Forgiving our Brothers
Notes
Transcript
Forgiveness
Forgiveness
Forgiveness- its hard isnt it
-most people struggle with it and many never give it
-Families go to the grave mad at each for past decisions
Forgiveness is needed because if not, anger gives way to roots of bitterness and once roots are dug in its hard to kill the tree
in Matthew 18- Jesus redirected the disciples of being first and all eyes on them to caring for the little ones in the faith
-We said the church is to guard the little ones in the faith with their lives
-Setting the example of godliness keeps stumbling blocks from other people
-We saw living a life of unrepentant sin is deadly to us and the church body- so we should stay away from it
Vs10-14- we see the value God places on all of his people and we should rejoice over those who genuinely repent
Vs15-20- Last week we saw what we are to do when a brother sins against us
4 point mission of restoration driven by love
-IF the brother doesnt see their sin then at the end of the process than leave them as an unbeliever in hopes God breaks their heart
this week our text begins concerning the depth of forgiveness a brother should be given
Look with me
Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
How often?
Vs 21- Peter could be acting a the spokesmen for then all or he could just be asking this question
-He could trying to self justify himself, he could be thinking about the restoration process outlined prior to this and had an honest question
-Who knows, but the point is this, Peter was looking to see the limits were for concerning forgiveness
-So he ask, how many times must I forgive a brother who sinned against
-Literally just what we discussed
-Peter says 7? Which was double rabbinical standard of three which was pulled from passages like Amos 1:3 where God say 3 times i will forgive but not 4
-Whatever the specific reasoning- Peter asked the question
Vs 22- Jesus answers him with the remark of 70x7= 490 times
-So Jesus is saying once they get to 491- your good no more forgiveness
-No.... He literally gave an arbitrary number to signify that we must always forgive a brother/sister in Christ
-Who literally would keep count of every sin done to them until number 490- no one would
-the point is you dont get the chance to not forgive
-Ive heard so many time people even in church I just cant forgive them
-Or they no longer attend a church because they were hurt and wont forgive
Jesus outlines the only way to live faithfully concerning wrongs done to us to forgive continually
“Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.
Vs 23- he gives parable concerning how believers are to forgive
-We know he is talking about believers because of Peters question and the fact that he compares this to the kingdom of God
Parable begins with a king and his subjects or slaves and it time to pay on some accounts
When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
-One guy owed 10,000 talents
-to put it in perspective- the entire tax revenue per yer for the land of Israel by the Romans was 900 talents of gold
-This man has a debt equivalent to owing 11 years worth of task for all the Jews
This is a massive amount of money
And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.
-Clearly this was an amount that could not be paid
-IT was customary to sell of slaves and family to pay the debt in hopes to recoup the cost
-Here it not about paying it back but more this is the punishment for not failing
So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’
-The servant pleads for mercy on a claim that he couldnt guarantee
-He was desperate
And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.
The master forgave the debt completely
-I can only imagine that he was ecstatic- what hope not only for him but his family
But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’
However this didnt seem to affect him much because the servant in turn goes and physically grabs the other servant and starts choking him, demanding the money
-100 denari- 100 days wages- it wasnt nothing
-Was there a real debt that was owed to him? yes
-However, seeing what was done for him, one would think he would respond with grace
So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’
Similiar to the response he had with the king but he actually had an amount that was payable
He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.
The servant has all the right to punish the man for not repaying the debt
The action isnt wrong
The problem is he is responding harshly even though moments before he was forgiven of an amount he could not pay… ever.
When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
Which is the reason the other servants were so upset
-It should bother us when we see wrongs done around us
-Especially with brothers and sisters in Christ?
Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’
The Master replies as he should
-I pardoned you and granted mercy, you wont do the same to the this person
-I had more of a right because I am the King and the debt was immense but I gave grace- shouldnt you have
And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.
The man is punished for his actions
So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
Jesua makes the theological connection to the disciple and to every believer
He has painted the picture of the immense, unbelievable, unpayable debt that the one servant had
-Which perfectly describes every person before salvation
-We all sinners and the wages of our sin is death
-Every thought, every word, every action, every look, every murmur- all sin against God
Its debt that is not possible to pay one our own and therefore
For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We deserve death but we see here is the cumulative total of our sin is not greater or more than God was willing to pay in Christ
but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
So now because of the grace and His immense love we can be saved
Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
So now we are called to live a life transformed by his grace
one aspect of that transformed life is forgiveness especially to genueine brothers and sisters in Christ
We are most like Christ when we forgive
But we see in the text was harshness toward those who sinned against the unforgiving servant and really shows his heart
So the King puts the burden back on to break his heart
Here I want to clarify a couple things
This parable does not teach salvation can be lost
-this is a parable concerning brothers in faith- Peter started us off in that direction and the Matthew 18 has been about believers
-The burden and penalty is the discipling hand of God
It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.
Its out of love God disciplines his people
Its out of love we seek restore wayward believers
At times, due to a unforgiving heart, God will burden, punish and break his people till the repent and forgive
You want to see a miserable person- find a unforgiving Christian
The key here isnt if God will- Vs 35 says God WILL- definitive
2. A person does not earn there salvation
Vs 34- does mean the man will stay in punishment till he can repay the debt so to speak
-It is a parable and figurative
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
This doesnt speak to purgatory
Yes, we are of good courage, and we would rather be away from the body and at home with the Lord.
Paul affirms to die for the believer is to be immediately with God
What is clearly seen is the love and depth of the discipling hand of God concerning unforgiveness
God knows what it does and that is not the example God has given us
but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
We see the block that this creates in our relationship with God
Anger builds, Bitterness takes root and divides, and lives are severed
This cannot be for the church
Many need to go stand 6 feet apart and forgive today and move one and I will go with you if you need it
Dont text it, let them hear your voice and see your body language
The King says remember what I did for you?
No one on the planet has ever sinned against you more than we have sinned against God
I want to be very sensitive here- there are many wrongs that have been done to people by professing believers that have been horrendous
I cant imagine your pain
However, I do believe knowing the difficulty of this very this act, Jesus himself will forgive the very people who betrayed, mocked and murdered him
-Jesus is on who can sympathize with us in our hurts and can say I know what your going through, i didnt create sin and thats why I went to the cross
There is hope for you!!!! There is peace that can be found!!!!!
Forgive and let Jesus have it, and move on
Doesnt mean you must immerse yourself back into those lives because for some that is not emotionally possible or physically healthy but you can forgive because of Christ
Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
Unbeliever, i hope you see the love that God has shown us in Christ
Believer- i hope you see the necessity to forgive and move on
-You can choose not to but be prepared for brokeness- God promises it will come and it wont stop til God accomplishes his purpose the unforgiving believers heart
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Take hold of the abundant life and forgive