What is Jesus teaching about forgiveness?
- I forgive because Relationships are important. (Matt 18:28-31)
- I forgive because it is Expected. (Matt 18:31-34)
- I forgive because I am Forgiven.
What God’s Grace has done to my Sin
- My sin is Cleansed
- My sin is Removed
- My sin is Lost
- My sin is Forgotten
- My sin is Pardoned
Isaiah 1:18 - Come now, let us reason together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.
Psalm 103:12 - ...as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
Micah 7:19 - He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:12 - For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.
Romans 8:1 - There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANK
Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers!
-
00:00-00:02
All right, grab your Bibles and bow your heads. Let's pray.
00:06-00:12
Father, we pause again to thank you for the provision that you've made for us.
00:15-00:42
And just now we stop and ask that you would minister to the children through the children's ministry, And that you would use the offering that's been received to continue to advance your kingdom Find us faithful stewards father. I thank you for the generosity of this church Just now father help us all to quiet ourselves before you so we can hear what?
00:43-00:49
You would be communicating to us through your word We pray in Jesus name Amen Amen.
00:55-00:58
All right, grab your Bibles, open up to Matthew chapter 18.
01:09-01:22
A couple of years ago, we were doing this purity class for teenagers, for teenage boys, actually, and for men.
01:22-01:26
But we really were targeting the teenage boys to talk about purity.
01:30-01:34
And on the way to the church, I stopped at Dunkin' Donuts.
01:34-01:35
It was like 5 o'clock.
01:37-01:43
I stopped at Dunkin' Donuts and just thought, pick up three dozen donuts to have for the boys, right?
01:43-01:45
Like what teenage boys don't like donuts, right?
01:45-01:46
So it's like 5 o'clock again.
01:49-01:51
So it's operating time, right?
01:52-01:54
I pull into the drive-thru.
01:55-01:58
And I said, yeah, I'd just like three dozen donuts.
01:58-02:01
I don't care what kind, what flavor, mix them up.
02:01-02:02
I don't even care.
02:02-02:03
I just need three dozen donuts.
02:04-02:05
And there was a pause.
02:12-02:13
All right, hang on a second.
02:17-02:18
I'm like, okay.
02:20-02:20
He comes back.
02:24-02:26
Yeah, I'm not sure if we have that.
02:27-02:32
I'm like, you're a donut store.
02:34-02:36
Why are you checking to see if you have donuts?
02:37-02:37
Right?
02:37-02:39
I've never run a donut store.
02:40-02:45
But I imagine if you were making a checklist of things you'd need to run a donut store, what do you think's near the top?
02:46-02:47
Donuts, right?
02:47-02:53
Because if you don't have donuts, pretty much anything else you do is kind of like, what are we doing, right?
02:54-02:56
Like, you guys are dunking donuts.
02:57-03:01
I didn't ask for three dozen of a particular flavor or what.
03:01-03:02
I just said three dozen of anything.
03:02-03:03
I don't care.
03:03-03:03
I'm not eating them.
03:03-03:05
Just throw three dozen of something in a box.
03:06-03:07
We don't know if we have them.
03:12-03:13
You should be an expert in this.
03:14-03:15
You're donut people.
03:16-03:30
Well, Christians, there's something that you and I should be experts in, that sometimes we balk.
03:32-03:33
And that's a forgiveness.
03:35-03:44
Shouldn't Christians, more than any other human being on the planet, any other background, religion, whatever, shouldn't Christians understand more about forgiveness than anyone else?
03:45-03:45
Shouldn't we?
03:46-03:50
And let's be honest, we blow it sometimes, don't we?
03:51-03:52
We blow it.
03:54-03:56
We become like the drive-thru at Dunkin' Donuts.
03:56-04:05
And you know, right now, mentioning forgiveness, I'm sure that some people already are starting to tune out.
04:07-04:23
There's going to be people already that are like, "I'm good. I'm good. I don't have anybody in my life." Or there's somebody that's, "Oh, I know what he's going to say. I know what he's going to say, but Jeff doesn't understand my situation, okay?
04:24-04:30
If Pastor Jeff sat down with me and really heard what happened, he would understand why there's somebody in my life that I don't forgive.
04:30-04:31
He would understand.
04:32-04:37
Okay, well, let me ask you.
04:39-04:43
Are you good in all of your relationships?
04:44-04:45
Yeah, I think so.
04:47-05:01
Is there someone that if they were in this auditorium right now, seated somewhere else, you would try to avoid them walking out of here when church is over?
05:01-05:02
Is there somebody like that?
05:03-05:10
Like if you're sitting over here and you saw that, you're like, "I'm just going to sit and wait until they leave." Is there somebody like that in your life?
05:11-05:20
Or, "Gosh, I hope I don't run into them today. I hope they don't come up and want to talk to me." Is there someone that if they tried to call you, you wouldn't want to answer the phone?
05:22-05:23
Did you grab your cell phone?
05:23-05:25
It's ringing and you see on the caller ID.
05:27-05:28
I don't want to talk to that person.
05:30-05:31
Do you have somebody like that?
05:33-05:34
Or.
