Bible Study - Neighbor (5) - Forgive Your Neighbor - Matthew 18:21-35 - August 21, 2022

 

Bible Study – Neighbor (5) – Forgive Your Neighbor – August 21, 2022

This is lesson five (5) in our series entitled, “How to Love Your Neighbor.”

Our focus scripture is Matthew 18:21-35.

Love leads us to forgive.

As Spirit-born people, when we understand GOD’S forgiveness of our sins through faith in JESUS, it compels us to forgive others. Our scripture focuses on a question the Apostle Peter had for JESUS.

Let’s read Matthew 18:21-22: 

²¹ Then Peter approached him (JESUS) and asked, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?”

²² “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.^[n]

The Apostle Peter posed the question to JESUS regarding forgiveness, “Lord, how many times must I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? As many as seven times?”

Peter likely knew that the Rabbinical teachings from Amos 1:3, 6,9,11, 13 and 2:1,4,6 taught that most people were required to forgive three times. If a person committed the same sin for the fourth time, it indicated that person had not been genuinely repenting therefore four was the upper limit. When Peter said to JESUS to forgive a person seven times, Peter was going above and beyond. JESUS, responded with, “I tell you, not as many as seven,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven.^”

Even here JESUS was not setting an upper limit but telling Peter and us today that with GOD there is no limit on the number of times GOD forgives us, therefore, there is not limit on the number of times we are to forgive others.

In Biblical terminology the number seven is a perfect number and stands for “completeness”.

JESUS immediately saw this as a teaching moment. Often, when we have questions, GOD uses our questions to teach us. JESUS gave Peter and us a parable.  

Let’s read Matthew 18:23-27:

²³ “For this reason, the kingdom of heaven can be compared to a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ When he began to settle accounts, one who owed ten thousand talents^[o] was brought before him. ²⁵ Since he did not have the money to pay it back, his master commanded that he, his wife, his children, and everything he had be sold to pay the debt.

²⁶ “At this, the servant fell facedown before him and said, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you everything.’ ²⁷ Then the master of that servant had compassion, released him, and forgave him the loan.

GOD has given us life upon earth. When did HE know that we would live upon earth? We read in Ephesians 1:3-14:

³ Blessed is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavens in Christ. ⁴ For he chose us in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and blameless in love before him.^[c] 5 He predestined us to be adopted as sons through Jesus Christ for himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, ⁶ to the praise of his glorious grace that he lavished on us in the Beloved One.

⁷ In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace ⁸ that he richly poured out on us with all wisdom and understanding.^[d] 9 He made known to us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure that he purposed in Christ ¹⁰ as a plan for the right time^[e]—to bring everything together in Christ, both things in heaven and things on earth in him.

¹¹ In him we have also received an inheritance,^[f] because we were predestined according to the plan of the one who works out everything in agreement with the purpose of his will, ¹² so that we who had already put our hope in Christ might bring praise to his glory.

¹³ In him you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed. ¹⁴ The Holy Spirit is the down payment of our inheritance, until the redemption of the possession, to the praise of his glory.

As Spirit-born people what does JESUS teach as recorded in John 5:24-30:

²⁴ “Truly I tell you, anyone who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not come under judgment but has passed from death to life.

²⁵ “Truly I tell you, an hour is coming, and is now here, when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God, and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For just as the Father has life in himself, so also, he has granted to the Son to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has granted him the right to pass judgment, because he is the Son of Man. ²⁸ Do not be amazed at this, because a time is coming when all who are in the graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done good things, to the resurrection of life, but those who have done wicked things, to the resurrection of condemnation.

³⁰ “I can do nothing on my own. I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, because I do not seek my own will, but the will of him who sent me.

What is the size of the debt we owe to GOD? It is beyond our capability to repay, except presenting our lives to GOD as a living sacrifice by accepting JESUS as our Savior and serving in GOD’S vineyard. Those who have been forgiven of such an enormous debt do not judge others, that is GOD’S business. We are to reach out to others as led by GOD.

All who have placed their faith in JESUS will not be judged but have already passed from death and judgment to eternal life. Now, that is Good News!!!

