Sand Mountain Sermonette 35
Matthew 18:1-2; Matthew 6:15; Isaiah 53:5
“Forgiving and Forgetting”
“Then Peter came and said to Him, ‘’Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.” Matthew 18:1-2
Peter thought he was being generous when he suggested “up to seven times” in his question put forth to Jesus. The Jewish rabbis of Jesus day said to forgive three times. But Jesus instructed Peter to forgive a person who had wronged him four-hundred and ninety times.
In essence, Jesus is saying there is no limit to forgiveness for the “norm” in God’s kingdom is to forgive as God has forgiven us. Jesus paid our sin-debt in full on the cross. His blood was and is the cleansing agent from all sin and it is via His blood that we are reconciled to God. Have you repented of your sin and by faith trusted in Jesus’ death and resurrection for the forgiveness of your sin-disease and your being made right with God now and forever?
The beautiful thing is, God forgives us so we, in turn can forgive others. Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount, “But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matthew 6:15). And the rest of the story? It is not only an act of grace to be forgiven of the Lord, but one’s forgiving and forgetting an offense committed against them by another is also an act of God’s grace as well.
When I was in the first grade, I still remember my teacher, Mrs. Justice inviting me to take several of her chalkboard erasers and dust them off against a wall located in the middle courtyard of the school during recess. I just loved doing that! I hit those erasers over and over against that wall until they were perfectly clean! Jesus erased our sin-disease completely on the cross at Calvary. The prophet Isaiah says we are healed by the stripes he bore on His body (Isaiah 53:5). And, by His compassion living in us through the Holy Spirit, we Christians are called to erase the debt of the wrong committed against us through our having forgiven the one who has wronged us. And, in doing so, we are the ones who are released from the hurt, pain, and anger of holding onto that debt.
Forgive and be set free!
Pastor Louie