Sermon Tone Analysis

By Pastor Glenn Pease

Some amazing things have happened to dead people.

Frank Hayes was a horse trainer who wanted to be a rider, and even though he was over the hill, one day and owner gave him a chance to ride in the Belmount Park Steeplechase.

He would ride Sweet Kiss, and this would likely be his only chance in life to win a race.

He rode like a mad man, and led the pack in the 2 mile course for the first mile.

In the second mile the favorite began to gain, and in the home stretch they were neck and neck.

It was now or never, and both horse and rider gave it all they had, and Sweet Kiss, the 20 to 1 underdog won by a length and a half.

Frank Hayes had won the race of his life, but he never knew it, for he had a heart attack, and when he crossed the finish line, he was dead.

He won his only race after he was dead.

This victory after death is unusual, but even stranger things have happened to dead people.

Thaddeus Stevens, a fiery Civil War Congressional leader from Pennsylvania died at age 76, just two and a half months before the next election.

He was a foe of slavery, and so well liked that even though he was dead they left him on the ballot.

His opponent made a joke out of voting for a corpse for congress, but he won the election by a great majority.

It happened in the Senate too, when Texas Senator John Wilson died two months before the election, but was reelected by 66% of the vote.

You can be dead and still make it into the House or the Senate.

The famous Confederate General Robert E. Lee died as a man without a country.

He had sent an oath of allegiance to the Constitution to President Johnson, which was a requirement for a special pardon.

But it was lost, or misplaced on purpose.

He died never regaining his citizenship in the United States.

A century later the oath was found, and in 1975 Congress reinstated Lee as an American citizen.

He became a citizen a century after he died.

We could go on and on, for there is a vast history of things that happened to people after they were dead, even on this earthly and historical plain of events.

The Bible itself has quite a list of examples, with the appearance of Samuel to Saul after his death; the appearing of Moses and Elijah on the Mt. of Transfiguration, and the number of resurrections of the dead with the climax of Christ's resurrection, and His ministry to His disciples before His ascension.

The biography of no person is necessarily over just because of death.

It is a landmark event in every life, to be sure, but it does not mean the end.

For Jesus, death was just the beginning of the universal impact of His life.

By His death He purchased the potential redemption of all men.

It was only after His death that Jesus could enter heaven as the intercessor for all men.

The majority of the work of Christ has taken place after His death, and though we look back to the cross as the foundation for our forgiveness, we look to the living, resurrected, and reigning Christ for the forgiveness of our sin.

Jesus is forgiving us after His death, but the more problematical issue is, does Jesus forgive us after our death?

In other words, does death end our biography as far as the experience of forgiveness goes, or can we still be forgiven even after our death?

The reason I am interested in this question is because of an experience Lavonne and I had.

We were at a dinner theater, and had a delightful evening of music by Doug Oldham.

While we ate and conversed with the ten people at our table, one of the ladies expressed a theological opinion.

She felt that if a Christian did not love everyone, and died in that state, they would not be forgiven for their sin, and they would be lost.

She was not talking to us at the time, but to others at the table, but we could not help hearing.

We were amazed that a Christian woman could come to such a conclusion, and I wondered how many other Christians might have this idea, which makes salvation extremely precarious.

Few, if any, could be saved if they had to be perfectly loving before they died.

Paul was still pressing on to this goal when he died, and the poor thief on the cross only had a few minutes to become perfect before he died.

It is hard to believe that this man loved those who were crucifying him, yet he entered into the kingdom that very day.

Peter was certainly not ready to die in our text, for he thought that after 7 times of forgiving he could cease, and be unforgiving and revengeful.

The point I am making is that nobody dies with all of their sin conquered, and so if sin cannot be forgiven after we die, then nobody can be saved.

Moses died under the judgment of God, and he was punished by not being allowed to enter the promised land.

But after his death God forgave Moses, and permitted him to enter the promised land, for he came with Elijah to talk to Jesus about his exodus he was to make on the cross.

