Perhaps you’ve heard the story about the stubborn old farmer who was plowing his field. A neighbor who was watching as he tried to guide the mule finally said, "I don’t want to butt in, but you could save yourself a lot of work by saying "gee" and "haw," instead of jerking on the reins." The oldtimer mopped his brow and replied, "Yep, I know; but his here mule kicked me six years ago, and I ain’t spoke to him since!" (Windows on the Word, p. 48).
C. S. Lewis once said, "Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive."
Sermon Text: Matthew 18:21-35
"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven" (vv. 21-22).
Before you criticize Peter’s question, ask yourself, "Am I willing to forgive a person seven times?"
"Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him" (Luke 17:3-4).
A man lay on his deathbed, harassed by fear because he had harbored hatred against another. He sent for the individual with whom he had had a disagreement years before; he then made overtures of peace. The two of them shook hands in friendship. But as the visitor left the room, the sick man roused himself and said, "Remember, if I get over this, the old quarrel stands" (Illustrations Unlimited, p. 216).
WE MUST FORGIVE WITHOUT LIMITS.
• We must forgive no matter how BIG the offense.
• We must forgive no matter how FREQUENT the offenses.
Three reasons:
I. WE MUST FORGIVE WITHOUT LIMITS SINCE THAT IS HOW WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN BY GOD.
Matthew 18:23-27
The King = God
The Servants = All People
The Debt = Sin
The debt was "ten thousand talents." "We glimpse some idea of the size of the servant’s debt when we recall that David donated three thousand talents of gold and seven thousand talent of silver for the construction of the temple. . . . Some recent estimates suggest a dollar value of twelve million; but with inflation and fluctuating precious metal prices, this could be over a billion dollars in today’s currency" (The Expositor’s Bible Commentary, vol. 8, p. 406). This was a debt that could never be paid.
Do you see yourself as the forgiven servant? We have been forgiven a debt we could never pay!
How God has forgiven our sins:
• Our sins have been ABUNDANTLY PARDONED. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon" (Isaiah 55:7).
• Our sins have been REMOVED FROM US AS FAR AS THE EAST IS FROM THE WEST. "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12).
• Our sins have been CLEANSED AS WHITE AS SNOW AND WOOL. ". . . though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool" (Isaiah 1:18). G. K. Chesterton said, "God paints in many colors, but he never paints so gorgeously as when he paints in white."
• Our sins have been THROWN INTO THE DEPTHS OF THE SEA. ". . . thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19).
• Our sins have been FORGOTTEN. "Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more" (Hebrews 10:17).
• Our sins have been BLOTTED OUT. "I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins" (Isaiah 43:25).
• Our sins have been CAST BEHIND GOD’S BACK. ". . . thou hast cast all my sins behind thy back" (Isaiah 38:17).
• Our sins have been COVERED. "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered" (Psalm 32:1).
• Our sins have been LAID ON CHRIST. ". . . the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6).
• Our sins have been NAILED TO THE CROSS. "Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross" (Colossians 2:14).
• Our sins have been CLEANSED BY THE BLOOD OF CHRIST. ". . . the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
There is a story that one night Martin Luther went to sleep troubled about his sin. In a dream he saw an angel standing by a blackboard, and at the top of the board was Luther’s name. The angel, chalk in hand, was listing all of Luther’s sins, and the list filled the blackboard. Luther shuddered in despair, feeling that his sins were so many that he could never be forgiven. But suddenly in his dream he saw a pierced hand writing above the list these words: "The blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin." As Luther gazed in amazement, the blood flowed from the wounded hand and washed the record clean (Nelson’s Complete Book of Stories, Illustrations & Quotes, pp. 363-364).
Consider this if you have a hard time forgiving: Do you think you are better than God by not forgiving what He forgives?
James Montgomery Boice writes,
The only sure proof that a person has received God’s forgiveness through true faith in Jesus is a transformed heart and changed life. How do we get that down into the practical areas of our lives so that we actually begin to treat others as we have been treated? By standing before the holy God and seeing ourselves as the sinners we are—vile and yet forgiven through the death of God’s Son. We must know that we have been saved solely because of the undeserved mercy of God. That awareness should humble us so that we simply have no other option but to forgive others and to do it from the heart" (The Gospel of Matthew, vol. 2, p. 397).
"Be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you" (Ephesians 4:32).
II. WE MUST FORGIVE WITHOUT LIMITS IF WE WANT TO AVOID THE CHASTENING OF GOD.
Matthew 18:28-35
"So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses" (v. 35).
Verse 28 states that the forgiven servant "laid hands on [his fellow servant], and took him by the throat." You say, "I would never act like that!" But how many times have you choked that person in your mind?
Notice that the plea made in verse 29 is exactly the same as the forgiven servant’s plea in verse 26: "Have patience with me, and I will repay the debt." Though the king had mercy on the first servant and forgave his enormous debt, this same servant showed no mercy to his fellow servant who owed him such a small amount.
"He shall have judgment without mercy, that hath shewed no mercy. . . ." (James 2:13).
W. A. Criswell said, "There are many of God’s children who are under disciplinary correction all their days simply because there is someone whom they will not forgive" (Expository Notes on the Gospel of Matthew, p. 109).
"For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth" (Hebrews 12:6).
III. WE MUST FORGIVE WITHOUT LIMITS IF WE WANT TO ENJOY THE BLESSING OF GOD.
A. An Unforgiving Spirit Will Damage Our Fellowship with God.
"For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14-15).
Judicial forgiveness: "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin, according to the riches of his grace" (Ephesians 1:7).
Parental forgiveness: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9).
B. An Unforgiving Spirit Will Hinder Our Prayers.
"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive [have forgiven] our debtors" (Matthew 6:12).
"And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses" (Mark 11:25-26).
"If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me" (Psalm 66:18).
C. An Unforgiving Spirit Will Negate Our Worship.
". . . if thou bring thy gift to the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matthew 5:23-24).
D. An Unforgiving Spirit Will Steal Our Joy.
CONCLUSION
There’s a story about a traveler making his way with a guide through the jungles of Burma. They came to a shallow but wide river and waded through it to the other side. When the traveler came out of the river, numerous leeches had attached to his body. His first instinct was to grab them and pull them off.
This guide stopped him, warning that pulling the leeches off would only leave tiny pieces of them under the skin. Eventually, infection would set in.
The best way to rid the body of the leeches, the guide advised, was to bathe in a warm balsam bath for several minutes. This would soak the leeches, and soon they would release their hold on the man’s body.
When I’ve been significantly injured by another person, I cannot simply yank the injury from myself and expect that all bitterness, malice, and emotion will be gone. Resentment still hides under the surface. The only way to become truly free of the offense and to forgive others is to bathe in the soothing bath of God’s forgiveness of me. When I finally fathom the extent of God’s love in Jesus Christ, forgiveness of other is a natural outflow (Perfect Illustrations for Every Topic and Occasion, p. 96).
* * * * *
After the Civil War Robert E. Lee visited a Kentucky woman who took him to the remains of a grand old tree in front of her home. There she cried bitterly that its limbs and trunk had been destroyed by Union artillery fire. She waited for Lee to condemn the North or at least sympathize with her loss. Lee paused, and then said, "Cut it down, my dear madam, and forget it" (Illustrations Unlimited, p. 222).
Are you ready to put the past behind you and forgive?
