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1 Jesus said to his disciples: “Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come. 2 It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble. 3 So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.” ~ Luke 17:1-4
After the Lord Jesus warned the religious leaders about the sin of loving money, He now turns to His disciples to teach us about loving people. This is the father's nature, to love those who have accessed His love through His Son.
Now, pride inaugurated sin. Pride was the sin that got Satan thrown out of heaven. Pride was the sin that got Adam and Eve thrown out of Eden. Pride is always the dominant force behind sin because every sin we commit is an act of personal rebellion against God.
The answer for pride is humility. And, at the heart of the Lord Jesus' teaching ministry is the idea of humility overcoming our pride. Soren Kierkegaard once said, “The proud person always wants to do the right thing, the great thing. But because he wants to do it in his own strength, he is fighting not with man, but with God.”
In v.1 we read, "Things that cause people to stumble are bound to come, but woe to anyone through whom they come." The Greek word translated "stumble" produced the English word “scandal.” Originally it meant a bait stick in a trap. When the animal grabs the bait, the stick is released, the trap is closed, the animal is caught. We live in a world of traps, a world where people are going to be offended.
In this context, the Lord Jesus is warning his disciples that it is inevitable that some would be caused to stumble by some expression of pride in our lives. “These little ones” in v.2 are young believers who are learning how to follow the Lord.
In v.2 we read, "It would be better for them to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around their neck than to cause one of these little ones to stumble."
A "millstone" was used to grind wheat into flour. These stones weighed anywhere between a couple hundred pounds to nearly 3,000 pounds. It would take one to the bottom of the sea fast. The rabbis taught that drowning was for Gentiles, not for Jews. It would be better for you to be drowned, instantly, than to hinder the faith of a young believer.
In v.3 we read, "So watch yourselves. “If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them.” We must teach God's standard, but we don't want to cause others to sin. And, if our brother sins, we must gently rebuke them. The word "rebuke" means to reprimand with a strong warning. The warning is a reminder that sin is out to destroy us. This is most effectively done as we show the one being rebuked that we are for him.
In Matthew 18, we are given the process for this. If your brother sins you go to him. If he turns away from the sin, forgive him. If he doesn't repent, you take two or three with you. If he still doesn't repent, you tell the church and the whole church lovingly holds this one accountable.
In Galatians 6, the Apostle Paul gives us four characteristics of the Spiritual man. The first characteristic of the spiritual man is he mends the broken. The picture of the broken here is of one who is trying to get away from sin unsuccessfully. Paul writes, "if someone is caught in a sin..." The picture that Paul is painting here is of one who is too slow for sin. The sin is faster and the one caught is being dragged down from behind. This one who is caught by sin is broken, bloody, and suffering greatly by the destruction of sin.
Now, the word the Apostle uses to describe the actions of the spiritual man is quite instructive. Paul uses the word "restore". The Greek word is to reset very carefully as a doctor would reset a compound broken bone. This word is also used of a fisherman who carefully mend a torn fishing net.
In Galatians 6:1, the Apostle describes how the restoration should take place: "Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. But watch yourselves, or you also may be tempted."
This restoration is to be motivated by the Spirit, and done gently, watchfully, and humbly. Again, Paul uses the word "restore" carefully. It should come from one who realizes he is yet to conquer sin himself.
In Luke 16:4 we read, "Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them." The Lord Jesus issues this command because He understands the fact that even though we are born again, we still struggle with sin. Therefore, we will find that we and others do not overcome certain sins over night. There is a process involved in overcoming sin.
Also, our forgiveness must be complete. He uses the word seven here twice to illustrate there is to be no lack in our forgiveness of another, no matter how many times they sin against us. Our ability to forgive another has to do less with them and everything to do with how we understand God's forgiveness of us.
When we choose to forgive, we choose to live. All forms of sin, especially bitterness, are destructive. When we forgive another, we free ourselves from the bondage that someone’s wrong has created in us. When we refuse to forgive, we’re living resentful, bitter, and angry lives. We rob ourselves of the full life that God intended for us to live. Refusing to forgive leads us into walking in the flesh, rather than walking by the Spirit.
I close with an appropriate quote from Mark Twain. “Forgiveness is the fragrance that the violet sheds on the heel that has crushed it.”
