“Christian Resolutions_2020, Part 24” by Romans
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We are continuing our Series on what I have come to call, “Christian Resolutions,” and an offshoot Study of their Foundation and Manifestation: The Fruit of the Spirit. We have already reviewed and examined Love, Joy and Peace. We are going to continue, tonight, in our review and examination of the 4th Fruit of the Spirit: “Longsuffering.”
Longsuffering does not generally come to mind when we think of the attributes of human nature. More often than not, impatience and the term “short fuse” comes to mind even, unfortunately, not only among fellow believers but, if I am going to be completely honest with you, all-too-often in myself. It is something that I am certainly not bragging about, now, although I did many decades ago.
In the Old Testament, after having literally broken all Ten Commandments at the same time, and by that I mean the actual stone tablets they were written on, God commanded Moses to come back for a second set of tablets. When he did, we read in Exodus 34:6-7, “And the LORD passed by before him, and proclaimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth. (7) Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin...”
God here includes the attribute of “longsuffering” in describing Himself to Moses. The term is used, again, later in a Psalm of David, “But thou, O Lord, art a God full of compassion, and gracious, longsuffering, and plenteous in mercy and truth” (Psalm 86:15).
The Expositor's Bible writes of this: “In the closing part (verses 14-17), the psalmist describes more precisely his danger. He is surrounded by a rabble rout of proud and violent men, whose enmity to him is, as in so many of the psalms of persecuted singers, a proof of their forgetfulness of God. Right against this rapid outline of his perils, he sets the grand unfolding of the character of God in verse 15... Such juxtaposition is all that is needed to show how little he has to fear from the hostile crew.
On one hand are they in their insolence and masterfulness, eagerly hunting after his life; on the other is God with His infinite pity and lovingkindness. Happy are they who can discern high above dangers and foes the calm presence of the only God, and, with hearts undistracted and undismayed, can oppose to all that assails them the impenetrable shield of the Name of the Lord!
It concerns our peaceful fronting of the darker facts of life, that we cultivate the habit of never looking at dangers or sorrows without seeing the helping God beside and above them.”
I quote these verses to remind you all that Jesus Christ was the human manifestation of the God of the Old Testament If you carefully compare Genesis 1 with John 1 and Colossians 1, you will easily see that He was The Creator God of Genesis, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God Who Personally wrote the Ten Commandments, and then passed by Moses on the Mount, declaring Himself to be merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and Truth.
As Spirit-filled Christians, we are called to emulate these same loving characteristics in our dealings with all men, whether a brother or sister, a friend or foe: We read, “Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.” (Colossians 3:12-14). Charity (agape`), the First Fruit of the Spirit, is the enabling key that empowers us to be able to accomplish all the rest that we are exhorted to do and be as Christians.
Matthew Henry comments, “The apostle proceeds to exhort to mutual love and compassion: Put
on therefore bowels of mercy. We must not only put off anger and wrath (as in verse 8, but we must put on compassion and kindness; not only cease to do evil, but learn to do well; not only not do hurt to any, but do what good we can to all. I. The argument here used to enforce the exhortation is very affecting: Put on, as the elect of God, holy and beloved.
Observe, 1. Those who are holy are the elect of God; and those who are the elect of God, and holy, are beloved - beloved of God, and ought to be so of all men. 2. Those who are the elect of God, holy and beloved, ought to conduct themselves in every thing as becomes them, and so as not to lose the credit of their holiness, nor the comfort of their being chosen and beloved. It becomes those who are holy towards God to be lowly and loving towards all men.
Observe, What we must put on in particular. (1.) Compassion towards the miserable: Bowels of mercy, the tenderest mercies. Those who owe so much to mercy ought to be merciful to all who are proper objects of mercy. Be you merciful, as your Father is merciful, (see Luke 6:36).
(2.) Kindness towards our friends, and those who love us. A courteous disposition becomes the elect of God; for the design of the gospel is not only to soften the minds of men, but to sweeten them, and to promote friendship among men as well as reconciliation with God.
