8/23/2020 - Forgiven Much?

of my heart

Oh, yeah is my song. Imagine in your mind a sinful woman, whatever that means to you at someone who has a reputation of thin. That's the text that we're dealing with this morning the the religious people in contrast do or versus the sinful woman and sonar time. Maybe you will imagine a working girl at prostitute or a pornstar or maybe you imagine someone who is living a life of sin shacking up with their boyfriend sleeping up with their boyfriend outside of the the confines of marriage and everyone knows it or maybe this is a woman who is unfaithful to her husband and everyone knows it but her husband and so when she walks around she carries this reputation of the easy girl the promiscuous girl The Working Girl The Prostitute the pornstar whatever it is in your mind. Once you have her in your mind reversed it to thousand years into a religiously conservative and strict culture. And that's the setting that our story takes place in Luke chapter 7 the last bit of Luke chapter 7 is what we're going to read this morning on the title of my sermon is forgiven much which is a question that he is posing to the religious people in response to the sinful woman because Jesus is a point is this when you realize how much you've been forgiven you stand to love Jesus more appropriately and so what we often do is we get so good at hiding our sins we pretend we're not that sinful. We will sit in Judgment of people who leave you as more sinful than us. And because we don't think of ourselves is not sinful. We don't love Jesus with the amount of love we could have if only we knew the amount of love it takes for God to Save someone like us so Luke chapter 7 we're going to begin in verse 30 something.

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him. Am I bending? This is a setup. They don't know about this guy. They've heard that he's a prophet they've heard he's this great teacher and they want to for him to to prove it but in their reservation, they invite him into their home, but they don't greet him the way they would invite and esteemed teacher or a good and faithful Rabbi. These religious people are already in Judgment of Jesus in the reason we know that is because when he walks into their home, they don't kiss his hand which is the customary greeting for someone you love and respect they don't offer him a basin of water to wash his feet. They don't call one of their servants over to wash his feet. And so not time. They were these open-toed sandals through unpaved roads that were dirty and muddy and you can imagine it all just switching between your toes and being gross and when you walked in the swan's house to dine they didn't have high tables where you hide your feet. They had these low tables and they would lay on the ground at the top. People and dime off of this table on a cushion until your feet were always out and exposed and so it was part of their tradition to wash their feet when they sat down to dine and yet Jesus is not treated like the esteemed guests. He's not offered a way to wash his feet. He's treated the way you would treat a commoner or a servant or someone like that. And so these religious Pharisees these people who know the laws they know God's commandment and they're so sure of themselves and so they take great pride and hubris and their ability to follow God's law and so did they see themselves as holy and they're not sure about this guy yet. So they invite him over to dine. And so it goes to the Pharisees house. He reclines up the table. You can imagine that sinful woman that I asked you to conjure up in your mind's hears about it. And here's the Jesus is in her Town dining with the religious people in so she does but no woman at that time is is supposed to do according to the standard of culture. We're going to see her do a lot of things that aren't against the Bible. It's just against what's culturally accepted at that time when she heard about it. She gets this Alabaster flask of perfume or ointment depending on your translation and standing behind him at his feet as she walks to the Pharisees how she goes into his home and inverse of 38. Here he is dining at the table. in the next

