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[0:00] Amen. It's good to see all of you back here tonight on this Sunday evening.

[0:19] ! And hopefully you've come to worship. If you haven't, you've missed out on quite a bit of the service because we have certainly! We're going to worship the Lord tonight.

[0:29] Thank you, Jonathan. I want you to take your Bibles tonight and open them to Matthew chapter 19, 18, excuse me. Matthew 18.

[0:41] And if you would find verse 21, Matthew 18, verse 21, and I'm going to read through to the end of the chapter.

[1:01] Then, then Peter came and said to him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?

[1:17] Jesus said to him, I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to 70 times seven. For this reason, the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him 10,000 talents was brought to him. But since he did not have the means to repay, his Lord commanded him to be sold along with his wife and children and all that he had and repayment to be made.

[1:52] So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him saying, have patience with me. And I will repay you everything. And the Lord of that slave felt compassion, released him and forgave him the debt. But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii. And he seized him and began to choke him saying, pay back what you owe. So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him saying, have patience with me and I will repay you. But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their Lord all that had happened. Then summoning him, his Lord said to him, you wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave in the same way that I have had mercy on you? And his Lord moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. My heavenly father will also do the same to you if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart. Now even without any commentary, even without any preaching tonight,

[3:30] I think you would have to admit that the parable represents some searching words, searching. Forgiveness. Forgiveness is not an easy thing to do. I had a roommate in college who would always say, to err is human. Then he would say, to forgive is unheard of. That'd just be his famous kind of favorite expression. And yet it seems a little comical, but it's not funny because in reality it does seem as it works out among believers and groups of believers sometimes.

[4:18] Yeah, it is human to make mistakes, to err, to sin. Forgiveness is an unheard of thing. The parable that Jesus told is of course in response to a question put to him by Peter.

[4:37] And yet to put this in context, we need to understand that prior to Peter coming to Jesus and asking him the question, Jesus had taught the disciples some pretty important things about church discipline.

[4:55] We don't have to go back to that text, but I think you probably could look up above there and see very clearly Jesus instructions. And you are probably familiar with those instructions.

[5:08] How when one sins against another, that one is to go to the sinning one and, and privately deal with that sin. And then if there's no repentance to go to that sinning one with a few others. And then if there is still no repentance to come before the church and, and church discipline is a very important thing within the body of Christ for health and for unity, the desire of course, of church discipline is what? Not expelling of membership, but restoration, restoration through repentance.

[5:46] And so hot on the heels of those instructions, Peter, then it says there in verse 21, that's how we know this is tied to the teachings before. Then Peter came to Jesus. It's like he took him aside and said, I have a personal query. What if kind of thing? Forgiveness is something taught throughout the scripture. And we're going to look at some of those passages tonight as they relate to the parable that Jesus tells here, especially how he concludes the parable. Forgiveness is an important thing within the body of Christ. And I would suggest to you that the lack of forgiveness within the body of Christ is without a doubt, one of the most damaging sins against the body. Causes splits and schisms and ill feelings. And as we're going to see, it causes us to fall out of fellowship with God, not just on an individual basis, but as a body known as a local church, we can fall out of fellowship with God because of the spirit of unforgiveness. What does he teach us about this?

[7:15] Well, I want to divide the text in three or excuse me, four parts. I want to begin with this question that came from Peter and I'm calling it a searching proposition begins with a searching proposition.

[7:32] Look at verse 21 again. Then Peter came and said to him, Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me? And I forgive him? How often? It's like it was burning in his heart. Here, Jesus has just given the instructions and Peter in his mind, he's kind of going over this and over this and he's thinking about maybe possibly a certain one and he's coming to the Lord. Well, what if he sins twice or three times or four times or five times? And the suggestion is certainly not a suggestion that we're talking about the same one sinning, but the suggestion is possibly the same sin.

[8:19] If that one within the body sins and then repents and then I forgive, what if he does it again?

[8:30] Do I forgive him then? What if a second time, a third time, a fourth time? And so Peter is asking the question, but he is also in the question and it's a searching question. He is presenting a proposition to the Lord, even though it's in the form of a question, because he then says up to seven times.

