The Unmerciful Servant

The parable of the unmerciful servant(Matthew 18:21-35) teaches a clear lesson of mercy and forgiveness. Jesus tells Peter that he must forgive always(seventy times seven) and must forgive no matter how large the transgression. The lesson of this parable is simple to see, but hard to carry out. Someone might ask does this mean that Christians are called to be pushovers and let people walk over them. When I asked this question to the Sunday School class someone pointed out that often we treat God as a pushover who will forgive no matter what and we take advantage of that mercy. I think that God will forgive sin no matter how large the sin. I also think that people take advantage of that grace. We are not only like the unmerciful servant who does not forgive as he was forgiven, we also continue to run up an immeasurable debt. So if God continues to forgive and allow such evil people to go on living is he a pushover? Of course he is not a pushover as the person who stated this to begin said "God is fearsome." We should never forget how fearsome and just that God is. Sin will not go unpunished and will be punished exactly as it should be. God's wrath will either be poured out upon the sinner himself or it is poured out on Christ. There is no third option to this situation. If this is kept in mind Christians can handle times they are wronged much better. If someone sins against me I know that God will punish that sin. I should want that person to repent and have faith in Christ and escape God's wrath for their sin. If the person does not repent then God will avenge the wrong committed. Paul addresses this in Romans 12 when he quotes the Old Testament verses concerning how to handle evil. He quotes Proverbs in Romans 12:20 "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink. In doing this, you will heap burning coals on his head". This seems like a strange way to treat people, if they are bad to you then you should be good to them. This is how God treats the world, the world rebels against God and yet he continues to sustain life and bless the people of this world. So I must remember that no matter what someone has done to me, it is not as offensive as what the world does to God and I should be humble enough to be kind to people that offend me. I can also satisfy my desire for revenge with the thought of "burning coals on his head".

The Pharisee and the Tax Collector

The parable of the Pharisee and the Tax Collector is one that shows the need for humility before God. While discussing the importance of humility in Sunday School class someone commented that complete humility is necessary before God. I agree with this completely. John Piper describes humility in Don't Waste Your Life, by writing that people do not go to the Grand Canyon and talk about how great they are. They go to the Grand Canyon and are humbled. This is how people must come to God. They must come knowing that their greatness does not compare with the holiness and majesty of God. The pharisee came to thank God for how great he, the pharisee was, not how great God is. The tax collector came to God with great humility and acknowledged his place before God, a sinner. Humility is necessary in every aspect of salvation. I must be humble enough to admit that I was not good enough to come to God on my own. Jesus explains this in John 6:44 "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him". It takes humility to admit that even my best deeds were not enough- Isaiah 64:6 "all our righteous acts are like filthy rags". I must be humble to admit that even after being drawn to Jesus and repenting, I am still reliant upon him for my salvation. My security is not from myself but from "he who began a good work" in me. I know that I do not keep my salvation on my own, but is in God's hands and I am promised in Philippians 1:6 that it will be completed. Someone might say that anyone who believes that their salvation cannot be lost is not humble but arrogant. I would say that someone who thinks that they can keep their salvation by not sinning is being arrogant. I will readily admit that if my salvation depended on my ability to not sin, then I am in big trouble. I want to thank God that my salvation is not dependent on my righteousness but on Christ's. So when I think about humility and how someone must come before God the tax collector's prayer sums up what we all must say "'God, have mercy on me, a sinner."