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Forgiveness

Published August 31, 2026 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: discipleship, Forgiveness, sin-debt

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A Quality of Discipleship – Forgiveness

Scripture Reading: Matthew 18:21 – 35

Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? (Matthew 18:33 | TNIV)

Introduction. As we continue our series on the Qualities of Discipleship, we come to today to the fourth quality: Forgiveness. Discipleship is transformation into the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ. One of the most distinctive marks of a genuine disciple is the quality of forgiveness. In our culture of offense and grievance, forgiveness is a radical testimony to the Gospel.

The magnitude of the debt, Matthew 18:23 – 25.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. [24] As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. [25] Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.” (Matthew 18:23 – 25 | TNIV)

In this parable, the king represents God, and he is settling accounts. One servant owes “10,000 bags of gold” – in Greek, 10,000 talents. A talent equaled about 20 years’ wages for a day laborer. So, 10,000 talents represents roughly 200,000 years of wages – an unpayable sun, deliberately hyperbolic and completely beyond human ability. This pictures the magnitude of our debt to God. Our sins – every thought, word, and deep that falls short of His glory – have created a debt we can never repay. We may minimize our sins, but the Bible presents them as an infinite offense against an infinite God. This was something David understood. Look down at Psalm 51:4 –

For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. [4] Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight; so you are right in your verdict and justified when you judge. (Psalm 51:3, 4 | TNIV)

Understand this: Our rebellion is cosmic treason against the Lawgiver.

The consequences are severe: The master orders that the man, his wife, his children, and all he had be sold. This reflects the just judgment of God. Paul tells us in Romans 6:23 that “the wages of sin is death.” Eternal payment is what we deserve. No partial payment is possible. No good works, religious activity, or self-reformation can settle the account. As the hymn writer wrote:

Could my tears forever flow, could my zeal no respite know, these for sin could not atone; Thou must save, and Thou alone.

Have you truly reckoned with the magnitude of your debt? In our self-justifying age, we compare ourselves to others. Bu the standard is the thrice-holy God. When the prophet Isaiah saw the Lord high and lifted up, he cried:

“Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.” (Isaiah 6:5 | TNIV)

The first step in true discipleship is recognizing that we are bankrupt debtors with no means to pay. Until we grasp the enormity of our sin, we will never appreciate the wonder of forgiveness or be motivated to extend it to others.

God initiates the settlement. One day every person will give an account. Now, for the believer, that accounting was settled at the Cross. For those outside Christ, the debt remains unpaid.

The forgiveness of the debt, Matthew 18:26, 27.

“The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ [27] The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.’” (Matthew 18:26, 27 | TNIV)

The scene changes dramatically. The servant falls on his knees and begs for patience, promising to repay everything. His plea is not for cancellation but simply for more time. He still thinks he can work it off. That is the natural human response to Holy Spirit conviction: “I’ll do better. Give me another chance.” But the debt is too great. No amount of patience would ever enable repayment.

But, the master takes pity – from the Greek splanchnizomai, meaning moved with the deepest compassion. He “canceled the debt” and let him go. He wiped the slate clean completely and freely.

This is a breathtaking picture of the Gospel. God the Father, moved with compassion, has canceled our unpayable debt through the atoning work of His Son. Colossians 2:13, 14 declares:

When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, [14] having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. (Colossians 2:13, 14 | TNIV)

The Cross is where our debt was paid – not by us, but by the perfect Servant who bore the full weight of our sin.

I want you to notice something astounding – the freeness of this forgiveness. The servant didn’t earn it. It was pure grace.

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— [9] not by works, so that no one can boast. (Ephesians 2:8, 9 | TNIV)

The king cancels the whole debt. That’s full forgiveness; complete release. This is the heart of the Christian message: Forgiveness of sins is available to all who come to Christ in repentance and faith.

For the disciple this isn’t just past tense. We live daily in the reality of forgiven debt.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9 | TNIV)

The magnitude of the debt magnifies the magnitude of the mercy.