05:38-05:45
Is there someone in your life that if I went to them and I said, do you still have issues with this person with you?
05:46-05:47
They would say, yeah, you know what?
05:48-05:49
Yeah, we got some issues.
05:49-05:50
Do you have somebody like that in your life?
05:52-05:55
That if I went to them, they would say, you know what?
05:55-05:58
They might not think there's a problem, but I still have a problem with them.
05:58-05:59
Do you have somebody like that?
06:03-06:06
The sermon today is really an introduction to the next three sermons.
06:08-06:10
But all four of them have one point.
06:11-06:17
And the point is this, forgiven people forgive.
06:21-06:21
That's it.
06:27-06:33
That's as simple and straightforward and biblical as it gets.
06:35-06:36
So maybe you're not there yet.
06:39-07:05
But by faith and anticipation, I want to say that. Forgiven people forgive. Now we're gonna play a game. I'm gonna define forgiveness and then we're gonna play a game. Forgiveness is decision to release a person from the obligation that resulted from injury. That's what forgiveness is. You injured me somehow.
07:07-07:09
Now you owe me something.
07:10-07:11
You owe me.
07:13-07:14
Forgiveness is saying.
07:16-07:17
You don't owe me anything.
07:19-07:21
It's not an issue anymore.
07:23-07:26
Understanding this, that forgiveness is not enabling.
07:28-07:30
OK, forgiveness is not enabling.
07:31-07:32
Forgiveness is not rescuing.
07:35-07:37
Forgiveness is not justifying.
07:39-07:42
Forgiveness is not avoiding accountability.
07:42-07:44
We could spend a sermon on each of those things.
07:44-07:45
That's not our intention.
07:47-07:53
But this forgiveness is a decision to release a person from the obligation that resulted from injury.
07:53-07:54
All right, let's play a game.
07:55-07:56
We're going to look at some Bible verses.
07:56-07:57
These are all from the New Testament.
07:57-08:02
And I want you to see if you notice a theme. Okay?
08:06-08:09
Matthew 6, 12. We have all those, Ashley, don't we? Of course she does.
08:10-08:21
Matthew 6, 12. "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Matthew 6, 14-15. "For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
08:22-08:30
But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." Mark 11, 25 and 26.
08:31-08:33
And whenever you stand praying, forgive.
08:34-08:43
If you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
08:43-08:47
But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
08:49-08:50
Seeing a theme yet?
08:51-08:52
There's more.
08:52-09:23
Luke 6 37 judge not you will not be judged condemn not you will not be condemned forgive and you will be forgiven Luke 11 4 and forgive us our sins for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us and lead us not into temptation Ephesians 4 32 be kind to one another tender-hearted forgiving one another as God in Christ forgave you.
09:25-09:36
Colossians 3 13, bearing with one another, and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other as the Lord has forgiven you.
09:38-09:41
So you also must forgive.
09:43-09:44
How many people think you saw a theme there?
09:48-09:51
Do you think the Lord is trying to emphasize something?
09:52-09:56
Over and over and over and over in his word, there is a theme.
09:56-09:57
What is it?
09:58-09:59
Well, here it is.
09:59-10:04
There is a connection between forgiveness from God and forgiveness to others.
10:06-10:07
There is a connection.
10:09-10:10
But understand this.
10:11-10:16
Forgiveness is not the plan of salvation, okay?
10:16-10:18
Forgiveness is not the plan of salvation.
10:19-10:20
How then must we be saved?
10:20-10:24
Well, the way you get saved is by forgiving people, and then God forgives you.
10:24-10:26
That is not the plan of salvation.
10:27-10:30
Forgiveness is the proof of salvation.
10:32-10:40
Forgiveness is the proof of salvation because forgiven people, what?
10:41-10:42
Forgive.
10:42-10:43
What do forgiven people do?
10:45-10:45
Forgive.
10:46-10:49
In a month you're going to be standing on your chair and shouting it.
10:50-10:54
Forgiving people forgive. Do you agree with this truth?
10:55-10:57
Well, let's look at Matthew 18.
10:59-11:02
See how Jesus really highlighted this truth.
11:02-11:12
Matthew chapter 18, verses 15 through 20, a very popular passage it has to deal with.
11:14-11:18
How do we handle if someone sins against us?
11:19-11:20
And you know the process.
11:20-11:22
First, you go to the person, right?
11:22-11:23
We don't go gossiping.
11:23-11:24
We don't go telling everybody else.
11:25-11:27
You sin against me, I go to you and talk to you about it.
11:28-11:29
All right, I sin against you.
11:30-11:31
You come to me and you talk about it.
11:31-11:32
That's step one.
11:33-11:36
Like, well, okay, what if that doesn't resolve the issue?
11:36-11:39
Well, then you get a couple more people and you go and talk.
11:40-11:41
Well, what if that doesn't do it?
11:41-11:44
Well, then you get the church involved.
11:46-11:48
Well, then what if that doesn't do it?
11:48-11:52
Jesus said, well, then you have to treat that person like a pagan or a tax collector.
11:53-11:54
What does that mean?
11:55-11:57
That means they need evangelized.
11:58-11:58
Why?
