The Family of the Unsandaled was a name and characteristic full of shame and disgrace. They were words to be spoken over certain families. It was God's intension that there should be a process of restoration to break the power of people being stigmatized for the rest of their lives. The heart of the brother-in-law was not charity for his brother's wife but an opportunity for restoration in what would otherwise become a life-dominating problem. To be widowed without children was to be cut off and your husband's name erased from everything.

Helping this widow was a duty and obligation so nothing was left to chance. God built this principle into his people. It distinguished them from other widows in other societies who lacked the value of family and would never recover their loss. The envy of every other nation was that God's people knew how to restore their own especially those who were broken and hurting. To know that if life hit you hard those closest to you would make it their responsibility to help you recover. It removed the fear that if life did hit you hard it would not dominate and determine who you were. God's heart it to make sure the recovery process was in place before life hit you hard. The identity of the young widow is protected, the dead husband honored and her future children would not be stigmatized. They would never be perceived as different from any other child.

When this process was put in the DNA, or the heart, of God's people his concern was for the future protection and prosperity of the dead man's family line. God will always make a way. God made sure that the consequences for refusing to be part of the recovery process was so severe it would carry generational consequences. The brother-in-law was refusing not only to help this young widow but refusing to preserve the family and future children from being stigmatized. It was a sin against the living widow, the dead husband and the unborn children who would never be born without him. Refusing to help the broken was severe with God. It meant you neither cared about the living that hurt, the honor of the dead or the unborn. To have a sandal removed and spit in your face meant you had no understanding of who God is and the name that followed was just as bad as Cain's mark on his skin.

Overcoming problems and difficulties that we face in life is not always our personal and exclusive responsibility. To say 'you are in the hole so get yourself out' is not always correct. The Bible differentiates between consequence for wrong decisions and unfortunate tragic circumstances, so God has placed you in a community called church. Without the help of a community called church people can potentially never recover. There are many stories of people who have made it back to living a full life with the help of the church. Things that had the potential of becoming life defining were turned into temporary setbacks. Usually those people go on to live generous lives from that point on. Ideas, initiatives and creativity come from such people. They are in our church family and we refuse the name, church of the unsandaled.

On December 26th 2004 thousands of people were affected by a tsunami. People from different villages gathered children who were not of their own blood and took them in as their own. Their culture is very Biblical in that those children could not face life or survive from that moment without a mom and dad. If generous people had not reached out to other people who were suffering the following generations would be characterized by the fateful date December 26th 2004. Would you and your children's children like to be called a victim of the tsunami? To prevent this they lived out the parable of the Good Samaritan. They would be preserving their dead parents honor but as they grow up they would not be characterized by it.

This is not an appeal for any adoption agency. A financial offering to a national or global problem is excellent but never let it become a substitute for personal involvement locally. It is so easy to send aid without being the aid yourself where you live. This is why the black church will tell you they will not send a million dollars of missionary support down the streets of Harlem overseas while ignoring the need among them. There is another tsunami that has been relentless since Adam and Eve and its victims are numerous. Hopelessness, depression, stress, and desperation are common. The individual who suffers these things does not need to know the Family of the Unsandaled but the Family of God. The obligation and duty of the brother-in-law is on the church for its community.

Judah had many sons. One of them was called Er who married Tamar. He died young leaving Tamar with no children. Her father-in-law told Onan the brother-in-law of Tamar to marry her and give her a child.

Onan did not want to face the disgrace of being called 'unsandaled' but he did not want to help her either. God took his life. Tamar is still young and childless.

Judah lied and was guilty of being an unsandaled man. His wife died and as he traveled out of town he needed some comfort. Tamar took of her widow's clothes and disguised herself as a prostitute. Judah took her but had no cash so gave her his ring and staff for collateral until he gave her a goat. She was pregnant with Judah's but he did not know it was him. He ordered her death but she produced his collateral. Perez was born and her life was preserved.

She sold her body to pay the bills. Joshua was marching on Jericho and two spies needed a place to hide.

She was airing the mattress and had the guts to put God's men under her bed. She had no husband or son to protect her.

After Israel marched on Jericho he refused to be known as the unsandaled.

She eventually had a son called Boaz. Ruth lost her husband and she had no children. Naomi was her mother-in-law who had lost her husband and her sons. She had no chance because she was old so Ruth stayed with her. What Ruth did for Naomi God made sure someone would do for Ruth. There was no brother-in-law but there was a redeemer called Boaz who took her as his wife.

People recognize that Tamar was not a prostitute and Perez was not illegitimate because Judah had taken them into his family. Boaz was the son of Rahab not the son of a prostitute.