(3.) Humbleness of mind, in submission to those above us, and condescension to those below us. There must not only be a humble demeanour, but a humble mind. Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart, (see Matthew 11:29).
(4.) Meekness towards those who have provoked us, or been any way injurious to us. We must not be transported into any indecency by our resentment of indignities and neglects: but must prudently bridle our own anger, and patiently bear the anger of others.
(5.) Long-suffering towards those who continue to provoke us. Charity suffereth long, as well as is kind, (see 1 Corinthians 13:4). Many can bear a short provocation who are weary of bearing when it grows long.
But we must suffer long both the injuries of men and the rebukes of divine Providence. If God is long-suffering to us, under all our provocations of him, we should exercise long-suffering to
others in like cases.
(6.) Mutual forbearance, in consideration of the infirmities and deficiencies under which we all labour: Forbearing one another. We have all of us something which needs to be borne with, and this is a good reason why we should bear with others in what is disagreeable to us. We need the same good turn from others which we are bound to show them.
(7.) A readiness to forgive injuries: Forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any. While we are in this world, where there is so much corruption in our hearts, and so much occasion of difference and contention, quarrels will sometimes happen, even among the elect of God, who are holy and beloved, as Paul and Barnabas had a sharp contention, which parted them asunder one from the other (see Acts 15:39), and Paul and Peter, (in Galatians 2:14).
But it is our duty to forgive one another in such cases; not to bear any grudge, but put up with the affront and pass it by. And the reason is: Even as Christ forgave you, so also do you. The consideration that we are forgiven by Christ so many offences is a good reason why we should forgive others. It is an argument of the divinity of Christ that he had power on earth to forgive sins; and it is a branch of his example which we are obliged to follow, if we ourselves would be forgiven. Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, (see Matthew 6:12).
II. In order to all this, we are exhorted here to several things: - 1. To clothe ourselves with love (Colossians 3:14): Above all things put on charity: - over all things. Let this be the upper garment, the robe, the livery, the mark of our dignity and distinction. Or, Let this be principal and chief, as the whole sum and abstract of the second table. Add to faith virtue, and to brotherly-kindness charity, (see 2 Peter_1:5-7). He lays the foundation in faith, and the top-stone in charity, which is the bond of perfectness, the cement and centre of all happy society. Christian unity consists of unanimity and mutual love.
2. To submit ourselves to the government of the peace of God (in Colossians 3:15): Let the peace of God rule in your hearts, that is, God's being at peace with you, and the comfortable sense of his acceptance and favour: or, a disposition to peace among yourselves, a peaceable spirit, that keeps the peace, and makes peace. This is called the peace of God, because it is of his working in all who are his. The kingdom of God is righteousness and peace, (as we see in Romans_14:17). “Let this peace rule in your heart - prevail and govern there, or as an umpire decide all matters of difference among you.”
- To which you are called in one body. We are called to this peace, to peace with God as our privilege and peace with our brethren as our duty. Being united in one body, we are called to be at peace one with another, as the members of the natural body; for we are the body of Christ, and members in particular, (see 1 Corinthians_12:27). To preserve in us this peaceable disposition, we must be thankful. The work of thanksgiving to God is such a sweet and pleasant work that it will help to make us sweet and pleasant towards all men.
“Instead of envying one another upon account of any particular favours and excellence, be thankful for his mercies, which are common to all of you.” 3. To let the word of Christ dwell in us richly, Colossians 3:16. The gospel is the word of Christ, which has come to us; but that is not enough, it must dwell in us, or keep house, not as a servant in a family, who is under another's control, but as a master, who has a right to prescribe to and direct all under his roof. We must take our instructions and directions from it, and our portion of meat and strength, of grace and comfort, in due season, as from the master of the household.
It must dwell in us; that is, be always ready and at hand to us in every thing, and have its due influence and use. We must be familiarly acquainted with it, and know it for our good, Job_5:27. It must dwell in us richly: not only keep house in our hearts, but keep a good house. Many have the word of Christ dwelling in them, but it dwells in them but poorly; it has no mighty force and influence upon them.
