Forgiveness

Living the Parables
-Part V-

#11 The Two Debtors
Luke 7:41-43

"Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more?"

Points to Ponder
We are all in debt to God
God is in the business of canceling debts
We all place a ‘value’ on the amount of debt we owed
One’s love for God usually corresponds with their sense of debt


#12 The Unforgiving Servant
Matthew 18:21-35

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?"

Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

"Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 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.

"The servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.' The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

"But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.

"His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.'

"But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened.

"Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?' In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

"This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Background
The Rabbi’s advised forgiving 3 times
All of Palestine paid 800 talents in taxes
The 1st servant owed roughly $2 million
The 2nd servant owed roughly $20

The Truth about Forgiveness
Forgiveness is NOT natural for us
Forgiveness IS natural for God
Without Forgiveness, relationships are BROKEN

Experiencing Forgiveness
1. The ‘sorry I got caught’ experience
2. The ‘fresh start’ experience
3. The ‘responding’ experience
4. The ‘imitation’ experience

For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.