Ephesians Series #5
“Forgiven and Forgiving”
The identity, privilege and responsibility of the Church.
I. Our Wealth and Worth In Christ 1-4
A. Paul blessed God for blessing us with every spiritual blessing 1:3-14
1. Specially Chosen 1:4
2. Purposefully Adopted 1:5-6
3. Freely Redeemed and Forgiven 1:7-8
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. Ephesians 1:7-8
We focused on three key terms; Redemption, Forgiveness, Grace
These blessings came…
First, these come by reason of our connection to Jesus – “in Him or in whom”.
Second, it is a current reality -- “we have presently” (already granted)
Third, these blessings flow out of God’s grand heart of grace.
Redemption secures our freedom, deliverance from slavery or captivity.
Forgiveness settles the debt our sin incurred against God.
Overflowing grace is the basis on which God chose to redeem and forgive us.
REDEMPTION
• Purchased for possession.
• Set free by the payment of a price.
FORGIVENESS of SINS
We briefly touched on the subject of forgiveness the last time. Today I want to revisit the subject of our forgiveness by God and then explore our responsibility to forgive others based on the wonder of our own forgiveness. The term translated by our English word forgiveness means to release from debt. Divorce, dispatch a ship, release a person from prison, send away, discharge, and release from debt, guilt, obligation or punishment.
Usually forgiveness is necessary when we have committed some offense to another person.
Because we are imperfect and the whole world is imperfect, life is made up of a series of offense and forgiveness. There is no freedom without forgiveness.
Guilt – failure to realize our own forgiveness.
Bitterness – failure to reciprocate His forgiveness.
Both put us in bondage. No matter how you look at it, forgiveness is a major key in current quality of life.
On the one hand, we go around feeling in indebted to others, guilty, fearful, rejected, reluctant, stressed, and heavy when we fail to realize and receive forgiveness.
On the other hand we feel angry, isolated, agitated, blocked, driven by our emotions, restricted, and distracted when we fail to forgive others.
Our offenses against God most often called “sin” put us at an insurmountable disadvantage.
We are cut off from His life-giving fellowship. We are isolated from the resources necessary to deal with life in this broken world. Only forgiveness can restore our connection with God.
Jesus told a parable that teaches us the elements and application of forgiveness as applied to our forgiveness and our forgiving of others. Jesus answered Peter’s question concerning how many times we should forgive someone who offends us with this parable.
The first part illustrates the wonder of God’s forgiveness of us.
The second part illustrates the necessity of us forgiving others.
For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 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. So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.' And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. Matthew 18:23-27
This is how citizens of God’s kingdom should think and live.
I. Realize forgiveness
A. Perceive the truth
1. Forgiveness is confrontational
The parable starts out with the master seeking to “settle accounts”. There is no denying the debt. The master had it all calculated and brought the debtor to settle up in full. The modern day equivalent is calculated anywhere from 10-20 million dollars. It was obvious that the slave did not have the means to repay the massive debt. The Master issued a command to sell the slave and his family in order to repay the debt. Our sin affects our whole family and everyone around us. We must first realize the gravity of our debt to God. We are deserving of death.
All have sinned and come up short of the necessary character to fellowship with God.
Not until we realize the gravity of our sin can we appreciate the glory of our forgiveness.
For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little. Lu 7:47
The Bible says that our very fallen nature deserves the wrath of God. Realizing that his whole family was about to be affected, the slave begged for patience. Notice, he did not ask for forgiveness but patience. He asked for more time to pay. The reality is no amount of time would have changed the situation; the debt was too large. It is like paying the minimum payment on a significant credit card debt. It would take 60 years to pay it off at that rate.
Most likely this slave had been indebted for quite some time. Many don’t realize that no amount of time can make up for our sin debt to God. Your benevolent acts can never compensate for the rebellious acts.
“But judge, I only murdered 4 people. I have helped 8.”
It is the wicked heart capable of murdering at all is that is the problem. It is the wicked heart that expresses itself in rebellions acts against God that is the problem. The heart is deceitful and desperately wicked and we will all give account to God.
2. Forgiveness is character based.
By that I mean the act of forgiveness is motivated by something within the one forgiving rather than any actions on the part of the one being forgiven. In this case, the slave had absolutely no means to pay off his indebtedness. He didn’t need patience. He needed mercy, compassion and forgiveness. The Master “felt compassion”. He was first moved in the core of His being.