[8:54] Now, Peter did not pull that number out of the hat somewhere, really. It was the tradition or the teachings of the rabbis of the day that you were required to forgive three times. That was the extent of the requirement. And so if that one sins against you and repents, then you forgive once. If it happens again, twice. If it happens again, three times. But then beyond that, your obligation ceases and there's not any need to forgive anymore. And you can just write that one off. That was the rabbinical teaching of the day. And so Peter is going to step further, of course. In fact, he's not only doubling it, but he's doubling it and adding one. And I have the feeling because, you know, when you read the Gospels and you read about Peter and you kind of immerse yourself in his character, you begin to realize that that Peter, he liked to come up with the top stuff and he liked to come up with the best of suggestions, like to present himself as someone who was a little above or cut above just the normal.

[10:04] And so he's coming to Jesus and suggesting seven times. Now, putting that aside, let's just consider that seven times is a bunch of times.

[10:18] For the same one to sin the same sin. To forgive seven times. That's a lot. And I just think that Peter was thinking this, this is going to get me kudos from the Lord.

[10:34] If the rabbis teach three and I suggest seven, then Jesus is going to say, Peter, you you really, you really got it.

[10:48] And so it is a searching proposition. But then we have to listen to what Jesus said in response. And so second, there is the staggering precept.

[11:04] Jesus offers or gives us a precept. This is how we are to operate. Peter has made a suggestion, a proposition seven times.

[11:17] And so now Jesus is going to respond with the precept. This is the one that sticks. This is the real thing. This is the one that we need to listen to and abide by and operate according to.

[11:30] And this precept is, on the face of it, staggering. Jesus said, verse 22, I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to 70 times seven.

[11:48] You know what Peter's problem was? It's the same problem we have. Even after we see the precept and we begin to do the math in our minds, our problem, same problem that Peter had.

[12:06] We are making it a matter of mathematics. Rather than a matter of. Mercy. Mercy. And love.

[12:16] And love. See, Peter has in mind seven times. And if the text had stopped there and Jesus had not responded or if he had responded, that's good, Peter.

[12:28] Do that. Then we would still be amazed and challenged to forgive seven times. But Jesus says 70 times seven.

[12:42] 490 times. And yet still the point is not mathematics, is it? If that were the case, then we could carry around a little notebook in our pocket.

[12:58] Keep a little tally beside the name. And we'd keep going. One, two, three, four, five, six, seven. Well, we're better than Peter. Eight, nine, ten. And then we'd get up to 490.

[13:12] And then, if it happened one more time, that's it. 491. Now, you'd admit, wouldn't you, that 490 is a staggering thought.

[13:28] It staggers the mind that someone would sin against me that many times. And so, then, you know that the idea here is not 490 times.

[13:39] The idea here, of course, is not seven times or ten times or 20 times or 40 times. I tell you, the idea is not a million times. Not about mathematics.

[13:49] So, what is Jesus saying? Isn't it clear? You forgive every time.

[14:00] Every time. That staggers the mind, doesn't it? Because we are more apt to write people off even after the first time.

[14:11] It is this spirit of forgiveness. It's the precept. This is how we're to operate within the body of Christ.

[14:23] Now, Jesus gives the instructions on how that's to be worked out so that there is repentance. I mean, there must be repentance. There must be brokenness over the sin.

[14:36] There must be a confession of that sin. And we are to forgive. Forgive, forgive, forgive. Not seven times. Not 490 times. But always. And welcome that one back into fellowship.

[14:50] Whether it's on a one-on-one basis type of fellowship. Or whether it's fellowship within the body of Christ. The local body of Christ. The church. That's the precept, isn't it?

[15:03] There isn't any way to deny that. It's right there. In red ink. In my Bible. So there is the searching proposition.

[15:20] The staggering precept. Then we get to the parable. And I'm going to call it. A shocking parable.

[15:33] It really is shocking. It's shocking in a number of ways, actually. Not only the first part of it. And how Jesus describes this king.

[15:44] And then he describes in the parable. This servant that owes this certain amount of gold. Or weight in gold. When we really analyze that.

[15:56] Then we come to realize. This is a shocking thing. That someone could owe so much. But it really becomes shocking.

[16:06] In what happens toward the end of the parable. You know. You know. Jesus begins the parable. By saying.

[16:17] For this reason. The kingdom of heaven. May be compared. Do you see that in the parable? As a matter of fact. This sermon that I'm preaching.

[16:27] Is the result of a. Study that I did. A couple of months ago. The January Bible study. I don't know if any of you were involved. In that this year.

[16:38] From the SBC. The kingdom parables. That Jesus taught. Or told. In the gospel of Matthew. And this is one of those kingdom parables.

[16:50] That is. Jesus is in effect saying. This is how it is to be. In the kingdom of God. And the parable describes that. And it describes.

