Overview
This teaching examines “Forgiving One Another” through Matthew 6, Numbers 15, Matthew 18, Mark 7, showing how forgive, because, forgiveness shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Transcript
Understanding Forgiving One Another
Well, my teaching is on forgiveness. Forgiveness is something that everybody has to deal with, and the reason I started looking into it is because I had a situation where I needed to forgive, but it was extremely difficult for me in this situation. So forgiveness in the Old Testament is associated with atonement, and it’s the process by which two typically estranged parties are made at one with each other.
And go ahead and turn to Matthew 6, and I’m going to read from Numbers 15, verse 25. And the priest shall make an atonement for all the congregation of the children of Israel, and it shall be forgiven them, for it is ignorance. And they shall bring their offering, the sacrifice made by fire unto the Lord, and their sin offering before the Lord, for their ignorance.
So forgiveness throughout the Bible, and here in the Old Testament, it is translated atonement. And in the Gospels, Jesus started to teach differently. So the verse that is most often used to indicate forgiveness in the world today, and so how we receive forgiveness, is Matthew 6, and verse 12.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. I was raised Presbyterian, and I really didn’t understand that. You know, what do you mean forgive us our debts as we forgive others? Because I would spend the night with someone and go to their church, and they used the word trespasses.
And that confused me even more. So, in the word, in this verse, forgiveness is the word epheime, and it means, according to biblical usage and Greek, to send away, to send forth, to let go, to give up, to permit, to leave, and to give up a debt, forgive, to remit. So here we can see how the word debt was associated with forgiveness.
Go ahead and turn to Matthew 18. So what happens when a person has something happen to them that is really offensive, you know, it’s something that’s hurtful, something that makes them want to hang on to it because it hurts so much, so that we never forgive, and that’s a protection that people will use. You know, I’m going to hang on to this so that it never happens again.
You know, we as humans see that there’s a debt that’s owed to us for that offense. In other words, there’s something that other person needs to do in order for me to forgive them. You know, they need to come to me and admit what they did, even though they might not even know what they did.
And they need to ask for forgiveness. So in Matthew 18, this is an illustration of debt in association with forgive us our debts as we forgive others. So in verse 23, it says, Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants.
The Biblical Foundation
And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him 10,000 talents. But for as much as he had not to pay, the Lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children, and all that he had in payment to be made. The servant therefore fell down and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
Then the Lord of the servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him 100 pence. And he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not. But he went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So when the fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told their Lord all that was done. Then the Lord, after all he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desirest me. Shouldest not thou also have compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? And his Lord was wrath, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due him.
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if he from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. So the king forgave the debt until the servant did not forgive the other person who owed him. Go ahead and turn to Mark 7. See, forgiveness does not come naturally to us, because we have a sin nature.
We were born with it. And have you ever been in a situation where you had like a strong reaction to others, but other people in the room didn’t have that same reaction? A lot of times that’s because we have accumulated offenses. In other words, there’s hurts that happen to us when we’re younger, and then throughout those hurts can be built upon.
And in that process, we accumulate all these offenses in these situations. And they become destructive. You know, they can create anger and stress, we can become overly critical.
And they don’t come from others, they come from us. But maybe that other person triggered something within us to cause us to respond in that way. And that is shown here in Mark 7, verse 15.
There is nothing from without a man that entering into him can defile him, but the things which come out of him, those are they that defile the man. So, unforgiven debts by accumulated offenses we have, they grow. And if they’re not dealt with, they’re going to produce roots in our hearts.
Examples and Spiritual Lessons
And in Hebrews, that’s called roots of bitterness. And these offenses will often be pushed out of our daily life just because we’re busy. You know, we’re going about our daily life, and we just don’t think about them.
But they can be brought up at the first sign of a similar offense that triggers those reactions. See, our brain is just a filing system. It just takes information in and files it.
When we make decisions, we make it from the subconscious. And they’re based on emotions and from the files we pull from. So, a lot of times our emotions are from those built-up debts that we don’t see as ever repaid.
And because of the unresolved debts, we can hold it against the wrong person. And we are capable of digging into the files and pull out the previous hurts. But sometimes it’s not easy.
It takes God. We need God to do this, to come in and show us how to resolve those issues. Well, for me in a particular situation, Philippians 3.13 wasn’t overcoming for me, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forth into those things which are before.
It just wasn’t enough for me to overcome. So, I needed help. And I knew I needed help.
And I had prayed about it for quite a while. Sometimes we don’t let go because we’re afraid that if we let go, the same thing’s going to happen to us. I think the world calls it survival.
But survival is just a way of us trying to protect ourselves, where God is our protector. So, sometimes we need to go back in our memories and pull out those debts that we hold against others. And but we’re responsible for the responses that we have.
Faith in Action
We’re responsible for the choices we make to hang on to those debts. Not to forgive is human nature, again, because we have that sin nature. But it’s also very destructive to us.
So, last summer, I had an experience that was very traumatic to me. And I was even shocked by my reaction to it. And it was because of the actions of another person.
But it just surprised me how I reacted. I really went into a tailspin. And fortunately, I have a sister who believes in the word and who understands me better than most people.
So, I asked her to help me kind of sort things out. Now, God worked in me in a certain way. He works in each of us uniquely.
He knows our background, our experiences. He knows how we talk to ourselves. So, he knows how to work in us in each situation.
And in this particular situation, I have a really good friend that works with a deliverance ministry. And I was a little reluctant to use the word deliverance because it can have a negative connotation based on the worldly view or based on even some of the things that we have seen maybe on TV by other preachers or pastors. So, but it is truly a very gentle ministry.
