Sixteenth Sunday after Pentecost: Exodus 12:1-14; Psalm 149 or Ezekiel 33:7-11; Psalm 119:33-40; Romans 13:8-14; Matthew 18:15-20
Saved by the Lord, let us go on to live for Him
‘When I see the blood, I will pass over you… You must eat unleavened bread’ (Exodus 12:13, 20).
In Exodus 12:13, we are directed beyond the Passover to Jesus Christ, whose blood was shed for the forgiveness of sins (John 1:29; 1 John1:7).
In Exodus 12:20, we have the call to holy living. In 1 Corinthians 5:6-8 and Galatians 5:7-9, Paul uses ‘leaven’ as a symbol of ‘sin’, which holds us back from ‘running a good race’. We are to live as a new creation, who feast on ‘the unleavened bread of sincerity and truth’.
Forgiveness of sins and holy living belong together. We are not to rejoice in God’s forgiveness and then gloss over His call to holy living: ‘justified by faith’, we are to ‘walk in newness of life’ (Romans 5:1; 6:4).
Saved by the Lord, our whole life is to be offered to Him as a song of praise.
‘Praise the Lord’. Psalms 146–150 begin and end with these words.
Our personal song of praise to God – ‘Praise be to the Lord my Rock… I will sing a new song to You, O God… I will exalt You, my God the King; I will praise Your Name for ever and ever; Every day I will praise You… My mouth will speak in praise of the Lord… I will praise the Lord all my life; I will sing praise to my God as long as I live’ (Psalms 144:1, 9; 145:1-2, 21; 146:2) – is just a small part of something so much richer and fuller – ‘Let everything that has breath praise the Lord’ (Psalm 150:6).
May these great Psalms of praise inspire us to praise the Lord more truly and more fully.
Saved by the Lord, our whole life is to be given to Him as a response to His love.
Ezekiel was to be ‘a watchman for the house of Israel’: ‘whenever you hear a Word from My mouth, you shall give them warning from Me’. He was to ‘warn the wicked to turn from his way’ (Ezekiel 33:7-9).
This is the warning of love. God loves us. It is because He loves that He ‘has no pleasure in the death of the wicked’. In His love, He shows us our sin so that we might come to Him with a real confession of sin: ‘Our sins are upon us.’ In His love, He creates in us a desire for His salvation: ‘How then can we live?’ In His love, He calls us to return to Him: ‘Turn back from your evil ways’. He loves us. He does not want us to ‘die’: ‘Why will you die?’ (Ezekiel 10-11).
In love, God shows us our sin – ‘The wages of sin is death’- and calls us to receive His ‘free gift’ – ‘eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord’(Romans 6:23).
Saved by the Lord, we begin a new life with Him.
‘Revive me according to Your Word’ (Psalm 119:25).
How does God revive us according to His Word?
He gives us His salvation: ‘Let Your unfailing love come to me, O Lord – Your salvation according to Your Word’ (Psalm 119:41).
He gives us His strength: ‘My soul is weary with sorrow. Strengthen me according to Your Word’ (Psalm 119:28).
He gives us a change of heart: ‘I have chosen the way of truth; I have set my heart on Your laws… I run in the path of Your commands, for You have set my heart free… Give me understanding, and I will keep Your law and obey it with my whole heart… Turn my heart to Your testimonies…’ (Psalm 119:30, 32, 34, 36).
He gives us ‘new life’: ‘When someone becomes a Christian he becomes a brand new person inside. He is not the same anymore. A new life has begun!’ (Psalm 40; 2 Corinthians 5:17).
Saved by the Lord, our life is to be filled with His love.
Before we think about our love for the Lord, let’s think about His love for us. What can our ‘sacrifice’ be in the light of Christ’s greater Sacrifice of Himself for us? It can only be ‘our reasonable service’, our ‘spiritual worship’. We must not think too highly of our love for Jesus. His love for us is always far greater than our love for Him.
His love calls for our response, the response of love: ‘Love so amazing, so divine, demands (and shall have) my soul, my life, my all’ (Romans 12:1; Church Hymnary, 254).
Our love for Him can never begin to compare with His love for us.
‘Love is a many splendoured thing’ (Romans 12:9-21). Let love direct our thinking, speaking and living – His love, love for God, love for people (Romans 13:8-10).
Let your prayer be, ‘More love, more power, more of You in my life. And I will worship You with all my heart,… mind,… strength’ (Songs of Fellowship, 392). Worship the Lord – and be changed by His love!
‘Walk in love’- We must not fall out over matters in which difference of opinion is allowed (Romans 14:5, 15).
There can be a lot of bitterness over ‘the Sabbath.’ There can be so much pride. For some, this is the ‘be-all and end-all’ of Christian faith. They say, ‘We are the Sabbath keepers. They are not!’. Others react, ‘We rejoice in our Christian liberty. They are legalists’. ‘Pharisees’ are preoccupied with ‘the Sabbath’. We must remember that Jesus is ‘the Lord of the Sabbath’. We must let His love flow (Matthew 12:2, 10, 8, 11-12).
Let faith be real – not just keeping on the right side of narrow-minded people (Romans 14: 23; Colossians 2:16; 1 Corinthians 2:15).
Let there be ‘peace and joy in the Holy Spirit’.
Don’t think too highly of yourself. ‘Count others better than yourself’ (Romans 14:17; 12:3; Philippians 2:3).
Saved by the Lord, let us honour in Him in every part of our life.
Discipline and forgiveness are not opposites. They belong together. Discipline is to be part of our caring.
If it is not carried out in a caring way, it is not the discipline of the Lord. It is the expression of human arrogance.
Where there is a genuine desire to honour God and do His will, we have more than some human beings imposing their own will upon others. We have God at work, purifying His Church.
The link between discipline (Matthew 18:15-17) and forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-35) is prayer (Matthew 18:18-20).
Without prayer, we will never achieve a true balance between discipline and forgiveness.
We must avoid a harsh legalism which knows nothing of God’s love. We dare not soft-pedal the moral demands of discipleship. God is holy. God is love. We need both holiness and love – for the sake of the ‘large crowds’ who need the Saviour (Matthew 19:2).
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The Bible Readings are taken from the Revised Common Lectionary – Year A.
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