I lift you

Amen

Amen

Amen

Well let me invite you to keep your Bible open

to Matthew 18

As we think tonight together

of the subject about which we have just sung

True forgiveness

it's a joy to be together this weekend

to share fellowship

to share partnership in the gospel

and it's a joy to come together

and to worship before almighty God

and as we prepare our hearts for the services tomorrow

I thought it would be good to think on the subject of forgiveness

to reflect on the forgiveness of sins promised

through the gospel but also to ask if we need to show forgiveness

to any in the fellowship

or to seek forgiveness from any in the congregation

yesterday evening we thought of true faithfulness

Nehemiah chapter 9

Nehemiah 9 · chapter mention

we thought of the faithfulness of God

who makes and keeps promises

the God of great mercy and steadfast love

who forgave his people their sins time and again

in the Old Testament history

and tonight we'll think about the forgiveness we have received

if we are in Christ

and the forgiveness we need to show one another

if we are together in his church

and it's a very important word

it's a very relevant word

because in life we have all kinds of relationships

relationships can be a source of great joy

and also a source of great sorrow

when these relationships break down

our hearts can be heavy

I always like to read

a kind of history book or biography

and the other day I ordered a copy of Paul Allen

Idea Man

which is a memoir by the co-founder of Microsoft

I didn't realise that the history of computer programming

was so exciting

it's a real page turner

and Paul Allen co-founded Microsoft

with his childhood friend Bill Gates

while they were really just teenagers

they worked together

for about a decade

day and night

they worked together

they shared a flat

but when they turned 30 or so

they fell out

Paul Allen felt he was mistreated

the business partnership

effectively ended

the personal relationship

came to an end

though they were later reconciled

and it's just one example

of a broken relationship

such as we see

between nations

in workplaces

in extended families

in homes

and sadly

and all too often

in Christian communities

the Christian missionary

psychiatrist Marjorie Foyle

wrote a book

about stress

among Christian workers

and she said

the number one reason

Christian missionaries

leave the field of service

is because of conflict

with other missionaries

but we don't have to go overseas

to find

relationship difficulties

maybe there are churches

where you can say

well that's the church

I used to go to

oh that's the church

I never go to

because of something

that happened

something

that was said

so we might attend

a convention

such as the Keswick Convention

with its great motto

all one in Christ Jesus

we might read

a chapter

such as Matthew 18

we might sing

Psalm 133

but at the same time

there might be

someone here tonight

that you avoid

eye contact with you

would not sit next to

you perhaps

haven't spoken to

for years

because of something

they said

or did

because of something

they didn't say

or didn't do

that perhaps

they should have done

and in any gathering

of people

especially a multicultural

multi-generational

body

such as the

Church of Christ

there will be

differences of opinion

there will be

disagreements

there may be

miscommunication

and misunderstanding

perhaps somebody

said something

to you

perhaps somebody

said something

about you

perhaps behind

your back

maybe there was

a disagreement

in the workplace

that has spilled over

into the Church

there are

many

many

reasons

why relationships

between brothers

and sisters

may have been

strained

or even

severed

and

Matthew 18

addresses

this

subject

concerns

the parable

of an

unforgiving

servant

there are some

parables still

well known

in our culture

still alluded to

in the wider

society

the good Samaritan

the prodigal son

this

parable

perhaps

less well known

but no less

important

and it has

much to say

tonight

about the subject

of Christian

unity

and I suggest

it's very important

for two reasons

firstly as we've just

sung

it is good

and pleasant

when brothers

and sisters

dwell

in unity

how it must

please

our heavenly

father

when his

children

get on

and love

one another

and secondly

because our

witness to the

world depends

upon it

did not the

Lord Jesus

himself say

that it is

by our

love for

one another

that all

men shall

know

that we

are his

disciples

so the

pleasure

of God

the persuasiveness

of the gospel

depends upon

good and

loving

relationships

between

Christians

so we'll

look together

at this

parable

and the

verses

which

precede it

and the

whole section

of this

gospel has

to do

with

relationships

between

disciples

chapter

18

verse 1

we see

the disciples

are having

some

issues

of their

own

as they

come to

the Lord

and say

who's

the greatest

who's

your

favorite

who's

number

one

in the

kingdom

of heaven

and so

the

subsequent

teaching

has to

do

with

our

relationships

and our

responsibilities

toward

one another

we're not

to look

down

on one

another

the disciples

were looking

