LCMS Convention Proceedings St. Louis, Missouri — 2010, Page 81

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3. ONE People Forgiven through Christ to Forgive in the Family ...
Brothers and sisters, one people forgiven through Christ to
forgive in the family,
Oh, blest the house, whate’er befall,
Where Jesus Christ is all in all!
A home that is not wholly His—
How sad and poor and dark it is!
Oh, blest that house; it prospers well .
In peace and joy the parents dwell,
And in their children’s lives is shown
How richly God can bless His own .1

Proclaiming God’s Forgiveness in the Family
In confirmation instruction, I remember my pastor teaching
that when we became parents, we needed to absolve our children . But I didn’t experience that growing up, and no one ever
showed me how to do it with my wife and son . We had shared
personal forgiveness with another, but I had never announced
God’s forgiveness specifically, personally, and directly . As a
parent, I failed to proclaim God’s forgiveness to my son until
one day, when he was a junior in high school, we ended up in
a terrible fight .
Jesus, however, proclaims forgiveness specifically, personally, and directly .
Luke reports on a specific event in Jesus’ ministry when
he was invited to eat with a Pharisee named Simon . While
reclining at the table, a woman entered the house uninvited,
washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, dried them with her hair, and
anointed them with oil . Simon was repulsed that she would
dare do this, and in his mind he judged Jesus for allowing it .
Our text today from Luke 7:40–48 describes Jesus’ response:
And Jesus answering said to him, “Simon, I have something
to say to you .” And he answered, “Say it, Teacher .”
“A certain moneylender had two debtors . One owed five
hundred denarii, and the other fifty . When they could not pay,
he cancelled the debt of both . Now which of them will love
him more?” Simon answered, “The one, I suppose, for whom
he cancelled the larger debt .” And He said to him, “You have
judged rightly .” Then turning toward the woman He said to Simon, “Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave
Me no water for My feet, but she has wet My feet with her tears
and wiped them with her hair . You gave Me no kiss, but from
the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss My feet . You did
not anoint My head with oil, but she has anointed My feet with
ointment . Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much . But he who is forgiven little, loves
little .” And He said to her, “Your sins are forgiven .”2

Specifically, Directly, Personally
Before Jesus said to her “Your sins are forgiven,” did this
woman know that she was forgiven? She must have . According
to Jesus’ words about her, she was responding in love because
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she was forgiven much . Besides that, Jesus was still looking
at her when He told Simon, “Therefore I tell you, her sins,
which are many, are forgiven .” She knew about the forgiveness of her sins .
But for Jesus, the woman just knowing about her forgiveness was not enough . In verse 48, Jesus declares directly to
her, “Your sins are forgiven .” He proclaimed forgiveness to
her specifically, directly, and personally .
You and I are to forgive others as Christ forgives us . If Jesus
announces forgiveness so specifically, so directly, and so personally, so shouldn’t His followers?
Sadly, those with whom we often neglect to share God’s
forgiveness are our own family members—parents and children, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters . We often make
the unholy assumption that because we are family, we don’t
need to proclaim God’s forgiveness . We take it for granted that
we are forgiven, right?
This can lead us to deal with sin in less than gracious ways .
Let’s see how a father confronts his teenage son about misuse of the computer .
[Video: Father & Son 13]

A Father Confronts His Son . . .
Well, the father certainly let his son know what was right
and wrong, didn’t he? Take four minutes in your small groups
to discuss the following questions:
1 . What were the father’s godly desires?
2 . How did the father’s godly desires turn into sinful
demands?
3 . If you were the parent in this situation, what would be
your next step? What if you were the teenager? Consider
the following verses:
• Psalm 32:3–5
• Proverbs 28:13
• James 5:16

The father is responsible for disciplining his son, and clearly
the son has been involved in sinful behavior . At a minimum,
the son has broken the Fourth Commandment, the Sixth, the
Eighth, and the Tenth . The Bible teaches that authority has
been instituted by God, and when the son resists correction,
he is resisting God . Therefore, he also sinned against the First
Commandment .
So what’s the issue? Can we be right on our position but sin
in the way we deal with others? Can we be about God’s business but still sin? Where is the father’s fruit of the spirit—love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self–control? Paul writes, “Against such things there
is no law . And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified
the flesh with its passions and desires” (Galatians 5:23a–24) .
2010 Convention Proceedings