Forgiven and Forgiving

Central Truth: God eternally and unconditionally forgives those who repent of such immense a debt that it is unconscionable for believers to refuse to grant forgiveness to each other for sins that remain trivial in comparison.

God eternally and unconditionally forgives those who repent of so immense a debt against him that it is unconscionable for believers to refuse to grant forgiveness to each other for sins that remain trivial in comparison.

One of the great hindrances to the evangelistic efforts of the church is the un-forgiveness harbored in the hearts of believers toward others. How can we be salt and light and messengers of God’s grace if we do not demonstrate the radical grace and love of God in our own lives?n How can we impact our work places and communities when we fail to forgive others? How can we truly say that we are a Christian when we fail to forgive?

I. The Reality of Offenses

Forgiveness is not weak, nor is it the erasing of justice. Nor does it mean forgetting. It is an appeal to a higher court.

You will not be able to make it thru life without being hurt by others, either intentionally or unintentionally. Relationships mean contact and communication…and these things can break down very easily in our fallen and broken world. Even in the church, conflicts and issues arise. It is unavoidable, there are no perfect people, therefore there are no perfect churches. Too often this is used as an excuse by even believers to dismiss the church altogether. They have a utopian view that the church should be perfect, but we all need grace because we are not perfect. This is exactly why we gather, to celebrate God’s grace and demonstrate grace to one another. We all need God’s forgiveness and we all need to be forgiven by others.

Jesus’ teaching here follows up on the heels of his previous teaching concerning the lost sheep..and the corrective measures to take when offenses occur in .

Craig Blomberg, Matthew, vol. 22, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992), 282.

Details of the parable by Jesus:

This parable by Jesus is teaching us the importance and necessity of forgiveness between brothers and sisters in Christ. It is not about positional forgiveness - that is justification and salvation, but about forgiveness in the family of God, between family members. The king represents God and the servants represent brothers and sisters in the body of Christ.

A Debt that Could Never Be Paid Back - this man in the parable owed his king an amount that would have been unfathomable to Jesus’ hearers..one commentator estimated that it could have been equal to as much as 1 trillion dollars in today’s money. Or at least millions of dollars is in view. Wiersbe notes that in the economy of that time, one talent would have taken 20 years to earn. This man owed 10,000 of them. You can do the math. This is an impossible debt to be repaid. The master had every right to sell him and his family and everything he owned to pay the debt. The servant begs for mercy and pleads to pay the amount back…this is not honestly possible…Jesus knew his hearers would understand this. There is no way to pay this back…there is nothing that this man could do to erase his debt. A thousand lifetimes would not give him enough time to repay the debt. What a hopeless situation!

The Unbelievable Compassion of the King - there was nothing this man did to deserve forgiveness. This is a picture of amazing and pure grace! This man receives what he did not deserve. It is a picture of sheer mercy, that is, this man does not receive what he deserves and punishment is not given.

The Failure of the Forgiven to Forgive - The servant who had been forgiven much fails to imitate the example of his master. Grace recieved but not demonstrated. A servant that owed him personally approximately 100 days worth of wages is treated harshly..grabbed and choked and then thrown into prison until the debt could be paid.

I. The Reality of Offenses

II. The Necessity of Love and Humility

II. The Unending Forgiveness & Grace of God to His Children

, “31 Then Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you continue in my word,,a you really are my disciples. 32 You will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”33 “We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.

33 “We are descendants of Abraham,” they answered him, “and we have never been enslaved to anyone. How can you say, ‘You will become free’?”

34 Jesus responded, “Truly I tell you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 A slave does not remain in the household forever, but a son does remain forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you really will be free.

Memorial Day is a day we set aside to honor the memory of those who have died to protect our freedom. Jesus died and rose from the grave victoriously to secure our freedom from the penalty of sin and one day the very presence of sin. This freedom is a gift, it is not earned.

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), .

We are called and saved by God to live by grace, not only according to justice. If we are only seeking justice, that is, to get what we feel is owed us, we will live in a perpetual hamster wheel of disappointment and bitterness.

Each of us who are saved have experienced grace, we are the debtors, owing a debt that could never be repaid. Our condition before God is as absolute paupers who have robbed glory from God, ignored his laws and commands accumulating wrath and judgement justly deserved.

, “

When we freely give grace and mercy, even to the undeserving, we free ourselves and enjoy true peace. We do not live by constantly pulling out a measuring stick to figure out whether another person deserves our forgiveness…this is the point of Jesus statement seventy times seven…this is simply an exaggeration to make the point that no number is to be focused on. The Jewish teaching was three times…and Peter thought seven would be a good and complete number..

