Last time we explored forgiveness — or the lack thereof — and its relationship to our personal walk with Jesus (The Heart Of The Matter- Part 1). When we are walking around with un-forgiveness in our heart we affect our relationship with Jesus in many ways: it can make us weak, cause us to lose the support of others, limit our prayer life and result in our drawing away from not only Jesus but His body of believers.
We know in our heart the answer is to forgive, but it’s our fleshly self-interests and pride that keep us from forgiving. As a result we find ourselves between a rock and a hard place; following God or our flesh. If we want to avoid that position then perhaps there are some things to consider in the Word of God that were designed to keep us out of the problem altogether. Let’s look at just 3 things that will keep us in fellowship with a forgiving heart.
Walking in fellowship is very pleasant experience but we all have experienced those times when we have walked out of fellowship — boy is that ever uncomfortable. You are forced to go somewhere with someone that you don’t even want to be with, let alone talk to. That’s not the kind of walk Enoch had and it isn’t what God has in mind for us; with Him or our brothers and sisters in Him.
Fellowship in the Greek (koinonia) means in communion with another. Just like we have communion with Jesus we are supposed to walk with Him in the same way; intimately. Let’s explore this concept of walking in communion together and see what it involves. The first ingredient is the most obvious; love.
Walk In Love
Eph 4:2-3 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. 3. Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
Notice the virtues mentioned in verse 2. They can only come from the Spirit of God within us. The first two, humble (lowly) and gentle (meek), go absolutely cross-grain to our flesh and pull at every natural tendency within us. Paul then shows us how to employ these virtues in our daily lives; with patience (longsuffering) and bearing (forbearance) with one another in love.
Patience or longsuffering means to keep an even temperament under adverse conditions like personal conflict. We are to be patient with the faults and failings of other members of the body and be slow to anger. Each of us has a different temperament and if we are to walk for any distance together these differences are guaranteed to show up. The best example of this is between a husband and wife as they grow and mature as two becoming one. They can choose to magnify each other’s imperfections or they can “forbear” (KJV) them.
To forebear means to bear with, endure or suffer. This most often involves those little things that are important to one and insignificant to the other. When there is no “forbearance” there is irritation and intolerance, which is manifested in faultfinding and a bad temperament. The answer, however, is to forbear in love. Remember that love is not a feeling but a choice; ergo we need to choose to forebear.
The love ascribed to here is agape, and as I’ve noted many times before, it only comes from God through the Holy Spirit released within us. We are reminded that others are required to bear with our faults in the same way and therefore the common bond of the “God kind of love” allows us to endure or suffer with one another. Then in verse 3 we see the purpose for exhibiting these virtues; unity.
It’s not possible for one person to maintain unity; that’s a challenge for all of us. In this context — making every effort — the word “endeavor” carries with it the implication of “diligence.” It’s not possible for the body to stay in unity without the Holy Spirit. He accomplishes this through the manifestation of these virtues in each member. Our part is to be diligent in our obedience to the Spirit as we interact with our brothers and sisters in Christ. With our hearts adjusted to each other in love we will see the unity that God desires for His children. When we are all filled with His love, joy and peace, the result is unity or oneness; un-forgiveness doesn’t find a seat at the table.
To put this in perspective, look at the audience Paul was addressing in Ephesus; converted Jews and Gentiles. They had each been brought up in a different manner, which was bound to result in conflict. If there were ever two that found it difficult to walk in fellowship it was the Jew and the Gentile. The Jews came from a strong background of the law and the Gentiles from the perspective of grace. Here they were, all regarded equally in the eyes of God but not necessarily in the eyes of each other. That is why Paul encouraged them to exercise humility and gentleness in dealing with one another. To be patient with one another’s views by laboring together in God’s love. In this way they would all be working to keep unity within the body. That unity would be “bonded” or cemented by the Holy Spirit and the evidence would be peace within the body of Christ.
This message needs to be heard and headed by the body today more than ever. We all seem to have gathered into various corners with different beliefs and doctrines, which cause separation and division. Jesus is not coming back for a bride that is all divided and torn with confusion and dissention. This unity of Spirit has to come from within and not merely be a coat we put on before going to church. It has to come from the inside and be orchestrated by the Holy Spirit or there will not be the love of God that results in the “bond of peace.” And un-forgiveness will surely break that bond of peace.
Love is an integral part of our walk with the Lord. Both the Old and New Testaments contain many examples of men and women who chose to walk in love with their brothers and sisters. They were challenged and often failed but they knew the way back to unity always went through the door of forgiveness and repentance. When these two are wrapped up in God’s love, peace will always follow. It is His will for us to walk as one in love by the same Spirit, the same Lord and the same Father:
Matt 22:37-38 Jesus replied: “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38. This is the first and greatest commandment. 39. And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.”
Walk In Support Of One Another
Gal 6:2 Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.
In this letter to the Galatians Paul shows us the contrast between two approaches to the law. First we have the Law of Moses, which was described as a burden (Acts 15:10). It is described as a yoke, which the Jewish fathers couldn’t bear and neither can we. On the other hand, we have the Law of Christ, which is not a burden (1John 5:3). In Matt 11:30 Jesus tells us that His yoke is easy and His burden is light.
This follows along with the previous section in which we looked at “forbearing” one another in love. Rather than being selfish and ignoring each other’s burdens we are to come alongside like the Holy Spirit and help bear them up. Pastor Ray Bentley once painted a great word picture concerning Jesus’ yoke as described Matt 11:30. It was of an older ox being yoked with a younger one. The yoke of the older ox was made to carry the burden and the yoke of the young ox, was just designed to just keep it alongside. In that process the older one took on the workload and the younger one observed and learned. Jesus represents the older and wiser ox and He tells us to just come alongside because He is shouldering the entire burden and the yoke will not even chafe us. We can just walk alongside Him and learn.
