Grace, mercy, and peace
from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ… this is what our heavenly Father
gives through His dear Son. That is why we are here, to receive His gifts. We
gather to receive them as He has
promised to give them. So why the imperatives in this portion of Jesus’
discourse recorded by Luke? When you go home read the entire sermon Jesus
preached. Jesus speaks of blessings and then gives warnings, including these
imperatives… do this, do not do that. You Bible scholars know if you must do,
it is law and not gospel. If your actions are a necessary condition, it is law.
Imperatives are law, even if speaking about good things, as God’s law always
does.
As for the nature of these commands,
there is a context. What is the context? First, these imperatives are addressed
to those who hear him, that is, believe in Him (see verse 27). He is teaching
His disciples. He speaks the law to believers, to those who already know the
gospel – who trust not in the law but in Christ crucified. That fact helps us
understand how these imperatives connect to the following parables, to see the relationship
between law and gospel in the life of the believer. For example, you hear
“judge not but forgive” and then hear about the blind leading the blind. Those
statements are connected. We’ll see how
these dissimilar statements fit together as we consider the relationship
between the law and gospel.
Today’s reading starts with Jesus’
discourse about the Father’s mercy. And that is gospel. Then follows the command: Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful.
Again, this is addressed not to all people but to the faithful, to those who
believe in Christ and so rightly call God “our Father;” to those who have
received mercy. The command is given those who received the grace of God in
Christ Jesus. For those without grace, God is no Father but the Almighty,
distant, demanding, and condemning due to the law. And the unbelieving, those
fleeing grace, what does unbelief work in them?
Some run away from God. Some invent a god more accommodating, some do
all of that while trying to earn God’s favor, even his son-ship.
Silly humanity to think we can call
God “our Father” if we earn a right to be called sons. Who can earn son-ship?
Little Johnny likes his buddy’s dad better than his, and shows up at Mr.
Smith’s home. He washes the windows, though there are some smears. He mows the
yard, misses here and there and chops up a corner of the flower bed. He sneaks
inside to wash dishes but drops a cup or two. He jumps in a bed and yells,
“Dad, tuck me in!” And Mr. Smith says, “Isn’t it time to go home?” Johnny has to
leave, but the real son stays, even if he leaves a mess too. We don’t earn
son-ship. Further, we were born not into the kingdom of God
In the promise only, we see our Father
is merciful. He is, as the word mercy means, compassionate, full of heartfelt
sympathy. Mr. Smith may feel sorry for Johnny and may let him hang around until he reaches the limit, but
that’s it. But the heavenly Father sent His only Son to pay the price of our
adoption. He bought us back from slavery to sin. He is compassionate, deeply
caring for us. He adopted us. As adopted
by water and the word, and having received boundless mercy, we are commanded to be merciful. We need the command because it is not natural
to our sinful nature to be merciful… the old man still kicks against the new.
We still leave a mess. So the law addresses our failure to be merciful, and we
listen because being adopted, being born from above, something new stirs in us;
for we received mercy when we were baptized into Christ where we died and now
live. Believers buried in Christ’s death are given new life, so we,
simultaneously saint and sinner, learn to walk as saints.
The Holy Spirit worked a change in us
so that we too might be merciful, compassionate, full of sympathy as is our
Father. Yet because of the sin that
dwells in us, because of its blindness, hardness of heart, and so that we daily
repent, our Lord commands mercy. His command turns us to repentance, to confess
our lack of mercy. His command turns us to receive absolution, His forgiveness.
And absolution turns us to prayer, asking He work in our lives to create a
heart of mercy. In short, this describes the third use of the law, returning us
to the second use. And the second use of the law, the law driving us to
repentance, points us to the gospel, to the free gift of forgiveness, to the
righteous of Christ. There we are set free from the law’s condemnation. Then we
desire to please God.
This relationship between the law and
gospel is true for the next imperative: Judge
not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned. The
word “judge” is judicial condemnation, rendering a verdict of “condemned!” The
second word, “condemn” includes the idea of passing sentence and punishing. Neither
imperative forbids discerning, distinguishing, discriminating, differentiating,
and determining. We are to do that. We live in a time where folks say “That’s
your truth, not mine, and don’t tell me what’s right and wrong.” “How dare you
say I’m accountable to God!” These imperatives about condemning and punishing
do not forbid doing what’s right, administering civil justice, or having common
sense. After
all, the church is commanded to judge doctrine. False doctrine cannot be
tolerated, nor impenitence accepted in the church. For example, Jesus commanded
the church to do what to the impenitent? The church pronounces the impenitent
as not forgiven, as being an unbeliever. That’s the office of the keys,
administered by the pastor, and includes warning those around us about the
realities of hell, a work of the law.
So how do these words about not
rendering judicial condemnation and punishment apply? The bottom line is how a
Christian regards a brother or sister in the faith. How do we treat each other
in view of the law and the gospel? While the law is applied for repentance, the
law is not the bottom line. The church is the community that believes Christ
justifies sinners, bottom line. So will the law or the gospel determine how we
view each other? If we choose to view
each other through the law, will that not lead to condemnation and sentencing?
