Introduction
A. This is a continuation of Jesus Sermon on the Mount
1. After having given His disciples the model prayer
a. Lets turn to Matthew 6:12
b. Jesus continues to explain an important clause in His model prayer
Matthew 6:12 (NKJV)
And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
2. It seems as though Christ thought His disciples and us needed further explanation of forgiveness
a. There are several passages we must consider along with our main passage
(1) Turn to Matthew 18:21 7 22
(2) Here Peter asked Jesus a question
Matthew 18:21-22 (NKJV)
Then Peter came to Him and said, "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
(3) Turn to Matthew 5:23-24
(4) Here Jesus illustrates just how important our personal relationships are
Matthew 5:23-24 (NKJV)
"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, {24} "leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift
(5) And now we have our main passage, Matthew 6:14-15
Matthew 6:14-15 (NKJV)
"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. {15} "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
II. Body
A. The doctrine of this church is that once we are saved, we cannot loose our salvation
1. But in light of our main passage this morning, it looks like we can loose our salvation by not forgiving some one of their sins against us
a. At one time every other church in this community believed that there was some way we can loose our salvation.
(1) Now I don’t know if they have looked at our Matthew 6 passage and said, see, there Jesus said we loose our salvation when we are unforgiving of another
(2) Forgiveness seems to be one of the most important things in a Christian’s life
(3) So how do we reconcile this issue
(a) Turn to Mark 11:25-26
2. We have read Matthew 5:23 - 24
a. Don’t even try to worship if there is some one with whom you should reconciled
Matthew 5:23-24 (NKJV)
"Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, {24} "leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift
(1) Your worship is unacceptable while there are problems between you and another individual
b. Now here in Mark 11:25-26 we learn that our prayers are unacceptable while there are problems between you and another individual
Mark 11:25-26 (NKJV)
"And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. {26} "But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses."
c. Our relationship with the Father is dependant upon our relationship with others around us
(1) If we fail to truly forgive from the very depths of our hearts our relationship with the Father suffers
(a) Lets turn to John 10:27-30
B. We are forever saved
John 10:27-30 (NKJV)
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. {28} "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. {29} "My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand. {30} "I and My Father are one."
1. Jesus is talking about His sheep
a. Who do you think that is?
(1) Its any and all who have placed their faith in the person and work of Jesus Christ
(2) John 1:12 says,
John 1:12 (NKJV)
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name
(3) Acts 16:31
(Acts 16:31 NKJV) So they said, "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household."
(4) Romans 10:9
Romans 10:9 (NKJV)
that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
(5) Who is saved? Who are Christ’s sheep?
(a) Each and every individual who has, is, or will place their faith in Christ
(b) You and I when we have received Jesus as our Lord and Savior
John 10:27-28 (NKJV)
"My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. {28} "And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
2. Listen, Jesus says, “I give them eternal life”
a. How long is eternal?
(1) Forever.
b. The life He is talking about is life after physical death
(1) Spending eternity in the presence of God the Father, God the Son, and with God the Holy Spirit living within us
c. Jesus is not one to give and then to require its return
(1) Christ’s gifts are free and unconditional
(2) Jesus gives life, eternal life, as a gift to all those who accept His love, His sacrifice, and His forgiveness
(3) And how long is never
(a) Well never is a negative concept and yet its duration is eternal
(b) Those who have eternal life will continue for ever
(c) They will never stop living with God and Christ
d. Jesus also says, “neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand”
(1) The Old King James says it this way
John 10:28 (KJV)
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand
(2) neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand
(a) Notice that word man is in italics
i) That means it is not there in the original Greek
ii) The word is a very strong word which means “Not Any”
iii) The actual concept is that there is nothing in all God’s creation which can snatch a Christian, you and me out of Jesus hand
a) Not a being
b) Not human
c) Not demon
d) Not idea
e) Not any natural phenomenon
f) Not any unnatural phenomenon
g) Not even our selves
h) Once we have received Christ as Lord and Savior, we are His forever
i) Paul, in Romans 8:38-39, puts all of this this way
Romans 8:38-39 (NKJV)
For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, {39} nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord
3. Now in our John 10 passage Jesus says, we are locked in Christ’s hand and Nothing is stronger that our Savior and He has us secure, but the passage goes on in John 10:29 to say that we are also protect in the hand of the Father
John 10:29 (NKJV)
"My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father's hand.
