Do not Bear a Grudge

Leviticus 19:18 ~ "You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the LORD."

A great calamity that befalls the people of God is to hold any position that leaves you in a state of unforgiveness. We are, by the command of our LORD Jesus, to look with mercy upon our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus said in Matthew 18:33, "And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?" Let me encourage you to go back and read through Matthew 18:21-35. When we do not hold our fellow servants with the same grace that our LORD holds with us, there will come that moment when you will be offended and, without His love being your guiding principle, you will hold a grudge. 

Our text for today is the expression of the second part of the LORD's great commandment. We find it here in Matthew 22:37-40, "And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.'" And the fulfillment of loving our neighbors as ourselves is two-fold: do not take vengeance, and do not bear a grudge. 

The first part of our text, forsaking the desire for vengeance, is to look upon your brothers and sisters in Christ with a desire for their benefit, even if they have in some way wronged you. Too many of God's people strike against each other for the simple fact that they feel slighted or maligned in some way. They've been wronged, and must make sure they set it right. Paul warned the church against this very attitude in Galatians 5:15, "But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that you are not consumed by one another." Consider the attitude expressed by Paul in 1 Corinthians 6:7, "To have lawsuits at all with one another is already a defeat for you. Why not rather suffer wrong? Why not rather be defrauded?" You might find it hard to hear, but I would implore you to make it your ambition to find it nearly impossible to be offended. 

There will be some who will say that they don't seek vengeance, that they don't strike out against another--even if they have been wronged. However, do they simmer with a bitterness of soul that corrupts their compassion toward their fellow believer? The second part of our text is to not even bear a grudge. To bear a grudge is to hold within a silent, inward disposition of anger or bitterness. But let the words of Hebrews 12:15 move you to abandon such an attitude, "See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no 'root of bitterness' springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled." The default of some is to claim that they are, by nature, a person who cannot easily forgive. But, beloved, you have a new nature! Did not Christ redeem you and have you not now His Holy Spirit dwelling within? Paul tells us that we are new creations in Christ Jesus (see 2 Corinthians 5:17). Yield yourself to the obedience of faith and let God's loving grace have its full effect upon your heart. God does not bear any grudge against you. We ought to strive after such godly character, reflecting the same gracious mercy of God. 

We conclude with the reason why this command is so vital--because God said so. In such a simple, but absolutely authoritative statement, God Almighty says simply: "I am the LORD." That's it--reason given. We do this because God has commanded it, provided for it, and empowers us to walk in it. Let me ask you this: what objections now can you or I make when it comes to our walking in faithfulness to this command? At every step, we are charged with fulfilling this requirement. And, if you dispense with this as something that is only for the children of Israel, as only an Old Testament law, do not forget that our LORD Jesus reiterated this command as we saw already. The only position we can take is either faithful obedience or willful disobedience. 

Let us do as our LORD did for us, and bear no grudge against our brothers and sisters in Christ. It will lighten the load of our hearts and free us to love our neighbors, even as the LORD has loved us.

In His Grace,
Pastor Michael

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