Luke 17:3

Verse of the Day Devotion Luke 17:3

“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” –  Luke 17:3 

This verse deals with people, specifically in these verses (1-4), who sin against us.  Starting in verse 1 we read, “And He said to His disciples, It is inevitable that stumbling blocks should come, but woe to him through whom they come!” Luke 17:1. As we see at the beginning of this verse, He is not speaking to the Pharisees but to His disciples.  And what He is saying here is that temptation, here referred to as ‘stumbling blocks’ are inevitable.  From the Greek word ‘skandalon’ which refers to the trap-spring,  the item on a trap that causes it to spring shut. The idea is that whatever tempts us to sin is a trap, and if we fall into sin due to the temptation, then we sprung the trap and are caught in it. But notice the end of this verse.  Yes, we sin and that is wrong.  Jesus knew that due to the world, the flesh, and the devil such temptations would continue. But Jesus says woe to those who cause the temptation.

Then in the next verse, Jesus shows how He feels about this. “It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should cause one of these little ones to stumble.” Luke 17:2. Drowning a person with a stone tied about the neck was an ancient mode of punishment. What this is saying is that it would be better for them to endure the temporary drowning death by men then to cause a young brother or sister in Christ to sin, which is a serious offense to God.

Now we come to our focus verse. “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.” Luke 17:3. So, based on what we see in the first two verses, He is not speaking of sins in general, but particularly of sins one brother commits against another. This rebuke should be a mild brotherly admonition, helping them understand what occurred. If such correction brings him to humbly acknowledge his fault, forgiveness must not then be withheld, even if the trespass had already been six times repeated. We see this last part in verse 4. “And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, I repent, forgive him.” Luke 17:4. Now, this seven times is not to be taken literally for it has a much deeper meaning. It does not mean you may forgive him, but it is an imperative denoting ‘you will forgive him’. There is no option here.  And to understand the numbers, we must go the Matthew for clarification. “Then Peter came and said to Him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:21-22. The seven times mentioned in Luke, and the seventy times seven in Matthew are not upper limits to the number of times we are to forgive.  It means ‘always.  If a brother or sister sins against us, and they repent, then we are to ‘always’ forgive them.  And our model in this is God Himself. He forgives all our sins if we truly repent and ask forgiveness. Remember, Jesus forgave all the sins committed by one on the cross in which he repented.  “And he was saying, Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom! And He said to him, “Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise.” Luke 23:42-43.

Jesus calls us to forgive those who sin against us and repent of that sin. “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.” Ephesians 4:31-32. When we repented, He forgave us.  Therefore, those who repent of their sins against us, we must forgive. And in so doing, we will show them the reality of our faith, and thus open the door to help them grow in their faith and in the knowledge of God. And this is what we are called to do. “Let your light shine before men in such a way that they may see your good works and glorify your Father who is in heaven.” Matthew 5:14.  And this light is to help disciple others in the faith. “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19-20. That is, after all, our calling.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.

Philippians 4:7

Verse of the Day Devotion Philippians 4:7 

“And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:7 

This verse is the result of doing what can be an extremely difficult. Looking back at verse 4 we read, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4. Paul is telling the Philippians to always to be happy and content.  They are to rejoice no matter what happens. This is important because anything that God allows is for our good. “And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” Romans 8:28.  Or it is for the benefit of another. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.” 2 Corinthians 1:3-4. iz

Then in the next verse he continues, “Let your forbearing spirit be known to all men. The Lord is near.”   Philippians 4:5.  The word ‘forbearing’ is the Greek word ‘epieikēs’ having the idea  of being gentle, kind, and courteous. Those who are truly rejoicing in the Lord at all times will be characterized by the idea mentioned above. This is how other people are to experience the Christian’s joy in the Lord, through seeing their gentleness and kindness; not insisting on every right of letter of law or custom, but by yielding and being gentle and tolerant.  Aristotle described the gentle person as ‘one who by choice and habit does what is equitable, and who does not stand on his rights unduly, but is content to receive a smaller share although he has the law on his side’. And this gentleness should be reserved not only for family, friends, or fellow Christians. It should be evident to all, as the verse above declares.

Taking this a little deeper, we read in the next verse, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6. This can only take affect if we truly believe that God is with us and will bring us through whatever is happening to us. He is admonishing us not to be anxious about anything. Instead of worrying about situations, lift them up to the one who loves and cares for us.  We must understand that prayer is truly the antidote for anxiety. We are called to lift up our needs humbly to God. “Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety upon Him, because He cares for you.” 1 Peter 5:6-7. God cares for us, and He wants us to by anxious for nothing. Therefore, instead of worrying, we should tell God what we need. And not to demand or beg, but as verse 6 says, “but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Philippians 4:6b.

And if we do this as stated in verses 4-6, God will give us peace. As our focus verse states, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, shall guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:7. After his instructions on prayer, Paul presents the promise of the peace of God that goes beyond anything we could ever imagine. And one other thing to note here.  The condition for experiencing God’s peace is not that God grants all of our requests but that we have made known all our requests to God with thanksgiving. God’s peace is not the result of the power of our prayers or the effectiveness of our prayers. Prayer is our openness about our needs before God, our emptiness in his presence, our absolute dependence upon him with an attitude of constant thanksgiving and complete trust. And it is this trust that God hears us that gives us the peace we need. He may not answer us in the way we would want, but we must trust that what He does is for our good.

So, if you find yourself feeling anxious about something, get on your knees and in humility present your needs, that are causing anxiety, to God. Leave it with Him, trusting that He knows what is best and though it is not what you want, it is what is best. Through this, we receive peace that passes all understanding, and then we can proclaim, “Rejoice in the Lord always; again, I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4.

William Funkhouser MDiv, ThD, Founder and President of True Devotion Ministries.