It is the love and compassion of God that motivates Him to forgive us; not our worthiness. This powerful compassion motivated Him to release and forgive. He set the slave free and forgave His debt as well. What a glorious picture of our passage in Ephesians!
“In Him we have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of our trespasses.”
Free and Forgiven!
"Therefore let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses. Acts 13:38-39
Love visualizes value another person apart from their performance. This unconditional love flows out of the character of the one loving and results in a voluntary, sacrificial giving to the need of the one being loved.
No person too low, too evil, too worthless, too unlovable. No sin to great, too terrible.
Out of His deep, unconditional love, God made it possible for sinful man to be forgiven for the serious offenses deserving of death and be restored to eternal life.
3. Forgiveness is costly
This element is implied in the parable. Somebody had to pay. The release of the slave’s debt freed him from payment but it cost the master $20 million. Last time we spoke of the payment necessary to secure our forgiveness. In order to let us go free, justice had to be served. God could not overlook a serious crime and remain a righteous judge. Sin must be judged. That is why Jesus went to the cross. He became sin for us.
Now once at the consummation of the ages He (Jesus) has been manifested to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself. Hebrews 9:26
He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed. 1 Peter 2:24
We were set free and forgiven through the offering of Jesus as the once for all sacrifice. Two other observations can be made from this passage.
4. Forgiveness is complete
It was a once for all payment for the sins of every person who lived before and would come after.
Heb 1:3 "When He had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.."
Heb 9:11-12 "But when Christ appeared as a high priest of the good things t come, He entered through the greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this creation; and not through the blood of goats and calves, but through His own blood, He entered the holy place once for all, having obtained eternal redemption.
The Father does not require repayment. The debt has been paid in full! We have total and compete acceptance. There is nothing between. We have been reconciled to God through the payment of His Son. We are received no longer as slaves and sons of the devil but as His beloved children.
I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. Jer 31:34
He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. Psalms 103:10-13
There is therefore NOW NO condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus. Rom 5:1
5. Forgiveness is continual
Peter triggered this parable when he asked Jesus how many times he should forgive someone.
Peter thought 7 times was pretty generous. Jesus sent it into the supernatural. Seventy times seven; 490 times per offense. The implication is that Jesus is ready to forgiven.
For You, Lord, are good, and ready to forgive, and abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. Psalms 86:5
He would rather we did not continue to sin, but…
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
It is difficult to calculate the blessing of being forgiven. David, who was all too familiar with extreme failure and sin against God, understood this.
How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit! When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"; and You forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah. Psalms 32:1-5
B. Practice the truth
Are you still carrying guilt? Scripture declares today the wonder of our forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus.
"I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, and I will not remember your sins. Isaiah 43:25
If He doesn’t hold you r sin against you, neither should you. God will not hold on to the past like a big stick demanding future payment. God will not hold out in the present as punishment and a reminder of past offenses. God will not hold back in the future until we prove future faithfulness. His mercies are new every morning. Stop trying to pay. Stop trying to receive forgiveness on a promissory note. Relish your reconciliation with God. How do we get such forgiveness?
The earlier verse talked about believing. Acts 13:38-39
Repentance
Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Acts 2:38
Confession 1 John 1:9
II. Reciprocate Forgiveness
A. Perceive the truth
Just s the first half of the parable taught us the principles of God’s amazing act of compassion in forgiven us, the second half demonstrates the necessity to forgive those who offend us.
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.' So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, 'Have patience with me and I will repay you.' But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?' And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." Mat 18:28-35
There is no dancing around this passage. The point is painfully clear. How can we who have been forgiven much fail to reciprocate that forgiveness to others? The slave owed the Master $20 million. The fellow slave owed $10 bucks. Jesus made the disparity ridiculously wide to make a point. Let we think this is an isolated thing. We are told to pray forgive our debts to God in the same way we forgive our debtors.
So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. Colossians 3:12-13
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:31-32
B. Practice the truth
So how do we forgive like Jesus? Forgiveness is a choice of the will intricately connected to our thinking and feeling. We choose who we will forgive. It is interesting how we choose to forgive one person’s offense and refuse to forgive another person for a similar or equal offense.
Much depends on a history of relationship. It is a decision we make apart from feelings. The offense may be the same and the hurt the same but we decide to forgive one and not another.
