THE HABIT OF FORGIVENESS
Matthew 18:21-19:1
INTRODUCTION
In Matthew 18, Jesus continued the teaching of His disciples about the kingdom of God.
There are four messages before we get to our text.
1. The greatest in the kingdom of God
To be great:
Child-like faith
Humbleness
Obedience
2. You are valued by God
Individually, you are important to God
God looks for His lost sheep.
3. Righteousness
Get rid of that which causes you to sin
God is concerned about your spiritual well being
Privately Counsel those who are in sin
4. The power of corporate prayer
ONLY WITH LOVE CAN YOU TRULY FORGIVE
V:21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
22 Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had to be sold to repay the debt.
26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go.
28 "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. 31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
MEDITATE ON THE WORD
Matthew 18:21
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"
When you hear the Word of God challenge your understanding of the Word.
Don’t just read the Word as if you know all about it. You do not. There is
more to learn.
Peter heard the word on forgiveness and restoration (verse 15)
But he may have been troubled by what
he heard and wanted a deeper understanding.
I believe that when you are troubled by the Word, you get God's attention.
He is the one who troubled you.
Peter asked the question about forgiveness and gave his answer.
I supposed he reasoned that since 7 was the number of completion and
forgiving a brother 7 times was enough. When we reason according to the flesh
we will come to the wrong answer.
It is our meditation on the Word that allows the Holy Spirit to correct our thinking.
I believe Jesus loves for us to engage Him in conversation about His Word.
Peter asked a question and concluded with the wrong answer. Jesus immediately stepped in
and corrected his thinking. Peter said 7 but Jesus said 70 times 7. Peter had a limit
for forgiveness, but God's forgiveness was unlimited. Peter had a limit for mercy, but
God’s mercy is unlimited. Peter had a limit on goodness, but God's goodness is boundless
We normally think in the flesh, but God wants us to be in the habit of thinking in the spirit.
HEAVEN IS THE PLACE WHERE SIN DEBT HAS BEEN SETTLED
Matthew 18:23-27
23 "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 As he began the settlement, a man who owed him 10 thousand talents was brought to him. 25 Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had to be sold to repay the debt.
26 "The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' 27 The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt, and let him go.
The kingdom of heaven is the place where all debts have been settled. It is a place where there is no need for forgiveness because the payment was made on the cross with the blood of Jesus.
All of us have a sin debt that we can't pay. All of us will have to go before the Supreme judge to settle our accounts.
The master, the Father is aware of how big your sin debt is. He stands by
and allows you to accumulate your debt.
In fact, you came into this world with a sin debt. You were born in sin and shaped in inequity.
You started your life’s journey with a debt you couldn’t pay. You started your life journey with a judgment. The wages of sin is death.
THE KINSMEN REDEEMER
Notice the master, the Father is tolerant to allow you to continue adding to your debt.
Under Jewish law, a person could be sold to pay his debts. However, his debt was
forgiven in the year of Jubilee. Before the year of jubilee, a kinsman could redeem him.
Leviticus 25:48
After that he is sold he may be redeemed again; one of his brethren may redeem him:
Ruth 4:14-15
The women said to Naomi: "Praise be to the Lord, who this day has not left you without a kinsman-redeemer. May he become famous throughout Israel! 15 He will renew your life and sustain you in your old age.
Our kinsmen redeemer is Jesus. The year of jubilee for the believer is the day
Jesus died on the cross.
We are brothers and sisters of Jesus, the firstborn of the new creation.
Colossians 1:18
18 And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might have the supremacy.
The servant had a debt he couldn’t pay. The payment was hard labor.
The servant fell on his knees and begged for mercy. His large
debt was canceled.
Notice, it was his asking that caused the mercy of the master to flow. Jesus is
waiting for us to ask for forgiveness. Although our debt is large, the kinsmen, Jesus,
is willing to cover our debt.
Look back at verse 26, The servant, the one who owed the large debt made a vow
to pay back the master. He asked for patience. Don't make a vow to the Lord that
you are not going to keep. God knows your heart. He will hold you to your vow.
TO MUCH IS GIVEN, MUCH IS REQUIRED
Matthew 18:28-30
"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.
29 "His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'
30 "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.
God will test you to see if you will keep your commitment to Him. The servant who owed a large
debt had someone who owed him a fraction of what he owed the master. You can’t beat God’s
giving. (fyi; a talent is 100 denarii. Compare that to 100,000 denarri debt canceled)
The servant whose debt was canceled treated the one who owed him money violently. He showed no mercy to his debtor or his family. He forgot the vow he made to the master.
His heart was unchanged by the mercy the master showed him. He failed to consider
that man who owed him money was important to the master.
It is probable that the money owed him came from the master who canceled his debt.
We should never take for granted the mercies God shows us each day. What God does for us He expects to do for others. The goodness of the Lord flows to us daily in ways we cannot conceive of and don't deserve it. The kindness we show others have already been shown to us.
God showed the bigger beggar mercy, who refused to show the same mercy to
another person.
The truth is we don’t know how big our sin debt to the Lord is. We can bet that whatever
is owed us by others is but a grain of sand on the seashore of our sins.
THE LORD HAS HIS EYES ON YOU
Matthew 18:31
31 When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.
Be careful how you treat others. Someone is always watching. Whatever you do in the
dark will come to light. The Lord hears the voice of everyone, even though they may not have a relationship with Him. Your reputation is in the open for everyone to see.
God sees and knows your heart.
Whatever you do affects the hearts of others. They may not know you, but to see you treat others disrespectfully affects them. We should be a light unto the world, not a shade of darkness. We should be a blessing to others, not a curse.
YOU WILL BE TREATED THE WAY YOU TREAT OTHERS
Matthew 18:32-34
32 "Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. 33 Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' 34 In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.
God judges us by what we do or refuses to do for others. To refuse to show mercy is an act of wickedness. We were made in the likeness and image of God. Anything other than that is wickedness.
When we refuse to be kind, it angers the Lord. When we refuse to show mercy it angers the Lord. God is not satisfied with our selfishness and ungratefulness.
You don't want to get in the hands of an angry God. It would be better to show more
mercy and more kindness than required than to show none at all.
Luke 6:38
For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
What goes around comes around. No man is an island unto himself. We are all in this world
together. We are family. We should, we must treat everyone like family.
FORGIVENESS REQUIRES A CHANGE IN HEART
Matthew 18:35
35 "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."
Forgiveness is an act from a changed heart. Forgiveness is an act from a renewed heart.
Forgiveness has to be deliberate. It has to be something that you want and a state of
mind that you cultivate for your well-being.
Romans 12:2
Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is — his good, pleasing, and perfect will.
It takes an effort on your part to let the past stay in the past. Satan will remind you of
the past. But you don’t have to bring the hurt, anger, and frustration into the present.
Forgiveness is an attitude of releasing yourself from past hurts and taking the opportunity to glorify God through your love for others.
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