she comes up behind him and begins to wash his feet with the appointment with that with the perfume this very expensive vial of a perfume at you can imagine this maybe the perfume she would wear in her profession most most commentators would agree that when they acknowledge her as the sinful woman that that's a a euphemism of someone who has a lifestyle that is sinful so likely a prostitute or something of that sort. And so so this very well could be the perfume that she wears her very expensive way of enticing men and generating for herself at her lifestyle her income. And so she stands behind him and she begins to stop and cry and you can Imagine the amount of Tears it would take to cry enough to go to wash someone's feet with your tears. This is a woman who knows who she is. She knows what she's done. And here she is in front of the great teacher the great forgiver the one who speaks like no other the one who it's been said that if you could just Touch the Hem of His Garment your life would be forever changed and so here is he offers forgiveness and she begins to we for her sin. This is repentance and its purest form into the first thing we have to ask if it's who do I identify with most here? when someone comes up at the end of a sermon they confess their sins if they have been struggling. I need the help of the church. Ask yourself. Are you more likely to be the religious person sitting in judgment watching them going. I can't believe that person would do something like that. How dare they believe they would get caught up in that thin I thought they were better than that or you the kind of person that Grieves and cries over your own sin the way you know, that is ask yourself. When's the last time I shed a tear over the stuff? I do in secret that my church doesn't know about. When's the last time I'm grieved over my own thin and contrast of the Purity and righteousness of a holy God who forgives me of my bin. If you're not someone who Grieves over your sin, you may be the religious person in the story and just some foreshadowing for you. If you're the religious person in the store, you don't come out looking good. And I know that's the religious person's gold religious people want to go to church. They want to look holy they want to be perceived as righteous their way of inviting people to church and if you come to church you can look as clean and his polish and his professional as me and so you can hide all of your sins and everyone's going to think you're this good Christian and you'll get these social points among your religious community for being the holy person for being the good example for being the role model and so religious people by Nature wants to come out looking clean and what you see all throughout the Gospel of Luke. Is it is Austin Jesus vs religion? Very often it's the religious people who come out looking bad at the end of Luke's telling of these stories. You don't see it written the other way. Okay, if you are someone who you come here not because of your faith in Jesus, but because of your hope in the laws of Jesus the Commandment keeping and just following religion. So if you're one of those people who like I see myself as a good Christian, so I go to church cuz that's what good Christian do you don't come out of the store looking good? Okay, it keeps going She cries on his feet. I heard one commentator make the observation that this is probably unexpected. You probably went there is some form of repentance but didn't plan on being as aggrieved by her own thin as she does in this is what happens the closer you get to God the more you realize how sinful you are and this commentator made the observation and said it's customary when you go to watch someone's feet that you would bring a towel and she had no towel with her. This was unplanned. This was a spontaneous response to being in the presence of God and some of you knows that some of you have gotten close enough to Jesus to know how sinful you are. And so she she gets in the presence of Jesus and she begins to weep do we can still watch his feet with her tears and not having prepared for this not having brought a towel. She undoes her hair something that is Taboo in that culture. So commentators have written that that would be like taking your shirt off in the presence of minute. You're a woman. It's just culturally taboo. You don't take your hair down in front of in the presence of men, especially in a room full of religious, man. Holy and respected religious men in their community at their private dinner. You come in and start letting your hair down. This isn't against the Bible that is absolutely against their norm and against their culture. She takes her hair down and she begins to wife and clean his feet with her hair. She is shamed. Feeling ashamed because of who she is and what she's done. She is grieved over the life that she's LED. She steals the full weight of her sins and she feels dirty and judged and put out and left out. And her response is to cry at the feet of her Savior and wipe his feet with her hair. She kisses his feet. She anoint them with the perfume. First 3901 the Pharisee who invited him saw this he sent himself. So this is an inner monologue that he's having and you could probably read it in the room. Just by the way. He looks at his other religious friend. So he looks around at all. These whole Leaf people all these religious law followers. He looks around a Gibson those eyes that lets everyone knows what he's thinking this man calls himself a prophet and doesn't even know the kind of person that's touching his feet it if he knew if he really knew who she was she wouldn't let someone like that touch him very often in our church culture. This is what we do you come here you behave you dressed the part you played the part and you keep all that inside because the moment you left that out you feel judged by the religious people around you. Play like we don't deal with that kind of sin. Is there certain sins in the church that just had this stigma about them where you can deal with any other kind of send bring it to us. We love you. We accept you. But if it's that person certain Thins. We won't even touch you. If you even knew what that person got up to. You wouldn't even touch him. That's his Pharisees mindset and he thinks he's right to think that way. Believe me. There's people sitting in the pews around us who also think it's right to think that way. So Jesus response proving that he is a Prophet by the way, not only does he know her not only does he see her sin and love her but he knows the thoughts of the man who invited him to dinner as well. And so he said Simon I have something to say to you.