Then the soul prospers when the word of God dwells in us richly, when we have abundance of it in us, and are full of the scriptures and of the grace of Christ. And this in all wisdom. The proper office of wisdom is to apply what we know to ourselves, for our own direction. The word of Christ must dwell in us, not in all notion and speculation, to make us doctors, but in all wisdom, to make us good Christians, and enable us to conduct ourselves in every thing as becomes Wisdom's children.”
You may have noticed that the concept of mercy was interlaced in with longsuffering in a number of the Scriptures and comments earlier. When we think of patience and longsuffering, mercy does not immediately come to mind. But mercy is a vital ingredient of longsuffering ~ even to the point of it being the engine that drives longsuffering. When we continue to deal patiently, and suffer long, not only with behaviors that falls short of what they should be, but especially with repeated and malicious abuse, mercy is a guiding force that suppresses our lashing out, and also enables longsuffering.
Most, if not all, of you are aware of a Parable Christ spoke that marries the two attributes of patience and mercy. In Mathew 18, Jesus tells us of a king who called to him a servant who owed him 10,000 talents. The concept of 10,000, here, comes from the Greek word “myriad.” It has the cultural equivalent of our modern-day English word, "gazillion." Many online references define "myriad" as, “An immense number; a very great many; an indefinitely large number.”
The Apostle Paul used concept of 10,000 to convey they idea that it was more important to speak and be understood than in an unknown tongue. We read in 1 Corinthians 14:19 “Yet in the church I had rather speak five words with my understanding, that by my voice I might teach others also, than ten thousand words in an unknown tongue.”
Also in the Book of Revelation, the Apostle John wrote of an innumerable number of angels in Heaven by writing in Revelation 5:11 “And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands.” Now we see that the servant's debt was not actually 10,000 talents. Jesus used 10,000 in an effort to convey the idea that the debt was astronomical, and completely impossible to even hope to repay.
Let's get back to the Parable: The king had decided to sell the servant, the servant's wife, and his sons, and his daughters into slavery to get at least some of his money back. How did the servant respond when he heard about the king's solution to the debt? What did the servant specifically ask for from the king? Not forgiveness... and not mercy... Notice: The servant asked for patience. In the Parable, in Matthew 18:26-27, we read, “The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.”
The servant asked for and receive not just patience, but also the closely-related qualities of mercy and forgiveness from the king. This is why this Fruit of the Spirit is such an important one. It is not just a matter of holding your tongue, or “counting to ten” before you blow your stack when you're provoked. It is not thinking ourselves as being so magnanimous by giving an offending person another day, or another week to get in line. The Patience that is a Fruit of the Spirit should reflect to those we deal with, the very charitable interlaced attributes which God affords us as forgiven sinners.
Each of us is that servant with that insurmountable debt which was completely beyond our ability to repay. And God is that king who was moved with compassion, and loosed us, and forgave us the debt. God's forgiveness covered all of our past, present and future sin debts through the sacrifice of His Son to die in our place. Even though, in spite of our best efforts, we continue to sin, we can still approach our King to forgive our debts. 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
In applying the symbols of the Parable in our daily lives, God, our Creator, and Savior and King, also expects His servants to reflect His Holy and Righteous character, through the bearing of the Fruit of the Spirit. Consider, also: Luke 21:19 “In your patience possess ye your souls.” Remember how Paul defined “charity” through the interwoven tapestry of Godly attributes in 1 Corinthians 13:4 “Charity suffereth long, and is kind; charity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up,”
Peter asked Jesus in Matthew 18:21 “... Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? And what was Jesus' response? We read in verse 22 “Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”
The Life Application Bible tells us of this number, "The rabbis taught that people should forgive those who offend them—but only three times. Peter, trying to be especially generous, asked Jesus if seven (the “perfect” number) was enough times to forgive someone. But Jesus answered, “Seventy times seven,” meaning that we shouldn’t even keep track of how many times we forgive someone. We should always forgive those who are truly repentant, no matter how many times they ask."