a. God the Father is the greatest and most powerful being in all the universe, in all creation, and outside creation
(1) And again the idea is that “Not Any” thing is able to snatch a Christian out of the hand of the Father
b. And so you see that we are under the direct protection of God the Father and God the Son
(1) Now we turn to Ephesians 1:13-14
4. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise
Ephesians 1:13-14 (NKJV)
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, {14} who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.
a. Notice when we believed the gospel we were sealed with the Holy Spirit
(1) And so I can only believe that all three persons of the Godhead are bound up in preserving every Christian unto the day of salvation, that is the day of our glorification
(a) I want you to turn to Romans 8:15
5. The adoption of sons
Romans 8:15 (NKJV)
For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."
a. In three places in Romans, Paul uses the term adoption in conjunction with our salvation
b. And in Galatians 4:5 and in Ephesians 1:5 Paul uses the concept of the adoption of sons
(1) Paul was a Roman citizen so he was well aware of Roman law.
(a) Paul uses the idea of adoption as he knew it in Roman law.
i) Rome was originally a republic, the main feature of the government was the Roman senate
ii) Under Roman law a man had to have a son in order to be a senator. The practice became for a man to adopt a man as his son so that the first man might be eligible to be a senator. After becoming a senator, the first man would unadopt his adopted son. This was troubling so the Romans made it a law that no adopted son could be unadopted.
iii) So when Paul speaks of the adoption of sons his concept is that of a Roman adoption.
iv) We are adopted as son into the family of God and cannot be unadopted.
C. We are clenched tight in the hands of God the Father and God the Son, sealed by the Holy Spirit
1. Think about that, all three persons of the Godhead are bound up in preserving you and me for eternity
a. We are adopted into the family of God and cannot be unadopted
2. Yeah, but what about what Jesus says in Matthew 6:15?
Matthew 6:15 (NKJV)
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses
D. What about this, “neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”?
1. Turn to Colossians 2:13
Colossians 2:13 (NKJV)
And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,
a. Note the last phrase, “having forgiven you all trespasses”
(1) This says all trespasses
(a) Past trespasses
(b) Present trespasses
(c) And future trespasses
(2) Having forgiven, past tense, it has already been done
(a) Turn to Luke 23:34
(b) When were all these trespasses forgiven?
(c) The moment we accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, all our trespasses were forgiven 2000 years ago, when on the cross, Jesus said, in Luke 23:34
Luke 23:34 (NKJV)
Then Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do."
(3) Yes, Jesus was asking forgiveness for His executioners
(a) But, He was also interceding for all those who would believe in Him through all history
2. So, what does Jesus mean by His statement in Matthew 6:15
Matthew 6:15 (NKJV)
But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses
a. I looked to see what other preachers believed and saw a wide range of doctrine
(1) But Ryrie, I believe says it best
(2) “Notice that the only point the Lord emphasizes in the prayer is the necessity for forgiving one another. Forgiveness with the Father depends on forgiveness among the members of the family of God. This is the forgiveness that affects fellowship within the family of God, not the forgiveness that leads to salvation.
(3) As we have point out, we are forgiven all trespasses
(a) Past
(b) Present
(c) And future
(4) But, sin we hold onto affects our immediate relationship with God
(a) It also affect our physical health
i) Holding onto hate and anger causes many physical problems
a) Sleeplessness
b) Heart trouble
c) Many aches and pains because the body never truly relaxes
(b) Holding onto sin affects our emotional well being
i) Every time we think about the individual who wronged us we become emotionally upset
a) Which leads to the physical problems we have already mentioned
(c) Holding onto sin affects our witness
i) Hate and anger cannot be hidden very long and our lack of forgiveness and love becomes quite evident
(d) I could go on and on but suffice it to say that our health is dependant on our truly forgiving another
(e) Our relationship with God is truly dependant on our forgiving another
b. The individual who offended you may never come to repentance
(1) But in your own best interests, forgiveness is essential
3. Forgiveness is not easy
a. I suffered for many years to forgive my step-father the abuses he heaped upon my mom, my sisters and me and my brothers
(1) When I was told that he had died, I was vary angry with God, because I wanted to cause my step-father the pain he inflicted upon us.
(2) I finally resolved to forgive him, even though he was dead and most likely suffering in hell
(3) The forgiveness was a long time coming
(a) Every time he crossed my mind, I asked God to give me the grace to forgive him
b. And the Lord did ease my heart to come to the point that one day my step-father crossed my mind and I did not become angry or hate him
(1) I actually got to the point that I could pity him
E. Forgiveness is essential to your health
1. Physical
2. Emotional
3. And spiritual
4. Essential for you to have peace
a. Peace within yourself
b. And peace with God
5. Forgiveness is what Christ demands of His disciples