12:00-12:03
Because forgiven people forgive.
12:06-12:12
And if they're not seeing it, if they're not getting it, The end conclusion is, well, maybe they don't know the Lord.
12:15-12:17
So Jesus says what to do if a brother sins against you.
12:17-12:18
We're not going to read those.
12:18-12:21
You can you can read those later on.
12:21-12:22
But look at verse 21.
12:23-12:27
So Jesus is teaching about forgiveness and then dealing with offenses.
12:27-12:36
Then Peter came up and said to him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him?
12:37-12:40
So Jesus talked about how, Peter's like, okay, okay, I got that.
12:41-12:41
How often?
12:45-12:47
As many as seven times?
12:53-12:57
Some of you know the passage, but have to understand a little bit of the background here.
12:57-13:06
Peter probably thought he was showing off at this point, because in the rabbinical tradition, it was three.
13:07-13:12
I didn't study this part, but I'm thinking that's where the whole baseball rule came from.
13:12-13:13
Three strikes and then you're out, right?
13:14-13:16
Well, that was the rabbinical tradition.
13:16-13:19
I'm obligated to forgive you three times.
13:20-13:22
But if you sin against me after that, done.
13:24-13:26
So Peter probably thought he was showing off here.
13:27-13:28
Like, hey guys, watch this.
13:29-13:32
I'm about to show Jesus how awesomely gracious I am.
13:33-13:56
How often, Jesus? Seven. Expecting Jesus to be like, "Oh, Peter. Oh, Peter, your grace astounds me." Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven, which is what?
13:58-14:00
4 something 490.
14:01-14:04
I actually had a woman come to me one time and say 490 is that the limit?
14:06-14:16
She actually, yeah literally, she said you know I've had some you know issues with this person and she said did Jesus mean that literally because I think I'm past 490.
14:18-14:39
Obviously not, the point is you don't keep count. The point is every time, every time your heart stands ready to forgive. Why? Because what do forgiven people do? They forgive. Right. Right. So Jesus tells a story about that.
14:39-15:16
He says, verse 23, "Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents." Now what's a talent? It doesn't mean like tap dancing or juggling. It was a unit of money. We'll talk about that in a second. "And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold with his wife and children and all that he had and payment to be made." Let's stop there.
15:17-15:52
We're going to talk about forgiveness and we're going to talk about God's perspective on it. Not the world's. Some of these things that we'll see you might be like I don't know about that I don't know about that. Listen, Jesus said the kingdom of heaven is like this not the kingdom of the world, right? For those of you who follow Jesus Christ, born-again believers in Christ, Jesus said this is this is what it's like for you. The world doesn't agree with this. The world has all kind of philosophies on how we deal with this stuff. Jesus said, but not you.
15:54-16:16
You live under a different set of rules, so to speak. You live under the life of the Spirit. You live under the kingdom of heaven. So what's a talent? Okay, I had to have Erin help me with the math because she's like a math whiz and I'm like a a not as much math whiz.
16:19-16:23
A talent was actually 20 years wages.
16:24-16:25
That was what one talent was.
16:26-16:27
20 years wages.
16:27-16:28
OK, so here I do some math.
16:30-16:32
This man owed how many talents?
16:34-16:35
10,000 talents.
16:36-16:59
OK, so multiplying this out, one year's wage times 20, because 20 years is one talent, times 10,000, or the amount of talents that he owed, or just think of it this way, 200,000 years wages.
17:00-17:07
Okay, so take whatever you earn a year and multiply that times 200,000.
17:08-17:11
That's what this man owed the king.
17:13-17:17
Now, how many of you sitting here this morning would be in a position to pay that?
17:17-17:20
Like, "Oh, I'll just write you a check." Do you take a debit?
17:21-17:21
Nobody?
17:21-17:22
Yeah, me neither.
17:23-17:24
And that was Jesus' point.
17:24-17:27
This was unpayable.
17:28-17:29
It was unpayable.
17:30-17:31
Okay?
17:33-17:36
And the question you have, how does that even happen?
17:37-17:37
Right?
17:38-17:39
How does that even happen?
17:41-17:47
It's like the, you know, the bill comes, like, yeah, I'm gonna have to get around to that sometime in 10 years or whatever.
17:47-17:49
And it just keeps piling up, piling up.
17:49-17:50
Yeah, I really should pay.
17:50-17:51
I'm piling up, piling up.
17:51-17:52
How do you get to that point?
17:55-17:59
It's unpayable, but listen, it's also irresponsible, right?
18:00-18:07
And already you're gonna see the connection that Jesus is making, But it's just like our sin.
18:10-18:16
Before we come to Christ, it's unpayable and it's irresponsible.
18:18-18:21
So this guy found himself way over his head.
18:24-18:26
And the king says, "Okay, it's time to settle accounts.
18:28-18:33
You can't pay, so you're going to pay." Look at verse 26.
18:34-18:41
"So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, have patience with me and I will pay you everything.
18:44-18:45
And you're like, yeah, right.
18:47-18:50
He couldn't have, but you can see the desperation.
18:51-18:54
This man was basically saying, I'll do whatever it takes.
18:54-18:55
Please don't punish me.
