Adult Search Lesson 125: Forgiveness, Faith and Gratitude Enjoined
MEMORY VERSE: “And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in ad turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him. And the apostles said unto the Lord, Increase our faith” (Luke 17:4,5).
TEXT: Luke 17:1-19
Christ teaches, in the text, key godly attitudes that enhance smooth and growing relationship with God and fellow humans. He begins by highlighting the impossibility of having an offence-free world. Offences come from unbelievers and believers alike. Apart from those who reject or scorn the gospel and treat believers with disdain, incurring Christ’s “woe” upon themselves (Luke 17:1,2), offences can come from members of the Christian fold resulting from inadvertent human errors of forgetfulness, lack of perfection in knowledge or wrong judgment. This is more so as the visible church consists of wheat and weed, saints and sinners, adult believers and new babes, and spiritual and carnal believers. The Lord warns that no believer should be the mastermind of such conflicts. Obedience to this and other precepts of Christ requires faith and grace, for which the apostles promptly requested. Faith is the hallmark of a Christian life that pleases God (Hebrews 11:6). Believers should always respond to God’s commands by praying for greater and sufficient grace to wholeheartedly obey His word. They should always show heart-felt gratitude to Him for divine benevolence. This study focuses on the virtues of forgiveness, faith and gratitude expected of Bible-believers.
- DESCRIPTIVE RESOLUTION OF OFFENCES AND FORGIVENESS AMONG BRETHREN. Luke 17:1-4: Matthew 18:7,15-22; 5:29,30; 6:14,15; Mark 11:25,26: Ephesians 4:32; Galatians 6:1-3; 1 Corinthians 10:32,33; Luke 23:34; Acts 7:59,60; Genesis 45:1-5; 1 Samuel 24:8-20.
It is possible for a believer’s action or inaction to hurt or harm a fellow believer’s reputation or property. When such happens, the Lord admonishes the offended to “take heed” or be careful not to say, think, plan or do anything rash that will make him guilty of committing the same offence. While the Lord forbids recourse to the courts of the land, He does not also approve the concealment of one’s feelings and habouring of hatred in the heart. The offended believer is enjoined to tell the offender his fault for continued fellowship.
Where a believer refuses to acknowledge his misdeeds, “…then take with thee one or two more…” (Matthew 18:16). Such should be spiritually mature, dispassionate and impartial arbiters who could use relevant Scripture passages to resolve the matter by faithfully and lovingly showing areas of wrong, pointing to Christ’s provision for the penitent, emphasising the need for restitutions and biblical injunctions to forgive as well as encouraging each of them to live by the Word. To be able to achieve this, everything must be done with prayer and absolute dependence on God’s grace and the Spirit’s guidance. Should the believer who offended still refuse to accept his or her fault, the Scripture commands to “…tell it unto the church: but if he shall neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man a publican” (Matthew 18:17). Depending on the severity of the offence, the church’s sanction may range from discipline to outright excommunication, and this is approved by the Lord (Matthew 18:18). Note that publicans have the privilege of being saved; thus, the Lord expects such persons to repent, make adequate restitutions to the brethren offended and the church they spurned. “And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him” (Luke 17:4).
Many people who do not seem to understand the import of the Lord’s command here are prone to keeping records of offences, either in their diaries or their minds, hoping to justify revenge after the seventh count. The obvious lesson here is that we should keep forgiving our brethren as long as they keep repenting. The Lord has forgiven us much and He expects us, too, to forgive others. Every believer should therefore, thirst, pray and obtain the sanctification experience by faith so they can have a pure heart that is free from inbred sin, avoid causing unnecessary offences, love freely and forgive easily. In the Scriptures, Jesus forgave those who crucified Him; Stephen forgave those who stoned him to death; Joseph forgave his brothers who sold him into slavery and David forgave Saul and spared his life (Luke 23:34; Acts 7:59,60; Genesis 50:19-21; 45:1-5; 1 Samuel 26:9; 24:8-20).
Refusal to forgive others results in unanswered prayers, unacceptable service, denial of divine mercy and forgiveness, reproach to the Lord and the Church, grief to the Holy Spirit and eternity in hell (Matthew 5:23-26; 18:28-35; 1 Peter 3:7; Proverbs 21:27; James 2:13; Matthew 6:14,15; 1 Timothy 6:1; Titus 2:5; Ephesians 4:29-32; Mark 9:47). Benefits and blessings of scriptural forgiveness include answer to prayers, acceptable service, guarantee of divine mercy and forgiveness, edification of the Church and glorification of the Lord, guidance by the Holy Spirit and eternity in heaven with God (Psalm 51:17; Romans 12:1,2; Matthew 6:14,15; Romans 8:14, 16; Matthew 5:8).
2. DEFINITE REQUEST FOR INCREASE OF FAITH . Luke 17:5-10; 1:37; Hebrews 11:1-6,20-25; Romans 10:17; 4:16-22; Matthew 17:20; 21:21; 1 John 5:3; Colossians 3:22-25; Ephesians 6:5-9; Titus 2:9,10; 1 Timothy 6:1,2; 1 Peter 2:18; Matthew 24:45-51; 25:14-30.
Realising the dangers inherent in an unforgiving spirit and the futility of trying to cope by carnal means, the disciples pleaded “…Lord, Increase our faith” (Luke 17:5). Our inadequacies ought to drive us into earnest prayer to have the needs met. The Lord’s response is also instructive, “If ye had faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye might say unto this sycamine tree, Be thou plucked up by the root, and be thou planted in the sea; and it should obey you” (Luke 17:6). Being born again presupposes the possession of saving faith. This kind of faith comes by hearing the word of God. For believers to have their faith increased, they must feed on the word of God and desire a growing faith. The Lord had earlier recommended fasting and prayer as a means of growing in faith (Mark 9:28,29). Also, believers must constantly exercise their faith through daily witnessing for Christ in the offices, marketplaces, hospitals, prisons or the mission fields.