[17:01] I believe. From start to finish. How someone gets into the kingdom. And how they are to act. In the kingdom. Of heaven. And the kingdom principle.

[17:13] That is being taught in the parable. Is the principle of forgiveness. Forgiveness. On the front end. That is the king's forgiveness. Of the slave.

[17:24] Or. If we apply it to. The kingdom. God's forgiveness of us. And then of course. The forgiveness. That the slave.

[17:35] Should have extended. To the. Fellow slave. Or servant. Who owed him. And. That part of it. Is very clear. And it may not seem.

[17:46] Very shocking to you. But when you begin. To analyze it. It really is. It's incredible. What a. A profound. Lesson.

[17:56] On forgiveness. Let's just kind of. Follow the moves. Of the story. Jesus says. In verse 23.

[18:06] For this reason. The kingdom of heaven. May be compared. To a king. A king. Who wished to settle accounts. With his slaves. Now. What.

[18:17] What. Does this portion. Of the parable. Represent. Do you think. Well. The king. Would have to be God. This is a kingdom. Parable. The kingdom. Of God.

[18:28] Is like this. And so. The king. Of the kingdom. Is God. The kingdom. Is his rule. And in this sense.

[18:38] Initially. It is his. Right. To rule. And reign. Over this entire world. Over all of his creation. And so. Initially. In the parable. He is.

[18:50] Bringing. Before him. Certain ones. In his creation. Who owe him. It is not a picture. Of judgment day. Because.

[19:02] Then. Obviously. The opportunity. To pay. What he owed. Would not be given. I tell you. When judgment day. Comes. And the lost. Unregenerate sinner. Stands. Before.

[19:13] The throne. There will be no opportunity. Then. For repentance. No opportunity. Then. For reconciliation. No opportunity. To pay. The debt of sin.

[19:24] At that moment. There will be no opportunity. For that. So that's how we know. That this represents. Not the final judgment. That final. Element of the kingdom.

[19:35] Future. Way out there. But. God's. Conviction. Conviction. Of one. Of his. Created beings.

[19:47] Who has sinned. Against him. Have you ever felt. The conviction. Of God. I mean. Prior to. Your salvation. I mean.

[19:57] We still. The Holy Spirit. Still. Works the work. Of conviction. In our hearts. When we sin. But. I'm talking about. Prior to salvation. When. God. Convicts us.

[20:08] Of sin. I tell you. As a lost. Person. God. Will bring. Upon. That lost. One. His conviction. Conviction.

[20:19] Of sin. Because. That lost. One. Has rebelled. Against. The creator. Has lived. A life. Or a portion. Of the life. Enjoying.

[20:30] The air. That he breathes. And the. Sun. That shines. And the. Beautiful creation. That has been. Provided. And all that. That. That one. Can benefit.

[20:41] From the creation. All of the. Food. And sustenance. And the material. Things. I tell you. Man. Unregenerate. Man. Enjoys. A measure.

[20:51] Of God's. Grace. And yet. Does not. Glorify. Him. For it. And instead. Of glorifying. Him. And honoring. The one. Who created. Him.

[21:01] And provided. All that. He has. And can have. And the potential. Of what he can have. In this life. Instead of honoring. Him. And glorifying. Him. He rebels. Against him.

[21:12] And. Sins. And. God. From time. To time. According. To his. Good pleasure. According. To his. Will. According. To his. Purposes. Will. Strike. That one.

[21:22] With conviction. Some of you. Have experienced. That. And remember. That experience. Prior to your. Salvation. When the conviction. Of God. Came upon your. Heart. Because of your. Sin.

[21:33] And your. Rebellion. That's what we have. Right here. We have. The king. Bringing. Before him. And sending. A picture.

[21:44] Of conviction. Upon that. One. Who owes him. Look at what he says. For this reason. The kingdom of heaven. May be compared. To a king. Who wished. To settle accounts. With his slaves. When he had begun.

[21:55] To settle them. One who owed him. Ten thousand talents. Was brought to him. Now picture. In your mind. The one that's being. Convicted. Of sin.

[22:06] And has a sin debt. Before the great king. And feels the burden. And. And weight. Of that sin. And.

[22:17] He owes him. Ten thousand talents. How much is ten thousand talents? I mean.

[22:30] Why would Jesus. Just kind of. Did he just pick that out. Of the air there. Just for purposes. Of a little parable. There's some significance. To that. I think so. Ten thousand talents.

[22:41] Dear people. Is a lot. Of gold. In fact. I jotted down. A few facts. Here. About this. That come from.

