Forgiveness Pt. 2

Scripture Reading

Philemon 8–21

Review

Defining Forgiveness

Forgiveness comes from Old English, forgiefan and the prefix “for” intensifies and completes the action of the verb “give”

“giefan” = to give

“forgiefan” = to give completely, to give up, to remit

“forgiveness” = the act of fully giving up a claim or debt

a matter of judgment

Luke 6:37 “Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:”

2. The God of Forgiveness

Only God Can Forgive

Daniel 9:9 “To the Lord our God belong mercies and forgivenesses, though we have rebelled against him;”

Mark 2:7 “Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?”

b. God’s Forgiveness is Plenteous

Psalm 103:8–12 “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: Neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, So great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”

The Frequency of Forgiveness

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

Introduction

Defining Forgiveness

The God of Forgiveness

The Function of Forgiveness

Sermon

2. The God of Forgiveness

b. God’s Forgiveness is Plenteous

Psalm 103:8–12 “The Lord is merciful and gracious, Slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy. He will not always chide: Neither will he keep his anger for ever. He hath not dealt with us after our sins; Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as the heaven is high above the earth, So great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, So far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”

The Frequency of Forgiveness

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant

c. God Delights in Mercy

Micah 7:18–19 “Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, And passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? He retaineth not his anger for ever, Because he delighteth in mercy. He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our iniquities; And thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.”

d. He Chooses not to Remember Sins

Isaiah 43:25 “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, And will not remember thy sins.”

e. God is Ready to Forgive

Psalm 86:5 “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; And plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”

f. God’s Forgiveness causes Fear

Psalm 130:3–4 “If thou, Lord, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? But there is forgiveness with thee, That thou mayest be feared.”

g. God’s Forgiveness flows from Mercy & Grace

Exodus 34:6–7 “And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.”

3. The Function of Forgiveness

1. Forward Forgiveness

2. Frequent Forgiveness

3. Full Forgiveness

4. Fit Forgiveness

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1. Forward Forgiveness

Ready to Forgive - Psalm 86:5 “For thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; And plenteous in mercy unto all them that call upon thee.”

The Prodigal Son - Luke 15:1-23

Matthew 5:23–24 “Therefore if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; Leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift.”

Spare Not Your Readiness to Forgive - Rom. 8:32

Commend Your Forgiveness - Rom. 5:8

Provide for Forgiveness - Rom. 13:14, Rom. 12:20

2. Frequent Forgiveness

How often? In a day?

Matt. 18:21 - “how oft”

Matthew 18:21–22 “Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.”

Luke 17:3–4 “Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.”

3. Full Forgiveness

How much?

Matthew 18:27 “Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.”

Ephesians 1:7 “In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;”

Remember No More

Jeremiah 31:34 “And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: For they shall all know me, From the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: For I will forgive their iniquity, And I will remember their sin no more.”

4. Fit Forgiveness

Ephesians 4:31-32

Colossians 3:13

Conclusion

As we close, the book of Philemon brings everything we have studied about forgiveness into sharp focus. Paul does not write as a judge issuing commands, but as a brother appealing to grace. He reminds Philemon that forgiveness is not merely an idea to affirm, but the gospel to be lived out.

Forgiveness, by its very nature, is the full giving up of a claim. It is a matter of judgment—choosing not to hold another to what they deserve, because God did not hold us to what we deserved. The God we serve is ready to forgive, plenteous in mercy, delighting in grace, and choosing not to remember sins. And Paul’s appeal rests on the character of God, seen in the express image of God in Christ, as revealed and declared in the gospel of our salvation.

In Philemon, we see forward forgiveness. Paul urges Philemon not to look backward at Onesimus as a runaway slave, but forward, be ready to receive him as a brother in Christ. Forgiveness moves toward reconciliation rather than retreat.

We see frequent forgiveness, for this case it isn’t the sins Onesimus will commit (although that true too), but the ones he has committed. The forgiveness Philemon will need to exercise is the combination of all sins - thsu full - if needed Philemon will need to choose to forgive over and over, to remember his sins no more. Paul patiently reasons, persuades, and appeals, showing that forgiveness is not reluctant but persistent.

We see full forgiveness. Paul does not ask Philemon to forgive in part while keeping the debt alive. He offers to take the cost himself, mirroring the gospel: “If he hath wronged thee, or oweth thee ought, put that on mine account.” This is forgiveness that releases the debt completely.

And finally, we see fit forgiveness—forgiveness that flows from who we now are in Christ. Paul reminds Philemon of his identity, his faith, every good thing in him in Christ, and the refreshing of the saints through his love. Forgiveness fits the believer because it reflects the grace we have already received.

Philemon teaches us that forgiveness is not weakness. It is worship. It is not loss. It is giving - where there is blessing. It isn’t bondage. It is freedom. And it is now optional for the Christian and shouldn’t be optional—it is the evidence that the gospel has taken root and is growing in the heart of the believer.

So the question as we leave is not whether forgiveness is hard. It is. The question is whether we will trust God enough to forgive as we have been forgiven. When we do, the gospel is not only preached—it is put on display.