The solution for satisfying the enormous sin debt of each of us has been paid in full by the shed blood of JESUS but each of us has to accept it. We who have been forgiven are to make others aware of what it means for a person to place his or her faith in JESUS. Once we have been forgiven for our sins, do we condemn others or do we reach out to them in love with the word of salvation and help?

In this parable, we see that the King forgave this servant his entire debt, which has been estimate from billions to trillions. JESUS reveals to us in this parable that the person of authority was a King. A King is the authority over his kingdom and could mete out any decision he desired. In this parable the king showed mercy to the servant.  The servant was grateful when the King forgave him of this enormous debt. But how far did this forgiven servants’ gratitude reach among those who owed the servant money? Let’s read on ---

Let’s read Matthew 18:28-35:

²⁸ “That servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii.^[p] He grabbed him, started choking him, and said, ‘Pay what you owe!’

The forgiven servant’s gratitude didn’t last long. But did the King coming to him give him the idea to go after those who owed him money? Did the King loan money to the servant and in-turn did the ungrateful servant loan money to others? Since, the King forgave the ungrateful servant’s debt that meant that all the money he had loaned was now his money. WOW!!! Did he immediately think of those who owed him money and hunted them down? We can only speculate and we must be cautious not to read more into a parable than we need to.

We know that a parable is an earthly story to help us understand a Heavenly application.   

We learn that the forgiven servant did not show the same mercy to the person who owed him money that his master had shown to him. Forgiveness is a gift from GOD and is GOD’S desire for those of us know the truth of forgiveness through faith in JESUS.

²⁹ “At this, his fellow servant fell down^[q] and began begging him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ ³⁰ But he wasn’t willing. Instead, he went and threw him into prison until he could pay what was owed. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened. ³² Then, after he had summoned him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me. ³³ Shouldn’t you also have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ ³⁴ And because he was angry, his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured until he could pay everything that was owed. ³⁵ So also my heavenly Father will do to you unless every one of you forgives his brother or sister^[r] from your^[s] heart.”

Notice in verse "³¹ When the other servants saw what had taken place, they were deeply distressed and went and reported to their master everything that had happened." It takes a village to take action against evil practices.

There will be “pay day someday.” Those of us who have been given mercy are to extend mercy to others. Matthew 5:7:

Blessed are the merciful,
for they will be shown mercy.

Hebrews 4:16:

¹⁶ Therefore, let us approach the throne of grace with boldness, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in time of need.

1 Peter 1:3:

³ Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. Because of his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

1 Peter 2:10:

¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

All who have been Spirit-born have received mercy and are GOD’S Son or Daughter through the miracle of Spiritual Birth. All who are Spirit-born are GOD’S Child, have eternal life and can approach GOD 24/7 and call HIM Daddy. How is this possible?

Second Corinthians 5:21 for all who place their faith in JESUS:

²¹ He (GOD) made the one who did not know sin (JESUS) to be sin^[e] for us (Spirit-born), so that in him (JESUS) we might become the righteousness of God.

Ephesians 4:30:

³⁰ And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

While those who are Spirit-born are living upon earth, GOD has equipped them with the Holy Spirit, WHO endows them with HIS Gifts to serve as HE directs. The Holy Spirit is our guarantee as written in 2 Corinthians 1:22:

²² set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.

YES!!! Our security is assured by GOD and guaranteed by the indwelling Holy Spirit.

In the parable that JESUS gave reveals that the heart of the servant who owed the King a huge amount of money did not change after he was forgiven of his debt. This goes to the very core or heart of a person and that is where truth resides. What is our mind-set toward others and toward JESUS, WHO gave HIS sinless life so all who place their faith in HIM can be Spiritually and eternally born into GOD’S Family?

All humans have a sin debt so large that we cannot pay but JESUS paid it all when HE gave HIS sinless life upon the cross. Place your faith in JESUS and receive eternal life through the miracle of Spiritual birth or being born-again in your spirit. It is free to you but it cost JESUS HIS sinless life by the shedding of HIS blood. Why shedding of HS blood?

In Hebrews 9:22:

²² According to the law almost everything is purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

The choice is ours to make. How do you choose? JESUS or your way?

Ephesians 4:32:

³² And be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving one another, just as God also forgave you^[n] in Christ.

Blessings!!!