Forgiveness In Action
VERSE
Matthew 18:21-22, 23-35
23-25 “The kingdom of God is like a king who decided to square accounts with his servants. As he got under way, one servant was brought before him who had run up a debt of a hundred thousand dollars. He couldn’t pay up, so the king ordered the man, along with his wife, children, and goods, to be auctioned off at the slave market.
26-27 “The poor wretch threw himself at the king’s feet and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ Touched by his plea, the king let him off, erasing the debt.
28 “The servant was no sooner out of the room when he came upon one of his fellow servants who owed him ten dollars. He seized him by the throat and demanded, ‘Pay up. Now!’
29-31 “The poor wretch threw himself down and begged, ‘Give me a chance and I’ll pay it all back.’ But he wouldn’t do it. He had him arrested and put in jail until the debt was paid. When the other servants saw this going on, they were outraged and brought a detailed report to the king.
32-35 “The king summoned the man and said, ‘You evil servant! I forgave your entire debt when you begged me for mercy. Shouldn’t you be compelled to be merciful to your fellow servant who asked for mercy?’ The king was furious and put the screws to the man until he paid back his entire debt. And that’s exactly what my Father in heaven is going to do to each one of you who doesn’t forgive unconditionally anyone who asks for mercy.”
INTRO
Forgiveness is a very important act in Christianity And hard thing to do. But There are many examples in the Bible which tell Christians about forgiveness.
The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant tells the story of a servant who owed a king a lot of money. Before the parable, Peter asks Jesus how often he should forgive:
21 Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
What is the meaning of 70x7?
The 70x7 expression is symbolic for infinity; Christians are called to forgive an infinite number of time because that is the number of time they are forgiven by God ; when a Christian fails to forgive, it becomes inconsistent with the infinite forgiveness of God.
The idea is that forgiveness is not a one-time action. If someone asks for forgiveness over and again, then it is the choice of an individual to forgive them
We live in an age that doesn’t promote forgiving others, as Christians we have to remember that this is key in our christianity. God had no issue forgiving us for our sins, who are we to resent others for the wrongs they’ve done to us? We have to practice what we preach!
Matthew 6:14-15
14-15 “In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can’t get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God’s part.
DISCUSSION
Just as God sent his Son to forgive sins, so Jesus has passed that commandment on to his children.
Is it difficult for you to forgive others?
What is holding you back from forgiving?
Why forgiveness not a popular option these days?
PRAYER
Salvation prayer.
Pray that God would soften our hearts to forgive others.
Pray for someone that has wronged you, that you want to forgive.