Have you experienced this cancellation? If you’ve fallen on your knees before the King and received the free forgiveness that is in Christ alone, then you know the joy being set free from the power and penalty of sin.

Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus… (Romans 8:1 | TNIV)

That’s the second great truth: The debt has been forgiven – completely, compassionately, and permanently for all who trust in the Savior.

The terms of forgiveness, Matthew 18:28 – 34.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. [29] “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ [30] “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. [31] When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. [32] “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. [33] Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ [34] In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. (Matthew 18:28 – 34 | TNIV)

The parable doesn’t end happily. There’s a devastating turn. The forgiven servant finds a fellow servant who owes him 100 denarii – or about three months wages. That’s not an insignificant sum, but pretty trivial compared to the 10,000 talents! Yet this man who has just received infinite mercy grabs this fellow, chokes him, and demands payment. The response is refusal. No pity, no mercy is extended. The man throws him into prison.

This is the heart of the warning. The terms of forgiveness are clear: Those who have been forgiven must forgive much.

Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you? (Matthew 18:33 | TNIV)

The servant received mercy; he was obligated to show it.

Jesus teaches that forgiveness is not a one-time transaction we receive and then ignore in our relationships. It is a quality of discipleship that must characterize our entire lives. The unmerciful servant reveals that he never truly appropriated the master’s forgiveness. His heart remained hard. True reception of God’s grace produces a gracious spirit. Listen to what Jesus taught in Matthew 6:14, 15 –

For if you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. [15] But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. (Matthew 6:14, 15 | TNIV)

An unforgiving heart is incompatible with a forgiven heart.

Verse 35 drives home the point:

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive a brother or sister from your heart.” (Matthew 18:35 | TNIV)

Forgiveness must be “from your heart” – an inward release of the debt, a choice to no longer hold an offense against another person, empowered by the Spirit.

What does this mean practically for disciples today? First, we must regularly examine our hearts for unforgiveness. Is there someone you’re choking – emotionally, relationally, spiritually? A parent who failed you? A church member who gossiped? An enemy who wronged you? The debt they owe you, however large it feels, in a hundred denarii compared to the 10,000 talents God has forgiven you. To withhold forgiveness is to deny the Gospel we claim to believe.

Second, forgiveness doesn’t mean denying the reality of the sin or forgoing justice where appropriate. But it does mean releasing the personal right to revenge, bitterness, and the demand for repayment. Remember what Paul wrote:

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32 | TNIV)

Third, this quality of discipleship is essential for the health of the church. Matthew 18 is all about community life. Unforgiveness destroys fellowship, grieves the Spirit, and destroys our witness. A forgiving church is a powerful testimony that the Gospel changes people.

Lastly, remember that forgiveness is not always instantaneous or easy. It’s sometimes a process, a repeated choice, especially in cases of deep wounding. But it is always possible through the power of the Holy Spirit who sheds abroad the love of God in our hearts (Romans 5:5). We forgive not because the other person deserves it, but because we have been forgiven infinitely more.

Conclusion. The quality of forgiveness is not an optional mark of true discipleship. The magnitude of our debt should drive us to our knees in repentance. The forgiveness of that debt should fill us with gratitude and joy. And the terms of that forgiveness should compel us to extend the same mercy to others – from the heart.

As we close today, search your heart. Is there a debt you are still holding on to? In light of the Cross, will you cancel it and choose the path of the merciful? The same King who canceled your canceled your debt will give you the ability to cancel the debts of others. May we be known for radical, Christ-like forgiveness that points the world to the Savior.

Jesus on Forgiveness

Published November 18, 2014 Uncategorized Leave a Comment
Tags: Forgiveness, grudges, sin-debt, unforgiveness

Always+Forgive+Your+Enemies

Oscar Wilde once observed:

Always forgive your enemies. Nothing annoys them so much.

