In part 8 we were exploring and explaining the specifics of what jubilee forgiveness is, what it entails. We finished #4.
5. Jubilee forgiveness is being merciful.
And number 6 says that Jubilee forgiveness is graciousness. People often confuse mercy and grace. They are closely related but they are not the same thing. We have not done any studies specifically on the topic of mercy yet, but we did present four lectures on grace.
The first two were called Grace for the Race, which is a reference to the verse in.. Hebrews 12:1 which says: “Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with patience the race that is set before us.”
So God gives us grace for the race. The second set dealt specifically with the grace of humility, and that pair is called Grace to the Humble. They are available in CD format, in an album: $20 + $7 s & h.
The difference between grace and mercy is very easy to understand. Grace is getting something that you don’t deserve (that is, favor from God) and mercy is not getting what you do deserve (that is, judgment from God).
With that understanding we can see how mercy applies to jubilee forgiveness. When we show mercy to the one who has offended us, we are allowing him to forego punishment or judgment for his sin.
This one is kind of a re-statement of #3 which is refusing to punish. But there is this side benefit of showing mercy. Again, coming from that great oration of the Master on the mount when He said…
Matthew 5:7 Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy.
Think about this: do you and I deserve judgment for anything? I know I do. How would you like to have a “get out of jail free” card? Do you want to be shown mercy by the great Judge? Yes? Then be like Him and show mercy to those who offend you.
Proverbs 11:17 The merciful man doeth good to his own soul: but he that is cruel troubleth his own flesh.
6. Jubilee forgiveness is being gracious.
With the definition I gave a minute ago, we know that to be gracious means to provide others with undeserved favor. You see, in dealing with those who have offended us, being gracious is going to the next step beyond mercy.
Because not only do we not punish them as they might deserve (according to our viewpoint, right?), but we go beyond that and bless them with undeserved favor. Mercy is withholding the negative from them; grace is applying the positive to them. Again, we recall the sermon on the mount, which has the idea of blessing one’s enemies.
By the way, I know that we are only doing a somewhat cursory exposition on each of these points and that you probably have a million questions by now, in the form of “well, what about the case where such and such…?”
I would beg your patience, because this is not all we have to say on each of these. This is just foundational. Before we are finished, we will explore the subject even deeper and I would encourage you to be pondering your most difficult questions and let us see if the principles I am sharing with you hold true. I think they will.
Given the background of most of us, both here in my live audience and on our CD ministry of having had much light given to us, in that we understand our Israel heritage, we understand the sovereignty of God, especially as it applies to Christian universalism.
We understand that the laws of God are still in effect, and on top of all that, God has given most of us to understand prophecy to the extent that we recognize the mystery of Babylon the Great in the modern world and all its religious, political, financial and legal ramifications. And that has been a burden.
Because the existence of this world-ruling empire is a mystery to the vast majority of our people and thus it is frustrating to us when we try to get others to see it. So this knowledge is a burden in that sense, is it not?
But what I was heading towards is the idea that, given all this background that most of us share, which is over and above what is known by the average American church-goer today, that we all have the temptation and tendency to become intolerant and legalistic towards our still-blinded brethren.
We have the tendency to not suffer fools gladly and many of us have had or still have a legalistic spirit. (Pretend I am closing my eyes here, because my gaze is not intended to be directed at any one of you in particular. If the shoe fits, wear it.)
I do not condemn any one of you because, Lord knows, I have done enough time in the prison of my own legalistic spirit. I desire mercy and grace, and so I purpose to do my best to now avoid the harshness, the lack of mercy, and the lack of grace in legalism.
As one man described it, the concept of graciousness towards others is “quite threatening to those of us who feel that being inflexible for the truth is the ultimate virtue.”
You see, if we want to be jubilee forgivers, then graciousness might include holding our tongue about an offender when it would harm his reputation. Graciousness is the ability to not speak up, even though what you could say is true.
Graciousness is so-o-o difficult for the self-righteous because the self-righteous person always claims to be standing for “the truth,” no matter what the cost.
7. Jubilee forgiveness is a condition inside our hearts.
Matthew 12:34 says … for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.
That has nailed me so many times, it isn’t funny. Because I have heard myself utter some words and I stop and I say to my wife or my friend or whoever is present, and I say, why did I say that?
It might have been something unkind, or thoughtless or insensitive or whatever, and then I realize—uh-oh, that is indicating a problem I have in my heart; that is, in the inmost recesses of my soul, and my subconscious mind. It just pops right out and tells on me. Has that ever happened to any of you or am I the Lone Ranger here?
Regarding forgiveness, if we have not totally forgiven someone, our heart will expose us through our words at some time or another. The key is to become sensitive to when that happens, because I have observed countless ordinary people’s hearts being manifested through their words and they are completely oblivious to it.
I believe it is one of the graces of God that He provides to us to enable us to recognize our fault and thus to be able to deal with it by forgiveness.
Incidentally, this is why jubilee forgiveness does not require reconciliation with the offender. Because if complete forgiveness has truly taken hold in our hearts, then we don’t need to know if our enemy has a willingness to reconcile. If we have truly forgiven, then we will not be devastated if there is no reconciliation.
This is also why we can experience jubilee forgiveness concerning someone who has passed on. It is an inner experience of the heart. The burden is lifted. The weight is gone. The bitterness, resentment, and anger are released. Freedom in Jesus Christ our Lord. Oh, what a sweet victory!
There are those who think that you should not forgive someone until they repent first. This is clearly not what God thinks because if that were the case, then Jesus could not have forgiven His offenders as He hung on the cross.
Did Jesus speak from the cross and say, “Look, you guys, you still have a chance here. If you will just confess you were wrong, and tell me you are sorry, then I will forgive you.” Jesus would have been waiting a long time to hear back from them, wouldn’t He?
I mentioned this earlier, but it bears repeating here, I would imagine that looking at your own experiences that you would agree that the vast majority of those who offend you either
(a) don’t believe they have done anything wrong, or
(b) they would claim that their action against you was justified.
And so jubilee forgiveness does not require any reconciliation at all. It is strictly an internal work in our own hearts.
(To be continued)
~END~