[22:52] Scripture. And also. From. What history. Will tell us. In the first place. The words. The words. In the English. Ten thousand. Really come from.

[23:03] One word. In the Greek. Murias. Ten thousand. And it is. It represents. The highest. Numeric. Term.

[23:13] In the Greek language. They don't have. A higher number. Than ten thousand. Do you think. Jesus. Did that on purpose. The man.

[23:24] Owes. Ten thousand. Talents. The largest. Number. He could have. Pulled out. Of the Greek language. Ten thousand. But. We need to understand. A little bit more.

[23:34] A talent. A talent. Or. In this case. A. It is a weight. In this case. A weight of gold. It could be. The weight of silver. It could be. The weight of. Any other precious metal.

[23:44] Or. Or even. Commodity. In this case. The talent. Is. In relation. To gold. And so. The man. Owes. Ten thousand. Talents. A talent.

[23:56] Is the equivalent. Of. Six thousand. Denari. You say. Well. So what? One denarii.

[24:08] In this day. Was equivalent. To. A day's. Wage. For a common laborer.

[24:21] A denarii. A day's wage. So one talent. Would equal. Sixteen. Years. Of labor.

[24:35] And that's just one talent. One talent. The man in the parable. Ode. Ten thousand.

[24:46] Talents. That would be. Sixty. Million. Denarii. That would be. A hundred and sixty. Four. Thousand. Years.

[24:56] Of labor. You get the magnitude. Of this. What Jesus. Is saying. In this parable. That is.

[25:08] A lot. Of gold. In first. Kings. Chapter 10. Verse 14. The Bible. Informs. Us. There. That Solomon. Received. And sixty.

[25:18] Six. Talents. In one year. Now we know. That Solomon. Had prayed. To God. To give him. Wisdom. Instead of. Praying. To give him. Wealth. And so. God said. I'll give you.

[25:28] Both wisdom. And wealth. Solomon. Perhaps. Relatively. Was. The richest. Most wealthy. Man. Who's ever lived. And in one year.

[25:39] He received. Six hundred and sixty. Talents. Of gold. What is that. Compared to ten thousand. Talents. Did you know. That the Bible. Tells us.

[25:49] In first. Chronicles. Chapter 29. Verses four. And seven. That the. Gold. That was. Collected. And used. In the construction.

[26:00] Of Solomon's. Temple. Equaled. Three thousand. Talents. Of gold. Now that's a lot. But what is that. Compared to ten thousand. Talents.

[26:11] That this one man. Owed in the parable. In fact. We can go back. A little bit further. Than the first. Temple. We can go to the. First. Tabernacle.

[26:22] And the gold. That was used there. Including the gold. Used to overlay. The Ark of the Covenant. The gold. Used was. Equaled. About 29. Talents.

[26:34] Historians. Tell us. That in the. Period. That Jesus. Walked this. Planet. In fact. Very likely. That time. When he told this. Parable. That the Roman.

[26:44] Government. Collected. The taxes. From Judea. And Samaria. And Galilee. And Idumia. That whole region. Of their empire. They collected. Taxes.

[26:55] And the collection. Of taxes. Equaled. About. Or rather. 10,000 talents. Would equal. About 11 years. Of taxes. For the Romans. 10,000 talents.

[27:07] Is a lot. Of gold. And this one man. In the parable. Owed. 10,000 talents. But now. We're making. The same mistake. Aren't we?

[27:17] That we made. A moment ago. About the. Forgiveness. Of 70 times. Seven. It's not a matter. Of mathematics. The point. Here. In the parable. Is that this man.

[27:27] Ode. A debt. He could never. Ever. Pay. Never pay. No hope. Of payment. And if we. Then compare that. And allow the parable.

[27:39] To inform us. About what the kingdom. Of heaven. Is like. When God. Strikes. Conviction. Upon one. Of his creation. Because of the sin.

[27:51] And the rebellion. Of that lost. Unregenerate sinner. The debt. That one. Unregenerate sinner. Owes. To God. Is a debt. He can never.

[28:02] Ever pay. It's astronomical. In fact. There is no. Real value. To it. It is an infinite debt. That cannot be paid. Well. It can be paid. And was paid.

[28:12] By the infinite. Lord Jesus. Because he was infinite. He could pay that infinite price. But this. Poor. Unregenerate.

[28:23] Convicted sinner. Could never pay that debt. Do you see? The. Shocking element. Of this parable.

