Contrition

Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, from The Book of Matthew.

Matthew 18:21-22 (KJB)  Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

The entire New Testament is filled with teachings on the grace of God, but in order to receive forgiveness, you must first be capable of confessing them and admitting your faults. This is so important, because it must happen before any monetary gift is given to the ministry. Repentance is far more important to God than money. In fact, you can’t even receive God’s blessing for your gift without first reconciling with a wounded brother. Obviously,people are aware of who they have wronged, and that matter must be attended to first.

Matthew 5:23-24 (KJB) Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.

In order to find a place of forgiveness with a wounded brother, you must be humble enough to apologize to them. It’s incredible that unbelievers have a better understanding of this concept than many people who claim to be a Christian. Those who cannot apologize are a stain upon the teachings of our precious Lord Jesus, and if they seriously are not going to repent, then they will be Anathema maranatha.

Luke 17:3-4 (KJB)  Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him..And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

Sins can be covered up and hidden, but only when it’s taken care of quickly, otherwise when someone refuses to repent and admit it in private, then it eventually will lead to public censure. If it continues to persist, then they fall into the ranks of an impenitent soul. 

Matthew 18:15-18 (KJB) Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican. Verily I say unto you, Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Another point is that when you are too proud to apologize to a brother that you have wounded, you can’t repent towards God because that would be complete hypocrisy. I mean, you can’t be apologetic to God and not the brother. At that point, you are not exhibiting any charity towards them at all. True charity is quick to apologize, and he that loveth not a brother, abideth in death. You are not even supposed to have anything to do with them at that point because they are ensnared in the pride of the devil. When a child sins against their dad, he will rebuke them. When a wife sins against her husband, he will rebuke her. 

But those who refuse to produce the humility enough to apologize, have no love for the other party at all, and the end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart. What happens is their own pride will deceive and consume them. Pride is one of the most deceitful tactics of the devil.

2 Corinthians 2:11 (KJB)  Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

Some people are obviously going to refuse to repent because they are just too hard-hearted to fess up for the cruel way that they have treated others. Even when I was going to elementary school, we used to play trench. As most of you know, it can be an extremely overly aggressive game. Sometimes when a child got hit too hard, they started to cry, but even though it was an unbeliever who threw the ball at them,  they were still kind enough to run over and help them up and apologize. When I see these kinds of things happen amongst unbelievers, I’m reminded of what the Apostle Paul taught. 

Romans 2:14-15 (KJB)  For when the Gentiles, which have not the law, do by nature the things contained in the law, these, having not the law, are a law unto themselves: Which shew the work of the law written in their hearts, their conscience also bearing witness, and their thoughts the mean while accusing or else excusing one another;)

As I’ve always taught, reconciliation with those whom you have wronged is a must. Some people actually believe heretical teachings,…..such as, you can forgive somebody in your heart and never return to the relationship that you had with them in the past. Those people are completely deceived, because they are believing a lie. 

You must remember that in the story of the Prodigal Son, everything the son had done was quickly forgotten by his dad, and they rejoiced with each other once again. The good graces of his dad completely absolved him of all of his sins, and then cast them into the depths of the see, never to be seen or spoken of again. And then the older son got really ticked off because he was living back home again.

As a child growing up, some dads can be very unforgiving, but don’t confuse them with the Heavenly Father. God is incredibly merciful and slow to anger. He is quick to show Mercy and grant us a portion of His Grace, but it requires contrition and humility before Him, just the same as it is required before a brother in the church whom you have hurt. One of the biggest words that are lacking in this world is contrition,… i’ve always said that. Without Godly sorrow you will never be humble enough to fall on your knees before God or others for clemency.

James 4:8-10 (KJB)  Draw nigh to God, and he will draw nigh to you. Cleanse your hands, ye sinners; and purify your hearts, ye double minded. Be afflicted, and mourn, and weep: let your laughter be turned to mourning, and your joy to heaviness. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lord, and he shall lift you up.

Even an unbeliever can sense if you are humble and sincere for what you have done wrong to them. But remember that you will only find the path to forgiveness through confession and contrition. We have to seek brokenness. We have to seek compunction, because whether it’s a brother in the church or our precious Lord Jesus, before honor is humility, and before forgiveness, is…….

……..Contrition

Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.

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