We Give Forgiveness

We're continuing a series here at Cross-Connection. One of the things that we, as Christians, are called to give is forgiveness. Today, we are discussing one of the hardest things for us to give: forgiveness.

So, open with us to Matthew 18, and let's learn a little bit about extreme forgiveness. While you're standing, would you open your Bibles to the book of Acts? If you do not have a Bible, you can raise your hand, and one of our ushers will bring you one. Acts is in about the last third of your Bible, right after the Gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, John, then Acts, and then the big book of Romans.

In Acts chapter 20, there is a single verse that we've been looking at over the last several weeks, which is the focus or the theme of our series here at Christmastime called "We Give." Hopefully, if you've been here over the last several weeks, this verse is starting to sound very familiar to you, and maybe even you could recite it.

Acts 20:35 records that Paul said, "I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"

Father, we thank You. I thank You for the joy that You have given to us, the joy that is seen in Your coming to this world, Jesus. A joy that we find, I believe, in the book of Nehemiah, that Your joy is our strength. I pray that this week, as we head into Christmas Day next Sunday, we would experience Your joy and the strength from Your joy.

May we, Lord, reveal that same joy in our lives and share it with others. As we continue to think on this topic of giving during this giving time of year, I pray, God, that You would inspire and stir our hearts to be those who willingly give ourselves first to You, and then give from that to others. Lord, work in us by Your Spirit and through Your Word. We ask this in Jesus' name. And all those that agreed said, "Amen."

Be seated during this season of giving. During the last four weeks, we have been considering together some things that we, as followers of Jesus, as Christians, are to be giving—things that we should be giving to other people. We talked about giving thanks, giving mercy, and giving comfort. Last week, we discussed giving sacrificially, as Jesus gave.

We considered that we are to give of our time, our talents, and our treasure. As we sit here just a week out from Christmas, which is the celebration of the greatest gift that was ever given to us in the Lord Jesus Christ, we are going to talk about something that we, as Christians, must give. This turns out to be one of the most difficult things for us to give.

Some people find it difficult to give of their time, while others find it incredibly hard to give of their money. In fact, it has been jokingly said that the very last thing in a Christian that gets saved is their wallet, and there might be some truth to that. Sometimes, we may have a difficult time giving of those things—giving of our time, our talents, and our treasure.

However, for many people, giving mercy, giving thanks, and even giving money is easy by comparison to giving forgiveness. In fact, in our discipleship, which is the transformation where we are becoming more like Jesus, one of the most difficult things to change—one of the hardest of Jesus's teachings to apply—has to do with His teaching on giving forgiveness.

I think it would be accurate to say that every single one of us struggles with forgiveness and the call, the command in Scripture, to forgive. Now, I know that when I make a statement like "every single one of us struggles with the issue of forgiveness," there is at least one person here who, in your mind right now, is thinking, "No, Pastor, I really don't. I don't have any trouble with forgiveness at all. I'm actually quite good at forgiving people."

To you, I forgive you for your lack of humility this morning. One of Jesus's earliest followers, one of His closest disciples...

Peter also considered himself to be quite knowledgeable about the issue of forgiveness. In fact, it almost seems from his words recorded in the Gospel of Matthew that he was hoping for a commendation from Jesus regarding this very topic. This is found in what is probably the most famous passage in the New Testament about forgiveness, located in Matthew chapter 18.

In this chapter, Peter came to Jesus with a question about forgiveness. This passage may be familiar to you; even people who do not routinely read through the Bible have heard parts of it in our culture. Peter approached Jesus and asked, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

It may be hard to see the desire for commendation in just those words, but it becomes clear when you understand the context. The Jewish teachers of Jesus and Peter's day, the rabbis, had discussed and debated the issue of forgiveness extensively. Their discussions are recorded in the rabbinical writings, and the common teaching of that time was that one only had to forgive someone up to three times.

By suggesting seven times, Peter was clearly assuming that he had exceeded the common teaching. He thought, "I've doubled that plus one; this is really impressive." He was anticipating a commendation from Jesus for his generous approach to forgiveness.