down on

each other

but we are

to look

out

for one

another

and to

care

for one

another

and to

guide

one

another

in

the path

of life

so

I've got

two

headings

two

divisions

verses

15

to

20

if we

are

sinned

against

we must

show

our

brother

or sister

their

fault

and

verse

21

to

35

we

must

then

show

them

forgiveness

and it

may be

you think

well I

find it

very easy

to show

people

their

faults

that's

not

going

to

be

hard

but

it's

not

so

easy

to

show

them

our

forgiveness

so we

want to

think

about

that

now

verse

15

to

20

showing

them

their

fault

when we

are

in

Christ

we

are

also

in

his

church

we

are

drawn

into

his

community

the

German

theologian

and

martyr

Dietrich

Bonhoeffer

wrote a

book called

Life

Together

Together

and that

could

summarize

couldn't

in our

Christian

experience

we

share

life

together

we

have

responsibilities

toward

one

another

and as

Christians

we are

not only

responsible

for one

another

we are

actually

accountable

to

one

another

a few

years ago

I used

to work

as a

doctor

mostly

around

Glasgow

and

while

training

as a

doctor

you are

subject

to

all

kinds

of

appraisals

and

one

department

they had

what was

called

a

360

degree

appraisal

and

effectively

they asked

different

members

of

staff

how

you

were

getting

on

the

nurses

your

colleagues

the

doctors

the

cleaners

and

they

wanted

to

get

a

360

degree

portrait

whether

you

were

working

well

relating

well

to

other

members

of

the

team

and

if

there

were

issues

you

were

given

a

bit

of

feedback

to

help

you

address

any

issues

to

help

you

grow

in

your

workplace

people

and

there's

a

little

bit

of

a

sense

of

that

here

that

as

Christians

we

are

accountable

to

one

another

we

are

to

help

one

another

grow

to

encourage

one

another

but

sometimes

perhaps

to

admonish

one

another

just

before

this

passage

we

have

the

parable

of

the

lost

sheep

and

it

talks

about

sheep

going

astray

but

then

being

found

again

and

very

often

we

can

go

astray

in

our

Christian

lives

something

as

simple

as

church

attendance

but

something

perhaps

more

complex

is

the

state

of

our

hearts

whether

our

hearts

are

still

happy

in

the

Lord

and

we

have

a

responsibility

to

encourage

one

another

Paul

writing

to

the

church

in

Galatia

says

this

if

somebody

is

caught

in

a

sin

you

who

are

spiritual

ought

to

restore

them

in a

spirit

of

gentleness

so we're

part of

Christ's

body

responsible

for

and

accountable

to

one

another

and the

question

before us

verse 15

is what

happens if

somebody in

the church

is sinning

or

particularly

sinning

against

us

sinning

it

may

some

interpreters

take that

to mean

if we

see

a

brother

or

sister

falling

into

sin

or

if

it

specifically

refers

to

sinning

against

somebody

in

the

body

in

the

fellowship

what

are we

to do

though

if we

see

somebody

going

astray

well

what

we're

not

to

do

is

to

simply

ignore

it

turn a

blind

eye

sweep

it under

the

carpet

hope

it'll

go

away

be a

fairly

apathetic

shepherd

that

didn't

care

about

the

sheep

just

wandering

off

across

the

roads

and

into

the

fields

we're

not to

gossip

about

them

we're

not to

hold

a

grudge

against

them

there

are

issues

interpersonal

issues

that need

to be

addressed

he says

Christians

in the

church

we

come

together

for

comfort

to be

strengthened

when we're

suffering

and facing

trials

of many

kinds

but we

must also

expect a

degree of

challenge

if we're

sinning

if we're

straying

that we'll

be called

back

to Christ

the chief

shepherd

and this

isn't

something we

ought to

resent

in the

workplace

it was

never

particularly

comfortable

getting

feedback

sometimes

it stung

but it

was helpful

helped

to grow

helped

us to

address

any

problems

any

issues

so too

in the

Christian

life

proverbs

Proverbs 9:8

chapter 9

verse 8

reprove a

wise man

and he

will

love you

elsewhere

in that

book we

read these

words

faithful

are the

wounds

of a

friend

sometimes

we need

that gentle

word

of

encouragement

that

word

of

admonition

and in

verse 15

we read

of the

situation

where

a brother

sins

against

another

brother

or sister

and the

Lord

teaches us

a sequence

in which

to address

these

difficulties

verse 15

if they

sin against

you go

and tell

them

their fault

alone

so we

begin with

something

which is

private

and informal

and this

then progresses

to something

more public

more formal

but initially

the Lord

says if

there's an

issue

don't let

the bitter

root grow

up in

your heart

go and

speak to

the one

who has

sinned

against

you

invite them

round

take them

for a

coffee

I had

one friend

that was

a student

worker

working with

Christian

students

and when

they were

washing the

dishes

after meals

he thought

that was

always the

best time

to ask

the really

difficult

questions

because you

were concentrating

on something

you weren't

looking each

