To whom much is forgiven, greater appreciation

The classic account in Luke 18 tells about “a woman in the city, which was a sinner,” who “when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
[38] And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.”

Luke reports, “Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner.”

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In a study posted online to Helpersofyourjoy.com, California preacher John Verstegen explains, “You see the self-righteous, better-than-thou attitude of this Pharisee? He’s gone beyond condemning the woman to condemning Christ.”

Luke 18 continues, 40] And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on.
[41] There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty.
[42] And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most?
[43] Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged.

Verstegen says, “What’s the proportional difference between 500 and 50? Ten percent. It’s fascinating. Their debt was vastly different, but what was the same? They have no ability.

“The Pharisees were supposed to be leaders in the nation Israel. They were supposed to be the ones who led the understanding of the Word of God. Simon should have not just said, ‘I suppose.’ It’s almost like he’s trying to avoid the right answer here because he knows he’s condemning himself in saying this.

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“Look at Jesus Christ’s statement: [47] Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
[48] And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

“You see the principle there? Salvation by grace doesn’t come along and say that, ‘Well, your sins aren’t that bad.’ It says, ‘Her sins they are many, but the reason it made such a difference in her life is she was willing to get beyond her fear of coming into the Pharisees where there was sure to be condemnation; coming into the house of the Pharisees where they probably all talked about her.’

“It’s because there was a person there who had the answer for her sins, that were many indeed, and when she sensed and knew and recognized who He was, an overwhelming appreciation of gratitude (love) is what she experienced.

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“What’s the result of ‘to whom much is forgiven’? A greater appreciation. A love that can only be experienced by an appreciation of the depth of the need, the extent of the forgiveness, the value of the person of the Lord Jesus Christ.

"What I’m saying is one of the most essential aspects of a relationship of grace is an acknowledgement and an awareness of how much we need it!

“If we’re like the Pharisee, and we don’t think we have that many sins, well, we really won’t appreciate the grace of God that much because we think our need’s not as great as the woman of the city.

“But if we realize, ‘I may not be the ‘woman in the city’; I’m the man of the town,’ and it’s interesting how we always pick on the woman but, boy, we forgot the man. ‘My needs are just like this woman now, and it took the same blood of Christ to pay for my sins; the same grace of God to save me from a just condemnation that I deserve.’

“I’ve got a question for you. If you’ve trusted the Lord Jesus Christ for your Savior, how forgiven are you? Don’t answer yet because we could all say, ‘All of it, totally.’ Christ’s saying in that verse that the way you and I can appreciate how forgiven we are is a response of LOVE on our part because He loved us first. Isn’t that fascinating?

“Romans 5:1 says, ‘Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.’

“One of the immediate things that happens as a result of having all our sins forgiven is PEACE with the God of heaven and earth. That’s what’s in this relationship. The experience of the justice of God, rather than condemning us in our sins like the Pharisees condemned this woman, being FOR us forever, just like Christ was for that woman.

“The next verse says, [2] By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

“What does the word ACCESS mean? When you think of a computer or a cell phone, you’ve got to have a security code, or access. Access allows you to get in and keeps others out.

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“Think of the difference between that and in the Old Testament. Did the nation of Israel have access to God? They did but it was very limited. They had to go through the priest. The priest had access but it also was very limited. The priest could go into the very presence of Almighty God once a year and do everything JUST right.

“Remember Nadab and Abihu when they offered that strange incense fire? Boom, the fire burned them up right there and God said, ‘Hey, I told you whoever comes into my presence, I will demonstrate that I am holy.’ What could they say? ‘Yeah, you did tell us that. We’ll get it right next time.’

“Think about that. You and I have complete, total access INTO the grace wherein we stand. We have open-door access into the grace of Almighty God. Not only that, see how it says that in Ephesians 2:18: ‘For through him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.’

“The fellowship that were in is that fellowship that exists among the godhead. The access we have is into that relationship! That verse says the triune God is involved in that access given to us freely by the blood of Christ.

“Not only that, but look at chapter 3:12 and look at the nature of this TYPE of access. It says, ‘In whom we have boldness and access with confidence by the faith of him.’

“The priest could get access into the very presence of Almighty God in the ‘holiest of holies,’ but he could only do that once a year, and I’m telling you there was probably a little fear and trepidation in that man’s heart.

“You understand that twice a day every day that high priest literally came within inches of losing his life? He would go into the holy place and make sure the shewbread was fine, the altar of incense was fine, the candle stick was lit, and then get out of there because what was right on the other side of that veil? The glory of Almighty God. That guy came within inches of his life twice a day.

“Paul says we can have access with CONFIDENCE by the faith of Him. Who is our confidence in? Oh, not self. All this talk about how you need to have more self-confidence kind of thing; how you need to build up your self-esteem.

“It’s no wonder people have such difficulty with self-esteem because they find they keep doing what? Failing.

“Don’t have self-based esteem; have Calvary-based esteem. Don’t have self-confidence; have confidence that comes from the Word of God working in us because it cannot change; it’s perfect, God cannot lie. So it’s scriptural-based confidence.

“Not only do we have confidence, but look at Ephesians 1:6: ‘To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.’

“Everyone wants to be part of some thing or some one. People will compromise their integrity to BELONG to a group. People will compromise their morals to be in the ‘in’ crowd. Why do we do stuff like that? Because we think there is more value in the acceptance of the group we want to belong to compared to the value we hold in our character for our morals.

“As soon as we do something that violates the standards of the group, guess what? You’re out of there. Listen, God said He MADE us accepted in the beloved. Who’s the beloved? That’s the Lord Jesus Christ.

“I’ve got a question for you. If you’ve trusted Christ for your Savior, how accepted are you? You’re as accepted as the Lord Jesus Christ is. Isn’t that amazing? Just think about that for a moment. God MADE you accepted according to the same standard.

“Why is that good news? Guess what, all you can do is just realize, ‘Whew, wow, I can just rest and appreciate what’s there; who He is.’ You are loved eternally with the same love that exists among the godhead. There is no other kind of love He’s offering.

“It’s no wonder therefore then that the Apostle Paul can make a statement like this in Colossians 2:9-10: 9] For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
[10] And ye are complete in him, which is the head of all principality and power:

“This is why I get so upset when I see people attacking that verse, saying you’re complete in Christ theoretically, potentially.

“They absolutely undermine and destroy the very nature of the grace relationship God has placed us in. The only kind of grace relationship God has to place anyone in is the relationship that exists within the godhead.

“He doesn’t say, ‘We’re going to have this fellowship over here and you’re just going to be a second-class citizen. You’re still pretty good, but you’re over there.’

“This is not Tony Robbins and ‘fake-it-’til-you-make-it’ kind of stuff. When that verse in I Thessalonians says ‘Rejoice evermore,’ you say, ‘Well, let’s see. I’ve been forgiven of all my sins, I have peace with God, I’ve been accepted in the beloved, I have access, I’ve been blessed, I am complete, I’m sealed—I might just have reason to rejoice evermore!’

“That’s Paul’s point. That’s what it looks like. The natural byproduct of a trust that this relationship really is what it is, is it will impact the inner man and manifest itself in the outer man, hence whatever comes, we can just say, ‘Lord, for your grace and the blood of Christ.’ ”

(new article tomorrow)