Bankrupt Debtors Discharged
by: Tylor Cates
(Luke 7:41-42)
"There was a certain rich creditor, which had two debtors: the one owed 500 pence, and the other 50.
And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore which of them will love him most?"
INTRO: The two men differed considerably in the amounts, which they owed: the one owed 500 pence (which a pence is equal to a days labor) and the other owed only 50. There is differences between guilt of sin in mans eyes and the Lord knows this. It would be wrong to suggest that we would think the same of a man that cheated on a test than a man who murdered someone.
But we notice that although there was one point of difference in the two debtors, there were 3 similarities; they were both debtors: and so all men have sinned, be it little or much: and, secondly, they were both bankrupt, neither of them could meet the debt the one owing the 50 or the one owing the 500, and lastly, oh I wish that before we leave this place today we will all be like this "when they had nothing to pay," their creditor "frankly forgave them both."
I. Let Us Think Of Their Bankruptcy.
1. They were unquestionably in debt.
a. If they could have disputed their debt they would have.
b. If they could of claimed to of paid their debt they would have.
2. They had nothing to pay with.
a. They had probably checked every where knowing this day was coming they went through all their safes, their cash drawers, even asked their friends but they couldn’t find any money at all.
b. They searched their entire house to see if they could get rid of something to pay the debt.
3. Finally they came to the last possible extreme they realized they were bankrupt.
4. We came to that point a long time ago when we had to realize we were bound to our creator because he gave us everything and though we could search the whole earth we couldn’t pay him back.
a. We were bound to obedience
(1) But we did not do this. We have left undone the things we needed to do. That is why it brought the sentence "For the wages of sin is death."
(2) There is not one of us in here that can say I never sin I obey God to the letter never falling into sin.
5. Let me remind you of this to cancel a debt you must pay back all of it plus interest and there’s not a one of us that can do that when it comes to God.
a. He tells us "He that is guilty of one of these sins is guilty of them all."
b. EXAMPLE: (Gods law is like a vase if one chip no matter how small is out of it, it is imperfect and can not be in Gods sight.)
6. Moreover the debt is immense to compare a righteous man to 50 pence and a bad man to 500. We owe more than that way more than that. Even the best of us owe more than we can ever pay.
a. When I think of my life it seems like a sea of innumerable sins so much I can’t even count or remember them all and if you were honest with yourself you’d say the same thing.
7. This being said I want to take a minute to discuss some of the temptations that fall on someone who is bankrupt.
a. One is to try and forget their state entirely EXAMPLE: (The man who is going backward in business doesn’t want to go over his business logs he wants to ignore what’s going on and hope it goes away. The only way he has to drive the cares away is to drink, go to his amusements, and lie about what’s really going on.)
b. The second temptation is to make as good of a show as he can. EXAMPLE: (There was a city besieged by invaders they were starving but yet to show there enemy they weren’t they threw bread over the walls to make the invaders think they had enough food to last and the invaders went home.) That’s the same way some people are all their life they’ve been generous giving to a lot of people, paying their tithes in church, maybe even working in the church. But all along their trying to cover up the fact that inside they’re starving spiritually.
8. One thing more in this point is you need to stop thinking your going to pay you debts because your not and never will be able to not if you live 100 lives.
II. They Were Freely Discharged.
1. The goodness of the creditor
a. What a gracious heart he had he realized "poor souls you’ll not be able to pay me, but don’t be sad I cancel all you debts."
b. EXAMPLE: (I was reading the other day of Caesar when he had his war with Pompeye. He won and afterwards they brought the cabinet in with all of the names of the senators in Rome who had betrayed Caesar. He ordered the cabinet sealed and than burned it. Never looking at the letters because he forgave them all because after all it was war.) Isn’t it great to know that our God does the same thing even though we’ve done wrong he takes our sins and puts them in the cabinet, seals it with Jesus’ blood, and casts it into the lake of forgetfulness.
2. The Freeness of Forgiveness
a. He did not stand there and lecture them on what they’ve done. They knew what they had done otherwise they wouldn’t of come to him.
b. They did not have to plead and beg to get forgiveness.
c. He looked at them knowing that they didn’t deserve it and forgave them anyway.
3. The debt was fully forgiven.
a. He did not say I want 50 cents on the dollar because even if he did they couldn’t afford it. Don’t you think if they had anything to pay they’d already of done it,
b. Now (Romans 8:33) says "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God’s elect?"
4. Observe that it is an effectual forgiveness.
a. The only person that can forgive a debt is the person to which the debt is owed. "I owed a debt I could not pay he paid a debt he did not owe!!!"
5. It was an eternal discharge
a. By law that creditor could never bring them back in front of him for that debt again once he forgave it.
6. My last remark on this point is that the forgiveness was applied to both debtors.
a. The one that owed the 50 pence needed forgiven just as much as the one who owed the 500 pence.
b. The same blood that forgave me is the same blood that forgave you it doesn’t matter the cost on the receipt just the signature in red that marks it PAID IN FULL.
c. YOU THAT HAVE A SMALL ACCOUNT YOU KNOW YOU CAN’T PAY IT COME LAY IT HERE ON THE ALTAR, YOU THAT HAVE A LARGE ACCOUNT COME LAY IT HERE ON THE ALTAR AS WELL GOD WHO FORGIVES ALL WILL FORGIVE YOU AND MARK PAID ON THE RECEIPT OF YOUR HEART TODAY!
III. Their Creditor Forgave Them Both.
1. There is a time when pardon comes it’s when self-sufficiency goes.
a. When you realize you have nothing to pay than you will come to him humbly and he’ll accept you with open arms.
b. You cannot get saved until you realize you are lost first.
2. We will also make an honest confession
a. Dear Lord I’m a sinner in need of a Savior I’ve done a lot of wrong things and I know I can’t make them right without your help.
b. WHEN YOU ARE BROUHGT TO YOUR WORST THAN YOU WILL SEE THE LORD AT HIS BEST!
c. You will never see the beauty of forgiveness until you feel the reality of sin.
(1.) These men wouldn’t of been so happy to be forgiven if they didn’t owe anything they had to come to the point to where they were scared of what they were doing and then when the creditor forgave them it made them oh so happy.
3. There are some people that will never look up until they are brought down.
a. As long as they have that one last fake nickel or last hair brain scheme to get money they’ll never look to the creditor. It’s when you have nothing then they look to God and say be merciful on me a sinner.
