Luke 7:41-43 There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.
Here's the setting. Jesus is eating in the home of a Pharisee by the name of Simon when a woman of the city who was known as a sinner comes in, anoints Jesus' feet with precious ointment, and washes His feet with her tears.
This parable of the two debtors was given by Jesus in answer to Simon's THOUGHT (not question) that Jesus wouldn't let this woman touch Him if He knew how great a sinner she was.
The point of the parable is clearly stated by the Lord in verse 47, But to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
Now, praise God, I was brought up in a good, Bible-believing church and saved as a young man at the age of 6 or 7. I had never (and by the grace of God, I have never) smoked, drank, used drugs, been involved in immorality, robbed a bank, killed anybody, etc.
Until a brother in our church taught a Sunday school lesson from this passage this past week, I had always approached this part of Luke 7 as a kind of excuse for the fact that I don't love God as much as some other Christians I know who were "really bad sinners" before they got saved.
But you know what, I want to love God more, and I don't want any excuses – even if they're from the Bible! So by the grace of God, I have learned a new approach to this passage.
If those who are forgiven little love little, and those who are forgiven much love much, one thing I can do to increase my love for the Lord is to consider myself forgiven of much. And aren't we all!
No matter what sins you and I have or haven't committed the end result (without Jesus) would have been the same – ETERNAL HELL! But God has forgiven me for ALL my crimes against Him and has delivered me from the awful fate that I deserve just as much as anybody else. Praise His name!
May we take a fresh look into the law of God; may our sin become exceeding sinful (Romans 7:13); may we have a renewed perspective of the severity of the penalty we had coming; and may we rejoice in His goodness that made possible a way of escape (Romans 9:22).
More love to Thee, O Christ, more love to Thee! Hear Thou the prayer I make on bended knee. This is my earnest plea: More love, O Christ, to Thee; More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
Once earthly joy I craved, sought peace and rest; Now Thee alone I seek, give what is best. This all my prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee; More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
Let sorrow do its work, come grief or pain; Sweet are Thy messengers, sweet their refrain, When they can sing with me: More love, O Christ, to Thee; More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
Then shall my latest breath whisper Thy praise; This be the parting cry my heart shall raise; This still its prayer shall be: More love, O Christ to Thee; More love to Thee, more love to Thee!
This was a blessing, David! Thank you!
ReplyDeleteI witnessed to a man who said he never did blah blah blah in order to justify himself. But when faced with the great commandment in the law (matt 22:36) he found no backdoor. None of us has ever put the Lord first always. Just like you said "take a fresh look at the commandments" it will leave you lower than a drunkard and magnify just how much you have been forgiven.
ReplyDeleteYou said that your were saved at age 6 or 7; do you ever have any doubts that you might not be saved?
ReplyDeleteYes, I have doubted my salvation at times (as I believe just about every Christian has). However, in retrospect, I can see that those doubts have been the result of:
ReplyDelete1. un-scriptural preaching
2. my own ungodly living
3. satan's desire to paralyze my spiritual growth
Assurance is essential and can only come through the word of God (Romans 10:17; 1 John 5:13). It is needful to examine yourself (2 Corinthians 13:5), but the devil is behind any effort to complicate or confuse the simplicity of the salvation that is in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 11:3).
Do you believe you are a sinner with no way to save yourself? Do you believe Jesus died on the cross and rose again to save you from your sins? Are you depending completely upon Him as your only hope of eternal life? Romans 10:9-10. Then thank God for His salvation and go on and serve Him.