[28:34] Really consider it. So it begins with conviction. But then he. Moves from there. And this is the part. Where we say glory. Hallelujah.

[28:46] The Bible says. In verse 26. Or Jesus continues. By. Saying in the parable. So. Or verse 25. Rather. But since he did not.

[28:57] Have the means. To repay. His Lord. Commanded him. To be sold. Along with his wife. And children. And all that he had. And repayment. To be made. That means.

[29:08] This man is now. Stands to. Lose it all. His life. All of it. In verse 26. So the slave.

[29:20] Fell to the ground. Prostrated himself. Before him. Saying. Have patience with me. And I will repay you. Everything. This is.

[29:30] This is. Such a picture. Of. First conviction. Of the sinner. Of the sinner. Who comes. To realize.

[29:41] Perhaps. For the first time. In his life. Or her life. That. He. Or she. Has sinned. Against. A holy God.

[29:52] And the debt. And the weight. Of that sin. Is insurmountable. And it cannot be paid. And there's no hope. And. I stand before. God.

[30:02] At this moment. In my life. And I stand. To lose. It all. And I. Fall. Before him. In repentance.

[30:15] Confession. And repentance. And brokenness. Even with the. Feeling inside. That I. I. I. I. Do whatever. Pay it all back.

[30:25] If I could. I. Can't pay it. And so. The Bible says. The parable continues. And the Lord.

[30:37] Of that slave. Felt compassion. And released him. And forgave him. The debt. This is shocking. Isn't it? Yeah.

[30:48] That is exactly. Exactly. What you and I. Those of. Those of you. Who have. Trusted Christ. As your Lord. And Savior.

[31:00] Been born again. All. Your sin. Dead. Has been. Wiped away. Washed away. It's gone. Forever. Because of the compassion.

[31:11] The mercy. The grace. Of our great king. The shocking part. Though. Really comes next.

[31:24] Most shocking part. Verse 28. But that slave. Went out. Found one of his fellow slaves.

[31:35] Owed him a hundred. Denarii. Just a hundred. Denarii. A denarii is a day's wage.

[31:49] A hundred denarii. A whole bunch. Isn't it? I mean. It really is. Isn't it? It was a significant debt. It's not that we should just kind of say. Well that's. Pittance.

[32:01] Pocket change. No. It was a pretty good debt. But what was it compared to the debt. That his king had just forgiven him. The ten thousand talents.

[32:15] The insurmountable debt. And so. This is shocking. It is a. Utter contradiction. That someone who has been forgiven. So much.

[32:26] Would then go out and find. A fellow slave. Who owes him just simply. A hundred denarii. And instead of forgiving him. What does the.

[32:36] Parable tell us. He seized him. Began to choke him. Can you just picture that.

[32:47] In fact. It was a very customary thing. In that day. You know. You've heard the expression. Can't get blood out of a turnip. In.

[32:59] In. In. In the sense. The root of that comes. To this practice here. Where the. Where the. The. Creditor. Would grab the debtor. By the neck.

[33:10] And. And continue to strangle him. Until blood was running out of his nose. It would. I. I have read that. It wouldn't be uncommon. To see that in the marketplace. And everybody would look up and say.

[33:22] Well. Guy hadn't paid his debts. Being choked to death. Nearly. Right. And so he chokes him. Doesn't forgive him.

[33:33] He chokes him. Seizes him. And chokes him. And says. Pay back what you owe. So his fellow slave.

[33:43] Fell to the ground. And began to plead with him. Saying. Have patience with me. And I will repay you. I tell you. Verbatim. Exactly.

[33:54] What. The slave said to the king. This. Fellow slave. Says to him. Same thing.

[34:06] And does he forgive him? Is there compassion? Well no. But he was unwilling. Verse 30. And went and threw him in prison.

[34:20] Until he should pay back. What was owed. Shocking. Disgraceful. Right. I mean.

[34:30] You want to say. What is wrong with this guy? I mean. Just minutes ago. Maybe. I don't know how. Much time. It's just a parable. But previously.

[34:41] The king. He's been standing. Before the king. And he is about to lose. It all. Because he. Owes a debt. He cannot ever pay. And the king.

[34:52] Because he has compassion. On him. He shows favor to him. And he forgives him. All the debt. And before that. Days out. I want to believe.

[35:04] Before the days out. He's walking through the marketplace. And he sees. Old Joe. Over there. And owes him a hundred denarii. And he's going to be paid. And instead. Of forgiving him.

[35:15] He throws him in prison. Shocking. Shocking. Is it any less shocking? That one of God's.