18:55-18:58
Whatever it takes, I'll do whatever it takes to pay you back.
18:59-19:00
I'll pay you everything.
19:03-19:06
Well, the king knew that there was no way that's going to happen.
19:07-19:10
And he sees this poor guy on his knees probably crying.
19:10-19:13
This is a story Jesus made up, so you kind of use your imagination, right?
19:14-19:16
You just see the guy, desperate.
19:20-19:36
It says, "And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. And you're like, what? Right.
19:36-19:39
Go ahead. Try that. Go ahead. What?
19:41-19:51
If somebody owed you this, you know, people estimate I've read different things, some say this is several hundred million, some one guy calculated this was like four billion dollars or whatever.
19:52-19:54
But imagine owing somebody.
19:56-19:57
A billion dollars.
19:58-20:10
They're like, "You and your family are going to jail. Have mercy." And they're like, "You know what? You don't owe me anything." Nothing?
20:11-20:16
No payment plan, no pound of flesh, no...
20:16-20:32
"You don't owe me a thing. You are... you're free." Let's stop here. Some of you know this story, some of you don't, but if you didn't, here's what I think the next verse would say.
20:33-20:43
So the man was skipping down the street, kissing people, high fives, hugs, dancing and singing.
20:45-20:52
"When I got out of jail, he forgave me to death." That's what you'd expect, right? Isn't that what you'd expect?
20:54-20:58
Back handsprings all the way down to 19. That's what I'd be expecting.
20:58-21:01
Woohoo! Free! Free!
21:02-21:18
Well, it says in verse 28, "But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii." What's that? Well, that was a relatively small amount.
21:18-21:20
A denarii was a day's wage.
21:21-21:24
So we're looking approximately at three months' wages, approximately.
21:27-21:31
In other words, payable, right?
21:31-21:33
That's doable, right?
21:33-21:39
If you owed somebody three months' wages, you might have to scrimp and save and take a little-- you could pay that back, though, right?
21:40-21:43
So this guy finds somebody that owes him three months' wages.
21:46-22:00
It says, "And seizing him, he began to choke him, "saying, 'Pay what you owe.'" I was gonna try to illustrate this and say, does somebody wanna come and choke me like the guy in the story?
22:00-22:03
And there was a line of people, and people started fighting about who would get to do that.
22:03-22:04
And I'm like, forget it.
22:05-22:07
You just have to use your imagination on this.
22:07-22:11
But, unbelievable.
22:13-22:19
He goes right out and find somebody that owes him a few bucks and begins to choke him.
22:22-22:29
So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, "Have patience with me and I will pay you." Did you ever have deja vu?
22:32-22:37
That's exactly what he said in verse 26, right?
22:37-22:40
Same speech to the king, "Have patience, I'll pay you back.
22:41-22:44
You're free to go." I said the same thing, have patience with me, I'll pay you back.
22:46-22:49
He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debts.
22:51-22:56
When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed.
22:57-23:03
"Uh, yeah." And they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.
23:04-23:09
Then his master summoned him and said to him, "You wicked servant!
23:11-23:13
I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.
23:15-23:20
And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant as I had mercy on you?
23:24-23:31
And in anger, his master delivered him to the jailers until he should pay all his debt.
23:33-23:38
So also, my heavenly father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother.
23:40-23:44
from your heart, from your heart.
23:47-23:49
So on your outline, what's Jesus teaching about forgiveness?
23:51-23:54
Just wanna highlight three things from this parable that Jesus is teaching.
23:55-24:01
And the first is this, I forgive because relationships are important.
24:04-24:06
I forgive because relationships are important.
24:07-24:13
Now, again, this was a story Jesus told, so you've got to kind of connect some dots in your mind, so to speak.
24:14-24:23
But would you say that the servant who choked out his fellow servant, would you say at one point those two were probably friends?
24:24-24:30
I mean, to loan them money, they must have been friends on some level, had a friendly relationship at some point.
24:32-24:37
But unforgiveness resulted in hatred and in violence and in punishment.
24:37-24:39
Those things are relationship killers.
24:39-24:45
OK, and when you have unforgiveness against someone, it kills the relationship.
24:49-24:51
You know, Jesus said to love your neighbor as yourself.
24:53-24:57
The question is, how would you like to be forgiven?
24:58-25:01
How many people here have ever needed forgiveness from another person?
25:01-25:01
Anyone?
25:02-25:02
Anyone?
25:03-25:05
I'm like an expert in this.
25:05-25:07
Do you know how many times I've needed forgiveness from another person?
25:08-25:09
Like a lot.
25:11-25:15
When that happens, how do you want to be forgiven?
25:16-25:19
Do you want that person bringing it up every time you see him?
25:21-25:22
Hey, Tom, good to see you.
25:22-25:27
By the way, remember when you made that jerky comment the other day, I'm still pretty mad about that.
25:27-25:29
I thought we dealt with that.
25:30-25:30
We did.
