What is forgiveness? Forgiveness is defined as acquittal or pardon of sins. When the courts acquit a felon, he is no longer held responsible for his crime; he walks away free from all charges and consequences. In the same way, when God forgives our sin, He no longer holds it against us; He treats us like we never sinned! Awesome!
Have you ever been seriously
offended by another person, like family, friends, neighbors, or strangers? How did
you respond? Even if they apologized, you probably thought to yourself, “I can
never forgive,” or “I’ll forgive but can never forget!”
In Jesus’ parable of the unforgiving
debtor (Matthew 18:23-27), He compared the Kingdom of Heaven to a king who was
updating his accounts with servants who had borrowed from him. One of the
servants owed him a huge amount but could not pay. When the king announced
his verdict, the servant begged for a time extension, promising to pay back all
he owed. The king responded not by extending time but by forgiving the whole
debt.
Can you look back and name
individuals who owe you a debt? Have you half-heartedly or completely forgiven
them? Is your relationship with them restored, or do you try to avoid contact
with them?
The circumstances for the
forgiven servant changed rather quickly; he failed to forgive another servant
who owed him much less than he owed the king. When the king found out, he was
thrown into jail, to stay there until his debt was fully paid. Ouch!
At the end of the chapter,
Jesus warned, “That’s what my heavenly Father will do to you if you refuse to
forgive your brothers and sisters from your heart.” As followers of Christ, we should take this seriously because Jesus was talking to the disciples - and
that is exactly what we are.
In the Lord’s Prayer (Matthew
6:9-13), we ask in verse 12 to be forgiven as we forgive others. Do we mean
half-heartedly or completely? How would we fare if God forgave us
half-heartedly? At the end of that passage, in verse 14, Jesus said, “If you
forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But
if you refuse to forgive others,
your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Can we really afford not to
be forgiven by God? The answer should be “No” for each child of God! What would
the implication be for not being forgiven? Hell? May God forbid!
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