Before we delve into Jesus' response to Peter's question, I am certain that none of you have ever been in a situation where you had to forgive someone repeatedly, over and over again. None of the men here, and perhaps not even the wives, fully understand this concept. However, we can relate to what Peter is asking, and maybe you've even pondered this before: when someone wrongs you repeatedly, how do you handle forgiveness?

Over and over again, how often should I forgive and pardon them? Well, Jesus does give an answer. In Matthew 18:22, Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you up to seven times." Maybe Peter was even anticipating that with the other disciples, he would just say something like four, to better the rabbi's by one. But not seven. Of course, He says, "I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven."

Okay, math geniuses, stop. Yes, 490. We're good with that. The specific number is unimportant. What Jesus is saying here is not that you should keep a little record book, putting hashes in there like 487, and thinking, "You’ve got three more, buddy." That is not what He is doing here. He is presenting a principle that we might call, for the sake of our study this morning, extreme forgiveness.

A principle of extreme forgiveness is found in this text. The call of God is a call unto Christlikeness. He has called us, followers of Jesus, to become more like Jesus in the way that we respond to people, the way that we think, and the way that we act and talk. I think it is right to say that you cannot be Christlike and not be forgiving. It is impossible to be Christlike and not be forgiving.

Another way of saying it, point number one on your outline, is that you are never more like Christ than when you forgive. It's challenging. You and I are never more like Jesus than when we forgive, and I don't think that point can be overemphasized. To be Christlike is to be forgiving.

However, there is a very clear problem with this for us. Every single one of us has a deep love for and desire for justice. So we see the contrast: Christ is forgiving. If you are a Christian today, you have experienced that forgiveness, and He has called us to be like Jesus. God has called us to forgiveness, but we have this deep desire for justice.

Abiding desire for justice is one of the traits of humanity that evolutionists have a very difficult time explaining away, especially the atheistic evolutionist who does not believe that there is a God. They struggle to explain where this deep desire for justice comes from. The origin of this desperate desire cannot be adequately explained by atheists, but the Christian, the follower of God, understands where this comes from.

As you read the very opening words of the Bible in Genesis, the first book of the Bible, you find very quickly that we were created in God's image. He is perfectly just, as we find Him revealed in the Scriptures, and He has imparted to us a desire for justice. We are made in His image, made like Him in this area. With this deep, abiding desire for justice, we long to see justice done, even among people who have a hard time with justice at its highest level.

In our culture, the highest level of justice we would ever see is that of capital punishment. This issue is debated over and over again at the federal and state levels. Just this last November, we voted in our state on issues related to capital punishment. Even those who have difficulty with the concept of capital punishment at times accept it when the crime seems so heinous that something needs to be done at that level.

This was illustrated just this last Thursday when a court in South Carolina found Dylan Roof guilty of 33 crimes. He went into a South Carolina church back in June of 2015 and shot and killed a group of people who were gathered there to pray. Even the Obama administration, through the Department of Justice and Attorney General Loretta Lynch, stated back in May of this year that the federal government would seek the death penalty.

Penalty is a significant issue, especially when it comes to heinous crimes, particularly those against children or crimes that clearly involve hate and malice. In such cases, there is a sense that justice must be served. Whether it is the killing at the South Carolina church in June or the Boston Marathon bombing a few years ago, we see a push, even among those in our government who struggle with capital punishment, for some form of justice. We want justice; we desire it. This desire is not limited to high-profile cases like 9/11, but extends to our personal lives as well.

Therefore, you could rightly say, point number two on your outline, that it is human to deeply desire justice. However, there is a counterpoint: it is divine to grant forgiveness. So, what does this extreme forgiveness look like? To answer that question, Jesus provides insight in Matthew chapter 18.

In this passage, Jesus often speaks in stories and illustrates his points with what we call parables. In Matthew 18, verse 22, Jesus responds to Peter's question about how many times one should forgive. He says, "I do not say that you should forgive up to seven times, but seventy times seven."

