Jesus urges His disciples not to follow the example of the Pharisees, but instead to pursue love, forgiveness and faith.
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Love, Forgiveness, and Faith
Luke 17:1-6
In Luke 9:51, a new section begins in the Gospel of Luke. Up until Luke 9:51, Jesus has been ministering primarily up in Northern Palestine, in towns and regions like Nain, Nazareth, Capernaum, Bethsaida, and Gadara. He has been preaching the kingdom of God, casting out demons, and healing the sick.
However, when we come to Luke 9:51, we see a change of direction: “When the days were approaching for His ascension, He was determined to go to Jerusalem.” So, starting at that point, we find Jesus begin to resolutely travel toward Jerusalem where He knows He will die for sinners. He does not travel directly to Jerusalem, but continues to wind through various villages and towns preaching, healing, and casting out demons, but He has a fixed destination in mind. And all throughout this section Jesus’ teaching alternates between His disciples and the Pharisees. Notice the following passages:
Disciples Pharisees
Luke 11:1-13 – prayer Luke 11:14-26 – cast out demons
Luke 12:1-12 – beware of leaven of Pharisees Luke 11:37-52 – Jesus warns of sins
Luke 12:22-34 – worry Luke 13:31-35 – Jerusalem left desolate
Luke 15:1-3 – God’s joy finding lost Luke 14:1-6 – Sabbath, pride
Luke 16:1-13 – Use of wealth Luke 16:14-31 – Use of wealth
Luke 17:1-10 – Forgiveness & Faith
Do you see how Jesus is going back and forth, first teaching His disciples, then instructing the Pharisees and scribes? What’s more, in Luke 12:1, Jesus spoke to His disciples but He told them to beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. He was telling them to watch out and avoid what the Pharisees are doing.
That’s what I believe Jesus is doing here in Luke 17:1-10. He is instructing His disciples to live differently from the scribes and Pharisees. The Pharisees were laying stumbling blocks before new believers. Jesus instructed His disciples not to do that. The Pharisees did not forgive sinners. Rather, they sought at all costs to avoid them. Jesus instructed His disciples to restore and forgive those who sin against them. The Pharisees sought the honor and applause of man. Jesus instructed His disciples to take a lowly position before God and do their righteous acts for His eyes alone.
This morning we are going to find Jesus teaching His disciples again, and He is instructing them about three great qualities in the life of His people – love, forgiveness and faith. Let’s take a look at them.
1. Love
Stumbling Blocks. The Greek word behind “stumbling block” refers to a bait stick. Have you ever set a mouse trap? In order to set the trap you pull a lever back and set it with some cheese or peanut butter on it. When the mouse begins to eat the cheese, the lever snaps and the jaws slam over the head of the mouse killing it. That lever that holds the cheese is the “stumbling block.” It came to refer to an enticement to sin, especially serious sin that leads to a person defecting from the faith. It refers to something that trips you up and traps you. To put a stumbling block in someone’s way is to do or say something to trip up a fellow believer so that he or she no longer follows the Lord. This may have reference to the example of the Pharisees in Luke 16:14-18. They were making money their God, opposing the truth, justifying themselves, seeking the applause of men, and rejecting the gospel. All of those would qualify as stumbling blocks if a young believer began to imitate them. You can also cast a stumbling block in someone’s path with false teaching. I think preachers do it today with the health and wealth gospel, or a hyper grace message that says you don’t need to confess your sin or repent, or by preaching a message that says that you can be saved and on your way to heaven while still practicing sin.
Inevitable. Jesus is saying, “It must be this way. It can’t be any other way than this. It is certain that these stumbling blocks will come.” Now why is it inevitable? It is inevitable because the entire human race is fallen. We live in a sin-cursed world, where every last human being carries within him the seeds of Adam’s rebellion. Temptations and enticements to sin abound in this world, and because of our own sinful nature, we often are the ones who cause those enticements to sin to be laid out before a young believer.
Little Ones. Now, what does Jesus mean by “little ones”? Is he talking about young children? Well, the parallel passage in Matthew 18:6 says, “but whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a heavy millstone hung around his neck, and to be drowned in the depth of the sea.” Jesus is talking about “little ones who believe in Him.” He’s not talking about children. He’s talking about new believers. Now, what is Jesus thinking of? I believe He’s thinking about Luke 15:1-2. In that text, there were a whole bunch of tax collectors and sinners who were coming near Jesus to listen to Him. But the Pharisees and the scribes were grumbling about it, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.” These tax collectors and notorious sinners were the “little ones who believe in Me.” And the Pharisees were doing their very best to discourage them from coming to Jesus, and to discourage Jesus from receiving them.
