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A Lesson on Forgiveness: He Became an Unforgivable Servant

kaizenPosted for Everyone to comment on, 5 years ago3 min read

As long as he refused to forgive, he could not be forgiven.

So far, out of the parable of the unforgiving servant, we have discussed a few stages in the story of this servant: First, he was unforgiven; second, he was forgiven. Then, we can saw that the servant was unforgiving despite the compassion, mercy and forgiveness that he experiences from his Master.

Verses 32 and 33 say,

It was only reasonable that this man who was forgiven should offer the same kind of forgiveness to others. It is only reasonable that we, who have been freely
forgiven by God, should offer the same kind of forgiveness to others!

We are commanded to do so:

We are to love others as God loves us and forgive others as God has forgiven us! But we might object: "He is not good enough for me to forgive him." How good were we when God forgave us? Or: "Heís done too many terrible things to me to forgive him." But how terrible were the things we had done to God? They were the equivalent of a debt of ten thousand talents. Jesus was scourged, spat upon, mocked, hit, and crucified. Yet He was still willing to forgive. Or:"But heís never come to me and begged my forgiveness."
"
Had anyone asked for Jesus' forgiveness before He prayed,
"Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing"?

In other words, there is no excuse for our unwillingness to forgive. Just as God was willing freely to forgive us, so we must be willing to forgive others!

Verse 34 says:

What are the consequences of being unforgiving?

First, when we fail to forgive, we make God angry! It is a terrible thing to make God angry. An angry God is wrathful and it is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living Godî (Hebrews 10:31). Second, when we fail to forgive, we will be subject to the same punishment God prescribed for our sin originally.

The king took back the forgiveness he had given and threw the servant into prison until he had paid all his debt. How long would that be? Forever! He would never be able to pay it. So with us. When we fail to forgive, we are subject to the same penalty/eternal punishment!

In verse 35 we read:

God's forgiveness of us is dependent on our forgiveness of others. And our forgiveness must be from the heart. If we refuse to forgive, we will not be forgiven (Matthew 6:14, 15). We all need God's mercy, grace, and forgiveness to be saved in the first place and then to continue to stay saved.

CONCLUSION

We have spoken of four stages in the story of this servant: First, he was unforgiven; second, he was forgiven; third, he was unforgiving; fourth, he was unforgivable. I suspect that everyone could be put into one of these categories. How would you be classified?

If you are unforgiven, remember, God loves you and wants to forgive you, no matter how terrible you feel your sins have been. Remember, too, if you will just come to Him, in the way He has given His Word, there is no way He will refuse to accept you, forgive you, and make you His own.

Notes:
Some of the information here are excerpts from Coy Roper.
published by Truth for Today in the year 2005.

Cheers,
Kaizen

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