He continues, "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. When he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents."

Let's pause for a moment to consider the significance of this debt. How much is a talent? The text does not provide an explicit number, but scholars generally agree that a talent was the largest unit of measure in biblical times, weighing about 75 pounds. Jesus does not specify whether this was in silver or gold, but for the sake of our study, let’s assume it was gold.

Thousand talents, multiplied by 75, equals 750,000 pounds of gold. Well, how much is that? At the close of the market this last Friday, gold was at just over eleven hundred and thirty-five dollars an ounce. This totals out to 12 billion, 423 million, five hundred six thousand, three hundred forty dollars and fifteen cents. Forbes 400 would tell you that you would have to be in the top 75 most wealthy people on the planet to be able to pay this debt.

Now, you may say, "Come on, that's absurd! 12 billion dollars? Who has a debt like that?" Let's just say, for argument's sake, that it's silver. Silver closed at sixteen dollars and thirty-three cents an ounce just the other day. That would amount to 179 million dollars in silver. Whatever the case, that's a lot of coin—a lot of money. How does one even acquire such a debt? I don't know. This is just the story that Jesus gives to present a very important truth.

Some of you, at the end of this holiday Christmas season, might be approaching that debt. But we'll talk about that after the first of the year. By the way, after the first of the year, on the fourteenth, we'll be having a finance seminar. If you want to come to that, I'm serious; we will have it.

Jesus continues in Matthew 18, verse 25: "But as he was not able to pay," that's kind of a laughable statement. He didn't have 12 billion hanging around to cover the cost of this debt. He was not able to pay, so his master commanded that he be sold, along with his wife and his children, and all that they had, and that payment be made. His master commands justice.

Now, we can argue the merits of this form of justice, but in the first century, this was a common form of justice for a debtor. If he could not pay, he could be sold into slavery. Many times, the slaves of that time had to do with the fact that they were in debt. So here is this guy who owes this massive debt—somewhere between 179 million and 12 billion, plus or minus a couple of zeros. Carry a comma; you know, a lot of money—and he does not have it.

The servant had what he needed to pay his debt, and so his master said, "Well, here's what we're going to do. We will sell you, your wife, and your kids, and we'll go through and make an accounting of all you have. It will be a nice big estate sale, and payment can be made." However, he knew it wouldn't be sufficient; it was not enough, but that was the plan.

The servant, therefore, fell down before his master, saying, "Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all." Now, let's be clear: the debtor's pledge to pay this debt in full is about as likely as you or I swimming from San Diego to Japan. It might be possible, but it is highly unlikely. Maybe you could make it a little farther than I could, or perhaps I could go a bit farther than you, but the likelihood of this individual finding a way to pay back such a great sum, even if his master was eternally patient, is extremely low. The debt was so great that he could not pay.

However, we read in verse 27 that the master of that servant was moved with compassion. He released him and forgave him the debt. The master did not merely acquiesce to the request of this individual, asking for patience and promising to pay off the debt. Instead, he was moved with compassion and completely released him from the debt, forgiving it entirely and letting it go.

This brings us to an important point: there is no forgiveness apart from compassion. Notice that it says he was moved with compassion. Those three words are one word in the original language, which was written in Greek. He was moved with compassion, an interesting term that speaks of an emotional response deep in one's bowels. In fact, the root of the word translated as "moved with compassion" is the same root from which we get our English word "spleen." So, this master was deeply affected, as if his spleen was moved by the servant's cry.

We are told just a few verses later that this was a begging cry of a man, a debtor laying on the ground. He was deeply affected by something about the servant's plea for mercy, which moved the master to completely release him of the twelve billion dollar debt. It would still be a great story illustrating extreme forgiveness if Jesus had just stopped there.

Peter asked Him a question: "How much should I forgive my brother if he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus replied, "I say up to seventy times seven." The number is not important; it represents extreme forgiveness.