Woe to him. The word “woe” refers to someone being cursed, being damned by God. Jesus goes on to give further explanation of that “woe” in verse 2 when He says, “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he would cause one of these little ones to stumble.” The Greeks and Romans would occasionally use this form of capital punishment if the person were one of the most reprehensible of criminals. They would tie the criminal to a heavy millstone, and then toss both of them off the end of a ship. Of course the stone would take the man straight to the bottom of the sea where he would die a terrible death. So, what is Jesus’ point? He is saying it would be better for you to die a terrible agonizing death, than to cause a young believer to stumble. He is emphasizing just how serious this sin is. We ought to be afraid of ever causing someone else to stumble and fall away from the Lord, by our words or our actions.
Application. Jesus closes out this section in verse 3 by saying, “Be on your guard!” In other words, “watch out for yourselves that you don’t cause someone else to stumble!” If you know another believer has been an alcoholic, then don’t offer them a beer or a glass of wine or a margarita. Paul says in Romans 14:21, “It is good not to eat meat or to drink wine, or to do anything by which your brother stumbles.” He says in 1 Corinthians 8:13, “Therefore, if food causes my brother to stumble, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause my brother to stumble.” Never, knowingly, lead another brother to do something that his conscience doesn’t approve of. Again, Paul says in Romans 15:1-2, “Now we who are strong ought to bear the weaknesses of those without strength and not just please ourselves. Each of us is to please his neighbor for his good, for his edification.” So, what is the overarching truth here? We are to love one another! We are to seek the good of one another! We are to restore one another! We are to watch out for one another! And we are never to knowingly do or say something that would cause another young believer to sin, and thereby fall away from the Lord. We need to be doing everything we can to help others have a close walk with Christ, and grow to spiritual maturity. How are you doing in that regard? Are you pouring your life into any “little ones”? Are you seeking to promote their spiritual growth? Are you avoiding anything that would cause a younger believer to fall, stumble, or stop following the Lord?
2. Forgiveness
If your brother sins, rebuke him. Jesus now teaches His disciples how they are to relate to one another. He knows that His disciples are going to sin against one another. So, what are they to do when this takes place? Should they avoid the person who has offended them? Should they stop gathering with the church? Should they just get all of their anger and frustration out by venting at the person who has sinned? No, they are to rebuke that person.
Now, it’s important to realize that Jesus isn’t telling us that we are to rebuke every person who ever sins. If every husband and wife did this, and every parent and child did this, we would be doing little else other than rebuking each other all the time. 1 Peter 4:8 says, “Above all, keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins.” Ephesians 4:1-2 says we are to “walk worthy of the calling with which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, showing tolerance for one another in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.” Most of the time we can overlook the minor offenses of others, love them, and pray for them. But then there are other times when it would be wrong not to confront a brother who is sinning. So, how do we know when we need to rebuke a sinning brother? Here are some questions to ask:
- Is the other person’s sin damaging your relationship with him/her?
- Is the other person’s sin seriously hurting others?
- Is the other persons’ sin negatively impacting the church?
- Is the other person’s sin seriously hurting himself?
- Is the other person’s sin an oft repeated pattern, planned and willful?
When the answer to many of these questions is “Yes”, you need to rebuke the sinning believer. To rebuke a fellow believer is to censure or reprimand him, giving a strong warning. So, if you discover that someone in the church has been gossiping about you behind your back, what should you do? If you find out that a brother in the church has been taking drugs or getting drunk, what should you do? If you know that someone in the church is leading a bible study and teaching heresy, what should you do? If you know of someone in the church who is committing adultery, or fornication, or homosexual acts, what should you do? In all of these cases, you need to rebuke that brother, in love. For the good of that person’s soul, you must seek to turn him from the error of his way, and bring him back to God and His Word.
If he repents, forgive him. Now, does this mean it is okay to harbor resentment in our hearts toward someone who has harmed us, if they do not repent? We need to understand that there is a sense in which we must forgive in our hearts all those who have sinned against us. In fact, Mark 11:25 says, “Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions.” In that text, our forgiveness is to be unconditional. We are to forgive everyone who has done anything against us. The essence of forgiveness is to “cancel a debt.” When that person hurt you, you felt as if they owed you something. Forgiveness is canceling the debt. It is to release them from repaying you the debt. And so, there is a sense in which in our hearts we must cancel the debts of everyone who has offended us. However, there is another sense in which reconciliation and peace in the relationship can only be restored upon their repentance. I believe that’s what Jesus meant when He said, “if he repents, forgive him.” In other words, if he repents, assure that brother or sister of your love, and forgiveness, and reconciliation.