25:32-26:19
Just taking a walk down memory lane. How do you want to be forgiven? Done with it, right? We dealt with it and we're done with it. And by the way, Christians, dealing with it has to happen. I don't know if it's a cultural thing or what, but you know how most of us deal with hurt and unforgiveness? It's just like, "Well, I'm just gonna avoid that person for the rest of my life. I'm just not going to talk to them. I'll go to a different church or I'll get a different job or I'll whatever. You got to deal with it. And I don't know why it is we can't sit down and say we disagree on this issue. I still love you as a person.
26:19-26:25
That hasn't changed. But there's an issue going on here that we have to deal with.
26:26-26:43
So we deal with it and then we're done with it, right? We're not gonna keep bringing it up. How do you want forgiven? You want that person to say, "You know what? It's done. I'm never gonna bring it up. I'm not even gonna think about it anymore." That's how you'd want to be forgiven. Love your neighbor as yourself.
26:44-26:55
That's how you should forgive. Then verse 35, I want to highlight again, Jesus said, forgive from your heart.
26:56-26:59
Okay, we're not going for the hypocritical forgiveness like, Oh, okay.
26:59-26:59
I forgive you.
27:00-27:05
Meanwhile, the bitterness is brewing in the cauldron of your hearts.
27:07-27:08
I'm still angry.
27:08-27:14
I'm still, but I said the words, you know, I can't help but think of it.
27:14-27:21
Every time I, I read this, a lot of people forgive like the handshake after a high school fight, right?
27:22-27:23
You went to current city.
27:26-27:28
And I was in a fight in Corn City once, OK?
27:28-27:33
And it was actually in Mel Cimanco's gym locker room.
27:34-27:40
But after the fight, Coach Cimanco came out and he said, knock it off, you two.
27:40-27:41
Now shake hands.
27:42-27:43
Right?
27:45-27:46
Do you know what that handshake looked like?
27:48-27:50
It wasn't this embrace.
27:52-27:53
Just bury your head on my shoulder.
27:56-27:57
I'm so sorry.
27:58-27:59
It wasn't like that.
27:59-28:00
We just got done fist fighting.
28:01-28:02
She's like, shake hands.
28:02-28:03
You know what it was?
28:03-28:04
Back to back.
28:06-28:07
Seriously, arm extended.
28:08-28:10
And it wasn't, I did like four or five pumps there.
28:10-28:12
It wasn't that, it was one pump.
28:12-28:12
It was like, whoop.
28:13-28:14
And that was like, okay.
28:15-28:19
I'm sure he walked back into his office thinking, well, they're friends again, it's all good.
28:20-28:25
Jesus said, "From your heart, from your hearts." Forgive from your hearts.
28:26-28:27
It's not lingering.
28:28-28:30
It's not a cancer that's still attached.
28:31-28:34
It's gone from your hearts.
28:37-28:41
Secondly, I forgive because it is expected.
28:42-28:45
Okay, I forgive because it is expected.
28:47-28:51
The fellow servants did not miss the irony of what was happening, right?
28:53-28:57
Hey, hey, donut store person, shouldn't you know something about donuts?
28:57-29:05
Hey, you who were just forgiven of a billion dollars, shouldn't you know something about forgiveness?
29:06-29:09
And the fellow servants, they're like, what is going on here?
29:09-29:11
Jesus said they were greatly distressed.
29:11-29:14
They're like, what is this guy thinking?
29:17-29:19
to be forgiven that much and then turn around.
29:22-29:23
This isn't right.
29:25-29:26
It's expected.
29:28-29:30
Unforgiveness is a testimony killer.
29:31-29:36
Oh, so you believe in the forgiveness of your sins, but you won't forgive other people.
29:38-29:41
Christians, your testimony should be one of lavish forgiveness.
29:43-29:45
That's what your testimony should be.
29:45-29:49
That's how people should know you in your family, in your workplace.
29:49-29:50
That's how they should know you.
29:52-29:54
They should say, you know, Bob, I'll tell you what.
29:55-29:57
I've seen some people do some really rude things to him.
29:58-30:01
And he forgives them, never heard him say a bad word about anybody, and that's true.
30:02-30:04
I've never heard him say a bad word about anybody.
30:05-30:12
I'm sure from worldly standards, somebody would say you would have justification to say some bad things about some people.
30:12-30:13
I've never heard it.
30:14-30:15
That should be your testimony.
30:18-30:20
Well, he's totally like, he's about forgiveness.
30:20-30:25
He's just like, yeah, they did some rotten, horrible things to me and you know what?
30:26-30:27
Just gonna deal with it and move on.
30:28-30:30
Not gonna think about it, not gonna dwell on it.
30:31-30:32
It's expected.
30:33-30:35
But even Christians think they found some loopholes.
30:37-30:38
Even Christians think they found some loopholes.
30:38-30:41
Well, Pastor Jeff, you don't know, you don't know.
30:41-30:45
Here's five loopholes, just jot these down if you have some room on your outline.
30:46-30:48
Five excuses people give for not forgiving.
30:51-30:54
Number five, I just can't.
30:55-30:57
Some people, you ever hear somebody say that?
30:58-30:59
You need to forgive that person.
31:00-31:01
I just can't.
31:05-31:07
I am not discounting that it's hard.
31:09-31:10
Please hear me.