Immediately after telling Peter, in not so many words, to forgive without keeping count, or establishing a forgiveness ceiling, Jesus spoke the Parable of the king forgiving a colossal debt, in the very next breath. Is that a coincidence? But the story does not end there with the servant being forgiven for the entire debt. What happened when that same servant encountered one who was in debt to him for a mere pittance in comparison?
Let's read the entire account: Matthew 18:28-29: “But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all...”
Notice that's the exact same words that the debtor spoke to the king were now spoken to him. Just as he had done, his fellow-servant did not ask for mercy. He did not ask for forgiveness. He also asked for patience. And in response to that plea for patience, did the forgiven servant pass along the same kindness and mercy and compassion which had just been imparted to him? No...
Continuing in verse 30 “And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.” Lastly in verse 32-33 “Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?”
In both cases, each servant who had a debt he could not pay, and asked only for patience. What does this tell you about God's having forgiven us? What does God expect of us? Again, patience is a multi-faceted Fruit of the Spirit which benefits both we who express it, and the people to whom we express it. When God is patient and longsuffering with us, many other Blessings and benefits accompany it. Think about it: Is mercy and forgiveness possible without patience and longsuffering?
I say it is not. We dare not take advantage of it. If we are the joyful recipients of God's patience and longsuffering and mercy and forgiveness, and we are, God looks to us to be conduits of that very same patience and longsuffering and mercy and forgiveness to those who offend us, exploit us, betray us or wound us in whatever way they do. We are to be grateful and humbled recipients of those Blessings from God, and we dare not withhold those same Blessings from others. The forgiven servant in the Parable did not pass along the goodness he received, much to his great regret.
Matthew Henry's Commentary offers the following on this situation: “ Though we live wholly on mercy and forgiveness, we are backward to forgive the offences of our brethren. This parable shows how much provocation God has from his family on earth, and how untoward his servants are. We do not forgive our offending brother aright, if we do not forgive from the heart.
Yet this is not enough; we must seek the welfare even of those who offend us. How justly will those be condemned, who, though they bear the Christian name, persist in unmerciful treatment of their brethren! The humbled sinner relies only on free, abounding mercy, through the ransom of the death of Christ. Let us seek more and more for the renewing grace of God, to teach us to forgive others as we hope for forgiveness from him.”
Along with longsuffering, forgiveness should also be a genuine and sincere characteristic of how people see and experience us. When the king in the Parable learned that the servant he forgave of a “gazillion” dollar debt, and not only did not forgive him but had him thrown into jail, he said: “O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” And then we read, “And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him” (Matthew 18:32-24).
Jesus summarizes this Parable by warning us in, perhaps, one of the most sobering and terrifying declarations He makes in all of Scripture. Commenting on the catastrophic fate of the forgiven servant who withheld forgiveness, Jesus says in the very next verse, "So likewise shall My Heavenly Father do so unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses" ( Matthew 18:35). This is not mere lipservice or going through the motions. God expects and requires that the forgiveness that we extend to those who offend us should be from the heart.
The Life Application Bible says, "Because God has forgiven all our sins, we should not withhold forgiveness from others. As we realize how completely Christ has forgiven us, it should produce an attitude of forgiveness toward others. When we don’t forgive others, we are setting ourselves above Christ’s law of love."
Let's turn our attention back to a closer focus on patience and longsuffering, this time as manifest by God Himself: As we have already seen, God defined and defines Himself as being longsuffering. While He promises Divine retribution and punishment for sin, He does not routinely, immediately carry out the earned punishment to the sinner. Case in point, the pre-Flood world. As bad as things are on the earth today, we still have not degenerated to the level of violence and depravity that existed before the Flood.
Consider Genesis 6:5 “And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” Do you realize just how unspeakably dark and depraved the pre-Flood world had become. Think of this description as I read it again: "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually.” To me, that is such a sobering description: every imagination and every thought was only evil, and continually! What a world that must have been... Genesis 6:3: “And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.”