Seven times a day. But, what do you do if the person repents, but commits the sin again? What if it happens three or four times? At what point, do you wash your hands, and say “enough is enough!” Jesus says you continue to forgive him, even if he sins and repents seven times in a day! Now, at this point, I think Jesus is responding to a question that Peter asked in Mt. 18:21 “Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus is not trying to give a statistical number of how many times we must forgive someone. His point is that we must continue to forgive again and again as often as the person repents, no matter how many times it happens.
But, what do you do if after rebuking the sinning believer, he doesn’t repent? Jesus gives us the answer in Matthew 18. You are to take one or two more people along with you as witnesses and reprove him again. If he does not listen to two or three, you are to bring the matter before the whole church who are to go to him and urge him to repent. If he won’t listen to the church and repent of his sin, he is to be removed from the church, and the members of the church are not to associate with him, until he repents.
Does Forgiving Someone Mean You Must Trust Them? If you discover that another believer has molested your children, and he truly repents, you must forgive him. However, that doesn’t mean that you should continue to let him continue to watch your children. Even though we forgive quickly, trust is only gradually restored as the sinning believer evidences growth in holiness over time.
Does Forgiving Someone Mean You Remove All Negative Consequences? No, I don’t think so. Remember David’s great sin? He committed adultery with Bathsheeba. He ordered her husband to be murdered. He lied and deceived others. When David confessed his sin to the Lord, Nathan said, “The Lord has also taken away your sin; you shall not die.” Wow! How wonderful! But Nathan goes on, “However, because by this deed you have given occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme, the child also that is born to you shall surely die.” God forgave David, but He still imposed some very heavy consequences of that sin on David. Now, when you forgive someone, you may decide to remove all the consequences of that persons’ sinful action. However, you may just as well decide not to. If you are a boss, and one of your employees lies, steals, or cheats, even though you forgive him, you may put him on probation or fire him. That is not inconsistent with forgiving him.
Application. How are you doing when it comes to forgiving those who have hurt you? Do you harbor ill-will toward them? Do you simply avoid them? The next time someone sins against you to such a degree that it is destroying your relationship with him, rebuke him. If he repents, forgive him, even if you have to keep on forgiving him over and over. You know, when we forgive someone, we are most like God. God is the great forgiver! He has forgiven millions of sinners of all their sins, and restored them to a right relationship with Himself. Let’s follow the example of our Father!
3. Faith
Increase our faith. Notice the response of the disciples in verse 5, “The apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith!” They felt this was utterly impossible. To forgive someone over and over and over requires great faith in God. We know that we can’t do it, but do we believe that God can enable us to? We have to believe that God will correct the one who is sinning, and that He will protect the one who is continually being sinned against. So, the disciples asked the Lord to increase their faith so that they could go on forgiving others again and again.
Faith like a mustard seed. The Scripture says that the mustard seed was the smallest of all known seeds. Jesus’ point is that they didn’t need more faith. They simply needed to exercise the little faith that they had. Even if they had a very small amount of faith, they could do miraculous things with it. I don’t believe Jesus was encouraging his disciples to try to go around uprooting mulberry trees and planting them in the sea. He is using metaphorical language. Whatever the problem, we can uproot it and cast it aside if we will exercise true faith in God, no matter how little faith that is.
Application. The next time you face a great challenge, I encourage you to exercise faith in God. How so? Take some of God’s promises and confess them, just as Jesus talked about saying to the mulberry tree, “be uprooted and be planted in the sea.” When you are flat broke, and don’t see any way of paying your bills and getting through the rest of the month speak out this promise, “My God will supply all my needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil.4:19). When you sense that God wants you to do something that you feel is beyond you like submitting to your husband, or loving your wife, or forgiving that person again, or witnessing to a co-worker, speak out this promise, “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (Phil.4:13). When you grow discouraged in your Christian life, and start to wonder if you will ever grow in godliness and persevere to the end, speak out this promise, “He who began a good work in me will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6). When you feel like everything is against you, and nothing in your life makes sense, speak out this promise, “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good, to me because I love God and I have been called according to His purpose” (Rom.8:28).
Conclusion
So, how are you doing when it comes to love, or forgiveness, or faith? These are the qualities that should mark all of God’s people. Let’s love one another fervently. Let’s forgive one another Biblically. And let’s trust God implicitly. Let’s pray.
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