The Lord’s Forgiveness – Fear of the Lord – Mercy to Others.Wednesday July 23, 2025
The Lord’s teaching confronts us in two ways: 1) the sins of others against us, and 2) our own personal sins.
The first forces us to come to terms with forgiveness. Jesus makes it clear that we have to forgive everyone who sins against us from our hearts.
The second way that confronts us, our personal sins, come because of Jesus’ terse explanation of the parable in the last lines.
Mat 18:34-35 "And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."
10,000 talents: Every member of the human race is born in Adam, born spiritually dead and separate from God. We are born sinners.
Psa 130 Out of the depths I have cried to You, O Lord. 2 Lord, hear my voice! Let Your ears be attentive To the voice of my supplications. 3 If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? 4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.
5 I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope. 6 My soul waits for the Lord More than the watchmen for the morning; Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning. 7 O Israel, hope in the Lord; For with the Lord there is lovingkindness, And with Him is abundant redemption. 8 And He will redeem Israel From all his iniquities.
Pro 20:9 Who can say, "I have cleansed my heart, I am pure from my sin"?
Jam 1:15 Then when lust has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and when sin is accomplished, it brings forth death.
Rom 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Rom 5:12-21 Therefore, just as through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men, because all sinned — 13 for until the Law sin was in the world, but sin is not imputed when there is no law. 14 Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come.
15 But the free gift is not like the transgression. For if by the transgression of the one the many died, much more did the grace of God and the gift by the grace of the one Man, Jesus Christ, abound to the many. 16 The gift is not like that which came through the one who sinned; for on the one hand the judgment arose from one transgression resulting in condemnation, but on the other hand the free gift arose from many transgressions resulting in justification. 17 For if by the transgression of the one, death reigned through the one, much more those who receive the abundance of grace and of the gift of righteousness will reign in life through the One, Jesus Christ.
18 So then as through one transgression there resulted condemnation to all men, even so through one act of righteousness there resulted justification of life to all men. 19 For as through the one man's disobedience the many were made sinners, even so through the obedience of the One the many will be made righteous. 20 The Law came in so that the transgression would increase; but where sin increased, grace abounded all the more, 21 so that, as sin reigned in death, even so grace would reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Rom 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
When Christ paid the penalty for our sins, He did more than the Law required – He accepted every believer into Himself (Rom 6:23; 1Co 15:22), adopting us as a brother or sister into God’s very family.
Now if anything can undo that, then Christ’s victory is not one.
Mat 18:25-27
It would have been impossible to repay that amount. It is also impossible to repay your debt to God in some way.
The king felt compassion and forgave the debt.
Eph 2:7 so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
Multiple passages in the NT restate this same truth: God poured out our sins on His Son who took our place. We have, each of us, been forgiven of a countless number of sin (10,000 talents).
1Pe 3:18 For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God.
Mat 18:28-30
Slave 2’s debt is not insignificant (3-4 months wages; akin to Peter’s “7 times”), however is it 1/600,000th of what he owed the master.
When a Christian accepts forgiveness from God without knowing the fear of God that comes from knowing what wrath he has been graciously delivered from, he will become more cruel rather than more merciful.
Slave 1 has no fear of God.
Psa 130:4 But there is forgiveness with You, That You may be feared.
Mat 18:32
“All that debt.” We, the hearers, are to reflect on the extent of our own indebtedness to the grace of God. The master did not have to have mercy and he expected the same from the first slave.
Mat 18:33
“Mercy” Mat 5:7 “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
The characteristics of God are to be the characteristics of His people.
God has made us a home where we live as He does, in His way, with His thinking and delights.
2Ti 2:19 Nevertheless, the firm foundation of God stands, having this seal, "The Lord knows those who are His," and, "Everyone who names the name of the Lord is to abstain from wickedness."
Luk 6:36 “Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.”
Application:
Jesus intimates that if we do not show mercy we will not receive it.
Jam 2:12-13 So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. 13 For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.
James is not writing to unbelievers.
Mat 18:34 “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him.”
If he is determined to get justice, then he will have it.
God’s generosity is beyond measure, but He will not show mercy to the unmerciful.
Mat 18:35 "My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart."
He is teaching us that He takes our transformation into mature disciples very seriously.
Go to the Father in prayer and ask for revelation on who you have not forgiven and then ask Him to impress upon you the magnitude of the debt you own Him, which He has forgiven you.
The solution is quite simple for a believer. Knowing something of the magnitude of your debt to God makes you a forgiving person. Often people will not forgive something that is not a weakness in them. “I’d never …”
Luk 7:47 "For this reason I say to you, her sins, which are many, have been forgiven, for she loved much; but he who is forgiven little, loves little."
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