Daily Bread Luke 17
Daily Bread Luke 17
Sin, Faith, Duty
1Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him.”
Observation:
Jesus doesn’t mince any words in this passage. He says it is one thing for anyone to fall to temptation but quite another to lead someone else into a sin. It is especially wrong to lead someone younger, or someone who looks up to you into sin. Jesus then goes on to describe the consequences for someone who has this kind of influence on someone else.
Finally, Jesus gives us a response to a fellow Christian who has sinned and fallen into the wrong influence. Jesus tells us to confront our friend, and if he changes his mind and behavior, we are to forgive him. Not only does Jesus tell us to forgive him once, but to continue to forgive if this person is truly repentant.
Application:
It might be easy for us to feel like this is unfair to have to keep forgiving someone who keeps on sinning against us. Shouldn’t there be a limit? But before we get too amped up, we might want to remember how many times we have had to go back to God to either ask for forgiveness for the same thing over and over.
When it comes to forgiveness, we are tempted to want an unlimited cap on ourselves, while we get indignant with others who continue to fall. The next time we are tempted to limit the amount of grace we extend to someone else, we might want to remember God’s abundant grace He has poured out to us!
Prayer:
God I thank you for saving a lost sinner like me. I thank you that you don’t lose your patience with me when I continue to sin, but when I repent you are willing to forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Help me to remember Your grace when I deal with others who sin against me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
Sin, Faith, Duty
1Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to sin are bound to come, but woe to that person through whom they come. 2It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin. 3So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, 'I repent,' forgive him.”
Observation:
Jesus doesn’t mince any words in this passage. He says it is one thing for anyone to fall to temptation but quite another to lead someone else into a sin. It is especially wrong to lead someone younger, or someone who looks up to you into sin. Jesus then goes on to describe the consequences for someone who has this kind of influence on someone else.
Finally, Jesus gives us a response to a fellow Christian who has sinned and fallen into the wrong influence. Jesus tells us to confront our friend, and if he changes his mind and behavior, we are to forgive him. Not only does Jesus tell us to forgive him once, but to continue to forgive if this person is truly repentant.
Application:
It might be easy for us to feel like this is unfair to have to keep forgiving someone who keeps on sinning against us. Shouldn’t there be a limit? But before we get too amped up, we might want to remember how many times we have had to go back to God to either ask for forgiveness for the same thing over and over.
When it comes to forgiveness, we are tempted to want an unlimited cap on ourselves, while we get indignant with others who continue to fall. The next time we are tempted to limit the amount of grace we extend to someone else, we might want to remember God’s abundant grace He has poured out to us!
Prayer:
God I thank you for saving a lost sinner like me. I thank you that you don’t lose your patience with me when I continue to sin, but when I repent you are willing to forgive me of my sins and cleanse me from all unrighteousness. Help me to remember Your grace when I deal with others who sin against me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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