| Matthew 18:21 Then
came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me,
and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. |
Luke 17:3 Take heed to
yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he
repent, forgive him. 4 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. |
| Just as godly
love has no limits, neither should forgiveness. God doesn't keep count
of our sins, and refuse forgiveness after a certain number is reached;
neither should we. If we forgive others a multitude of times a day,
every day of our lives, we could not even approach the level of God's
forgiveness for us. If we fail to forgive others, or ourselves, we are
cheapening God's mercy and grace, which are limitless. Failing to
forgive not only breaks fellowship with others, it also breaks fellowship
with God. Jesus seems to be saying here that, if we refuse to forgive
others, then God will recant his forgiveness of us, and send us to Hell,
even though we have already been saved, and forgiven. This is not the
case. God forgave all of us our sins when Christ died for them, but we
must accept his forgiveness. That doesn't mean by lip service; if we
truly have accepted Christ as our Savior, then forgiveness will be a part of
our nature. The ungrateful servant did not know how to forgive others;
the forgiving nature was not part of him. He was a servant, but an
unforgiven servant. He was, then, an unrepentant sinner when he came
to his master to beg the forgiveness of his debt, not a Christian seeking
forgiveness for ongoing sins. The Bible says we will be known by our fruit, if we are Christ's or not (Matthew 7:16-20), so if our lives are ruled by an unforgiving nature, and bitterness, we are none of his. Can Christians fail to forgive? Absolutely, and the result may be a root of bitterness (Hebrews 12:15), but this should not define who we are. A Christian will sin, in many forms, but if he or she is still involved in habitual sin, as a lifestyle, then Christ is not in him or her (1 John 3:4-10). Confession is a part of the process of salvation, but only a part; if it isn't accompanied by repentance, or a change of direction in our lives, then we can't claim to be saved. There is one other possible interpretation of this parable, if it is applied to Christians. If we do accept God's forgiveness, and the gift of salvation, then fail to forgive others, we can look forward to a life of torment until we are reconcile to others, and to God. The debt we must pay is the debt of love, which we can pay only when we turn loose of the debt we charge others, and accept God's forgiveness according to the promise of 1 John 1:9. |
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