31:11-31:15
Forgiveness is a matter of the will.
31:17-31:18
It's a matter of the will.
31:21-31:22
It's not a matter of emotions.
31:24-31:25
It's a matter of your will.
31:30-31:35
"I just can't." "The truth is, I just won't." You can.
31:35-31:41
Well, actually, only by the power of Christ can you.
31:43-31:53
But Christians have no excuse to say, "I can't. I can't really." You know, the God of the universe resides within you, so what can't you do again?
31:57-32:01
Oh, by the way, the God of the universe, like forgiveness is sort of His thing.
32:01-32:02
That's like his trademark.
32:03-32:07
Like he wrote the book on forgiveness, and he's living in you.
32:09-32:13
In the flesh you can't, but you are not in the flesh.
32:15-32:28
You need a healthy dose of throwing myself at the Lord wholeheartedly, saying, "God, I can't do this myself. You need to do a work, but God, as an act of my will, I want to forgive that person.
32:28-32:29
God, can you make that happen?
32:33-32:36
A lot of people don't get there because they don't get past the emotions.
32:36-32:39
"I won't forgive, I won't forgive." You can.
32:41-32:42
Because Christ will do it in you.
32:43-32:50
Number four, top five reasons. Number four, well that other person, they don't want to reconcile.
32:51-32:55
That's another reason Christians, "You should forgive that person." Well, you don't want to.
32:57-33:00
Jeff, you should forgive Sam. Oh, he doesn't want to forgive.
33:01-33:06
He doesn't want the relationship restored. Listen, that's their problem. Don't make it yours.
33:08-33:13
As I heard one person put it, you know, forgiveness a lot of times is like those rooms in the hotel.
33:14-33:16
Do you ever have those adjoining rooms that have those two doors?
33:17-33:20
That you can like, you know, like a big family's all on vacation.
33:20-33:24
You can, you have a side, the other room has, you know what I'm talking about?
33:25-33:25
Okay.
33:27-34:22
Sometimes forgiveness looks like that, that you're saying, "My side's open," and you're like pounding on the door saying, "Listen, I can't make you open your door, but my side is open. I'm not going to kick your door down, but I want you to know that my door is open." So if they don't want to reconcile, that's their problem, don't make it yours. Number three, they'll do it again. If I just forgive them, they'll do it again. You know what? They might. That's their problem. Don't make it yours. Jesus said in Luke 17, verse 4, "If he sins against you seven times in the day and turns to you seven times saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him. Notice the word must. Jesus didn't say should or should try. He said you must.
34:23-34:31
Seven times a day. Did you imagine? They might do it again. That's their problem.
34:33-34:54
Should you burden your own spirit because of the hard-heartedness of someone else. Number two, I'll forgive, but I won't forget. How many people have said or heard that? I'll forgive, but I won't forget. That's a backward statement.
34:58-35:31
That is a backward statement. You can't forget if you won't forgive. You can't forget because you're choosing to dwell on it. You see? When that's constantly being played in your mind, that thing that she did to me, that conversation that he and I had that where he said those things and the way he talked and you keep playing it over and over. Anybody ever do that? It just doesn't shut off. You keep playing that thing over and over in your head. I can't believe he He did that to me.
35:31-35:41
And if you are unwilling to forgive, you're not going to be able to forget.
35:44-35:46
Because you can't forget because you're choosing to dwell on it.
35:46-35:49
Forgiveness means I choose to stop thinking about it.
35:51-35:52
I choose to stop thinking about it.
35:56-35:57
Your mind is an amazing thing.
36:00-36:02
But do you know something your mind is unable to do?
36:03-36:04
Is think about two things at once.
36:05-36:05
You can't do it.
36:06-36:07
You can't do it.
36:09-36:11
Sure women are better multitaskers than men.
36:11-36:12
I won't deny that at all.
36:15-36:16
But go home and do an experiment.
36:16-36:22
Turn the radio on and turn the TV on and try to hear what's going on at both at the same time.
36:22-36:22
You can't do it.
36:24-36:25
You can't do it.
36:26-36:28
You see, that's how it is with forgiveness.
36:30-36:40
When you start filling your mind with other things, you're not going to dwell on the hurt, the offense.
36:42-36:43
Here's the big one, number one.
36:43-36:44
You know what it is, right?
36:45-36:46
You know what number one is.
36:47-36:48
He has to come to me.
36:50-36:51
That's the big one.
36:51-36:52
He has to come to me.
36:55-36:57
Well, Matthew 5.
36:57-37:05
So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there, remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go.
37:05-37:09
First be reconciled to your brother and then come and offer your gift.
37:12-37:16
So in that case, you have offended someone else, right?
37:17-37:21
So Jesus is saying, summing up, if you've offended someone else, you need to go to them.
37:22-37:30
And in Matthew 18, 15, "If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault." So in that case, you're the one who's been offended.
37:30-37:33
And Jesus said you should what? You should go.
37:34-37:40
So the way I see it, when you compare Matthew chapter 5 and Matthew chapter 18, if you've offended someone, you should go to them.
37:41-37:45
If someone has offended you, you should go to them.
37:45-37:46
There's no out.