We each have our own sins that are our own personal burden, and when we reach out to each other in love we are, in the same manner as Jesus, sharing one another’s yoke. In so doing our heavy burdens become lighter and easier to bear. When we do this we fulfill the “Law of Christ.” Let’s look at some scripture regarding His Law to get the full meaning and understanding (the emphasis is mine):
John 13:14 Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also should wash one another’s feet.
James 2:8 If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing right.
1John 4:21And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.
1Cor 12:26 If one part suffers, every part suffers with it; if one part is honored, every part rejoices with it.
1Cor 13:4-7 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Paul gave us such a wonderful example when he compared the church to the human body. If one part hurts the whole body hurts. Can you imagine stubbing your toe without any pain in your foot? The Law of Christ doesn’t allow for us to be critical of one another, to find fault or to take pleasure in another’s failings. If we are to attend to His Law then our actions necessarily include helping our brother pick up his load and encourage him with our words, deeds and prayers. Without a forgiving heart that won’t happen.
Going back to the first verse in this section (Gal 6:2) consider what Paul is saying. Since they desired the law then they should fulfill the Law of Christ. They had it in their hearts to be obedient to the law but being critical of a brother who failed to follow it was being judgmental. If we look at the following verse (3), we see the implication: for if a man think himself to be something, when he is nothing, he deceiveth himself. We are most deceived when we act out in judgment rather than reach out in love. They are mutually exclusive because we cannot love God without loving our brother (1 John 4:21).
If my toe hurts I can’t ignore the pain and continue on at full strength. I need to stop and address that pain right away or else limp along at something less than full potential. The body of Christ was not designed as a group of independent members; we are not to become Lone Rangers; divided and separated by un-forgiveness.
Walk In Confession
James 5:13-16 Is any one of you in trouble? He should pray. Is anyone happy? Let him sing songs of praise. 14. Is any one of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. 15. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up. If he has sinned, he will be forgiven. 16. Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.
If we consider James’ intent here we should note that he refers to 3 types of confession and prayer. The first in verse 13 directs us to pray for ourselves, the second in verse 14 directs us to have the ministers pray and the third is contained in verse 16 were we are told to pray for each other.
He did not tell us here to indulge ourselves in confessing our faults publicly or generally one to another. He did not refer, as some believe, to confessing our sins to a priest. Rather he is referred to confiding in one another that we may pray for the healing of each other’s faults. The word “sins” (faults in the KJV; hamartia) means those which are intentional and unintentional. This is an area in which men seem to fall far short of women. We need someone to whom we can be accountable for our spiritual growth and maturity. Women seem to be able to do this almost unconsciously. Perhaps it is because they are generally more in tune with their spiritual side than we men are. The Lord is faithful to establish that type of relationship if we will just ask Him. There is nothing more comforting than a fellow believer who is committed to pray for us in our times of difficulty.
James tells us that those effectual fervent prayers are powerful and unwavering. They are “energetic prayers” that have power. They aren’t prayers that just go through the motions but ones that come from the heart and are earnest and sincere; those of a righteous man. These prayers are the same whether they come from a minister, a brother/sister or ourselves. In all three cases the only requirement is that they come from a righteous man. These prayers availeth much or have great strength and prevail by overcoming resistance. Someone once said that prayer moves the hand that moves the world. Well, we certainly know that if anything moves the hand of God it is a simple, earnest and fervent prayer.
We can’t control God or dictate to Him but we are told to ask Him, in which case He has said that those prayers may effect much. An old Hebrew axiom says “the prayers of the righteous are short” — there may be some real truth there.
If you are not in a relationship of accountability with a trusted believer I would strongly urge you to ask the Lord to lead you to someone. We simply weren’t made to walk through this life and carry all of our burdens alone. God will be faithful to bring us someone to stand with us in our struggles and we will stand with them. Remember that this is not a substitute for casting our cares upon Him (1 Pet 5:7) but rather it is a way for God to minister His love and mercy to us through another.
And that brings us full circle back to the key element in a successful walk with our Lord and in our ability to forgive others; servant hood.
The secret to being able to Walk The Walk is to choose to be the servant. That decision moves us, as Oswald Chambers said, from being mastered to having a master. That decision opens the door for us to find out what God’s Perfect Will for our life is, opens our ears to hear His voice and “know that we know,” gives us the heart to walk in fellowship with Him and to walk with Jesus as Lord of All. What more could we want or ask for?
To know who we are, whose we are and for what purpose we were created; it doesn’t get any better than that. In my life I have found that the “step to servant hood” carries with it many benefits, most of which were never even expected. I could probably make a list that would run on for several pages but perhaps the two that top my list would make the point; peace and joy.
As I have walked through this world both with and without my Lord these two fruits of the Spirit have had an all-encompassing place in my life. They truly are what the world is looking for and chasing hard after, with the added covering of love. Since I made the decision in my heart to put my ear to the doorpost and have the Lord place His mark in my ear, I have found peace and joy much easier to take hold of. They just seem to be part of this thing called servant hood. I have learned that when they are not present it only takes a brief look at my servant’s heart to find them. Without a doubt I have allowed myself to slip into the “being mastered” role by siding with my flesh in some area. And at the end of the day, one of those areas we all have to deal with is un-forgiveness.
But there is a vaccine available to keep us from getting this sickness. It’s a mixture of many things, but none more potent than love, supporting one another and walking in confession — just three key ingredients in a recipe for walking in peace and joy with Jesus and our fellow man. They will go a long way in keeping forgiveness in the picture.
After all, isn’t that The Heart Of The Matter?