Matt. 18:32 – “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.
Matt. 18:33 – Shouldn’t you have mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had mercy on you?'”
Matt. 18:34 – Then the angry king sent the man to prison until he had paid every penny.
Matt. 18:35 – “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” NLT
Today’s teaching is on the topic of forgiveness, which is now a rare virtue in a hurting, vengeful, and fault-finding world where people look for just anyone to blame for their pain. But, the current situation of the world notwithstanding, our text vividly captures the essence of forgiveness from God’s own viewpoint. He forgives us so that we can, in turn, learn to forgive others. As we practice the virtue of forgiving others for whatever wrongs they have committed against us, God also holds open for us the door to His heart, where we can always find full forgiveness for our own trespasses.
Matt. 6:12 – “…and forgive us our debts, just as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.”
The Lord’s Prayer above makes it clear that we can only ask for God’s forgiveness on the condition that we have also forgiven those who have trespassed against us. However, we must be careful how we practice forgiveness because it must meet certain criteria for it to be acceptable to God.
1. FORGIVENESS THAT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE WITH GOD:
Matthew 18:35
Forgiveness is a sacrifice; therefore, any forgiveness that is not done with a sacrificial spirit may not have been properly done. Forgiveness is a conscious decision aimed at refraining from the vengeful desire to do any act or say any word to another person that their attitude or action toward us deserves. In exercising forgiveness, we deny ourselves the right to seek redress for any wrong done to us. Although this may not always be easy to do, that is exactly what God’s Word commands us to do in this new dispensation of grace.
In contrast, however, during the old dispensation of the Law, it was proper to seek redress for damages done to one’s person or body because the Old Testament law prescribed “a tooth for a tooth” or “an eye for an eye” as a system of justice. However, Christ’s ministry changed that and instead prescribed forgiveness, even for those we think are undeserving of it.
Matt. 5:38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.'”
Matt. 5:39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If someone strikes you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.
Matt. 5:40 And if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.
Matt. 5:41 If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.”
From Jesus Christ’s admonition above, it follows, then, that the common impulsive attitude of first giving vent to our anger before pronouncing forgiveness to our offenders is not acceptable before God on the simple grounds that it was not done sacrificially with love. The only exception to this rule, though, would be in the case where we are not the beneficiaries of such a show of anger. For instance, when we are angry at what is offensive to God, just as Phinehas, son of Eleazar, the priest of God, did, then the anger would be considered justified, provided we do not allow it to continue after our point is made.
Num. 25:11 “Phinehas son of Eleazar, the son of Aaron, the priest, has turned my anger away from the Israelites; for he was as zealous as I am for my honor among them, so that in my zeal I did not put an end to them.” (NIV)
Eph. 4:26 – And “don’t sin by letting anger gain control over you.” Don’t let the sun go down while you are still angry,
Eph. 4:27 – for anger gives a mighty foothold to the Devil.” NLT
Where we choose to satisfy ourselves by releasing the thunder and volcano within us, we have in effect denied our trespassers the benefit of our forgiveness. In such a case, the sentence of Holy Scripture is clearly spelled out.
Mark 11:26 “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your failings and shortcomings.” (AMP)
2. FORGIVENESS AS PRACTICED IN THE SCRIPTURES
Having now seen, from the foregoing, the dangers of maintaining an unforgiving attitude, we will do well to fall back to the Scriptures and get ourselves acquainted with the practice of the early saints as it regards forgiveness by studying how they practically applied that principle in their own lives.
The martyr Stephen, as he was being brutally murdered by the people he had wanted to save, did not cry out to God for vengeance against them but pleaded for their forgiveness (Acts 7:54-60).
So, also, in Hebrews 11:36-38, we are given a glimpse of the horrible life which our predecessors were forced to live by unbelievers and the backslidden religious leaders of that time. When strong, able-bodied brothers in the Lord would not retaliate against their persecutors, we can reasonably conclude that their actions were a result of their deep understanding of the words of Jesus Christ in Matthew 5:43-44: “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!” NLT
Unless we have reached the point in our personal lives where we can honestly say, without fear of being contradicted by our conscience, that we have obeyed Christ just like the early Christians did, we have not practiced forgiveness as God would have us do.
3. FORGIVENESS AS A TOOL FOR WINNING OTHERS TO CHRIST
Love is something you do. There is no better way to show love to your trespassers than by forgiving them unconditionally. An old, popular Christian hymn says, “they will know we are Christians by our love.” More than anything else, forgiving others when we are suffering as a result of their actions tends to melt their hearts and bring them to repentance.
The crowd that cheered and jeered as Jesus Christ hung in agony from His cross was not the same that left the scene of the crucifixion after He had uttered His last prayer for their forgiveness before He died. See Luke 23:20, 21, 33-37, 44-48.
Luke 23:48 – “And when the crowd that came to see the crucifixion saw all that had happened, they went home in deep sorrow.” NLT
Paul the Apostle gave wise counsel when he said:
Rom. 12:19 – “Dear friends, never avenge yourselves. Leave that to God. For it is written, ‘I will take vengeance; I will repay those who deserve it,’ says the Lord.
Rom. 12:20 – Instead, do what the Scriptures say: ‘If your enemies are hungry, feed them. If they are thirsty, give them something to drink, and they will be ashamed of what they have done to you.'”
Rom. 12:21 – Don’t let evil get the best of you, but conquer evil by doing good.” NLT
In practicing the counsel given above, however, we must avoid the error of weaponizing forgiveness against anyone. By that I mean that the end goal of showing kindness to those who offend us should not be to make them feel ashamed or regret their actions against us. It should rather demonstrate our love for them. This is also the reason why God forgives us: that we may know that He still loves us, our sins and shortcomings notwithstanding. This is the reason we must also forgive others, their offenses and uncharitable deeds against us notwithstanding!
Matt. 5:44 – “But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you!
Matt. 5:45 – In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and on the unjust, too.” NLT
When we preach that God loves a cheerful giver, it also includes those who give forgiveness cheerfully!