37:47-37:51
Somehow we have in our minds we're going to put the burden of that responsibility on that other person.
37:51-37:53
That's just not how it is.
37:53-37:59
And I might have to go and say, "Paul, you know what? Did I offend you the other day when I said..." I might have to go to you and talk about that.
38:00-38:10
Or if Paul offends me, I've got to call this guy and say, "Paul, you know what, man? I love you, but that hurt." You're on the hook either way.
38:13-38:23
Then third lesson, "I forgive because..." This is the big one.
38:24-38:26
This is really what this is all about.
38:26-38:27
"I forgive because I am," what?
38:29-38:29
Forgiven.
38:32-38:43
"I forgive because I am forgiven." If you can't forgive or you won't forgive, please hear me.
38:45-39:01
The first question is, "Do I really understand the gospel?" C.S. Lewis said this, "To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you." So let me ask you, how many sins have you been forgiven by God?
39:02-39:04
How many? Let's put a number.
39:06-39:07
Darla, how many? Five or six?
39:08-39:11
I think God's forgiven you five or six times, He's saying more, right?
39:12-39:12
Obviously.
39:12-39:25
Could you keep track of every thought, word, or deed in the course of your life, and the ones that you will do when you leave here?
39:27-39:29
What kind of a number could you put on that?
39:32-39:33
You couldn't.
39:36-39:38
You couldn't put a number on that.
39:42-39:50
So take time to consider all of the things God has forgiven me for in Christ.
39:52-40:03
How can I possibly hold one sin or two sins or 490 sins against someone else?
40:05-40:07
It's foolishness, isn't it?
40:08-40:09
How dare I?
40:13-40:18
It's one of the interesting things about being a pastor, when people come for counseling over issues like this.
40:18-40:19
I've seen it so many times.
40:20-40:21
Well, what's really the issue?
40:21-40:28
When people start talking about it out loud, you see that look of recognition on their face halfway through, that they're like, "Oh wow, that is really stupid, isn't it?
40:29-40:40
That I'm so mad about that." But when they start talking, yeah, I'm so upset because I might have misinterpreted something in the tone of her voice.
40:46-40:59
And I've offended a holy God who has said in Christ, "You're free." What am I doing? What am I doing?
41:00-41:05
Not only were your sins more, but they were greater because you sinned against God.
41:08-41:15
So the only way to forgive is to live in the understanding and freedom of Christ's forgiveness.
41:20-41:23
I want you to jot some notes down. I have this on your outline.
41:23-41:25
We're coming to a conclusion here.
41:28-41:29
Thank you for your grace.
41:29-41:32
I haven't preached for the last three weeks, so I've had some things to say.
41:35-41:38
And really, this was just the introduction to the next three sermons.
41:38-41:41
Aren't you glad I'm not doing, like, the sermon that goes with this introduction?
41:46-41:54
No matter how many times we preach this, teach this, sing this, some people don't get it.
41:55-41:56
So we're going to take another run at it.
41:56-41:58
This is so important you understand.
41:59-42:03
If I were to ask you, how thorough has your forgiveness been from Christ?
42:03-42:07
How thoroughly are you forgiven? How completely are you forgiven?
42:08-42:24
I think we have like the head theological, biblical answer, but I still talk to Christians that say things like, "When we're lined up to get into heaven, I hope you're not standing behind me, because I have a lot to answer for." I have a good friend that says that.
42:25-42:27
every time I see him, and I give him the same sermon every time.
42:28-42:32
Like, "Have you received Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sin?" "Oh yeah, I have." Then it's not an issue.
42:35-42:37
But people still hold on. I'm going to have a lot to answer for.
42:38-42:48
I had another friend, "God, when I die, God's going to show me a movie of my life and sit there and point out all the things that I've done wrong." People still hold on to these silly notions.
42:49-42:54
The only way that you're going to forgive people is when you understand how thoroughly and completely you've been forgiven.
42:54-42:56
So we're going to take a couple minutes and do that, okay?
42:58-43:00
Quick study. This will be real quick.
43:01-43:02
I'm going to jot these down, look these up.
43:04-43:08
What God's grace has done to my sin, number one, my sin is cleansed.
43:09-43:16
Isaiah 118, "Come now, let us reason together," says the Lord, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
43:16-43:23
Though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool." So God promises a thorough cleansing. How white is snow?
43:25-43:25
Pretty white, right?
43:27-43:40
No matter how dirty we become from our sinful, wicked ways, God says, "I'll scrub you up so much that you're going to be as white as snow." Cleansed.
43:40-43:41
Number two, my sin is removed.
43:42-43:43
My sin is removed.
43:43-43:49
As far as the east is from the west, so far does He remove our transgression from us.
43:51-43:52
How far is east from west?
43:54-43:56
You know why God didn't say as far as the north is from the south? Do you know why?
43:57-44:02
Because if you keep going north, eventually you're going to what?
44:02-44:03
Start going south, right?
44:04-44:08
Anybody have a globe? Anybody have a globe with them? No?
44:08-44:09
You have to take my word for it.
44:09-44:13
But if you go north far enough, eventually you have no choice but to go south.
