Forgiveness Equals Obedience
Scripture: Luke 7:37-38, 47
"When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them...47 I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”
Observations:
One day while Jesus was having dinner with some Pharisees and experts in God's Law, his meal was interrupted when a prostitue came in began making a scene right in front of Jesus and the other guests to the embarrassment of the host. Jesus pointed out that this "sinful" woman was simply expressing the proper response of someone who had experienced a significant amount of God's grace and forgiveness (vs. 47) while the rest of the "good" guys hadn't even bothered to show good manners let alone actions that demonstrated true love towards Him. The bottom line to the story is that the best mark of someone who has expereinced true forgiveness "loves much" (vs. 47), and according to Jesus, the best mark of a person's love for God is obedience to His commands (John 14:15). He that has been forgiven much loves much, and he who loves much obeys much.
Application:
It's impossible for us to say we've truly experienced God's forgiveness of all of our sins without a proper response to God's grace. We only have a right relationship with God because Christ has forgiven our sins, however according to Jesus there will always be a visible evidence to the world around you that our sins have truly been forgiven by how we obey God's commands. Every act of obedience to God's commands will always indicate love for God and love for people. If my obedience is lacking, I probably have a love problem. If I have a problem loving it's probably because I am either in need of God's forgiveness or I have forgotten just how much I have already been forgiven of.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for forgiving all of my sins. Help me today to live a life of love and obedience that demonstrates my gratitude for Your grace in my life. Help me to extend the same grace to others that You have given to me. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
"When a certain immoral woman from that city heard he was eating there, she brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume. 38 Then she knelt behind him at his feet, weeping. Her tears fell on his feet, and she wiped them off with her hair. Then she kept kissing his feet and putting perfume on them...47 I tell you, her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.”
Observations:
One day while Jesus was having dinner with some Pharisees and experts in God's Law, his meal was interrupted when a prostitue came in began making a scene right in front of Jesus and the other guests to the embarrassment of the host. Jesus pointed out that this "sinful" woman was simply expressing the proper response of someone who had experienced a significant amount of God's grace and forgiveness (vs. 47) while the rest of the "good" guys hadn't even bothered to show good manners let alone actions that demonstrated true love towards Him. The bottom line to the story is that the best mark of someone who has expereinced true forgiveness "loves much" (vs. 47), and according to Jesus, the best mark of a person's love for God is obedience to His commands (John 14:15). He that has been forgiven much loves much, and he who loves much obeys much.
Application:
It's impossible for us to say we've truly experienced God's forgiveness of all of our sins without a proper response to God's grace. We only have a right relationship with God because Christ has forgiven our sins, however according to Jesus there will always be a visible evidence to the world around you that our sins have truly been forgiven by how we obey God's commands. Every act of obedience to God's commands will always indicate love for God and love for people. If my obedience is lacking, I probably have a love problem. If I have a problem loving it's probably because I am either in need of God's forgiveness or I have forgotten just how much I have already been forgiven of.
Prayer:
Father, thank You for forgiving all of my sins. Help me today to live a life of love and obedience that demonstrates my gratitude for Your grace in my life. Help me to extend the same grace to others that You have given to me. Amen.
Daily Bible Reading Plan
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