Forgiving is God’s kingdom requirement.
1. Forgiveness is Confrontational.
This may not always be the direction but should be considered. Often we will seek an “I win you lose” confrontation. Sometimes we will withdraw. Sometimes we will give in. Sometimes we will meet half way. We need to care enough to confront.
Sometimes we need to humbly but clearly explain how someone’s actions affected us.
Sometimes however we are encouraged to be quiet and pray. The confrontation is ALWAYS for the purpose of restoration and the opportunity to demonstrate compassion and mercy.
2. Forgiveness is character based
It is out of the strength of our God-supplied love that we forgive. Our forgiving is not dependent on someone else’s worth or actions. Deserved forgiveness is not forgiveness but repayment.
3. Forgiveness is costly
Remember that is will cost us to forgive. It will cost us emotionally or sometimes financially.
It is the forgiver that bears the pain of forgiveness. Not until we realize the magnitude of our forgiveness will we have the emotional resources to forgive others. If I had unlimited resources, I would not give forgiving your $10,000 debt a second thought.
Remember, however, that failure to forgive will cost us even more. The only Biblical option is to always forgive. Also remember that it is nearly impossible to forget an offense. Anyone can forgive because it is an act of the will. You cannot easily forget the hurt because it was a devastating wound to the soul. Only through forgiveness can the pain decrease over time even though scars may remain. Bitterness however will sustain and even increase the pain of the original offense. Once we forgive, the healing of the Spirit of God will bring the necessary pain management.
4. Forgiveness is complete
To expect people to repay is unreasonable. You can’t restore the shattered heirloom vase. You can’t take back hurtful words that were said. You can’t undo and action once it has been done.
We need to release those who have offended us.
5. Forgiveness is continual
I admit that seventy times seven seems completely impossible. Yet Jesus commands us to forgive as He forgave us. What if Jesus had a sin limit? What if after the 100th time, Jesus said, “that’s it; I’m done?” “Don’t talk to me.” “I am not listening to you anymore.” “I will no longer show my love.”
Failing to forgive causes us to be tied up ourselves as prison guards. We will be required to spend time managing the prisoners in our debtor’s bitterness prison. We will need to track them, keep records, think up punishment, avoid them if possible, and plan how to deal with possible future encounters. It consumes our thinking. It continually triggers emotional surges.
We become prisoners ourselves; prisoners of our own failure to forgive.
Who do you need to release today?
If you want to be free and forgiven you must first realize your own forgiveness. Then you will be free from the guilt that binds you.
Then you must release those who have offended you or those you love. Then you will be free from the bitter roots that spring up and defile those around you.
Failure to forgive others will in the long run increase your offenses to others as the bitterness pervades more and more of your character.
Blessed be the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ; who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenlies in Christ.
Sovereignty chose us in Christ.
Freely redeemed and forgave us in Christ.
For Further Contemplation and consideration (3 Divine appointments)
APPOINTMENT ONE
Work on memorizing Ephesians 1:3 or 12:7-8
Reread notes to the FIRST smiley face.
Take some time to think about any feelings of guilt that creeps in. What have you done about it? Who do you think bring such condemnation? Revisit your “hall of shame”. How does it make you feel?
Take some time to think about anyone you have struggled to forgive. Why have you been able to forgive some but not others? What makes the difference?
Reread the parable of forgiveness in Matthew 18:21-35. What triggered the parable?
APPOINTMENT TWO
Reread the notes to the 2nd smiley face. This is all about realizing our forgiveness.
Take the time to contemplate further the verses on forgiveness printed there.
Review the 5 elements to true forgiveness.
Take some time to contemplate Psalm 32. David’s song of confession and forgiveness.
Review the areas of guilt considered earlier.
Say this out loud. “___________ (the sin) makes me feel guilty but Jesus has completely forgiven me. I am forgiven.
Appointment Three
Reread the rest of the notes concerning reciprocating forgiveness.
Now that you have realized the wonder of your forgiveness, offer it to those who have offended you.
Think about those people.
Take the time to forgive each one keeping the 5 elements of forgiveness in mind.
Say this, “Because Jesus has forgiven my great debt and offers the resources to forgive others in the same way, I now forgive ____________ (name of offender). I am willing to bear the pain so that they might know the love of Jesus through me.
Matthew 18:21-35 Parable of Forgiveness