[35:29] Forgiving. Children. Would. Refuse to forgive. A fellow. Believer. A brother.

[35:40] A sister. In Christ. Is that any less shocking? Because that's real. And the debt that.

[35:53] We owed. Was real. More real than a parable. And because of God's. Forgiveness upon us. Of us. Is real.

[36:03] That makes. Us. Our unforgiveness. Much more shocking. Than anything that could be told. In a parable. A shocking. Parable.

[36:14] But they. The parable. Is not over. So when his fellow slaves. Saw what had happened. Because it was done. In public. By the way.

[36:27] The spirit of unforgiveness. In the body of Christ. Is never a private thing. And so they. Saw what had happened.

[36:37] And they were deeply grieved. And came and reported. To their Lord. All that had happened. Then summoning him. His Lord said to him. You wicked slave. I forgave you.

[36:47] All that debt. Because you pleaded with me. Should you not also. Have had. Mercy. On your fellow slave. In the same way. That I had mercy on you. Says. Reasonable. And his Lord.

[37:00] Moved with anger. Handed him over. To the torturers. Until he should repay. All that was owed him. Now what is this about?

[37:10] If. As I'm suggesting. The parable. Matches or compares. To the lost sinner.

[37:23] Owing a debt of sin. That he cannot pay. And then. Coming. And repenting. And being forgiven. And that sin. Being wiped away.

[37:33] If the parable. Relates to that scenario. And I believe that it does. Because this is a kingdom parable. And Jesus is talking about. Brothers. Forgiving brothers. And.

[37:43] And. And brothers. And. Not forgiving brothers. I believe that that is the. The comparison. That we're talking about. Believers here. Who have had their sins.

[37:55] Wiped away. And who have been forgiven. And. And are now Christians. Does that then mean. That if we. Do not forgive. A brother. Who has sinned against us. That.

[38:05] God is going to. Remove our salvation. And send us to hell. Well. You know. That can't be the case. He.

[38:16] Said. The. Torturers. He sent him to the. Torturers. Until. He should repay. All that was owed him. And here's the key. What is it.

[38:28] That the slave. Owed. At this point. The ten thousand talents. He owed the king.

[38:41] The debt. Of unforgiveness. That he would not forgive. His. Brother. His. Fellow slave. And so here's the picture.

[38:53] Here's the lesson. From the parable. This shocking parable. That. I would be forgiven. Of my debt. I would in effect.

[39:06] Be saved. Because of the mercy. The grace of God. And then. In contradiction. Really. To. Now my new nature. I sin.

[39:16] Against my God. Again. By not forgiving. My brother. Then. God. Sends. The torturer. Into my life.

[39:29] You say. What is that. You know what. It's like. To be out of fellowship.

[39:40] With God. Out of fellowship. Because. Of sin. That is. Undealt with. Unrepented of. I tell you.

[39:52] God. God. Allows us. To suffer. And in a sense. As the parable. Suggests. That God. Would. Allow. A torturer.

[40:02] In our life. For what purpose? That we might. Repent. That we might. Repent. And be brought.

[40:13] Back. Into fellowship. With him. In fact. That is. Sometimes. Sometimes. And even. In scripture. It is. Portrayed. Sometimes. The result.

[40:25] Hopefully. Temporary. Result. Of church. Discipline. That that. Unrepenting. One. Throughout. The process. Would remain. Unrepentant.

[40:37] And that. One. Would be turned out. To experience. The. Suffering. The lack.

[40:47] Of communion. With God. To be brought. To repentance. Brokenness. Over sin. And to be restored. It may seem cruel. But it's not cruel.

[41:00] It's God's love. And mercy. And grace. And the result. Of unforgiveness. According to this parable. Is. A loss. Of fellowship.

[41:10] With God. And not only that. But his chastisement. Coming upon our lives. Because. He says. There. And here is the last point.

[41:21] Of the message. A sobering. Promise. My heavenly father. Will also. Do the same. To you. That's how we know.

[41:33] That. The parable. Relates. To the kingdom. The parable. Relates. To God's people. This is not the parable. Now. In verse 35.

[41:45] This is. The reality. This is. The promise. This is God's purposes. And it's sobering. Here is this servant.

[41:55] Who would not forgive. His fellow servant. And. The king gets wind of it. And the king's. Anger. Is kindled. Toward. His servant. His forgiven slave.

[42:05] And he sends. Him. To the torturers. And Jesus. Then backs that up. With this sobering promise. That is exactly. What will happen. To you.