That may or may or may not be a good reason to forgive your enemy, but then maybe the most important thing we can do is to practice forgiveness because, as Christians, that’s what we’re supposed to do. John F. Kennedy made this statement that probably makes sense to a lot of us:

Forgive your enemies. But remember their names.

It seems everybody knows that forgiveness is important. They know it’s virtuous. And they know it’s hard to do. Jesus knew forgiving others was a difficult thing to do, so much so He made the request part of the Lord’s Prayer:

…forgive us our debts and we forgive our debtors.

Another time, our Lord said this:

Your heavenly Father will forgive you if you forgive those who sin against you; but if you refuse to forgive them, he will not forgive you. (Matthew 6:14, 15 TLB)

That’s another good reason to practice forgiveness! Let’s take a closer look at the art of forgiveness, from Jesus’ perspective.

Luke 17:3, 4

Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him. (NKJV)

The art of forgiveness is illustrated by our Lord in pretty strong language. Believers should never offend anybody, but especially other believers. Those who cause such offenses run the risk of experiencing some pretty negative consequences.

It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea… (Luke 17:2a NKJV)

But if we somehow cause another (“little one,” or a weaker brother or sister) offense, then we should be held accountable. Having said that, Jesus goes even further: We should not take offense, ether. Christians shouldn’t offend nor should they be walked all over. If we have been wronged in some way, according to Jesus we are to make the offender aware of what he did to us. That’s what Jesus meant by “rebuke.” The offender must be made to appreciate his fault, and if he sincerely repents, we have no choice but to forgive him – even if he does it again and again and again.

There should be no end to the number of times we forgive. We could say Jesus wants us to walk in an attitude of forgiveness, all day, every day.

Matthew 18:21, 22

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Sir, how often should I forgive a brother who sins against me? Seven times?” (Matthew 18:21 TLB)

That question goes back to something Peter heard Jesus say a few verses back:

If a brother sins against you, go to him privately and confront him with his fault. If he listens and confesses it, you have won back a brother. (Matthew 18:15 TLB)

If that looks vaguely familiar to you, that’s because it’s pretty much the same thing Luke recorded Jesus as saying in his Gospel. Peter had obviously been thinking about the issue, and so he asked Jesus the question. Peter probably thought he was impressing Jesus by suggesting that he should forgive an offending brother up to seven times. After all, all the rabbis of the day said two or three times would have been going above and beyond. But Peter’s “generous attitude” was puny compared to what Jesus expected from His followers:

Jesus replied, “seventy times seven!” (Matthew 18:22 TLB)

It doesn’t take Common Core to know what Jesus is getting at here! A Christian should be able to forgive an offending brother 490 times! It would be a mistake to take Jesus’ comment as being literal. Jesus isn’t concerned about math; He’s concerned about forgiveness on an infinite scale. Our capacity to forgive should be unlimited. One Bible scholar understood the spirit of Jesus’ words, “seventy times seven” when he commented:

We can’t do it “in our heads.” This is celestial arithmetic. We do it in our hearts.

Matthew 18:23, 24

The Kingdom of Heaven can be compared to a king who decided to bring his accounts up to date. In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who owed him $10 million! (TLB)

To help Peter and us understand the principle of forgiveness, Jesus told a parable about a servant who was forgiven but refused to forgive. The point of the parable is evident by verse 35:

So shall my heavenly Father do to you if you refuse to truly forgive your brothers.

Jesus demands that His followers forgive, “therefore” the Kingdom of Heaven is like a King. Of course, the King in the parable is God and His reign establishes certain kinds of relationships which are illustrated in this parable. The way we relate to each other under God’s headship ought to be markedly different than that of worldly relationships.

The King discovered a servant who owed him an astronomical amount of money. The exact amount of the debt is difficult to ascertain, but estimates range from a million dollars to a trillion dollars. The amount isn’t the issue. What is at issue is the fact that the debtor was unable to repay the debt.

