Kingdom Lesson # 8. By Jim Banks www.jimandpatbanks.com www.traumaprayer.com
Several weeks ago Pat had it in her heart to do a series of video chats entitled “Chats With Pat” in which she would answer a number of questions posed by her Facebook followers. She asked for questions of her those followers and soon had just over 200 of them flood in. We have since created a Facebook Group called “Questions, Answers and Issues” which both she and I are creating short videos for. You can get access to them by joining the aforementioned group. One of those questions is very important for each of us to come to grips with as Kingdom dwellers for its personal resolution impinges on our responses to a number of other issues which each of us is currently facing; How do we respond to the issues facing us in an increasing anti-Christian environment?
The original question raised was, How do we forgive our offenders that are unrepentant?
For many of you, what I am initially going to present in the course of responding to this question is well understood and is to perhaps be considered ‘milk,’ but stay with me because the importance of the subject of forgiveness will be seen to encompass much more than we’ve traditionally expected. From a Biblical perspective the concept of forgiveness needs to be seen that forgiveness for an offense is really about the condition of your heart, not about the guilt or innocence of the offender. Effectively, it’s about you, not about them. Further, our lack of forgiveness continues to bind us to the offender and to the offense. Consequently, our decision to forgive cannot be contingent upon our desire for or expectation of justice overtaking the individual offender, memories of the event itself, or its impact on others. Our refusal to forgive only maintains the pain we initially felt and generates arguments that justifies the intensity of our feelings.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” To me that says that I don’t have a choice when it comes to forgiving, regardless of what the offense was or is, much less who it came through.
The problem for many people is that rather than forgiving others their offenses against us, we simply tolerate what they’ve done to us, so I neither resolve the pain incurred personally nor confront the offender for their sake. I just try to forget and move on. It’s one of the primary reasons why we encounter so many people these days with such short fuses when things rub them the wrong way. We should strive to make ourselves virtually unoffendable, not by shutting off anything that speaks to us of pain, but by walking in a continual level of forgiveness that whatever happens doesn’t program me for an inappropriate response five minutes from now.
Now here is the interesting part which vitally effects how the rubber of the wheels of Kingdom life meets the bumpy, rutted road of daily life. Note that the above quoted verse doesn’t specify whether the trespasses we are to forgive are against us, or against others. Yes, I have to forgive those personal offenses of rejection, abandonment, violence and abuse, betrayal, broken covenants, etc. visited upon me by others, but this also means that I cannot even judge those who have violated laws, principles, or rules and standards of conduct which I get upset about, but don’t affect me directly. I have to forgive them as well. I don’t have a choice in it either.
In other words, I cannot willfully assign sin to someone who violated that which I have held in high esteem – today I speak of the actions of opposing political parties, the decisions or ineptness of actions of Congress or the Supreme Court, or perceived intentional violations of the Constitution, the contents of The Bill or Rights, or the principles contained in the Declaration of Independence.
Why is that? Well, just for starters Scripture says in Roams 2:1, “Therefore thou art inexcusable, O man, whosoever thou art that judgest: for wherein thou judgest another, thou condemnest thyself; for thou that judgest doest the same things.” (KJV). “Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things.” (ESV)
What neither Christians or non-Christians understand is that when judgement is passed, and criticism is uttered, or accusations and curses are made, or when derogatory terminology is employed to express opposition, whether through anger or simple disagreement against the character or motives of an individual or a group, spiritual laws are violated resulting with two significant unintended outcomes. First, to rephase the above noted verse, ‘What goes around, comes around.’ If you are not already doing the same thing that you are judging, you soon will be. Why? Because the enemy will arrange some circumstances to draw it out of you. Secondly, the enemy sees that as a legal right to make demonic assignments against both the issuer and the recipient of the utterance. In the process, division is accentuated, and righteousness is violated. It is little wonder that wars and rumors of the potentiality of wars are rampant. Another unintended consequence of our judgment is that the enemy gains additional power through our sin and is able to dive deeper into whatever it was that we judged.
As Kingdom citizens we are called to uphold a much higher standard of conduct than generally exhibited, for we are Ambassadors of a superior Kingdom, and its Almighty King. As such we are called upon to represent that Kingdom in a manner that reflects through our personal discipline and character the very nature of the King Himself.
This level of obedience to the dictates and prohibitions of scripture yields a level of personal holiness that is crucial for two things. First, is the acquisition of a level of grace that allows you to be immediately obedient to other dictates of scripture. Secondly, you cannot walk in the power of the Holy Spirit demonstrating the effectiveness of the supernatural gifts of healing and faith without it. Thirdly, is this … your lack of holiness may preclude you from serving in another capacity in the future …
“Or know ye not that the saints shall judge the world? and if the world is judged by you, are ye unworthy to judge the smallest matters? 3 Know ye not that we shall judge angels? how much more, things that pertain to this life?” (1Corinthians 6:2-3, RSV)
This is why we need to be so careful about what we think and say about issues and actions by others in this realm, for they do impact our situation in another one. We are either law abiding citizens of the Kingdom of Heaven, temporarily assigned to this world, or we’re full-fledged devotees to this one attempting to act like we belong elsewhere. It’s time to choose!
1Peter 1:3-8 “His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, 4 by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.
5 For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, 6 and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, 7 and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. 8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
Here’s one of the reasons why I believe the Lord is really pressing us on this issue. I am not a Glenn Beck fan and have never been, however, I flipped on our smart-TV today, went to Youtube.com to play some music by a group I love called Il Volo, and because I am a fan of dreams (one of God’s favorite ways of communicating with us) I noted this description of a dream in the video’s header; ”Was Glenn Beck’s dream actually a Vision for our future?” We decided to watch it and it says very dramatically what I am speaking to here, just from a different perspective. The message is clear. Watch it if you have a few minutes. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JtQwAQeZ7HQ
Back to the question raised in the opening paragraph. As a Christian, how do we respond to all the junk that is going on? The answer is simple; pay more attention to what God has done for you than what you think the enemy is going to try to do to you. You’re never going to be able to draw life out of focusing on all the negative, but this is why the enemy is throwing so much dust in the air – to keep you distracted. By focusing on the Word and what God is saying to you personally, you can have peace and maintain joy in the midst of whatever the enemy is doing, which really irritates him and enables you to stand despite what the perverts and power mad politicians can conjure up.
“In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 RSV)
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