Here’s an illustration: this master forgives his servant a massive debt. It would seem like a perfectly adequate story to stop there, but Jesus has something more He wants to teach us—not just about extreme forgiveness, but about our response to extreme forgiveness.

Look at the next verses. In verse 28, the servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, which is about a hundred days' wages. For the sake of argument, let’s say that amounts to twenty thousand dollars versus twelve billion. Twenty thousand isn’t even the interest on twelve billion.

In a moment of irony, he goes out and finds a fellow servant who owes him a hundred denarii. He laid hands on him and took him by the throat, holding this man around his neck, demanding, "Pay me what you owe me!" His fellow servant fell down at his feet, begging him, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you all."

That sounds familiar, and you might think that would trigger something in his brain. But he would not listen. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he should pay the debt.

When his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved. They came and told their master all that had happened. Then the master, after he had called for the servant, confronted him about his actions.

Him said to him, "You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me." Moved with compassion, he asked, "Should you not also have been moved with compassion?" The same word applies: "Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?" His master was angry and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due him.

Now, notice Jesus's application for us in the last verse: "So my Heavenly Father also will do to each of you if each of you from his heart does not forgive his brother his trespasses." We, like Peter, probably would have liked if Jesus had just skipped that whole last paragraph, especially that last verse.

Forgiveness is a significantly important topic. Can you imagine the gospel without forgiveness? Is there even a gospel without forgiveness? Core to the good news of the gospel is the truth that God, in Christ Jesus, has dealt with the debt of our unrighteousness and sin and has pardoned us, forgiven us. That is the whole core of the gospel. You cannot have the good news of the gospel without forgiveness; it is an essentially important topic.

The master in Jesus' story is clearly God, as we are told in the very last verse. The debtor who owes this great debt is clearly you and me, having this incredible debt of unrighteousness and sin against us. If today you have put your trust, your faith, in Jesus, then what the revelation of the Bible says is that as you put your trust in Jesus, God clears the account. It is paid in full. As Jesus declared the final words before he died, "It is finished." It's an accounting term: it is paid in full; the debt is gone.

The amazing thing is that virtually every time I talk about forgiveness, we come to this topic on a pretty regular basis. Just recently, we went through the small New Testament letter of Philemon. It will only take you about five minutes to read it, but it will take you longer to find it in your Bible. We did a three-week series on the issue of forgiveness called "Unchained." You can listen to or watch it on our website, lifeinconnection.com.

As we discuss the topic of forgiveness, I find it intriguing that nearly every time I jump into this subject, someone will either come and talk with me after the service or send me an email regarding the whole issue of forgiveness. There is a difficulty that we often have in applying the forgiveness that Jesus speaks of in this passage, especially in light of verse 35. This isn't just a suggestion from Jesus that we be forgiving; this is a command that, if not obeyed, apparently has significant consequences.

According to Jesus, point number four on your outline is that forgiven sinners should forgive sinners. That is the teaching. The view of Jesus is that forgiven sinners should forgive sinners. However, the conversation often goes like this: "Pastor, you don't understand. I have been severely wronged. You cannot even begin to comprehend the devastation and depth of hurt that I've experienced."

Let me be clear: I don't want to minimize that. Some in this room today who are struggling with the concept of forgiveness are struggling with it for good reason. As those created in the image of God, we have a deep desire for and sense of justice. Some in this room have been significantly harmed or hurt by someone. Therefore, there is a very sincere question that arises from the teaching of Jesus on unforgiveness: How can I learn to forgive in this manner? How can I possibly be...

Extreme in my forgiveness, let me read a few passages of Scripture that I think are helpful. In the book of Ephesians, chapter 4, the Apostle Paul says, "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice."

Now, interestingly, these are the things that generally well up in us when we've been hurt or harmed, deeply devastated by the evil actions of another person. We come to the passage of Jesus dealing with forgiveness, and we are told that we are to forgive extremely, in the manner that we have been forgiven. In us resides bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, evil speaking, and malice. We have bitterness, anger, and wrath because of the things that have been done to us, and evil speaking arises as we want to share with others what has happened. Oftentimes, we seek their sympathy.

