Forgiveness
Forgiveness is a wonderful thing. Have you ever gotten in trouble and gotten forgiveness? When it’s a big thing, it’s like winning the lottery! It can feel so good when a debt is lifted - it’s like freedom!
Isn’t it weird, tho, how we all want forgiveness and mercy, but then again, sometimes we don’t want to give that same forgiveness and mercy to others? We want to hold on to wrongs done and we want to hold grudges and not offer forgiveness, yet we ourselves want and maybe even expect forgiveness from others? Some people even enjoy being mad at others and holding grudges!
Don’t be that way! As Christians, shouldn’t we show love and kindness rather than hate and grudges?
Matthew 25:21-35
21 Then Peter came up and said to Him, “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still 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-seven times.
23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 And 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 master commanded that he be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment be made. 26 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 master of that slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the debt. 28 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.’ 30 But he was unwilling, [ac]and went and threw him in prison until he would 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 master all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his master *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?’ 34 And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he would 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.”
1 talent is like many years wages. 33kg of gold? That’s 33,000 grams of gold! 1g is like $1,200, so 1 talent is very much, think of a few big gold bars or bags of gold coins. 10,000 talents is like a billion dollars! A staggering amount of money to be in debt for!
1 denari was like a days wages, 100 denari was like a ? years’ wages. (a miniscule fraction of the previous debt.)
We have a huge sin debt and there’s no way we can pay up for our sins!
There’s no way to pay back for our sins! It’s beyond our repayment!
As the servant did, we beg for forgiveness!
Jesus has cancelled our debt!
Transgressions and the debt by others are miniscule comparatively!
God expects us to forgive others! We MUST forgive others and have mercy on others!
So much so, then why should He forgive us?
Do you enjoy being mad or enjoy simmering or enjoy grudges? It’s wrong! Stop it! Forgive!
Are you biding your time to get back at someone for some wrong they did to you? Let it go!
God even shows you to beware if you don’t forgive! There are consequences if you forgive as God has forgiven you!
Forgive others as God has forgiven you...
Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”
Matthew 6:14
“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Colossians 3:13
“Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.”
Mark 11:25
“And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
Matthew 6:15
“But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Even tho His enemies, He forgave us!
Daniel 9:9
"The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him."
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Luke 11:2-4 - Lord’s prayer - forgive your enemies!
2 And He said to them, “When you pray, say:
Father, hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our [e]daily bread.
4 And forgive us our sins,
For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.
And do not lead us into temptation.’”
For my own sake...
Isaiah 43:25
“I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more ..."
For my own sake - imagine that - He does it for His sake, not necessarily your sake! Forgiveness is often more for you rather than for them.
What does that mean to you that God does it for His sake?
Psalm 130:3-4
“If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.”
Imagine if God put down a tick mark every time you sinned! We like to think of ourselves as good people, but God knows better! You know too if you’re honest! We think we are in control of those sin jar tick marks, but if God were doing it at His standard, how many tick marks do you think you have stacked up? A billion, a trillion? How are you going to pay that back? Of yourself, you can’t! You are either alone and in trouble with that huge debt that must be paid or else you have turned to Jesus and He has wiped out your debt!
Ephesians 1:7-8
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace which He made to abound toward us in all wisdom and prudence.”
Colossians 1:13-14
“He has delivered us from the power of darkness and conveyed us into the kingdom of the Son of His love, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.”
Unbroken
We got just got back from California and while on the plane I watched the movie Unbroken! It was a gritty POW war story. I didn’t know it at the time, but the end of the movie showed me that it was really a movie about forgiveness.
Olympian Louis Zamperini.
In 1936 he took 8th place in the Tokyo olympics but set a record for the best lap time.
In 1941, he was commissioned in the US Air Force and while in the war his plane went down near the Marshall islands and drifted in a life raft for 47 days.
He was captured and suffered through two POW camps.
He was freed when the war ended and suffered much PSD.
He became an Evangelist who worked with at-risk Youths.
He sought out his Japanese captors and visited and forgave them personally. All except one that refused to meet him.
Before his death, at age 80, he got to run with the torch at the Tokyo olympics!
Imagine going through all he went through with the Japanese only to completely forgive them. Could you do it?
Turn to Jesus to forgive your huge sin debt!
Just as Jesus forgives you, forgive others also!
