6.00 p.m 12.9.99 and 15/9/02 Trinity 16/Proper 19 .Matthew 18:21-end.

PRAY

C.S.Lewis wrote : "Everyone says that forgiveness is a lovely idea, until he has something to forgive."

Earlier in Chapter 18 Jesus has been telling his disciples how to deal with a fellow Christian who had sinned against them. One of the most difficult things about being a Christian is having to put up with other Christians ! Jesus outlined how to approach a situation where you think another Christian has sinned against you. First go to your brother, or sister one to one. This enables any misunderstanding to be ironed out without this becoming public. If this is not resolved then the matter is to be discussed before witnesses and then taken to the church. Assuming that a sin has been committed and the sinner is unrepentant the church is to treat the sinner as an unbeliever. The point of this is to lead the sinner back to being forgiven, and to show that the church is holy.

All this is to be done in an atmosphere of forgiveness. Peter picks up on the idea of forgiveness. Current teaching suggested that you forgive someone a maximum of three times. Peter tries to be generous. Doubles this and adds one for luck !

Jesus replies not seventy times, but seventy seven times, or four hundred and ninety depending upon how you want to interpret the Greek ! cf footnote verse 22. The number really doesn't matter. If you start counting, whether it is to seventy seven or four hundred and ninety you've missed the point. Jesus is saying that our forgiveness of others should be unlimited.

D.L.Moody said, 'Those who say that they will forgive but can't forget simply bury the hatchet but leave the handle out for immediate use.'

Jesus then tells the parable of the unmerciful servant to illustrate how we should be forgiving, and why we should be forgiving. The master represents God. The first servant any Christian. The second servant someone else, another Christian or an unbeliever.

As we have just seen our forgiveness should be unlimited. Verse 24 tells us the amount owed by the servant was equivalent to millions of pounds.

Today if a person is in debt the creditors are entitled to have that person's possessions sold or reclaimed to pay what is owed to them. The owner was within his rights to have the family of the servant sold into slavery to raise some money against what was owed to him. The servant begs him not to do this, promising to pay back what he owes. A useless promise. Verse 27 tells us that the master took pity on him, cancelled the debt, and let the man go. The master had compassion on the man and was merciful. In wiping out the debt he gave a free but costly gift to the servant.

This is what love is. A deliberate costly act. Not motivated by emotion or merit but by the nature of the lover. The Bible says that God is love.

Someone said, 'We are most like beasts when we kill. We are most like men when we judge. We are most like God when we forgive.'

Yet this servant, who had just had a multi-million pound debt wiped away by his master goes and ruthlessly pursues another servant for a few pounds. A small fraction of what he owed himself minutes before. His fellow servant begs for him to be patient. Just as the servant had begged the master to be patient moments before. But he has his fellow servant put into prison. Something that achieved little because the other servant could earn no money there to pay back what he owed.

The master had given a free but costly gift to the first servant. The servant did not deserve this. But the master expects the servant to be grateful and mindful of what he has just received. In having the other servant imprisoned the first servant is showing that he does not realise the generosity and costly nature of the master's gift. If he had realised this he would have copied what was done to him. He would have let the other servant off.

He does not, and because he has failed to realise this the master has him thrown into prison to be tortured for ever. This represents hell. The fate that the first servant wanted to impose on his fellow servant was imposed on himself.

Jesus concludes by saying that "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart."

Thomas Watson wrote : " A man may as well go to hell for not forgiving as for not believing."

Jesus is saying that the true evidence that we have received the costly, gracious, forgiving love of Jesus is to show grace and forgiveness ourselves. Something that is not easy. We live in a very critical world. We find it easy to be critical about others. Yet we tend to excuse ourselves when we sin..

Alexander Auld said, 'It is the person who most knows himself liable to fall that will be most ready to overlook any offences from his fellow men.'

Jesus says that forgiveness is to be given as well as being received. Indeed, if it is not given, it cannot have been truly received.

After all, did he not teach his disciples how to pray with the words : "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin against us..." ? This does not mean that we earn our forgiveness by forgiving others. It means that , by forgiving others we show that we truly appreciate our own forgiveness.

If we do not do this we are in danger of relying upon our own merits, rather than God undeserved favour. When we start to do this, and condemn others we are saying that we are better than them. Even though we may not know all of the facts. Once we get on this route we are in danger of prejudicing our own salvation. A salvation based on undeserved favour, compassion and forgiveness.

We are sinners before God. It is only when we are aware of this that we can be truly forgiven, and truly forgiving.

As we go on in our walk with God we will be more aware of how sinful we really are. Augustine said "Lord save me from that wicked man, myself." John Wesley said " I am fallen short of the glory of God; my whole heart is altogether corrupt and abominable, and consequently my whole life." Philip Bliss in 'Man of Sorrows' wrote "Guilty vile and helpless we..."

Although salvation is a free gift from God it was costly. The unmerciful servant owed millions of pounds. The suffering that Jesus went through was isolation from God the Father as he took upon himself the punishment, the consequence of our sins. Weighing him down. Causing him to cry " My God my God why have you forsaken me ?"

So we are to be aware of our own need for forgiveness. Aware of the cost of our forgiveness. Aware that it is a free gift, it cannot be earned. Aware that we are called to show forgiveness arising from love and compassion. Imitating that of Jesus.

To summarise this parable :

God loves us so much that he will forgive us unconditionally though Jesus. No sin is so great that it cannot be forgiven.

God expects those who have been forgiven to be forgiving. Not to do so is a denial of the basis for our salvation.

Those who claim to be forgiven but fail to forgive others will be punished eternally.

Christ comes with a blessing in each hand. Forgiveness on one hand, and holiness in the other. He never gives either hand to any who will not take both.

PRAY