You will often get sympathy from someone when you share your story of hurt. Someone will say, "That's terrible! I can't believe someone did that to you. What a horrible thing!" Then there’s malice. What is that? It is the desire to inflict harm, the desire to bring vengeance. So Paul says, "Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice."

Instead, be kind to one another. In the place of malice, anger, and wrath, be kind, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ Jesus forgave you.

Not just in Ephesians, but also in Colossians, written around the same time, Paul says in chapter 3, verse 12, "Therefore, as the elect of God, those who have been chosen by God and forgiven by God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, and long-suffering, bearing with one another and forgiving one another. If anyone has a complaint against another, even as Christ forgave you, so also you must do." Emphatically, you must do this.

Forgiving sinners forgive sinners. How can we learn to be extreme in our forgiveness? Well, first, you need to experience extreme forgiveness. I don't think that you can be forgiving in the manner in which Jesus prescribes unless you...

If you have experienced the extreme forgiveness of Jesus, it is impossible to be forgiving in this way without first tasting that forgiveness.

Point number five on your outline: the forgiveness of Christ enables the Christian to forgive. But what about the person who did something so terrible to me? They should be punished for it. I will grant that there needs to be justice; there should be some form of punishment in this situation for the wrong that you've experienced.

Here’s the amazing thing: the Scriptures reveal, in the book of Romans and in other places, that God has instituted systems of justice in society to deal with these matters. If it was an illegal act, then the systems of justice in our society should address that.

You may object and say, "Yes, but the systems of justice didn't do anything." I will grant you that the systems of justice, in an unjust world, sometimes fail. They are imperfect. However, here is one truth that we can hold on to: God is the ultimate bringer of justice. He will be just, and ultimately, He alone is justified in His justice.

I am never justified in taking justice into my own hands to bring vengeance. I have no right standing in that position, but God does. He is the one who has said, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay." So, when the systems of justice in an imperfect world do not bring forth the justice that is necessary, we can know for certain that God will.

There is a real tension between our deep-seated desire for justice and the command of Christ that we forgive. As Christians, we must turn over to the Lord that desire for justice. We can say, "I'm going to put it in Your hands."

But what if I just can't forgive this person? It feels impossible. I want to share with you...

The Scriptures say that which is impossible with man is possible with God, and that you and I can do all things through Christ who gives us strength. Philippians chapter 4, verse 13, emphasizes this belief.

Now, for the quick things we have remaining on the issue of forgiveness, I think it's good to have a working definition of what forgiveness is. I really like the definition given by a great Bible teacher and commentator, John MacArthur. He describes forgiveness as a promise to never take revenge. It is a verbally declared promise, a statement of love that affirms, "I hold no anger, I hold no hatred, I hold no bitterness against you."

Forgiveness has a three-fold perspective: I won't ever bring it up to you, I won't ever bring it up to another person, and I won't ever bring it up to myself. This is forgiveness. I suggest to you that to forgive in this manner requires God's help and grace. This is not something that I can manufacture on my own, nor can you. We have a deep desire for justice, and to be able to release someone, to not hold it against them, or to carry revenge, hatred, bitterness, or anger in our hearts, requires the gracious help of God by His Spirit. Amen.

Secondly, you may rightly ask, what if the person is not repenting, like the person in Jesus's story? What if they don't even acknowledge their guilt? What if they don't recognize or confess that they've done something wrong and are not asking for forgiveness? Do I still have to forgive them?

Let me answer that with a few passages from the Scriptures. In Matthew chapter 5, verse 44, Jesus responds to the saying of His day that you can hate your enemies. He said, "But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use and persecute you." Paul picks up the same theme in Romans chapter 12, saying, "Bless those who persecute you."

Do not curse. Repay no one evil for evil. Have regard for good things in the sight of all men. Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine; I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him a drink. For in so doing, you heap coals of fire on his head. Do not overcome evil with evil, but overcome evil with good.