This is a public review gazelle church discipline works right now. We should probably do this more often. But this is this is how it how it's supposed to work is that if your problem if your issue if it's a theological issue if it's a behavioral issue when it becomes a public outspoken problem. It gives a public outspoken response that the elders read a statement the preacher preaches something about it or Jesus just looks across the table and said listen this can't wait till after dinner. I've got something to say to you in the presence of your buddies right now. And so he says I've got something to say to you said say it teacher It's at the starting money lenders. The parable had two debtors OneNote 500 dinar on the day's wage the other 50. When they cannot pay he canceled the debt of both which one of them loves him more and this guy knows the answer. He says the guy with an extra zero behind is that the one I suppose for whom he canceled the larger it says you've judged rightly. And then turning toward the woman he says this time and do you see this woman? He's about to make the one yet. You get the idea right when you know how big your debt is but when you understand I've got to spend that so big that no matter long keeping on my church attendance and no matter how much I put in the collection plate. None of that overcomes the amount of disappointment. I should be in the eyes of God. I've got to send that bigger than I can pay and Jesus Paid it anyway when you realize that when you understand that your love should overwhelm you it should have bound you should become one of those people that can't help but talk about Jesus to your neighbor because you know, how much do uses loves you to forgive someone like you and in response you love him all the more No, I'm not saying that if you want to love Jesus more you should spend more. I don't think that's the answer that's been taught through this text incorrectly. That's one of the problems. The reason I'm preaching this every one of our members sent me a message and was like, hey, why doesn't anyone ever preached this since I was like, I'll preach it and getting into it. This is one of the reasons answer that question. This is one of the reasons why people don't preach it cuz there's a couple of theological issues here. And this is number one is that if you reason this out to its extreme, it's the kind of this idea that you're telling me that if I just spend more than Jesus will forgive me more and then I love him more. It isn't that the answer and I would say no, but there's a lot of ways that Jesus will reveal his mercies to you and your life and whatever it is for you whether you're one of those people that God has forgiven so much more than the person next to you and because of that, you know him and you love him so much more. Amen. Weather for someone who God has had to strengthen you more than the person next to you. But like for whatever reason they've been able to Coast but you've been through tough season after tough season after tough season will do you not love him or will you not trust them more when you not learned to lean into him with every tough season and every storm that comes in so you can ask this a lot of ways. I've said many times one of the greatest feelings as a Christian. Is studying with someone and leading them to Christ? I don't even have no idea. Why not every Christian is out there making disciples. If you only knew the amount a joy it is to know that for whatever reason God spoke into someone else's life and used you floss then for you as the vessel by which to do that. What an amazing feeling it is to lead someone into the Waters of baptism. So I have to imagine that the disciple makers in our church know Jesus and love Jesus and a way that the people who don't make the Seibel just don't yet because the more they do in the more God pours out his mercies and enables them to do by his strength and not their own the closer they will grow damn. So whether it's tough season, whether it's fruitful Seasons or whether it's just the sheer amount of sins that God has had to forgive in your life the more God works in your life, the more our love abound for him. The love we have for God is the result for the mercy he shows Russ I've had the honor the the undeserved honor to have taken more than a hundred people less than 200 people into the Waters of baptism in the 16 or 17 years. I've been a Christian. And every one of them this is amazing feeling of God. Look at what you do to sinful people like me. Look at how they come out of the water being made a new creation being washed whiter than snow being a wash clean and being purified of their sins and God somehow you chose me as the person to get to be involved in that what a blessing it is and I love and rejoice. In response to that but I can't imagine don't like my father-in-law who's baptized over a thousand people which is insane to even just mathematically think about that, but that's something he wouldn't tell you but it's true. Is that size over a thousand people? That's hard to understand why he loves. His Heavenly Father the way he does cuz God has poured out Mercy's in his life that he has been able to have incredibly fruitful seasons for God. So whatever it is for you, whatever God's doing in your life. However, you receive the mercy of God. So maybe God is calling you to seek and save the lost and every time you do that you love. A little bit more because you see his mercies poured out or maybe you're one of those people who everyday you wake up in pain physical pain or emotional pain and it's only by the mercies of God the outpouring of his grace you get through the day and maybe your day is just tougher than mine is do you not learn to love and appreciate God more or maybe you're one of the 500 since people. And you're one of those people like the sinful woman that everyone here knows what you've done. Maybe one of those people who you've left churches before when they found out about your reputation and you know, you don't have the clean Christian upbringing the way other people do that. You've done some stuff you've been in some stuff and you carry some sin regret that just weighs on you and when you find out that you're not the fifty-cent person you're the 500th in person and yet God loves you and washes you clean does your love for him not abound. So I guess this Parable he says which one of these people are going to love me more. He says it's the one with the extra zero behind it. The one who you've forgiven more. And so he says do you see this woman? Even my religious people don't not the way Jesus season. Religious people sees what they've done wrong religious people see their sin. They see the reasons they don't fit in with them while they're not really welcome and their household and yet Jesus sees her in her shame in her humility in her repentance and her grace. And her beauty he sees her any invites the Pharisee to see her like that. Do you see this woman?

