The Power Of Forgiveness

The Power of Forgiveness

June 15, 2025 Morning Service

Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK

Rick Boyne

Message Point: Forgiveness sets us free from our worries about a wrongdoing.

Focus Passage: Matthew 18 21-35 (Pew Bible page 1134)

Supplemental Passage: But Jesus was saying, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing." (Luke 23:34a NASB)

Introduction: When you are mad at someone about something and choose to hold a grudge instead of forgiving that person, that person lives rent free in your head 24/7. They may not even know you are upset. There may have been no intentional offense. Maybe they DO know and are not sorry in the least bit. Maybe they are deceased and are unable to apologize. Either way, you are losing sleep, and they are sleeping peacefully. When you give up your right to resentment or retribution, and put the offense in God’s hands, you are released from the prison you have put yourself in by holding that grudge in the first place.

I. Forgiveness without limits (21-22)

a. "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. "And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him." (Luke 17:3-4 NASB)

b. True forgiveness does not keep count—it reflects God’s endless mercy.

c. …just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you. (Colossians 3:13b NASB)

d. Forgiveness is not a limited gesture but a continual posture of grace. Jesus' response to Peter emphasizes that forgiveness should reflect the boundless mercy of God.

II. Forgiveness Reflects Our Grasp of God’s Grace (23-27)

a. The king forgives an unpayable debt, representing God’s forgiveness of our sin.

b. When we recognize the depth of our own forgiven debt, we become gracious to others.

i. “He has not dealt with us according to our sins... As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.” Psalms 103:10-12

c. "...having forgiven us all our wrongdoings, having canceled the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." Colossians 2:13–14

d. Forgiveness is Christlike—it shows the world who we belong to.

III. Unforgiveness Brings Judgment (28-34)

a. "All bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and slander must be removed from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, compassionate, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you." Ephesians 4:31–32

b. Refusing to forgive puts our own relationship with God at risk.

i. "For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. (Matthew 6:14-15 NASB)

c. The servant’s refusal to forgive demonstrates the hypocrisy and consequences of withholding mercy. Forgiveness is both a gift to others and an act of obedience to God.

d. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment. (James 2:13 NASB)

e. As I mentioned in last week’s message, if you hold a grudge and refuse to forgive, you are 100% outside of the will of God!

Application/Call to Obedience: Jesus ends the parable with a warning: “So will My heavenly Father do to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” (v. 35 NASB) Forgiveness is not a feeling—it’s a choice from the heart, rooted in understanding what Christ has done for us. When we forgive, we declare that grace has truly changed us. Let us forgive as we’ve been forgiven, and walk in the peace that comes from a clean heart.

Have you been truly changed? Have you trusted Jesus and been forgiven by the Father? Have you repented of your sins? Have you truly been changed? The Bible says, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10 NASB)