Romans 3:21-26
21 But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. 22 This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 and all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. 25 God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood—to be received by faith. He did this to demonstrate his righteousness, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished— 26 he did it to demonstrate his righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.
Good morning, friends! We are now in week 6 of our sermon series focusing on the things that the church universal holds in common. I’ve called this series, “Johnny Cash Theology,” because most people like Johnny Cash, and most Christians agree on these central teachings of the church.
As our guide to this sermon series we are using the Apostles’ Creed, one of the first statements of faith produced by the church, and recited in many churches on a regular basis to this day. The Apostles’ Creed doesn’t go into details about doctrine, but states what has been central to the faith for the last 2,000 years. Let’s begin this morning by reciting the creed, which can be found in our blue hymnals, number 712:
I believe in God, the Father almighty, creator of heaven and earth. I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord, who was conceived by the Holy Spirit, born of the Virgin Mary, suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried; he descended to the dead. On the third day he rose again; he ascended into heaven, he is seated at the right hand of the Father, and will come again to judge the living and the dead. I believe in the Holy Spirit, the holy catholic church, the communion of saints, the forgiveness of sins, the resurrection of the body, and the life everlasting.
This week we will be focusing on those ever-so-important four words near the end: the forgiveness of sins.
If you were here last week, you may remember that when we looked at the resurrection of the body, I asked if this was a reference to the resurrection of Jesus’s body, or the resurrection of our bodies. I said it was both. Now if I asked you, Staunton Mennonite Church, if the forgiveness of sins referenced in the Apostles’ Creed is a reference to God’s forgiveness of our sins or our forgiveness of one another’s sins? As good Mennonites, I hope you are going to say, “Yes!” I believe that as Mennonites and as a part of the historical Anabaptist faith, we probably focus more on the forgiveness of our brothers and sisters more than other denominations. And that would be something to be proud about, you know, if pride wasn’t a sin.
So today, we are going to be looking at both God forgiving our sins and us forgiving one another. Then we will look at why this is important, which will move beyond our shared agreement. And I hope to end today with something that I haven’t made a part of each sermon in this series. I hope to end with some practical teaching.
Let’s start with God’s forgiveness of our sins. Hopefully this one doesn’t come as a surprise to you. If this is your first time hearing this, please know, our God is a God of forgiveness. Our text from Romans 3 reminds us in verse 23, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” There isn’t a person who doesn’t need forgiveness.
Thankfully, there is no shortage of passages that remind us that God forgives. 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” And it isn’t just a New Testament thing. God has always been a God of forgiveness. Numbers 14:18 says, “The Lord is slow to anger, abounding in love and forgiving sin and rebellion.”
We could ask how God forgives before the death of Jesus, and we can ask how the death of Jesus brings us into right relationship with God. But that’s not Johnny Cash Theology. Johnny Cash Theology 6a. is “God forgives us.”
Not only does God forgive us, we are to forgive one another. There is a scene in the New Testament where Peter is feeling pretty good about himself after Jesus talks about forgiving a brother or sister who sins against you. Peter approaches Jesus and says, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?” (Matt 18:21b). Jesus says, “Wow. Seven times is pretty good! Keep up the good work!” No, he says, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” (v.22b)
Other versions say “seventy times seven,” which could be Jesus using hyperbole to make a point. But I like the seventy-seven times translation, because I believe Jesus was referring back to a passage in Genesis 4, and a man named Lamech. We don’t have many details, but it appears that Lamech is injured by someone else. So in retribution, Lamech actually kills the person who hurt him. Verses 23b-24, “I have killed a man for wounding me, a young man for injuring me. If Cain is avenged seven times, then Lamech seventy-seven times.”
Jesus is saying that we aren’t to seek revenge, but instead forgive.
Further reading in the New Testament tells us that God’s forgiveness for us and our forgiveness of one another are closely linked. Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” Other verses even take it up another notch, making it sound like God’s forgiveness of our sins depends upon our forgiving one another. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Mt. 6:14)
We could ask the question about whether our forgiveness from God is contingent upon our forgiveness of others, but that’s not what we are doing here today. Johnny Cash Theology 6b. says that we must forgive one another. When we put a and b together, we get our agreed-upon statement of faith: God forgives us, and we must forgive one another.
The difference that I want to look at more closely is the question of why it is so important to forgive other people. This is important to me, because it has been my observation that those who spend the most time preaching about God’s grace and God’s forgiveness are usually the least likely to offer that same grace to others. Forgiving others matters, and here are two approaches to why.
First of all, I want to say that I think that these are both good reasons for forgiving others. However, one appeals to me a bit more than the others. So it isn’t a question of which is correct, but for me, it is a question of emphasis. A good reason for forgiving others is because it is beneficial to you. A better reason to forgive others is because that is a part of what it means to follow Jesus.
We’ve probably all heard sayings about forgiveness, and how it is beneficial to you. I saw a Facebook meme this week that said, “Holding a grudge won’t make you strong; it will only make you bitter. Forgiving doesn’t make you weak; it sets you free.” Or I’ve heard, “Holding a grudge is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to suffer.”
I firmly believe that we need to forgive one another for our own good, for our own health. But even more so, we need to forgive because that’s what Jesus did. And as followers of Jesus, we too should forgive one another.