This is how I see her when I came into your house you gave me no water for my feet. She wet my feet with her tears. She wipe them with her hair you gave me no kiss. But from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You didn't anoint my head with oil. She's annoyed in my feet with perfume or with ointment. Therefore I tell you her sins, which are many. are forgiven

appraising so interesting to me. Did he have to add in The Witcher mini part? Just turn the knife us you're sitting there trying to repentance. I think you did but there's this belief in our culture right now that you have to accept my sin in order to forgive me of my sin. You see that like like it if the church really knew what I got up to they wouldn't accept me and I can't worship a god like that. I can't worship a God who who won't accept me for who I am and therefore forgive me for who I am notice. He doesn't excuse her sin. How do you make snow with it and look we know we know the statistics that the likelihood that someone who grows through this kind of Life the one who's turning tricks for money or someone who's giving themselves up at physically in order to be provided for some way whether that's the the girl and a Loveless marriage who's sleeping with her husband because he's wealthy or whether that's the prostitute on the street corner. It's the same thing in two different versions, but we know that people who come up and go through that very often get there through a life of abuse. some sort of physical or sexual abuse that have put them in this broken State Were Somehow they defined their sense of beauty and self-worth by the way, they can serve and there's a lot of kids here. So I mean we don't have our kids children Church going on. So let me be very careful.

We know that the life that she is the past that she is on she got there very likely through some some sort of Brokenness and it would be in our nature wouldn't it to make excuse for who she is and make excuses for her sins. What now? Is that what we do? We wish you can't help it. It's the way she was raised. She doesn't know any better. Jesus says her sins which are many I'm not making excuses for him. I'm not setting on the side. I'm not pretending they don't exist. I'm not expecting her to hide it those are our sins, but they're forgiven.

I think we can be hard to tell. I mean are my best friends? I've known him the majority of my life one of my best friends. I just put a post on Instagram is it's on Instagram. So it's public so I can say it. I'd supposed of him sitting across the table from his wife next to his boyfriend. And the thing about this friend is I mean, he's got a degree in biblical studies. He he's lived a life. That's holier than mine. Let like his desire to seek and obtain Holiness in the eyes of God has always transcended mine. So he doesn't talk the way guys talk. It doesn't make the jokes that guy so he doesn't watch the stuff that you probably watch because that's all you know is wrong and sinful in in his eyes and I've never understood like why do you carry this guilt and shame don't you know, you're forgiven. Why is it weigh you down? What why can't you just accept the grace and beef who you are and it turns out the reason he's carried the shame his whole life is because he's never talked about who he feels he is. He didn't it. His whole life from the church. So I made this posting look on. I'm not going to hide the fact that I'm gay anymore. This is who I am. For the first time I understood the shame that he's carried his whole life that that I couldn't ever get like like, why do you get so bent up about the small trivial things don't you know, God loves you and God accept you in the whole time in his mind. He's thinking God doesn't accept me. I don't know that he does if what this religion teaches is what the religious people tell me is true. Then he doesn't accept me because of who I am. He's somewhere. We started teaching that God has to accept your sin in order to forgive you of your sin. And so it's either these religious people except me, or I hide it. I don't talk about it. I certainly don't confess it and I try to pretend it's not there. It's one of the other either you accept it or I hide it. And Jesus says know your sins are many. I don't think excuse for that. I don't set that aside. I don't accept this thin your sins are many but you're forgiven. That's what the religious people can't do. The religious people will always look at people like that. Look at people with a certain spin type. That just doesn't fit in well in their church and say I don't accept you. You're not forgiven. You're not welcome. Jesus says your sins are many. The Unforgiven forgiven all that guilt and all that shame that cause you to come in here and cry at my feet because of the things you've done because it seems you've thought because of what you struggle with because of the things you hide from your religious friends all of that guilt and shame you're forgiven.

