The Power of Forgiveness

[Chad]

Matthew 18:21-35

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

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?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.

“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.

“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.

“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’

“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.

“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

 

[RJ]

Matthew 18:21-35

The Parable of the Unmerciful Servant

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?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.

“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.


“At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.


“But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded.


“His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’


“But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.


“Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.

“This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Lot of people struggle from an untruth. One of the greatest is the idea that I don't need to forgive someone who has wronged me. Like the command to love your enemy doesn't mean that you accept them or their behavior, forgiving someone doesn't mean that you have to agree with what they have done. Unconditional forgiving is a God trait and will help you to be released from the devil's trap of un-forgiveness which binds you to feeling un-peace and no closure.

 

[Whendancer]

Because we have God's Holy Spirit teaching us to have the mind of Christ, we are learning to forgive everyone of everything NO MATTER WHAT WAS SAID OR DONE TO US! Our Lord gave us many examples to "model" but NONE more powerful than praying to His Father to "...forgive them, for they know not what they do." We, the Body of Christ, would do well to let the Head be the head of all that we hold in our hearts. To be unforgiving will always do more harm to us than does we harbor bitterness towards. For one thing, it grieves the Holy Spirit because it is disobedience to our Lord. And, for another it dims our light making it harder for those in darkness to distinguish us from those still in darkness. So, let us be generous in this, Beloved Elect, because ..."...freely we have received....."