FORGIVE AND BE FORGIVEN

TODAY’S PASSAGE: 

Matthew 18:21-35 (NLT) – 21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! 23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt. 26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt. 28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. 31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?” 22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven! 23 “Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date with servants who had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him millions of dollars. 25 He couldn’t pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—along with his wife, his children, and everything he owned—to pay the debt.

• The person in this story that represents us is the servant that couldn’t repay the debt.
• Because we all have sinned, we owe a debt for that sin that we can never repay.
• The Bible says “the wages of sin is death, but the gift freely given by God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 6:23)
• Debt: something that is owed or due
• Jesus paid that debt that we owed and given us eternal life.

26 “But the man fell down before his master and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me, and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was filled with pity for him, and he released him and forgave his debt.

• The master in this story is God.

• He has compassion and mercy for those who repent and seek His forgiveness.

1 John 1:9 (NLT ) – But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.

• God is ready to forgive and wash us clean from our wickedness.
• All we must do is confess our sin to Him and turn away from our sin.

28 “But when the man left the king, he went to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars. He grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. 29 “His fellow servant fell down before him and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and put in prison until the debt could be paid in full. 31 “When some of the other servants saw this, they were very upset. They went to the king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave you that tremendous debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent the man to prison to be tortured until he had paid his entire debt. 35 “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.”

• The man who was forgiven of his debt went to a man to who owed him a large debt and demanded payment.
• He punished the man who couldn’t pay the debt, even though the king just forgive him of his own debt.
• Despite receiving mercy and forgiveness himself, the forgiven servant reacts harshly and refuses to show the same compassion to his debtor, resulting in major consequences.
  
• This is what it looks like when we refuse to forgive others even though God is willing to forgive us.

Matthew 6:15 (NLT) – But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

• God forgives us so that we can also forgive others. When we refuse to forgive others, we are not walking in God’s love and cannot be forgiven.