he says

I tell you her sins, which are many are forgiven for she loved much. It's the other reason people don't teach this text is because it's hard to understand that word for this is one time where the New International Version will give you a big help. So The New American Standard I'm reading from says her sins, which are many have been forgiven. This is the ESV here up on the screen. For she loved much and Ivy says as her great love has shown. Our sins are forgiven. Even though they're many as her great. Love has shown. I think that's the correct idea this word for here. If you will nerd out with me for a minute anytime you see the word for in scripture. It's making an argument for something on the basis of something else and it's either causative or evidential. I don't want to spend time explaining it. Let me explain it real quickly. So if we say let's think of something silly and not true. So if I say Andrew is the greatest preacher in town, so we are not true. I'm flattered by like the two people here that may think that but it's so, you know Andrews the greatest preacher in town for he works really hard. I'm preaching good sermons or you can say Andrews the greatest preacher in town for he always preaches great sermons. Those are two different they sound similar, but the first one is is causative. The four is the cause right? He works really hard and therefore he does a decent job again, silly. Not necessarily true not always but that would be the cause right that be why the other one isn't the causes the evidence for right eye. I can hear a good sermon and therefore I've determined that that is evidence for him being this thing right? It's either positive. Ortho evidential anytime you see the word for in scripture. So zoned out yet. There's a reason I'm saying all of this you could read this and say if I love Jesus enough, he'll forgive me regardless of my sin. If I love him enough, you'll forgive me the cause of Jesus's forgiveness is base in the performance of my Act of Love towards him. That's the same authorities have and if I do enough if I worked enough if I show enough signs of love, then I'll get the Forgiveness of God and they get that from this idea that her sins are forgiven for she loved much more loving I am the more of God's forgiveness. I get listen, you can't be loving enough to earn the Forgiveness of God. It's just not true. It's just bad theology. You've got to send that bigger than you can ever repay and no matter how much you look like Jesus no matter how good you think you are. It's more likely your 500000 person then you are the 50s in person. There is not enough love you can show to ever earn the Forgiveness of God with the Love is Here is the evidence of being forgiven. The more God forgives me the more I love him. You want to let other people the more I look at the sinful people around me and I want them to know the love of God my love abounds for the almighty God who forgives me when I didn't deserve it because he forgave me and therefore the love I have for him is the evidence of being forgiven. I think of every grumpy religious person, you know are they grumpy aren't they? Aren't they? Usually just a little bit sour and they're usually mad at you because you're not as holy as them and I hope that there's people here is like it sounds like he's talking about me. I am I must be and you can even think that for a second that you're one of the grumpy religious people this sermon is for you. Okay, just. Forest distance for you. I want you to feel this because the religious people are sitting there mad that people aren't measuring up to their standards and Holiness and that we would dare allow sinful broken people into our church and dirty of their pristine image while the simple Bieber going. I just want Jesus when I look at what God has done for me The Mercy Seat showing the people I've been able to help because of the strength he provides when I look at the Forgiveness. I've been given despite not deserving it when I look at the the God who dated a strengthens my weary spirit so I can get through another. Hard time my love abounds for him. The love is always the evidence of having been forgiven. I wouldn't put a lot of weight in the words of cranky religious people. I would say wholeheartedly if you don't seem like a loving Christian, it may be that you haven't let God forgive you of your sin debt. Maybe it's because you're afraid God won't accept it. Maybe it's because you've been made to feel by the religious community that you've got to hide your sin debt. I would say. To my friend who's been a life of struggling with shame. Each of you who often feel like there's this bird and that you're not measuring up to who God is calling you to be I would say the same thing love him because you have been forgiven. If you want it, if you accept it, if you're ready to walk into his grace and accept the loving arms of a father who loves you because he sees you for who you are not because of the religious person. You're trying to look like And you feel that forgiveness. There is a love and a piece that you get to walk in that will carry you through all of the times you feel judged by the religious people around you.