The Geneva Bible Notes Commentary says, in regard to man's days being 120 years: “Which time span God gave man to repent before he would destroy the earth.” So, after He determined that He would send a Flood upon the earth to destroy sinful man, He still waited 120 years, not merely for the completion of the Ark. But why else would God wait 120 years?
In the New Testament, notice in 2 Peter 3:9 “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.” 1 Thessalonians 5:14: “But we exhort you, brethren, admonish the disorderly, comfort the faint-hearted, sustain the weak, be patient towards all.” (Darby version.)
When we exhibit patience and longsuffering to those we deal with, we show them kindness and mercy. We give them breathing room. We maintain peace and serenity. We reflect the mercy and compassion that God showered on us. And we bear fruit, the Fruit of the Spirit, to the Glory and Honor of Almighty God.
Let's take a second, somewhat longer look at that opening Psalm of David, Psalm 86:15-16: "But you, O Lord, are a merciful and gracious God, slow to get angry, full of unfailing love and truth. Look down and have mercy on me. Give strength to your servant; yes, save me, for I am your servant." The Life Application Bible provides the cross-reference for this in Psalm 68:35: "God is awesome in his sanctuary. The God of Israel gives power and strength to his people. Praise be to God!" We need God's intervention and imparting of His Holy Spirit if we are going to walk the path of Godly love, and forgiveness and longsuffering He would have us walk.
Longsuffering is the patience God confers on us as we ride our individual roller coasters of sin and repentance, sin and repentance, sin and repentance. If it is not the sin that so easily besets us, then it is with our tongues that we lash out at a "deserving" victim. As long as we are in this flesh, there will never be a day when, just as our heads hit the pillow, we can reflect on the day that we lived, as say, "Wow! I didn't sin, today." If you say that, it is a lie. And since lying is a sin, you still blew it, and sinned, along with whatever sin you already committed that day, which you either forgot, or wrongly do not consider to be a sin.
We need to confess our sins to God on a daily basis. We need to be forgiven on a daily basis. God, in longsuffering Love and Mercy provides that forgiveness for Christ's sake. If we abide in Christ, we can, indeed we must manifest longsuffering in our dealings with those in the Church, and those in the world. It is a Fruit of the Spirit that neither comes easily, nor does it manifest itself by our own efforts.
The Fruit of the Spirit we are to produce, can only be made manifest according to the prescription which Jesus provided in John 15:5-8, (from the New Living Translation): "Yes, I am the vine; you are the branches. Those who remain in me, and I in them, will produce much fruit. For apart from me you can do nothing. Anyone who parts from me is thrown away like a useless branch and withers. Such branches are gathered into a pile to be burned. But if you stay joined to me and my words remain in you, you may ask any request you like, and it will be granted! My true disciples produce much fruit. This brings great glory to my Father." If we as branches, abide in Jesus Christ the True Vine, Jesus promised that the Fruit of the Spirit, designed to benefit and nourish all who encounter us, will come.
I will close with this comment from the Life Application Bible: "Many people try to be good, honest people who do what is right. But Jesus says that the only way to live a truly good life is to stay close to him, like a branch attached to the vine. Apart from Christ our efforts are unfruitful. Are you receiving the nourishment and life offered by Christ, the vine? If not, you are missing a special gift he has for you.
Remaining in Christ means:
(1) believing that he is God’s Son;
(2) receiving him as Savior and Lord;
(3) doing what God says;
(4) continuing to believe the Good News; and
(5) relating in love to the community of believers, Christ’s body. When a vine produces “much fruit,” God is glorified, for daily he sent the sunshine and rain to make the crops grow, and constantly he nurtured each tiny plant and prepared it to blossom.
What a moment of glory for the Lord of the harvest when the harvest is brought into the barns, mature and ready for use! He made it all happen! This farming analogy shows how God is glorified when people come into a right relationship with him and begin to 'produce much fruit' in their lives."
This concludes this evening's Discussion, “Christian Resolutions_2020, Part 24.”
This Discussion was originally presented “live” on June 17th, 2020.
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