Philips states, “Peter was reducing love to logic, mercy to mathematics, a matter of spirituality to a matter of arithmetic.”

Jesus’ point is that we are not to keep a record of wrongs or the amount that we have forgiven someone.

God does not say, I will only forgive you so many times and then after that, that is it.

, “Love is patient, love is kind. Love does not envy, is not boastful, is not arrogant, 5 is not rude, is not self-seeking, is not irritable, and does not keep a record of wrongs. 6 Love finds no joy in unrighteousness but rejoices in the truth. 7 It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”

“To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.” ― C.S. Lewis

III. The Weight of Bitterness and Un-forgiveness

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), .

III. The Consequences of Bitterness & Un-Forgiveness

III. The Revelation & Devastation of Un-Forgiveness

When we fail to forgive we are revealing a lack of understanding of the gospel.

Philips states, “Forgiveness, when properly received, results in a change of behavior that reflects genuine conversion.” This man proved that conversion had not taken place for he acted ruthlessly and harshly just as an unconverted and unsaved person would.

What is at stake if we fail to rightly relate to one another as one debtor to another debtor?

The Personal Damage Spiritually and Physically

As God’s children, when we fail to forgive others, we invite the chastening discipline of God in our lives. This man who had been delivered from prison initially, found himself in prison in the end of his own doing. When we dwell in this place and acting this way we are also revealing our own lack of conversion..that our hearts have not been changed. It is also possible for believers to act out of law and not grace. We can err greatly because we still battle a sinful nature every day. As someone once said..”un-forgiveness is like drinking poison and then wishing for the other person to die.” When we fail to forgive and show grace to others and allow bitterness to dwell in our heart we are imprisoning ourselves and not living in true freedom2. The Purity of the Church

This man who had been delivered from prison initially, found himself in prison in the end of his own doing. When we fail to forgive and show grace to others and allow bitterness to dwell in our heart we are imprisoning ourselves and not living in true freedom. As someone once said..”un-forgiveness is like drinking poison and then wishing for the other person to die.”

The Purity of the Church

2. The Purity of the Church

I am convinced that one reason so many churches today struggle and lack power is because of un-forgiveness in the hearts of believers toward other believers. This also reveals the fact that many people who claim to be saved are actually lost because they live in the land of unforgiveness and bitterness..they don’t just visit. Jealousy, resentment, bitterness fill the pews on Sunday morning. This lack of forgiveness is sin and God is not pleased at all.

3. The Reputation of the Gospel

The Reputation of the Gospel

A lost and dying world is watching the lives of individual Christians and the church. Is there anything to this Christianity? They need to see the supernatural grace of God active in our lives by the power of the Holy Spirit. When we fight among ourselves over minor doctrinal issues or personal preference and fail to forgive one another, we fail to give light to a dark world, we only accentuate the darkness.

, “ so that you may be blameless and pure, children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among whom you shine like stars in the world.”

4. The Furthering of the Kingdom of God

Christian Standard Bible (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2017), Php 2:15.4. The Furthering of the Kingdom of God

The Furthering of the Kingdom of God

Conclusion:

Forgiveness is not weak, nor is it the erasing of justice. It also does not mean offenses are just looked over willy nilly as if they did not occur. Nor does it mean forgetting. It is an appeal to a higher court. Forgiveness and love are choices, acts of the will, and should not be tied to emotional feelings or a loss of memory. This is the biblical truth, love is a verb, an action word. We choose to forgive regardless of the feelings we may have. We may feel a need for retribution or justice, but we must act biblically, not culturally or emotionally.

“Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.” ― Corrie Ten Boom

The servant in this passage was forgiven an unfathomable amount. He owed a debt he could never repay. Such as every person who is born…they are born sinners with a debt that could never be personally repaid to a holy and just God. However, God in his great love and mercy, has graciously made provision for our personal forgiveness thru Jesus Christ. On the cross, Jesus Christ bore the shame, the punishment and the price for salvation was paid in full. It is only thru faith in Christ that you can enter into this joyful place of total forgiveness and the promise of eternal life in heaven. Why would you reject such an amazing offer of grace and forgiveness? Don’t reject him again. Trust him today by faith and commit yourself to follow him.

When we fail to forgive, we are not representing Christ and we are sinning. We bring reproach on the name of Christ and his gospel. Yοu cannot forgive naturally, it is a supernatural work of grace in your heart by the power of the Holy Spirit.

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