I quoted Ephesians 4:32 earlier, which says, “Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.” And remember the words of Jesus on the cross. With his last breath, Jesus asks for forgiveness for the very people who were killing him. We are disciples of Jesus Christ. We follow the teaching of Jesus, and we follow his example.
Let’s back up a second. We know that Jesus was once asked by a leader what the greatest commandment was. Jesus offered him two: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matt 22:37b-39)
It is my belief that you cannot hold a grudge and love someone at the same time. But let’s also push out that “love your neighbor as yourself” part.
You have probably heard the phrase “forgive and forget.” Can anyone quote to me the chapter and verse where you will find that in the Bible? No, it isn’t in the Bible. Just a word of caution, forgiveness doesn’t mean you forget the offense. It doesn’t mean that you continue to let people walk all over you, or abuse you physically or verbally, or any other way. Forgiveness means to wish the best for that person, to not hold their sins against them, and to see them as a child of God, not as an enemy. You must love your neighbor, but you also have to love yourself.
Now let’s get practical by beginning with a story.
My knees have been bothering me lately, making it difficult to go for my usual run. So this week for a little exercise I decided to try something I hadn’t done in some time. I rode a bike. It isn’t something that I do often, because I live in Staunton. And if you don’t know Staunton, know that it is hilly around here.
I was a little nervous starting out, because I haven’t rode any distance for some time. But there is a saying that people use when they need to do something that they haven’t done for a long time, but it is likely that you will be able to remember to do it again without any problems. They say, “It’s like riding a bike.”
Do you know what is like riding a bike? Riding a bike! I got on that bike and went a little over 14 miles with very little pain in my knees. I walked like a cowboy the rest of the day because other parts of my body hurt, but my knees felt great!
My bike ride reminded me of an experience from my late childhood years. My grandfather and I were working in the hayfield, raking hay or something like that, when my younger brother rode his bike out to meet my grandfather to relieve him so grandpa could grab a quick lunch. Grandpa seemed pretty old to me at that time, but he would live another 20 years or so. He was surely in his late 70’s, my brother was probably in Jr. High. He had an old bike, with a banana seat and high handlebars. You know, the kind that hipsters today would pay a pretty penny for.
Grandpa probably had a less than a quarter mile to get back to the house, and I’m not sure how my brother expected Grandpa to get back. Maybe he assumed he would walk. But I watched as this old man grabbed the undersized old bike, straddled it, and began peddling like he’d been doing it his entire life.
To be clear, this was the first, and the last time I ever saw him ride a bike.
Remembering how to ride a bike falls into a category known as “procedural memory,” while remembering the capital of Wisconsin, how to spell Wisconsin, or where you left you car keys (hopefully not in Wisconsin) falls into a category known as “declarative memory.” Procedural memories and declarative memories are stored in different parts of the brain. As we all know, our ability to recall certain things declines as we age. Those are declarative memories. But while we forget declarative memories, our brains often are able to hold on to procedural memories. Even people with forms of dementia are often able to keep their procedural memories.
Procedural memories include things like walking, talking, and riding a bike. For sure, you had to learn how to do these things. I remember learning to ride a bike on the grassy hill behind my parents’ home. I didn’t just get on a bike one day and pedal off into the sunset. I learned the procedure, and even though I don’t use it frequently, I’m able to retain the memories of how to ride a bike. And most of those memories are subconscious. I don’t have to think about it when I go through the motions. I’m not out there thinking, “Okay, Kevin. Push down with your left foot as you step up. Keep your balance by leaning and adjusting the handlebar.” That’s not how it works. I learned how to ride a bike, and now when I try, I naturally am able to recall how to do it without thinking through the entire process.
It feels natural, even though it isn’t. It is a learned practice. A learned procedure.
Forgiving one another isn’t natural, either. I think it is human nature to hold a grudge, I know it comes pretty easy to me! So we work in the church and in our home lives to learn how to forgive one another. We make our children ask for forgiveness, and we make our children offer forgiveness. Not because it is easy, but because it is right; because it is Christ-like.
We learn to forgive as we are growing up, and continue to develop that skill when we get older. We practice forgiveness for the small things, like when spouses leave the toilet seat up, or fail to get milk on the way home. We practice forgiveness until it becomes a part of our procedural memory. We practice forgiveness until it becomes like riding a bike.
There are so many stories in our tradition about offering forgiveness. From Dirk Willems returning to save his pursuer who fell into the icy river, and the martyrs forgiving their executor as they were burned at the stake, to the Amish community in Pennsylvania following the shooting of 2006, to my former mentor using his last breath to forgive the teenagers who crossed the center line. Outside of our community of faith, these stories don’t always make sense. This isn’t what is expected. This doesn’t come naturally.
But for us, it is like riding a bike. This is a part of our procedural memory. We don’t have to think about it. This unnatural thing becomes second nature because we have trained our bodies and mind to forgive one another.
Our Johnny Cash Theology for this morning: God forgives us, and we must forgive one another. It is my hope and prayer that we will be a community that practices forgiveness to the point that it becomes a part of our procedural memory, so that—God forbid—if something terrible happens, we know how to forgive one another, just like Christ Jesus forgave us. May it be to us just like riding a bike.
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