44:13-44:15
but that's not true east and west.
44:15-44:18
You can keep going east eternally.
44:19-44:24
And God said, "That's how far your sin's been removed from you." What did John the Baptist say about Jesus?
44:25-44:35
"There's a Lamb of God who takes sin away, takes away the sin." So that's how far.
44:36-44:40
Like, "Well, he took it in Wexford and he buried it in Harmony." No.
44:43-44:46
Far removed. As far as the east is from the west, it's an infinite gap.
44:49-44:51
OK, number three, my sin is lost.
44:54-44:59
He will again have compassion on us, Micah 719, he will tread our iniquities underfoot.
44:59-45:00
Isn't that a great picture?
45:01-45:04
God's like got his boots on and he's like, here's Jeff's sin.
45:04-45:08
He's like, oh, and he just stomps it into the dirt.
45:08-45:10
And I love this next picture even more.
45:10-45:14
You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.
45:14-45:16
Do you understand how awesome that is?
45:22-45:24
Aaron and I got married on a cruise.
45:26-45:26
But let's play pretend.
45:27-45:41
What if on that cruise, I'm standing leaning over the rail in the middle of whatever ocean we were in, And I take my wedding ring off and just start flicking it like a quarter and catching it.
45:44-45:48
And then all of a sudden I drop it and it falls into the ocean.
45:50-45:54
What are the chances I'm ever going to get that ring back? What are the chances?
45:58-46:04
It falls into the ocean. What are the chances I could ever try to get back to that spot?
46:04-46:09
And even if I found that spot and went underwater, like how deep's the ocean?
46:11-46:13
What are the chances I'm ever going to get that ring back?
46:16-46:17
Never, right?
46:18-46:19
See, that's what God's saying about our sin.
46:19-46:25
He's like, "I'm going to take your sin and just like off the cruise ship, into the ocean." But not just in the ocean.
46:26-46:33
God's like, "I'm going to go down to the bottom of the ocean, I'm going to dig a hole, and then I'm going to bury it and cover it over." What are the chances of it ever coming back?
46:34-46:40
God says, "That's what I'm doing with your sin. I'm going to cast it into the depths of the sea.
46:42-46:56
My sin is forgotten." Number four, "My sin is forgotten. I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more." This must be a big deal to God because He said it in the Old Testament and the New Testament.
46:57-47:10
"I will remember their sins no more." Okay, so if you're the guy that thinks you've got a lot of explaining to do, I kind of do want to be standing behind you in the line to heaven, whatever that stupid joke is.
47:11-47:33
But when you're like, "But God, I did all this, I did all these horrible things." And God's like, "Yeah, I don't remember." "You don't remember? I did this and I did this, and God, I did all these horrible things." And God's like, "Yeah, I He chose not to remember.
47:36-47:37
It's not going to come up.
47:38-47:41
And then number five, "My sin is pardoned.
47:43-47:55
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." Romans 8.1 There the picture is God is the judge, the trial.
47:57-47:58
Your attorney is Jesus Christ.
48:00-48:09
And God says, "You are pronounced not guilty." Okay, now who's gonna walk into that courtroom and try to overturn that decision?
48:11-48:13
The judge of the universe says you're not guilty.
48:17-48:19
Would you dare debate him on that?
48:20-48:22
Would you dare question him on that?
48:23-48:24
God says you're not guilty.
48:25-48:28
Satan will try to convince you that you are.
48:30-48:37
Where God has said, "No, in Christ you are not guilty." No condemnation.
48:42-48:48
Timothy Keller said, "And the reason for God." When we forgive, do we have that quote up here?
48:49-48:50
Yes, thank you.
48:50-48:56
When we forgive, we forego our opportunity to return affliction on our perpetrator.
48:56-49:02
We assume ourselves the debt of the transgression against us.
49:06-49:09
But this is exactly what the Lord God did for us on the cross.
49:09-49:22
And if we claim His forgiveness without forgiving others, while remaining petty, grudge-holding people, then we do not fully understand the cross, and we retain upon ourselves the death penalty for our sins.
49:26-49:28
Do you understand the cross?
49:29-49:32
Because if you do, forgiven people do what?
49:34-49:34
Forgive.
49:35-49:41
So today, today, some of you might need to make a phone call.
49:43-50:09
Some of you might need to, maybe it's a matter of sending an email or a text message to say, "Hey, you know what? I'd like to talk." Just to get the door open to say, "Look, I know things haven't been okay between us, and I'd love to talk to you about that. Is there some time this week that we can get together?" You need to start that process today. It's time to clear the books.
50:12-50:18
It's time to settle accounts. Because forgiven people forgive.
50:23-50:29
And our forgiveness is remembered by the Lord's table.
50:29-50:35
If our ushers would come forward and our worship team would come up, we're going to close our service by taking the Lord's Supper.
50:39-51:10
And I'd like to remind you at the Lord's Supper, Remember, this isn't a matter of God just saying, "I'm just going to erase the debt." The crucifixion of Jesus Christ is God saying, "I will pay the debt that you owe me."
Small Group Questions (Whole Group):
Read Matthew 18:21-35
Breakout Questions:
Pray for one another.