Finally, consider the words of Jesus on the cross. As His crucifiers were there before Him, mocking Him, dividing His clothes, and spitting upon Him, His prayer was, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Those people weren't asking for forgiveness, yet His prayer was still, "Father, forgive them, for they don't know what they do."

It is important to understand that forgiveness does not equal trust. Forgiveness does not immediately mean the restoration of a relationship, especially in situations where a person has been unwilling to acknowledge guilt or confess wrongdoing. Yes, you are to release them; yes, you are to not hold anger, bitterness, or wrath in your heart toward them. You are to forgive them, but that does not necessarily mean that you unwisely put yourself back in a position where you might once again be harmed. There is wisdom in this. This isn't just about saying, "I'm going to release them," and accepting that this person can continue to hurt you.

I find this to be true in my life and observably true in others as well. Sometimes, it is not the single great injustice or injury that is really hard to forgive. I have met people who have faced incredible crises and devastation brought into their lives by an individual, and they have been able to release and forgive that person. It is not always the single great injury that is hard to forgive; oftentimes, it is the over and over again irritations and annoyances of a harsh husband, a nagging wife, a selfish child, an obnoxious co-worker, or an in-law. Whatever it is, it can be challenging. And boy, you're looking forward to next Sunday.

Christmas is coming, and oftentimes it's not the big things that matter; it's the multiple little things. The 10,000th time you're at 300 and you're at 487, buddy, we're at 49. We're almost there, right? This is often the issue. This is the 30th time this week. How many times do we have to go through this?

Well, Jesus has a great answer to that. It's found in Luke chapter 17. He said in verse 3, "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."

I love the disciples' response because I think it's the response of all of us. They immediately responded in Luke 17:5, "The apostles said to Jesus, 'Increase our faith.' God, I need help."

Looking at passages like this and considering a topic like this, we probably need God's help too, right? So why don't we stand together and ask God for help? Help that He would enable us, by His power, to give forgiveness as we ourselves have been forgiven by Him.

Let's pray. Father, I thank You for Your forgiving grace. Lord, I confess that it is very hard for me to forgive those who irritate me over and over again. It is very hard for me to release people, to give away, to let go of the anger that feels so right and justified, especially when we share that anger with someone else and they sympathize.

God, would You help us to let those things go? Father, I thank You that You have forgiven us our sins and You don't bring them back up again. The debt is paid in full, and You don't constantly remind us of what we've done in the past because You have removed our sins as far as the East is from the West. As Scripture says, You've cast them into the sea of forgetfulness.

Lord, there may be some of us standing here today who need to take...

Some things have been done to us and said to us, and we need to drop them into the sea of forgetfulness with a nice big weight around them. Help us to do that, honoring You and glorifying You. We live in a world filled with billions of people desiring justice and forgiveness. It comes from You; it is not of this world. May it be a witness of Your grace at work in us when we forget.

As we stand here this morning, I don't think it is possible to talk about the issues of forgiveness and the forgiving grace of God without at least giving the opportunity for those who have never received it. As we are in an attitude of prayer today, if you have never received the forgiving grace of God to deal with your sin and pay your debt, and you would like to receive that free gift, what a great gift to receive seven days before Christmas!

If that is you and you want to receive the forgiving grace of God, would you just lift up your hand so I can see it? Anyone here this morning? God bless you; I see hands in the back as well. Is there anywhere else? You want the joy of having your debt forgiven. Blessed is the man whose sin is forgiven.

If that is you, would you just pray out loud with me?

"Dear Jesus, I recognize I have a debt, a debt I cannot pay. I thank You that You paid it for me, and I pray that You would forgive me of my sin. Help me to turn from my sin to follow You by faith. Save me, I pray, in Jesus' name. Amen."

Bless His medicine.

I'm sorry, but it seems that the provided transcript chunk is incomplete and does not contain any content to format. Please provide a more substantial excerpt for me to work with.