[42:16] If you do not forgive. Your brother. Or your sister. It's terrible. Isn't it? I mean. It. It. It. Makes us. Makes us. Almost.

[42:27] Brizzle up. At that very notion. Because. Most of God's people. Do not have. That idea of God. That God would ever. Do such a thing to us. That God is a God of love.

[42:40] And yet. In a sense. To a degree. As parents. Who have children. We operate. In that same way. Do we not? In regard to chastisement.

[42:54] If we don't. Then we've got some pretty. Unruly kids. God treats us. As children. And if he did not. Send the torturer.

[43:04] Sometimes. Then we would. Then. Have to assume. That we are not his children. And so then. The implication.

[43:14] The direct implication. Is. That if God. Sends the torturer. Into my life. Because I have sinned. Against him. And have refused. To repent of it. Then it's because.

[43:25] He loves me. Not hates me. He loves me. And the promise. Is. That if you do. Like this guy. In the parable. Then. The same thing.

[43:36] Is going to happen. To you. If each of you. He says. Does not forgive. His brother. From your heart. By the way. May I mention.

[43:47] Highlight. He said. Brother. We're not talking. About lost people. The way lost people. Ought act. Toward one another. We're talking about. God's people. How God's people. Ought to.

[43:58] Function. And how. How they ought to. Relate to each other. Within the body of Christ. Let me give you. Very quickly. As we. Come to a close.

[44:11] Here soon. Several reasons. Why we should forgive. When a brother. When a brother. Sins against.

[44:22] You. Or a sister. Sins against you. Within the body. Of Christ. And the proper steps. Are taken. And. You go to that one. And. And.

[44:32] If there's. Repentance. Then you forgive. And. Yet. I would even. Suggest. That. There is a spirit. Of forgiveness. Even before.

[44:44] There is repentance. Not a spirit. Of unforgiveness. But a spirit. Of forgiveness. Let me tell you. Why. You should. There are several reasons. Why from scripture. You ought to consider.

[44:56] The Lord. Jesus Christ. Christ. Ought to consider. Christ. As a reason. To forgive. May I point out. A few passages. Or. The passage. That directly.

[45:06] Relates to this. It's in Ephesians. Chapter 4. And verse 32. In fact. I'll start with. Verse 30. Do not grieve. The Holy Spirit. Of God. By whom. You were sealed.

[45:17] By the. For the day. Of redemption. Let all bitterness. And wrath. And anger. And clamor. And slander. Be put away from you. Along with all malice. Pretty good advice.

[45:27] Be kind. To one another. Tender hearted. Then what does it say? Even if you didn't turn to it. I bet you know what the word is. Forgiving.

[45:38] One another. Forgiving each other. Just as. In. Christ. Also. Has forgiven you.

[45:49] As God in Christ. Also forgiven you. So you see. When it comes to. Forgiveness. And the spirit of forgiveness. Within the body of Christ. You ought to consider. Christ. Christ.

[46:00] Himself. When forgiving. You ought to consider. Christian character. Your. Your character. As. As a child of God.

[46:11] That is. A. A Christian character. You ought to consider that. As a reason to forgive. In Proverbs. Chapter 19. Verse 11. Listen to this.

[46:22] A man's discretion. A man's discretion. Makes him slow to anger. And it is. His glory. To overlook. A transgression. Translation.

[46:34] If you are. A. Child of God. Born again. Indwelt. By the Holy Spirit. Of God. Separated.

[46:45] As one of his children. Then your character. Ought to. Be. Described this way. That. You overlook. A transgression. I don't mean that you just don't deal with it.

[46:57] It's not the idea. It is. The glory. Of the. Of a Christian character. Is. This spirit of forgiveness. Forgiveness. It is most like Christ.

[47:11] And it is his character. That inhabits you. And lives in you. You ought to consider. Your own conscience. Your own conscience.

[47:21] When it comes to forgiving. As a reason to forgive. In Hebrews chapter 12. And verse 5. Hebrews chapter 12. Verse 5. Says.

[47:32] And you have. Forgotten. That's not it. Sorry. 11. Verse 5.

[47:43] No. Your perspective. Pastor. Has just had a brain burp. 12. 15. Don't let that influence your vote.

[47:56] Okay. 12. 15. See to it. That no one comes short. Of the grace of God. That no root.

[48:08] Of bitterness. Springing up. Causes trouble. And by it. Many be defiled. Now. There are many applications. Of that.

