A Spirit of Forgiveness
Matthew 18:21-35
November 2007
Introduction
A Christian lawyer who had been studying the scripture made the decision to cancel the debts of every client that owed him money for more than six months. The lawyer wrote a letter explaining the biblical principles that he used to make his decision. In all he sent out 17 debt canceling letters via certified mail to verify that the clients had received the letters.
16 out of the 17 letters were returned unopened. Why would anyone turn down a cancellation of their debts? After talking with some of the people the lawyer found out the reason that none of the people accepted the letter. Many of them believed that the lawyer was sending the letter to tell them he was suing them for their debts.
How sad that most people cannot be open to the understanding of forgiveness? As Christians, we are not only mean to understand forgiveness but to put forgiveness into practice in our lives.
There is no slightest suggestion that we are offered forgiveness on any other terms. It is made perfectly clear that if we do not forgive, we shall not be forgiven. There are no two ways about it. C.S. Lewis (Mere Christianity p104-105)
If you have your Bibles with you, please open them to Matthew 18:21-35.
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 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." Matthew 18:21-35
The Truth about Forgiveness
The Greek word for forgive has many different meanings and applies to many different situations but in the interest of time I want to focus on three that directly apply to this passage. The first meaning is to let go, let alone or to let be. The second meaning is to give up or to keep no longer. The third meaning is to disregard.
This means that everything that God has the right to hold against you, He lets go of when He forgives you. It means that God keeps those things that you have confessed against you no longer. Not only does God let go of what you’ve done but He also disregards it and no longer remembers it. This is what it means to experience the forgiveness of God the Father.
If you only forgive when someone asks, you completely miss the point Jesus is making. Forgiveness is an act of personal will. It is a choice and you make the choice to be either forgiving or unforgiving.
Four Reasons to extend forgiveness even when not asked
1.) The person may not know they wronged you or what the problem is
2.) The person may no longer have contact with you
3.) The situation continues to hurt you until you let it go
4.) You open yourself for further sin – anger, bitterness and resentment
The Greek word that Jesus uses in Matthew is aphiemi. This word has three major implications.
• To let alone or to disregard
• To let go – to keep no longer
• To leave – to go away from
The forgiveness that Jesus gives to us and wants us to give to others means several things. When forgiveness is given the matter is no longer held against the person. The situation is no longer remembered in a negative light. The person doing the forgiving is set free from the hurt and the pain.
Jesus forgave far worse than we need to
The promise of forgiveness
"Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing."
Jesus forgave His enemies - Rulers
Those who had heaped insults upon Him and were responsible for His execution.
Jesus forgave His executioners - Soldiers
Those who carried out the gruesome execution. Those who mocked Jesus as He was dying and gambled for His clothes
The promise of forever
Jesus gives the criminal a precious promise and I don’t want you to miss it. He gives this criminal the hope that when his suffering was over and his life came to an end; there would be a new beginning. The cross would not be the end for this man but rather it would be the start of something far greater than he could ever imagine.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. Isaiah 53:5
My sin - Oh the bliss of this glorious thought, My sin not in part but the whole Is nailed to His cross and I bear it no more.
Having a Forgiving Spirit makes us like Jesus
Look at what Peter asks Jesus. How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Peter was looking for a hard and fast rule on the issue of forgiveness. The standard Jewish teaching was that you would forgive a person up to three times for the same offense. Peter was being extra generous by doubling the Pharisee’s number and adding one. Jesus then gives him a new rule on forgiveness. Not seven times but seventy seven times or some translations say seventy times seven. Either way the point is still clear. Jesus was not saying that we should forgive someone just seventy seven times or 490 times. We would keep track and wait for the time that they go over and then treat them horribly.
Why does Jesus do this? Forgiveness runs against the grain of our human nature. Jesus knew this and understood it. Jesus elaborated on this understanding in Luke 17:3-4.
So watch yourselves. "If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4 If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, `I repent,’ forgive him." Luke 17:4
Jesus is telling Peter and us that the forgiveness of God is unlimited and ours needs to be unlimited as well. Think about it like this, do you really want God to keep track of all your wrongs even after you went to Him for forgiveness?
We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive. – William Arthur Ward
Being unforgiving costs you more than you want to pay
The loss of Christ’s forgiveness
Think about all of the things that you have done in your life that needed God’s forgiveness. In comparison, are the things you’ve not forgiven any worse than yours? You cannot live as a disciple of Jesus until you adopt a lifestyle of forgiveness. When you refuse to forgive, you make the choice to not be like Jesus.
There are situations in life that are extremely difficult. There are times when we have been hurt in ways that are horrific. Let me say, that I am not trying to minimize anything that you may have experienced. If you’re a new Christian, you may need to start with smaller issues and work you way to the larger ones.
Jesus does understand your pain and hurt because he has been there. Jesus was abandoned by his closest friends, murdered by the people He came to save and rejected by His followers even today.
The loss of Christ’s fellowship
It is absolutely impossible to have the relationship that god wants you to have with Him if you harbor unforgiveness. The longer you hold on to your hurt, the more it takes from you. You will need to let go and forgive to go to the nest step in your walk with God.
In the end, is it really worth it to be unforgiving?
Conclusion
THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER ABOUT FORGIVENESS
1. Remember how much you have been forgiven for
We have been given the gift of forgiveness through the shed blood of Jesus on the cross and the power of His victory over death through the empty tomb.
Jesus came to pay a debt that He did not owe because you had a debt that you could not pay.
2. Remember holding on to pain only hurts you more
The longer that you hold on to your pain the longer it holds on to your life.
"If we say that monsters (people who do terrible evil) are beyond forgiving, we give them a power they should never have…they are given the power to keep their evil alive in the hearts of those who suffered most. We give them power to condemn their victims to live forever with the hurting memory of their painful pasts. We give the monsters the last word."
Lewis Smedes
3. Remember when you forgive others it makes you more like Jesus
We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like Christ when we forgive. William Arthur Ward
The simple truth of the matter is this when you forgive those who have hurt you; you take one more step closer to being like Jesus. Those who deserve your forgiveness the least need it the most.
Forgiveness is far from easy. In fact, forgiving others after they have hurt you is against human nature and if you try to forgive out of your own strength, your own heart or your own love, you will always fail. It is only when you are empowered with the love of Christ and the strength of the Holy Spirit that you will be able forgive like God