But if we, the penitent, being forgiven, having received mercy, see each other
as those who are adopted into God’s household we will live in the liberty of
grace. Forgiveness is what naturally flows from being forgiven. That is the
bottom line. Yet Christ still commands, because we so often fail to live by
grace. The law threatens us, with the purpose of inciting a life of repentance.
Then the repentance, assured of forgiveness, rejoice in the life of Christ.
Forgive,
and you will be forgiven; give, and it will be given to you. Good measure,
pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for
with the measure you use it will be measured back to you. Forgive, that is,
acquit without penalty, dismiss the debt and set at liberty; for Christ has
done this for you and will continue to do this for you. You will receive in
good measure, shaken together, running over… and the grammar combines what
shall be ours with what was given all along. Those forgiven have been receiving
much and are promised much. What
naturally follows (natural to the Spirit of God in you)? The church of faith
lives in the Father’s mercies and Christ’s sacrifice. The justified are
regarded as righteous, which means forgiven. The fruit of that mercy is that
you, born from above, forgive.
What does it say in John 3: For God so loved the world that He sent His
only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have
eternal life. 17 For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the
world, but in order that the world might be saved through Him. 18 Whoever
believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned
already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God (Jn
3:16-18).
The justified see the world through
justification, through God’s forgiveness toward all. The justified see unbelief for what it is -
the refusal to receive forgiveness. That’s why unbelief is the only
unforgivable sin, impenitence being the manifestation of unbelief. That’s why
where there is faith in Christ, there righteousness dwells. For you are
declared righteous by Christ’s death, considered righteous by the Father.
Therefore, in the household of faith, we live not by the law’s condemnation but
by the gospel’s grace. We do not replace the gospel with the law, which is to
disregard Christ’s work, to not
forgive, to demand we please God by our efforts. Rather, the forgiven believer
considers those who profess the true faith as saints, and in that freedom love
and service grow as fruits of faith. Yet because of our imperfections, because
of the sin that dwells in us, the law still drives us to repentance. But the
law does not rule the church. It only rules the impenitent. Christ’s
imperatives lead us to repentance so that we live by grace through faith.
This is what connects Jesus’ teaching
to the following sayings. For example, Can
a blind man lead a blind man? Will they not both fall into a pit? The one
living under the law is blind and will fall into the pit of condemnation.
However, if we see by faith, under grace, we will see like Christ. Grace sees a
forgiven sinner. Grace sees this world’s most important event as Christ
crucified for sinners. Grace sees each believer in Christ, and we remind each
other of that fact. Consider this related saying: A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone when he is fully
trained will be like his teacher. As a negative example, to be like the
Pharisees or Sadducees is to live by the law. You’ll do what they did when bid
to grace… crucify the Lord of glory. Positively, if you receive your Father’s
mercy you will become merciful, forgiving one another, seeing each other as
Christ’s own, as saints.
This side of heaven there’s training:
He gives you crosses to bear, He gives His word for strength. He gives you His
very body and blood to eat and drink for forgiveness of sin. And He gives
imperatives for the sake of repentance: Why
do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log
that is in your own eye? How can you say to your brother, ‘Brother, let me take
out the speck that is in your eye,’ when you yourself do not see the log that
is in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and
then you will see clearly to take out the speck that is in your brother’s eye.
If you justify yourself by the law, you don’t dare look closely at your eye,
although everyone else’s gleam with failures.
For example, when Johnny gets his
driver’s license he does what his dad does, and swears at the car that pulled
in front of him. Too bad Johnny didn’t signal at the four-way stop, and was a
bit early off the gun. He didn’t notice that. He soon noticed the blue lights
behind him though… the rule of law is not the gateway to heaven although the
law is righteous and good. If we truly obeyed it, truly loved God and neighbor
heart and soul, we would enter. But we don’t so love. However, so that the
merciful God might be “our Father” He provided another way that is truly
righteous. He gave us His only Son, made man, crucified under our guilt and
shame. He died on the beam of the cross so that the beam may fall out of our
eye.
That explains the imperatives, calling
us to repent lest we fall under the law’s condemnation and domination. Therefore,
we come not to be condemned, but to receive the gifts that reconcile us with
God as Father. We gather to receive them as He has promised to give them. We
gather asking they transform us into the likeness of Christ. We gather to hear
again, “you are forgiven, justified, called saints by grace.” We gather to
bless the Lord by saying “thank you!” We
have heard the imperatives calling us to repentance, we confessed our sins, we
were absolved, we pray to do well, and above all, we live by grace through
faith. Grace, mercy, and peace is what
our heavenly Father gives through the Lord Jesus Christ. That is pure gift. He
is and remains merciful toward you.
The peace of God which
passes all understanding keep your heart and mind in Christ Jesus our Lord (Amen)
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