The story of Moses was not over at his death.

His experience of God's grace was not cut off by the ending of his life.

He went on to greater grace after his death, and he illustrates that God's forgiveness is not just temporal, but it is forever.

The New Testament does not fall below this, but makes it clear that God's grace is greater than all our sin, even the sin we fail to confess, and take with us beyond the grave.

The idea that God will not forgive after death became a popular idea in the 4th century.

This led to Christians postponing their baptism until they were on their death bed.

That way they thought they could die free of all sin, and thus, be assured of salvation.

Constantine himself did this.

What this does is make salvation dependent upon the cleverness of man, rather than the grace of God.

This is a rejection of Christ's teaching that forgiveness is to be unlimited.

Before we focus in on our text, where Jesus teaches the concept of unlimited forgiveness, we need to see the stages of progression to reach this ultimate concept.

Harold Bosley in his book A Firm Faith For Today, deals with the four major answers men have given to the question, how shall I react to someone who has injured me?

This is the issue that Peter brings before the Lord, and here are the answers of men.

I. THE FIRST ANSWER IS UNLIMITED VENGEANCE.

This is the opposite extreme of the answer of Jesus in our text.

The first answer is that of a barbarian who says, injure me and I will destroy you, your family, your tribe, your possessions, and even your sacred places and burial ground.

This is the ultimate in pride, for it says, I am a god, and if you injure me, you do not deserve to exist.

In Polynesia the natives use to keep bones and other gruesome objects hanging from their ceiling to keep alive their hatred and bitterness.

They fear the passing of time could cause their hatred to wane, and so they keep reminders before them to help them work up a frenzy of hatred for those the seek to destroy.

This is the satanic version of do this in remembrance of me.

If you keep symbols of your injury before you, you can keep your hate alive, and be ever in a state of vengeance ready to let your wrath fall.

There are many illustrations of this throughout history, and unfortunately, they are not limited to non-civilized, and non-Christian peoples.

This answer of unlimited vengeance is not obsolete, but is still being applied in our world today.

II.

THE SECOND ANSWER IS LIMITED VENGEANCE.

This is the view expressed by, "An eye for an eye and tooth for a tooth."

You put out my eye, and I respond with equal vengeance by putting out your eye.

However you injure me, I retaliate in kind and in similar measure.

You break my window and I break yours.

It is an advance over the first response of unlimited vengeance, for there is some degree of control.

The problem is, there is never an end to getting even, and so in the long run, the second answer leads to much the same end as the first.

Vengeance as a response to injury is just not very productive for either party in a conflict.

It never leads to peace, and that is why the Middle East is a perpetual war zone, for this is the answer they chose to follow.

III.

THE THIRD ANSWER IS LIMITED FORGIVENESS.

This is the answer that Peter comes to Jesus with in our text.

It is a whole new world from the other two, and a vast improvement over them.

Peter asked the question, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me?

Then he gives his own answer, hoping it would be confirmed by Christ.

His answer was, up to seven times.

This was an exceedingly generous attitude in comparison with the theology of his day.

Rabbi Haniman said, "He who begs his neighbor for forgiveness must not do so more than three times."

Rabbi Jehuda said, "If a man commits an offense, once they forgive him, a second and third also.

The fourth time they do not forgive."

Three strikes and your out was the standard of the day, and Peter more than doubled it.

Peter must have felt he was being super spiritual.

This was the very reasonable and common sense answer.

You must be patient with people, and put up with a great deal of their weakness, folly, and hostility, but there comes a point where you say, I have had it, and you blow your stack, and take vengeance.

This is where we live.

This is common sense living, acceptable to just about everybody.

Most would say Peter has gone to far, and after two or three times you should retaliate.

But this third answer would get the votes of the vast majority of people, including Christians.

It seems reasonable and practical.

Nevertheless, Jesus rejects it and gives us His answer.

IV.

THE FOURTH ANSWER IS UNLIMITED FORGIVENESS.