FORGIVENESS, A CHARACTERISTIC OF A CHRISTIAN
Matthew 18:21-35
FORGIVENESS IS PROMOTED BY LOVE
V:21-22. " Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord,
how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven
times?"
22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven
times, but up to seventy times seven. "
A. The relationship that we have with Jesus starts with His
forgiveness of our sins.
1. He covers our
sins with His blood shed on the cross.
2. We cannot approach the Father without
the finish work of Jesus on the cross.
3. It takes love
to forgive.
B. We get the English word "forgive" from the
Greek word "aphiemi" which means
to let go from
one's power.
1. According to
Barnes notes, to forgive is to treat as though the offence was not
committed.
2. We have the
power to let go of the thought of an offence from our minds.
C. The Jews held that three times was the maximum number of
times to forgive
a person.
1. Peter may have
thought that doubling the number plus one was impressive.
2. In keeping count of the number of offenses
would mean that they were constantly
on one's
mind and had not been let go.
D. Jesus death on the cross covered our sins past, present
and future.
1. His forgiveness
has no boundary.
2. Jesus said
according to Matthew 6:15 , "
But if you do not forgive men their sins,
your Father
will not forgive your sins."
WE HAVE NO HEAVEN WITHOUT FORGIVENESS
V:23-25 "For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be
compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves.
24 "When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him
ten thousand talents was brought to him.
25 "But since he did not have the means to repay, his
lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he
had, and repayment to be made. "
A. According to Jewish law a person who borrowed from
another person became
indebted to that
person until the debt was paid.
1. If the borrower
could not pay, he and his family was held in enslaved until the debt
was paid.
B. To understand the
debt we must consider the Jewish monetary evaluation.
1. A talent was
75 pounds.
2. In today's
dollars, 75 pounds of gold would be 1.4 million dollars
10000 talents would be 140 billion in today's
dollars
3. 10000 talents
of silver would be 260 million in today's dollars.
4. This would
mean that the debt could never be paid in one's life time,
C. This parable is an illustration of the love of God for us.
1. We have the
king who keeps an account of the debt we owe, which is
our Father.
2. We have GRACE
which draws us to the king.
3. We have MERCY
which forgives the guilty.
4. We have the debt
that cannot be paid with human efforts.
5. We have the
King's compassion for us, which is Jesus our
redeemer.
A PRAYER OF CONFESSION, THE WAY TO FORGIVENESS
V:26-27. "So the slave fell to the ground and
prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay
you everything.'
27 "And the lord of that slave felt compassion and
released him and forgave him the
debt.'
A. Salvation is a process that starts the moment we are
born.
1. We are born in
sin and shaped in iniquity.
2. Because of the
sin of Adam, hell is our natural destination.
3. In the garden
of Eden, the MERCY of God was enacted with the
promise of
Jesus as a redeemer of mankind.
B. The man who was in debt to the king ask for MERCY which was
granted to him.
1. It was the
GRACE of God that gave the man an audience before the king.
2. No one can come
to Jesus unless he is drawn by the Father.
3. By GRACE we are
saved through faith.
4. Our salvation
cannot be obtained by human efforts.
5. The sin debt is
to great.
6. Only the death
of Jesus on the cross is the atonement (payment) for our
sins.
C. All have sinned
and fall short of the glory of God.
1. 1 John 1:9
states, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us
our sins and
purify us from all unrighteousness. "
2. The man in
debt acknowledged his debt and ask for compassion.
3. Because of the
love of God, who has compassion on us, we have forgiveness
for our
sins.
TREAT OTHERS AS YOU WANT TO BE TREATED
V:28-29 "But that slave went out and found one of his
fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to
choke him, saying, 'Pay back what you owe.'
29 "So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to
plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you."
A. A denarii was a days wage in Biblical times, less than 4
US dollars .
1. 100 denarii was
an amount that could be paid with human efforts.
2. The man who had
been forgiven for a huge debt and was given the opportunity
to forgive a
small debt.
3. We must
quantify the sin debt Jesus paid for us, as an amount unattainable
by us.
4. God forgiveness
cannot be measured in dollars and cents.
B. God expects us to show the same love and compassion He
has for us,
to others.
1. We must never
forget that we are our brothers keepers.
2. In all
situations we should show respect for others.
3.What someone owes
us has already been reimbursed by the
Father through
His love and compassion for us.
AN UNFORGIVING HEART MOTIVATES EVIL
V:30-31 "But he was unwilling and went and threw him in
prison until he should pay back what was owed.
31 "So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened,
they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had
happened. "
A. It take love for our neighbors to forgive.
1. Out of the heart flows the issues of life.
2. If there is no
love in the heart, there will be no compassion for others.
3. Any debt owed
to us by others, is nothing compared to the debt we owe
Jesus.
B. When we become hard hearted, it is because we have
forgotten what God
has done and is
doing for us.
1. When we have an
unforgiving spirit, it is because we have forgotten
God's
forgiveness of us.
2. When we lack
the spirit of compassion, we have forgotten the compassion
God is showing
us.
C. We must always reverence the Lord in all our daily
activities.
1. God is always
aware of how we treat others.
2. We are never
out of God's sight.
3. Others are
affected by how we treat our neighbors.
4. Our heartless
actions toward others can be discouraging to others.
GOD HOLDS US ACCOUNTABLE FOR HOW WE TREAT OTHERS
V:32-33 "Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You
wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
33 'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave,
in the same way that I had mercy on you?"
A. We must never forget that the payment of our sin debt is
current.
1. We cannot hold
ourselves as better than anyone else.
2. Before God we
are nothing but filthy rags. Isa 64:6
B. Unforgiveness is a sin against God.
1. Matthew 6:15 states, " But if you do not forgive
men their sins, your Father
will not
forgive your sins."
2. What goes
around comes around.
3. Hosea 8:7
states, " For they sow the wind And they reap the whirlwind.
YOUR UNFORGIVING HEART BRINGS YOU TROUBLE
V:34-35 "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him
over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.
35 "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if
each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."
A. No matter what has been done for us, we must look to the
Lord for
guidance.
1. Hosea 10:12 states, " Sow with a view to
righteousness, Reap in accordance with
kindness."
2. The only reason
the judgment for our sin have not visited us is because
of God's
mercy.
B. If we willfully fail to show mercy to others, God can
with draw His mercy
from us.
1. One of the
reasons for trials and tribulations in
our lives could be from our
lack of kindness
to others.
2. It is the duty
of a believer to continue to study God's Word for guidance
and direction.
C. Since God has forgiven us, we must develop a forgiving
spirit.
1. Forgiving
others puts us in the right spirit with God.
2. The Holy Spirit
has equipped us with the power to forgive.
THANK GOD FOR HIS
FORGIVENESS
Rev. M. Mitchell
Asst Pastor Of Greater Macedonia
Baptist Church
For more lessons, follow me on facebook and
visit my blogs, revmmitchell.com and
goodnewsrevmitc.blogspot.com
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