[48:19] But it certainly applies. Here. In this spirit. In this. Context. Of forgiveness. Within the body of Christ. I tell you. You need God's grace. To forgive. And if you refuse.

[48:30] To forgive. That one. That is sin. Against you. Then you are refusing. To get the grace of God. And when you refuse. To get the grace of God. For that situation.

[48:41] Then a root of bitterness. Will begin to spring up. In your life. And. Ultimately. Leading. To moral impurity. I believe that's exactly.

[48:51] What that text means. To. Keep a clear conscience. And when. When there is. That issue. In your life. Then. Get God's grace.

[49:01] For that. And in this sense. In this context. To forgive that one. That has sinned against you. A root of bitterness. Bitterness. Will spring up. Defile you.

[49:17] Consider. Chastisement. And this is the issue. That. Jesus is dealing with. In this parable. And in the promise.

[49:28] He gives at the end of the parable. This promise of. Of. Judgment. In a sense. Or. Chastisement. Upon the. One who refuses.

[49:38] To forgive. And then one more. Consider. Communion. That is your.

[49:49] Communion. With Christ. I tell you. This is a big one. You want to have fellowship. With God. Fellowship.

[49:59] With the Lord. Jesus Christ. To be in perfect. Communion. With him. There's only one way. For that. To happen. And that is. You can have nothing. Standing. Between you and him.

[50:12] And the thing. That comes. Between. Us. Between me. And my Lord. Is always. Always. Sin. It's always. Sin. In whatever form.

[50:23] It may take. On. Whatever basis. The thing. That. Keeps me. Or puts me. In a place. Of. Of. No fellowship.

[50:33] With him. Is sin. It's always sin. Matthew. Chapter 6. is the definitive passage. For this.

[50:45] And it's troubling. Jesus. In. Verse 9. is teaching. His apostles. The. Kind of.

[50:56] The. Model. Or. Outline. For prayer. Kingdom. Praying. And he says. Pray. Then. This. In this way. Our. Father. Who is in heaven.

[51:09] This is a prayer. That we're. To. Pray. Or. A. An approach. To praying. We pray. To our. Father. That's. Relationship. That's. Intimacy. Father.

[51:19] And then. Throughout the. The. Model of prayer. In verse 12. He says. And forgive us. Our debts. What?

[51:35] As we also. Forgive. Our debtors. Those who have sinned. Against us. Forgive us. Our debts. As we also.

[51:45] Have forgiven. Our debtors. And then. Skip on down. To verse 14. Hold on. To your seats. For if you. Forgive others. For your transgressions.

[51:56] Your heavenly father. Will also forgive you. But if you do not. Forgive others. Then your father. Will not. Forgive your. Transgressions. This just. Cannot be.

[52:07] Can it? You mean. Then. That I can sin. And God won't. Forgive me. Doesn't that mean. I'm going to go to hell. Then. If I have. Unforgiven sin.

[52:17] No. Does mean. You're going to be. Out of fellowship. With him. Not enjoy. Sweet communion. With him. Because he said.

[52:30] If you will not. Forgive your brother. I will not. Forgive you. It's like that lady. That came to. The preacher. After. He preached. On forgiveness. And she said. Preacher. I appreciate.

[52:40] That word. And I can forgive. Anybody. No matter what. They've done to me. Except that woman. Over there. And I will never. Forgive her. And the preacher.

[52:52] Very wisely. Said. And ma'am. I hope you never sin. The issue. Is not the loss. Of relationship.

[53:03] The issue. Is the loss. Of fellowship. With the father. And if you have lost. Communion. With him. Then there is only.

[53:14] One reason. Only one reason. And it's sin. It's sin. And I would suspect. You know what the sin is. In your life. Because the job.

[53:25] Of the Holy Spirit. One of the ministries. Of the Holy Spirit. Is to convict us. Of sin. To. To. Reveal. Bring the light. To turn on. The search light. To see what wicked way.

[53:36] Is in us. To reveal that sin. And you have rebelled. Or bowed up. And have not repented of it. And if it's a sin. Of unforgiveness. Then you're not getting.

[53:46] Your sins forgiven. And you won't. Until you forgive. That's not what. Don Coleman said. That's not what. This preacher.

[53:56] From Cordova said. That's what Jesus said. Forgiveness. God's. And dear people. God's.

[54:09] Churches. Pardon the grammar. God's churches. Are eat up with it. Eat up with it. An unforgiving spirit.

[54:23]  And consequently. God cannot bless. God will not bless. God will not bless. He will be.