It allows a person who wants freedom to come to the conclusions themselves by asking God, what do I need to look at? So, that’s how simple it is. So, for me, this was the answer. And what she said to me was, you may need to go back in history and find out what the root is that caused you to react so emotionally.
And it actually was even destructive for me at the time. So, a few days later, I did just that. I was cleaning house and I sat down for a minute.
Walking in Love and Confidence
And I just, and this was like less than five minutes. I just asked God to show me the root cause. And he did.
He showed me what it was and the interaction with the other person. And it wasn’t emotional at all. He just showed it to me.
And then I asked God, where were you in that situation? Now, what I expected was that he’d say, you know, I had my arms wrapped around you and I was comforting you and taking care of you. But what he showed me really surprised me. I wasn’t the one who needed the comfort in that situation.
It was the other person who needed him most. And that just relieved a huge burden off of me. And what he replaced it with was compassion for that other person.
Which in that situation, I never would have guessed that I would have had. It was freeing. A burden was lifted off of me.
Now, in other situations, you know, maybe I have a need or I have something that I’m looking at, I keep three by five cards handy. And if I have a particular situation, say maybe health or finances or whatever, I have three by five cards with the word on it and I keep those in my pocket. So when my mind starts to wander, I pull them out and look at them.
Very handy when I was working in corporate, I would go to the bathroom and look at them. You know, I just walk away and get the word in my mind. So in mastering forgiveness, it’s important to remember that you don’t have to think of every little detail.
It’s not necessary to get emotionally involved in the situation. God will show you what you need to do for you. So it’s those past hurts and offenses that are translated into debts.
Applying the Teaching in Daily Life
And if they’re not dealt with, they can become so numerous and huge that they destroy life, that they destroy relationships. And the forgiving of a debt is a personal experience. It’s between you and God.
Nobody else has to be there. The person, the debtor, I guess you could say, doesn’t have to be there. It’s between you and God because it has nothing to do with them.
It has everything to do with Mark 7 15 that we just read. It’s what’s inside us that defiles us. Again, it has everything to do with our relationship with God.
And unforgiveness can hinder that. We see in the Gospels that we forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. But wasn’t the Gospels still under the Old Testament law? And Jesus came to fulfill that law.
But he had not yet fulfilled the law when he spoke those words. So go ahead and turn to Ephesians 4. And I’m going to read a few things. Our forgiveness is not dependent on forgiving.
Because if it was, wouldn’t that be works? In Romans 4 2, we see, For if Abram were justified by works, he hath whereof to glory, but not before God. And in Galatians 2 16, knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ. Even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not the works of the law.
For by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. So God has actually given us a higher calling to forgive. In Ephesians 4, verse 31, we’ll start there.
Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and evil speaking be put away from you with all malice. And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven you. That is our standard today for forgiveness.
Even as God, for Christ’s sake, hath forgiven you. See, the word here for forgive is charizomai. And that’s to forgive, give freely, deliver, to grant.
A Life Shaped by God’s Word
And according to biblical usage, it’s to pardon or graciously restore. And the root word for charizomai is grace. So we’re already forgiven by the works of Jesus Christ.
Our past, present, and future sins are forgiven. And it’s from this standpoint that we forgive. We wipe out the debt of another person because ours has been wiped out.
And for one thing, if we try to carry the burden of unforgiveness, it’s too big for us to carry. God didn’t design us to carry that burden. He put that burden on someone who could carry it, on Jesus Christ.
And Jesus Christ accepted that burden so that we could walk free. When you think of how Jesus Christ walked free on this earth because of his relationship with our Father, he was free to live a life that was more than abundant. So he took the burden of unforgiveness from us so that we could have the ability, the capability, of walking in the freedom that he walked.
And we also have the ability to forgive because God works in us. Humanly, we don’t have the ability to forgive. But by way of the Holy Spirit and God working in us, we do have that ability to forgive with the same compassion that Jesus Christ forgave.
And that releases that huge weight, that huge burden that we carry when we have unforgiveness. And isn’t that what we want? Isn’t that what we need? So in conclusion, in the Old Testament, forgiveness was dependent on atonement, which was temporary. And today we forgive because we’ve already been forgiven, because we have the ability to forgive by way of Christ’s accomplishments and by way of the Holy Spirit working within us.
So I pray that this gives you a fresh look at forgiveness. And I pray that this is a way that will help you to unload any burdens you may have. And I’m very thankful for the privilege to teach.
So God bless you.
Key Takeaways
- So the king forgave the debt until the servant did not forgive the other person who owed him.
- See, forgiveness does not come naturally to us, because we have a sin nature.
- And because of the unresolved debts, we can hold it against the wrong person.
- So, sometimes we need to go back in our memories and pull out those debts that we hold against others.
- And it was because of the actions of another person.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the main message of “Forgiving One Another”?
This teaching examines “Forgiving One Another” through Matthew 6, Numbers 15, Matthew 18, Mark 7, showing how forgive, because, forgiveness shape a believer’s relationship with God, daily choices, and service to others.
Which scriptures are central to this teaching?
The teaching draws especially from Matthew 6, Numbers 15, Matthew 18, Mark 7, Philippians 3.
How can believers apply this teaching?
So, sometimes we need to go back in our memories and pull out those debts that we hold against others.
Scripture References
Matthew 6; Numbers 15; Matthew 18; Mark 7; Philippians 3; Ephesians 4
This text was prepared from the teaching audio or source document. Please verify scripture references against your own Bible.
