Tag Archives: forgiveness

March 7, 2021 · 5:09 pm

THERE BUT FOR THE GRACE OF GOD GO I

The name John Bradford did not ring a bell to me the first time I heard it. I guess many people will be in the same shoes with me. I never heard of him until recently when I read of a striking statement that he made during his lifetime. He lived from 1510 to 1555. He lived as a preacher and died as a martyr.

Public execution of prisoners on the death row was a common practice in his days. History has it that on one of the occasions when prisoners were being led to the place of execution, he said, “There but for the grace of God goes John Bradford”. It indeed could have been him.

This is a realization that without the grace of God, our base instincts will rule us, and we would be capable of any vice out there. ALL OF US, no matter how long we have been Christians or the positions we occupy in church can do anything except we make what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 9:27 a daily practice:

I discipline my body like an athlete, training it to do what it should. Otherwise, I fear that after preaching to others I myself might be disqualified.

While also bearing 1 Corinthians 10:12 in mind

Therefore, let the one who thinks he stands firm [immune to temptation, being overconfident and self-righteous], take care that he does not fall [into sin and condemnation]

Time and again, we hear of people we hold in high esteem being caught or accused of very grave iniquity. They are usually tried and sentenced in the court of public opinion, fuelled these days by the ubiquitous social media. While their acts may be very weighty and extremely condemnable, we need to remember that as Christians, we stand by grace. Our reaction should certainly be different from how just anybody would react. Apostle Paul gave some insight into how we should react.

If someone falls into sin, forgivingly restore him, saving your critical comments for yourself. You might be needing forgiveness before the day’s out. Galatians 6:1 

As a matter of fact, Jesus our perfect example demonstrated this in the way he handled the case of the woman that was caught in adultery and brought to him by the teachers of the Law and Pharisees in John 8. He refused to take sides with the crowd. So should we. 

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January 24, 2021 · 6:28 pm

OFFENCE – THE MOSES WAY

48 That same day the Lord said to Moses,49 “Go to Moab, to the mountains east of the river, and climb Mount Nebo, which is across from Jericho. Look out across the land of Canaan, the land I am giving to the people of Israel as their own special possession.50 Then you will die there on the mountain. You will join your ancestors, just as Aaron, your brother, died on Mount Hor and joined his ancestors. 51 For both of you betrayed me with the Israelites at the waters of Meribah at Kadesh in the wilderness of Zin. You failed to demonstrate my holiness to the people of Israel there. 52 So you will see the land from a distance, but you may not enter the land I am giving to the people of Israel.” Deuteronomy 32: 48-52

This was the moment that Moses got his death sentence. I can only imagine the emotions that flooded his mind when the message sank in. After everything he had done, he was not going to step into Canaan. This was the land he longed for, worked for and looked forward to. 

The reason was simple! The people of Israel drove him to act in a way that displeased God. Up to this point, he had led them selflessly, interceded for them when God got angry with them and wanted to wipe out all of them. He had gone from an Egyptian royalty to a Midian exile because of them and this was what he got in return.

The people he did everything for cost him one thing he really looked forward to, but he never held it against them as we can see from the spectacular opening of Deuteronomy 33.

This is the blessing that Moses, the man of God, gave to the people of Israel before his death:

He did not just stop at not holding it against them, he went further to actually bless them before he died. This is definitely counterculture, this is not likely to be our first reaction but Moses was not alone in this. Stephen did something similar when he was being stoned to death.

As they stoned him, Stephen prayed, “Lord Jesus, receive my spirit.”  He fell to his knees, shouting, “Lord, don’t charge them with this sin!” And with that, he died. Acts 7: 59 – 60.

Now, it’s our turn and we are on the stage, acting life’s drama. Offence and hurt will come and people will make us feel like giving it back to them. People will get under our skin and hurt us where it hurts most. People will lie against us, manipulate and slander us. Sometimes, they will cause irreparable damage to our reputation and self esteem. The classes of offence that will come our way are limitless. These great men that have gone before us have given us a difficult template to follow but Jesus’s death and resurrection have made following the template easier. No matter the degree of offence, the counsel remains the same.

Don’t let evil conquer you but conquer evil by doing good. Romans 12:21

The words of Romans 12: 14 – 21 are indeed very instructive on this subject. Please take some time to read them. God’s grace is sufficient for us.

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February 17, 2013 · 1:24 pm

The Art of Forgiveness

Fresh from multiple splashes of unprecedented miracles, they had seen the side of God that no one else ever saw. They had experienced the mighty acts of God and they even saw a glimpse of the glory of God. There was nothing that they needed that God had not brought their way as they journeyed from Egypt to the Promised Land. You naturally expect them to be grateful to this great God. What did God get in return? COMPLAINTS!

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Ah! If I were God…In fact, thank God that I’m not God. I may have become so angry with the people and then with a wave of hand destroy them, sparing only people like Moses and his assistants. Not even Aaron would have survived my wrath as I would have remembered when he made a golden calf for the people. However, God in His unfailing love always forgave them and kept on working with them. The amazing thing is that most times, God forgave them because of the intercession of Moses and not even because of their repentance. How merciful and loving our God is.

As long as we are still on this side of eternity, offence will always come in different forms and from different people, including people that you have shown love to. It will also come from people that you have made sacrifices for. The natural thing to do is to hold it against them, but we have the grace to live like Christ did. He forgave the very people that crucified Him. As His disciples, He expects us to walk in His footsteps. In that way, we will also be forgiven when we err, as we often do.

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Stephen also demonstrated this great spirit of forgiveness, when he prayed for the people that were stoning him, asking God not to hold them responsible for his death. Paul, the great apostle was in that company that stoned him to death. Who knows what would have happened to the souls that got saved through Paul’s ministry, if Stephen called down the judgement of God on that day.

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As we continue in our Christian walk, becoming more and more like Christ, we can seek the help of the Holy Spirit in this area. Forgiveness can become natural to us. It may take some time, but if we continue working at it and engaging the help of the Holy Spirit, we’ll surely get there in Jesus’ name.

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