Christlike faith with holiness, obedience, prayer, humility, faithfulness, forgiveness, love, unity and truthfulness attracts supernatural visitation, provision, exploit, deliverance, protection and victory, while faithlessness hinders spiritual growth, prayers, miracles, and leads to backsliding. Foreseeing their success in ministry by their desire and request for faith to obey His teaching, the Lord also taught them the expected attitude of servants. After a servant must have completed an assignment, he should remain sober, calm, obedient and ready to carry out any other assignment or duty without complaint. The right to praise him or not lies with the master.
The Lord asks: “Doth he thank that servant because he did the things that were commanded him? I trow [think] not“. The master does not need to thank the servant for doing his legitimate duties. The Lord went ahead to say, “…when ye shall have done all those things which are commanded you, say, We are unprofitable servants: Imakes us understand that we are servants with Iwe have done that which was our duty to do”. This legitimate assignments to execute in the house of God. Thus, the services we render in His vineyard are only reciprocating His love, care and numerous blessings. We should, therefore, neither seek commendation from Christ nor His ministers as we toil tirelessly and faithfully in His vineyard (Luke 17:7-10; 1 Corinthians 9:16,17).
3. DIVINE EXPECTATION OF GRATITUDE FROM RECIPIENTS OF HIS UNMERITED BENEVOLENCE. Luke 17:11-19; 5:12-14; Matthew 8:2-4; 20:34; Mark 1:40-44; John 9:35-38; Luke 17:7-19; Psalm 103:1-5; 136:1-26; Romans 12:1,2; i Chronicles 16:8; Deuteronomy 8:10.
As Jesus went towards Jerusalem, ten leprous men met Him in a village which was situated between Samaria and Galilee. They stood at a distance from Him and shouted for help and mercy. Rather than pronouncing healing, Jesus told them to go and show themselves to the priests. And, as they obeyed, they were cleansed. Leprosy was a contagious disease for which there was no known medical cure in the ancient times. As a result, lepers were always removed from the community and made to live in a colony. If, for any reason, they should come near other people, they were required to announce their approach so that people could take necessary precautions.
The Old Testament law also required that if a leper thought he was cleansed from his disease, he should show himself to the priest who would certify him healed, offer some sacrifices and approve of his restoration to the community (Leviticus 14:1-32). Lepers were outcasts and they were often despised in the society. But Jesus had compassion on them. In the same way, He receives sinful men and accepts those who are unwanted and ostracised from their family. Like leprosy, sin is a contagious disease that separates sinners spiritually from God and His people (Isaiah 59:1,2), diminishes their sensitivity, deforms and incapacitates them. Interestingly, the lepers in the text overcame isolation, stigmatisation and hopelessness associated with their condition, and lifted up their voices even from afar and they got the attention of Jesus. We must earnestly contend against anything that may hinder faith in our walk with Christ. It was against all odds and vicissitudes of life that the saints of old “obtained a good report”. We also can share testimonies of divine intervention through faith irrespective of our location, the nature of our problem or the attitude of men concerning our case.
The power of God can reach and lift us out of our predicaments. All we need is faith in God and obedience to divine instructions as revealed in the Bible. We may experience some tests of our faith before we receive the benefit we desire from God. Sometimes, it is a test of obedience, like the ten lepers and Naaman in the Old Testament (2 Kings 5:10-14); a test of patience and perseverance (Matthew 15:22,23) or a test of our humility (Matthew 15:26-28). With God, nothing is impossible. Observe that not all the lepers were Jews but Jesus healed them all to show that there is no racial, tribal or ethnic difference with Him (Ephesians 2:14- 18). It is important to learn not only to seek divine favour but also show gratitude to Him. When the lepers discovered that they had been healed, only one of them returned to express gratitude to Christ:
The other nine rushed on their way to show themselves to the priests so that they could be restored to the community. The mistake many Christians make is, they soon forget Christ after receiving His blessings. The Lord is disappointed that a whopping majority of recipients of God’s mercies are ingrates. Believers must repent of this sinful habit. The grateful Samaritan learnt that his faith played a part in his healing but others missed that lesson. The Lord expects believers to cultivate the attitude of gratitude and praise to God. This should also reflect in unreserved devotion of our lives, hearts and service to Him all the days of our lives (2 Corinthians 8:5; Luke 1:74,75).
We should continually praise Him for His salvation and sanctification (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Malachi 3:6; Luke 23:34); healing and health (Psalm 102:17- 20; Matthew 8:8-12); deliverance and dominion (Hebrews 2:14,15; Luke 1:74,75); provision and promotion (Psalm 103:1-5); protection and preservation (Isaiah 54:15-17; 2 Timothy 1:12); favour and fruitfulness (Exodus 23:26; Deuteronomy 7:14; Colossians 1:10); and Spirit baptism and success in soul- winning (Acts 1:8). Obedience to Christ’s precepts attracts blessings in life and in eternity. While sinners should repent and be transformed, believers need to pray for sanctification and more grace to manifest scriptural forgiveness, faith and a grateful attitude.
Questions for review:
- What do we learn from Christ’s teaching on offences, offenders and forgiveness?
- Give some instances in the Bible where people exhibited scriptural forgiveness.
- Enumerate the dangers of un-forgiveness and the blessings of scriptural forgiveness.
- How often should we forgive?
- Outline the features of scriptural obedience and the benefits of a life of faith.
- How can we compare the effect of leprosy on its victim to the effect of sin on a sinner?
- Mention some areas you received God’s blessings and how best to show gratitude to Him.