But the man fell down before the king, his face in the dust, and said, ‘Oh, sir, be patient with me and I will pay it all.’ Then the king was filled with pity for him and released him and forgave his debt. (Matthew 18:26, 27 TLB)

The King wanted this unfortunate to sell himself and his family into some kind of slavery to pay the debt. Naturally our Heavenly Father would never suggest a debtor do this. Remember, this is only a story told to illustrate a much greater truth. Since this is a “kingdom parable,” the debtor can be representative of people who owe a debt they are unable to pay. Nothing any sinner can do is enough to pay their “sin debt.” A sin isn’t a debt; it’s a way the Bible looks at it. In other words, if you could place a dollar amount on your sins, how much would that amount be? Jesus wants us to think about that. The poor schmuck in the parable was a trillion dollars in debt. He’d have to dig up a trillion dollars just to be broke! That pretty much describes the unrepentant sinner: the brokest person on the planet.

There is another, smaller lesson just percolating under the surface. This man’s debt was so severe it actually impacted other people – his family. Sin is like that. When we engage in willful sin – even as we think nobody knows about – it reaches out to touch the lives of others close to us in ways unimaginable. Nobody sins in isolation. Nobody.

The King was moved by the man’s plea. Here is a picture of a compassionate King; an understanding, empathetic King. And so he takes pity on the debtor and, with the stroke of a pen, cancels the debt.

Matthew 18:28 – 30

Now, you’d think that a man who had just been forgiven of such a huge debt would be predisposed to treat others in a similar situation the same way. In this case, you’d be thinking wrong. Never underestimate the capacity of man to act like a boor.

But when the man left the king, he went to a man who owed him $2,000 and grabbed him by the throat and demanded instant payment. (Matthew 18:28 TLB)

What an jerk! This man has an appalling attitude. While he was owed a significant amount of money, it was a tiny amount compared to what he had owed the King. This piece of irony seems to have escaped him.

The man fell down before him and begged him to give him a little time. ‘Be patient and I will pay it,’ he pled. But his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man arrested and jailed until the debt would be paid in full. (Matthew 18:29, 30 TLB)

It’s amazing, isn’t it? The arrogant servant wouldn’t cut his debtor any slack at all. Even when the debtor used almost the same words he himself used on the King. Yet this man, as the song says, “would not be moved.”

At this point in the parable, it would be good to step back and glance back to a verse in the Old Testament, Numbers 32:23 –

But if you don’t do as you have said, then you will have sinned against the Lord, and you may be sure that your sin will catch up with you.

The minute the forgiven debtor refused to forgive another debtor, he sinned against God. And guess what? His sin did indeed catch up with him.

“Then the man’s friends went to the king and told him what had happened. And the king called before him the man he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil-hearted wretch! Here I forgave you all that tremendous debt, just because you asked me to—shouldn’t you have mercy on others, just as I had mercy on you?’” Matthew 18:31 – 33 TLB)

That’s a good question the King asked. And it’s the answer to Peter’s question:

Then Peter came to him and asked, “Sir, how often should I forgive a brother who sins against me? Seven times?” (Matthew 18:21 TLB)

The King’s response is truly remarkable and serves to show the seriousness of forigiveness:

And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him. (Matthew 18:34 NKJV)

This parable is really an awful warning to every Christian, not just Peter. All believers have been forgiven their sins – sins that when added up come to an incalculable debt that they could never hope to repay. In other words, there is not thing any sinner can do to change his pathetic state. A sinner is redeemed when God wipes his sin-debt away. That’s a glorious thought. And yet many of the beneficiaries of this amazing grace will hold a grudge against a fellow church member for years and years as if that grudge was a brick of gold. Often these grudges are the result of something so trivial they’re forgotten even as the unforgiveness continues. A person cannot claim to be a Christian if he habitually harbors grudges in his heart. Joyce Meyer offers this interesting observation:

Many people ruin their health and their lives by taking the poison of bitterness, resentment, and unforgiveness. Matthew 18:23 – 35 tells us that if we do not forgive people, we get turned over to the torturers.