David had 8 wives and 19 sons. Seven wives and 18 sons were legitimate but one wife and one son were not. It would be difficult to choose a successive king from the 18 legitimate sons produced by the seven legitimate wives but at least it eliminated having to choose Bethsheba and her son Solomon. But this is exactly who David chose to succeed him.

Conclusion

Reading through the first chapter of Matthew can be difficult. Not in reading it but knowing why its there in the first place. 14 generations from Abraham to David and 14 from David to the exile in Babylon and 14 from the exile to Christ. 42 generations listed for the sole purpose of revealing who God is.

God wants you in his family to cut off any stigma that could characterize you. The power of God's family is that you are known by what he calls you.

We trample the blood of Christ if we think we are forgiven because we are sorry for our sins. The only explanation for the forgiveness of God and for the depth of his forgetting is the death of Jesus Christ. Our repentance is merely the outcome of our personal realization of the atonement, which God has worked out for us. It does not matter who or what we are; there is absolute reinstatement into God by the death of Jesus Christ and by no other way, not because Jesus Christ pleads, but because he died. It is not earned, but accepted. All the pleading, which deliberately refuses to recognize the Cross, is of no avail; it is battering at a door other than the one that Jesus has opened. Our Lord does not pretend we are all right when we are all wrong. The death of Jesus makes an unholy man holy.

We know Christ has forgiven us of all our sin so why do we keep asking for it? If you had $10,000 in the bank and kept asking the bank if it was still there I would say 'have more faith in your bank.' Why keep asking for what the Bible says you already have? It is because we tend to be worldly in our thinking. What is worldly? It is anything thought, system, model or way of life that contradicts God's Word. If you offend me and I take the offence and you ask for my forgiveness I will forgive you if you do not do it again. If you do it again the relationship is off. As much as this is true God does not operate like this.

The problem God has is that he loves you but cannot stand to be near you because of two things: your identity from a sinful nature and the desire of that nature in sin. Being born again took care of the first problem because your identity went from sinful nature to his divine nature. He took care of the second problem because the new nature does not desire to sin.

He then told Peter a parable about a servant who owed his master a lot of money but the master forgave him. The servant was owed money by another man but would not forgive him.

This led them to needing a Savior. You will never find this kind of teaching on the other side of the cross. It was perfect teaching under the law to let people know they needed a Savior.

Paul was teaching that there is so much more to the cross that you think but unless you canget beyond the fact you are forgiven it is difficult to digest anything else.

Illustrate that all your sins were 'future' sins when Christ died. It takes faith to believe and confess that you are forgiven. To know that God does not hold anything of your past, present and future against you breads a confidence the world knows nothing about. Be careful because through worldly eyes it looks a lot like arrogance. How many of your sins did Christ take on the cross? All of them. How many sins had you already committed when Christ went to the cross? None of them. All your sins were future sins when Christ died. There is only present with God.

This verse presupposes that you are not righteous but are still unrighteous and need cleansing from all unrighteousness.

John is speaking to Gnostics in Ephesus at this point. They held that all matter was evil therefore Christ could not have lived in a human body. He is a phantom. They held that it was not sinful to be religious and sensual at the same time. It is called hedonism. Gnostics were not born again. It is very accurate to say to a man not born again he needs to confess his sin to be made righteous. But do not forget that John understood the difference with the believer.

The certificate of debt was a contract between debtor and creditor. When the debt is paid the Greek word 'paid in full' was written on the paper. Wherever the debtor went he would produce the document that showed he was free from all he owed. He could never be convicted for those crimes again.

The Greek word 'paid in full' was what he said. Does confession have a place in Christianity?

Yes it does.

The Holy Spirit will convict you that you have sinned as a Christian. Like Catholic's we come to God through Christ and confess what we have done, and act like we have been forgiven.

LORD, I HAVE SINNED. (CONFESSION) I AM SORRY (REPENTANCE) I DO NOT WANT TO LIVE LIKE THIS (GODLY SORROW) I WANT TO BE MORE CONSISTANT IN MY CHRISTIAN LIFE (GODLY DESIRE) THANK YOU BASED UPON YOUR WORD NOT MY FEELINGS THAT I AM FORGIVEN AND YOU ARE NOT MAD AT ME BECAUSE YOU TOOK IT ALL OUT ON CHRIST. I PRESENT MYSELF AGAIN AS A LIVING SACRIFICE SO YOU CAN LIVE YOUR LIFE THROUGH ME. AMEN

This teaching is part of a new series The Chronicles of Christ. Other teaching series can be found by clicking the links below
The Lion, the Witch and You - Part 1.
The Lion, the Witch and You - Part 2 & 3.
The Lion, the Witch and You - Part 4 & 5.

If you would like to see previous transcripts or hear audio available in the last series Discovery.God you can find them here.:

• Promise Land to Promise Life Series
  
• Discovery.God Series