Receiving And Retaining The Benefits Of Gracious Forgiveness

TEXT:  MATTHEW 18:15-35

Note that we are not talking about breaking the commandments of God: “Thou shall not steal, commit adultery, bear false witness”, etc. In these cases and more, you settle with God or perish in hell fire, but here, we are talking about offense from one believer to the other.

Between husband and wife, minor offenses like not giving full attention to the spouse but giving it to people out there is possible and common. If the other party acknowledges and asks for forgiveness, forgive and forget. If afterwards, the husband calls for attention and the wife is still busy on the phone, saying “I’m coming, I’m coming”. After this, the wife comes in and the husband complains and the wife asks for forgiveness, he still has to forgive. This may go on and on because this is the closest person to you. You live together and there is the possibility of offending 70 x 7 times but you don’t say “enough is enough”.

But come to think of it, how could you be recording that? The days she snubbed you, the day she neglected you, or went out without permission, etc. You must forgive all. Bring the picture of your husband and wife to your sight now even though he or she is not with you, and say, I FORGIVE YOU! You are to continually forgive offenses as they come, but how do you do that?

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Ephesians 4:31

• Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice:

After saying you forgive, there must be no evil speaking. If someone asks you about your husband or wife, don’t say evil about him or her. Don’t say your wife is only lively, charming and lovely to people outside but not to you at home. Don’t complain that he has not given you money for three years, leaving you only to cater for all family needs. Don’t say if not for church, you would have driven her out of your house because, after all, you are the one paying the rent. This is why rushing out of the church after service does not allow you to pray for grace and strength to practice all that you have been taught. It is necessary to pray for grace so that all kinds of bitterness, clamour, anger and evil speaking will be put away from you.

Talking about malice, you say some things behind and coming around the person, you can’t even look at him or her in the face. You are thinking about something bad in your heart but when you have grace to forgive, you will pay attention to her when she is talking, you will not ignore her claiming she is not always on the same page with you. There is still something in your heart which you have not forgiven. If your husband is talking, and you are not paying attention, it only shows that you are yet to forgive him but when all malice and bitterness have been taken away, then you are both free.

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

If your wife says she is sick, you will not say “yes, I was sick last week too and you didn’t look at my direction, take care of yourself”.  It shows you have not forgiven her. When you speak sharply, cruelly, harshly to your spouse, you are not tender-hearted. You are brooding on something that you have not forgiven. You throw a spear to an enemy but when you have forgiven and there is love like the days of the honeymoon when there was joy and happiness, you will speak gently and lovingly. There is bound to be offenses between husbands and wives, but making a commitment to forgive whatever happens, forgiving ahead, even before the offense is committed, this is what the Lord meant when He said 70 x 7 times. May the Lord grant you the grace to do all of these.

1. THE GREAT PERDITION FOR FOREIGNERS TO FORGIVENESS. Matthew 18:23-35

Foreigners are people who don’t speak the language of the Kingdom, who don’t have the attitude and heart of the Kingdom. They don’t know mercy, compassion and love, even though they are in the church, serving in one capacity or the other. They are dutiful and appear very intent, and committed to the work of the Lord, but they are foreigners to the Lord of the work. Forgiveness, mercy, compassion and tenderness they don’t have. They are foreigners to the Kingdom of God.

1.UNGRATEFUL RECIPIENTS OF FORGIVENESS WITHOUT REGENERATION (Mathew 18:23-30; 1 Samuel 24:13-22; 26:2,7-25; 28:5-6)

Matthew 18:23. There are kingdoms on earth and anybody may hold any place or position in them, but now, we are talking about the Kingdom of heaven.