He looks at her and he says. Your sins are forgiven.

religious people do what religious people do instead of repenting instead of feeling any of this. They put that wall up and instead of talking about how God works in people's lives instead of seeking to be the vessel that works in people's lives. They just sort of Stark reasoning out theology is never religious people do Like living there are people in your church that are always critical about how you do ministry and they never actually get around to doing any Ministry why they're not blessing people. They're not changing people's lives and they're just mad at the wrong way. They think you're doing it. You know what I'm talkin about. I preach a sermon and they would never receive it. They don't want the message they will do all they want to do is point out every wrong thing. I do right by the way. I'm not taking on any one here. I don't get a lot of that here, or maybe I do maybe it's on my unanswered voicemail. I don't know but I've been I or maybe our elders are are really good about shielding me from that junk right cuz I'll tell you cuz if you complain to them, they're going to be like just go talk to them and then you go. I don't want to do that and I like great ends right there, which I'm very happy about so it's so maybe I get it but to my knowledge, I don't get any of that. I don't feel that but I know a lot of people Step out to do ministry and the whole time they're going man. I'm getting like shoot out and look down on and and talked down to by these religious people who seem to have a better idea of how to serve Jesus and yet they never get around to serving Jesus. These are people who have not serve Jesus they didn't wash his feet. They didn't show any care for him. They didn't kiss his hand when they walked through the door, but they're ready to talk about so they say, Inverse 49 then those who are at the table with him begin to stay among themselves as what they do. Who is this who even forgive sins? And so he turns and he says this woman your faith has saved you go in. Peace.

Did anyone here who identifies as the religious person? And I would encourage you to I would encourage you to read this story and ask yourself at and I know I don't want to be and I know I'm going to try hard not to see it. But am I am I the religious person do I put up these These Walls into being accepted in my church in my life group in my people group like you got to look a certain way. You got to dress a certain way. You got to act a certain way. You got to say the right words are performed the Rite ritual or or be a certain amount of religious and order to really fit in with my church family if that's you you're the religious person. And you're the religious person lesson. You see this woman? The many like them in our church. the broken people Who wants so badly to take all of their guilt and all of their shame and lay it at the feet of Jesus? And yet may not because of the judgmental eyes of people like us other religious community that have taught them that we don't do that here. If you're the religious person will you look at this person and see her? See the mini like her the broken sinful people that sit around you every Sunday morning not because you've been good to him. But because Jesus loves them and because of that they love Jesus.

Maybe we need to be talking to her all of you to go on the 500s in person. I've got some stuff in my closet that I've been forbidden to talk about in my church Community amongst my religious friends. There's been seasons in my life where I carried the reputation of the sinful woman. I'm one of those people that what I deal with you don't even know about until the shame and guilt. I carry you can't even understand and listen it might be true. I spent my whole life looking at my buddy not understanding why he carries the shame that he carries and so I know it's absolutely possible that you carry a shame that I don't relate to that that I have a hard time wrapping my head around so I'm sitting here going just to just accept Grace just love Jesus. Isn't this awesome and you're sitting here feeling weighed down and bogged down by your Spin. And so if that's you if you're coming here this morning with any guilt and any shame that you haven't measured up to the person that the church expects you to be or that God is calling you to be I would say the same words that Jesus says put your faith in him and go in. Peace. There's a promise of future. Peace. But the president pardon of God's grace you get that you go to him with all the sin debt and all the bag and he says that's in your past because of the present tense. Pardon. I'm ready to forgive you right now and my forgiveness doesn't stop here. It's not just for giving you of yesterday's then. This is a forgiveness with a promise of I forgive you forever your entire send that the stuff you haven't even thought about doing yet that I already know you're going to do I forgive you you can go in future. Peace. There's anyone here this morning. Is anyone watching online? If your way down by the shame of your sin debt doesn't peace sound good. They're not what you're after. I hate. Can you can you just think for just a moment of what would it be like to get this burden off of me to get this shame away from me and just rest not in the security of the approval of religious people but in the grace and forgiveness of Jesus Christ dated and died for my sins, he died for my sins. So when he looks at me and says despite you despite your many sins, which are many are forgiven. I love you love me but your faith in me and go in. Peace. If there's anyone here this morning looking for peace ready for peace. I would encourage you to come talk to us. Pray to Jesus. Let us pray with you. Let us study with you. If you're ready to come up out of the Waters of baptism as a new creation we want you to do that. We want to walk you through that if there's anyone feeling weighed down by their sin and you're ready for peace. Jesus loves you put your faith in. You can come forward right now This Together We Stand and sing.