other in the

face

and that

was when

he really

asked you

the challenging

questions

about your

Christian

life and

walk

verse 16

but if they

won't listen

take one

or two

others

with you

that every

charge may

be established

by the

evidence

of two

or three

witnesses

to emphasize

the gravity

of the

situation

take two

or three

others

as in the

Old Testament

there were

two or

three

witnesses

and if they

refuse to

listen to

that

tell it

to the

church

and if

they refuse

to listen

to the

church

effectively

they are

to be

put out

of the

church

treated

as a

Jewish

person

of that

day

might have

treated

a

Gentile

or a

tax

collector

there is

a weight

to these

words

somebody

refuses to

listen

to a

friend

to a

company

of their

friends

to the

leadership

of the

local

church

there is

a weight

behind

them

and that

admonition

comes with

the authority

of the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

Paul

writing to

the church

in Corinth

1 Corinthians

5 says

that when

you are

assembled

in the

name of

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

and my

spirit

is

present

with

the

power

of

the

Lord

Jesus

Christ

you are

to

deliver

this

man

over

to

Satan

for

the

destruction

of

his

flesh

so

that

his

soul

may

be

saved

in

the

day

of

the

Lord

likewise

verse

19

and

20

Jesus

says

when

two or

three

are

gathered

in

my

name

there

am

I

among

them

a

wonderful

comforting

verse

that

reminds

us

of

our

Emmanuel

our

God

with

us

Jesus

Christ

who

never

leaves

us

never

forsakes

us

but

who

is

present

in

the

company

of

his

people

when

discipline

is

being

exercised

and

effectively

we do

have

here

a

pattern

of

what

we

know

as

church

discipline

discipline

is one

of

these

words

that

can

have

both

a

positive

and

negative

connotation

so

in the

realm

of

music

or

sport

we

can

admire

an

athlete

or

a

musician

we

say

oh

they've

got

wonderful

self

discipline

they're

up at

4am

every

morning

they

jog

20

miles

they

do

3000

press

ups

Sir

Andy

Murray

great

self

discipline

but it

can have

a negative

connotation

and which

of us

at school

didn't

dread

being sent

to sit

outside

the

head

master's

office

with the

fear

of what

might

await us

behind

the

door

but

church

discipline

here

the

discipline

of

a loving

Christian

family

exhorting

and

encouraging

one

another

is

always

intended

to

lead

to

repentance

to

lead

to

restoration

writing

to the

church

again

in

Corinth

Paul

speaks

about

that

not

allowing

somebody

to be

overwhelmed

by

excessive

sorrow

showing

compassion

and comfort

to the

one who

had sinned

and repented

to bring

them back

in

to the

fellowship

this

pattern

of

behavior

is a

means

of

restoring

the

straying

sheep

of these

earlier

verses

the

brother

or sister

wandering

off

into

far

off

field

bringing

them

back

to the

shepherd

and so

the

Lord

says

if

you see

a

brother

or sister

sinning

if

they've

sinned

against

you

perhaps

the

quiet

word

is

where

you

should

begin

if

they

refuse

to

listen

take

some

others

seek

to

persuade

them

seek

to

win

them

back

but

if

they

dig

their

heels

and

if

they

harden

their

heart

tell it

to

the

church

as

Christians

we are

to look

out for

one

another

we are

to

listen

to

one

another

this

behavior

the

Lord

teaches

is not

about

coercion

or

control

but

it is

about

concern

looking

out

for

one

another

is

so

and

so

still

coming

to

the

services

to

the

meetings

is

their

life

still

in

good

standing

with

the

Lord

with

their

brothers

and

sisters

doesn't

mean

proactively

appointing

ourselves

a kind

of

moral

policeman

but

it

means

being

open

to

reacting

to

things

we

might

see

or

hear

give

you

some

examples

went

to

carol

service

once

in a

different

church

from

my

own

and

there

was

a

man

clearly

under

the

influence

and

he

explained

that he

was a

member

of the

church

and

I

thought

well

maybe

not

appropriate

behavior

as a

representative

of this

congregation

visited

the

home

of a

friend

and

his

wife

and

he

was

very

short

with

his

wife

very

bad

tempered

somewhat

grumpy

perhaps

I

should

have

said

something

is

everything

okay

attended

a

conference

well

known

speaker

giving

a

public

talk

some

of

the

language

some

of

the

illustrations

inappropriate

for a

Christian

leader

to

use

all

the

invitation

extended

to

come

to a

Sunday

service

persistently

turned

down

messages

unanswered

the

answer

if

given

always

no

just

little

things

but

little

things

that

might

speak

to

us

of

something

greater

something

deeper

in

their

lives

is there

a

problem

with

drink

is there

a

problem

in

your

marriage

you're

getting

carried

away

with

the

publicity

so

the

Lord

says

if

your

brother

sins

against

you

have

a

word

tell

him

his

fault

bring

him

back

listen

to

him

but

let

him

listen

to

you

don't

just

sweep

it

under

the