Hosea 1:7b, “I will save them by the LORD their God. I will not save them by bow or by sword or by war or by horses or by horsemen.”
This was our text for yesterday’s sermon. We have started a new series out of the book of Hosea, “Faithfulness to an Unfaithful Bride.” In the book of Hosea, we see lessons on grace – sometimes in the most vivid and graphic imagery.
The first lesson on grace – “God’s grace is an extension of His power.”
He was not going to save Judah through their strategic planning, nor by their might. We believe that the prophecy refers to 2 Kings 18, when the Assyrians come knocking on the door of Judah wanting them to surrender.
God’s promise – salvation would come through the “LORD.” In 2 Kings 18-19, we see “the angel of the Lord” visit the Assyrian camp and 185,000 soldiers are killed during the night. Many believe this is a Chrisophony, an appearance of Christ in the Old Testament. If that is true, Hosea marks an important prophetic moment – He is declaring the salvation of Christ, fulfilled momentarily and promised in the future incarnation of Christ for you and me.
The salvation of Judah was by the power of Christ…my salvation today is by the power of Christ (1 Corinthians 1).
So it got me thinking…if GRACE is an extension of God’s power, does that explain why it is so difficult for mortal men like me? In other words, is it unnatural to show grace? Is it difficult to show grace? Does it require supernatural power to show grace? Is the act of showing grace an act of supernatural power within me, through the indwelling Holy Spirit?
To answer these questions and the many more, I thought about a New Testament question…
Peter, the leader among the apostles, asked a really difficult question in Matthew 18:21; one that took some real guts to even ask. One of those questions you know was on everyone’s mind, but nobody was willing to ask – “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”
Many have heard this sermon enough to know that Peter thought he was being gracious in asking if the requisite offering was seven times. The law did not require such forgiveness. Peter thought he would be rewarded for his abundance of grace…Jesus said, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
But Jesus was not done…He continued with a parable – an illustration to teach a kingdom truth. In the parable, there is a master who comes to settle some debts with his servants. One of the servants owed him “ten thousand talents.” To understand the debt, a “talent” was about 20 years wages (approximately $1.2 million in today’s currency). This servant owed 10,000 “talents” – $12,000,000,000 in today’s currency!!!! That’s a lot of moula…
Having no ability to pay, the master orders for the man’s family be sold into slavery. Obviously beside himself, the servant begs for mercy and promises to repay every last dime. The master responded by releasing him and “forgave him the debt.” That word “forgave” is important – it means the master no longer required payment, it was erased, it was covered, it was considered good, etc.
You know what happens next…the same servant goes to one of his fellow servants who owes him 100 “denarii” (about a single day’s wage) and demands payment. When this servant could not produce what was owed, he had him thrown into prison. The master discovers the blatant hypocrisy and throws the one forgiven into prison.
Then, Jesus connects the story to you and me – “So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.” Jesus will not take kindly to those who have been forgiven much, unwilling to forgive so little.
Let me stop at this point and exercise a word of caution – some misinterpret “forgiveness.” They assume that means “everything goes back to normal.” While the text doesn’t explicitly state this, there is a plethora of New Testament witness to confirm that is not the intended meaning of forgiveness. The master forgiving the servant did not mean he gave him another $12,000,000,000 and hoped for the best…maybe even the opposite – he was “released” (verse 27). Obviously, his being released considers the jailers, but it may refer to his position as well. In verse 17 of the same chapter in Matthew, Jesus instructs the church to release the one who will not repent of his sin – this does not mean they are not to forgive them. “Forgiveness” is a willful act of not needing recompense, payment, or restoration for a wrong.
Several years ago, I worked with an erring brother who had a major sin with money. He defrauded people he loved and it was devastating for him personally and his victims. One by one, I watched as his friends forgave him of the sin. It was one of the great blessings of my ministry to watch such reconciliation. But…we didn’t turn around and make him chairman of the finance team. To do such, would not have been fair to him or the church – it would have set him up for failure and the church for criticism. But we still FORGAVE…
Back on topic…the foundation of Peter’s question is “How much grace is too much grace? When do I draw the line? When do I stop bestowing forgiveness?” Jesus’ answer was eleven times whatever Peter thought was too gracious…in other words, ‘You never stop offering grace.’
In his parable, I’m pictured as the one who was forgiven $12,000,000,000 – that point is clear by his concluding shot. I’ve been forgiven a lot, so I better forgive a lot.
But that is hard…maybe even impossible.
Christ – pictured as the master – He’s powerful enough to forgive all my faults. After all, if the master has $12,000,000,000 to entrust to a single servant, he probably has more where that came from. Did it hurt to forgive that amount? – Undoubtedly! In order to forgive me, the Father crucified His Son. Forgiveness is EXPENSIVE!
But it’s not hard for us to imagine the Master’s ability and unlimited resources…He’s got enough grace for the world!
In order for me to forgive, I have to give something of myself…I don’t have unlimited resources like the Master.
Why is grace difficult? – Because I don’t have enough…because my resource is limited…because I’m not God.
But…if God’s grace is an extension of His power, WHEN I BESTOW GRACE TO ANOTHER, I AM TAPPING INTO HIS RESOURCES – WHAT HE HAS INVESTED IN ME.
That’s why we are most GODLY when we bestow grace – we are tapping into the investment Christ has made in us.
In short, grace is difficult…and grace is godly.