A touch of scandal

Reconciliation: I believe in the forgiveness of sins

Last week, in our study of the Sermon on the Mount, we considered this passage:

5:31 It hath been said, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: But I say unto you, That whosoever shall put away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, causeth her to commit adultery: and whosoever shall marry her that is divorced committeth adultery.

After a brief explanation (of a passage that seems rather straight forward), I said,
“as we look at 31-32, it seems to me that there are questions that need to be asked, such as,
Is there ever forgiveness for people who divorce and re-marry? or are they always to be counted and considered adulterers?
How do we avoid permissiveness (Do whatever you want and we'll just forgive it and act like it never happened)? On the other hand, How do we avoid condemning people to permanent 2nd class status?
Is there forgiveness with God for these people?”

I just wanted to introduce these questions as seed for thought and did not intend to seek to come to an answer in our study time. I had good reasons for this. But after our study I did discuss these very questions with a few people. And since then, I have thought about it quite a bit.

So, Is there ever forgiveness for people who divorce and re-marry? For Christians who divorce and remarry? I believe the answer is, Yes. Jesus did not come to bind people up in sin and thus to forever be out of favor with God. No, He came to reconcile us to God, to restore us to favor and fellowship with God. And how is a person who has sinned and fallen out of favor with God to be reconciled? Through the forgiveness of his sins. And how does this person receive the forgiveness of these sins? Through the confession of these sins, through repentance, and turning back to the Lord. Amen.

Now the question for us is, What do we do with these people? Do we forgive them too? The answer has to be, Yes. How can we who have been forgiven do anything less? Is this not the fruit of reconciliation to God, reconciliation with one another? How will it work amongst us, this reconciliation? I believe in much the same way. Those who have fallen into sin should return to us and confess their sin; then we examine them to see if they have repented and returned to the Lord. If they have confessed their sin to us and truly repented, we forgive them! And what is forgiveness? Is it not the releasing of that person from any and all debt to us for their failure? This is a huge step and is the key to reconciliation. I say it again, in another way, there can be no reconciliation without forgiveness.

How do we avoid condemning people to permanent 2nd class status? By forgiveness and reconciliation.

Ah, How do we avoid permissiveness? You know, Do whatever you want and we'll just forgive it and act like it never happened. Is this not the very thing we are afraid of - If we forgive them, then others will feel free to do the same thing? And even worse, won’t this confirm our fears that they will have somehow gotten away with something?

Is there not always a touch of scandal with God’s forgiveness? “How could God forgive such a person??” There’s always the thought, usually in the background, This will just encourage them. No. God forgives the sinner and amazingly that cures the sinner! Even so we are to walk the same scandalous line and forgive the fallen who return.

But, won’t this mean they will have gotten away with it? In my discussions, one person offered this insight, “It’s almost like we wish we could have done whatever they did.” Gotten away with it? This is controlled by two giant ifs

IF they are children of God, trust me, they didn’t get away with anything! Oh, they did the deed, but the wilderness they walked through, you just don’t know! And the things they lost, some of which they can never get back, who but the fallen and restored can tell? (I’ve written about this before )

and

IF there is a day of reckoning, then they will give an account of their life.


I believe God forgives sins; even the sins of believers; even the sins of believers who should have known better. When we fall, if we will return to the Lord, He will forgive and restore us to favor and fellowship. And when brothers or sisters who have fallen return to us and confess their sins, we are to forgive them and be reconciled with them, even when their sins are great and grievous. And when the world asks us, “How can you forgive so-and-so?” Our answer will always and forever be, “It’s the love of God! I can do no less!” Amen.

we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son