Bible Character Studies: Peter. Pt. 7 Peter's wrong view of forgiveness is corrected.
Good morning,
Today the Lord is going to show us the depths of His forgiveness to those who are born again. The Father's forgiveness is full and complete because it is anchored in the work of His Son in whom He is welled pleased.
Matthew 18:15-17 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
In the paragraph above Jesus lays out the details of how church discipline should function. If a brother sins against one of us we are to go to that brother and make him aware of the issue. He may listen and seek to resolve the sin so that it is no longer causing a problem.
The next step in the process happens when the brother who sinned against you refuses to listen or fails to address the sin. We are to take 2-3 witnesses and go to this sinning brother.
If he still refuses to acknowledge the sin issue, we are to bring this before the church so that this person can be removed at least temporarily, from the fellowship of believers.
When this process is followed Jesus said the judgment of the leadership is binding. There is an example of this in 1 Corinthians 5 and 2 Corinthians 2:1-11. The sinner is confronted, the church had to withdraw from that man until such time that he repented. He did repent and they were instructed to receive him back into their fellowship.
Forgiven means our guilt and shame for sin is taken away
Peter is going to display a misunderstanding of Christ's teaching about forgiveness. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines forgiveness as the act of pardoning an offended by which he is treated as not guilty.
The Hebrew word "nasa" is most often translated forgive and it means to lift a burden up and to take it away. In the case of God forgiving the repentant sinner, it means He lifts the load of guilt and shame off of us and completely removes it.
Matthew 18:21-22 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Peter came to Jesus right away and asked Him how often he needed to forgive a brother who sins against him. He impulsively threw out a number, "Do I forgive him 7 times?" The problem with Peter's response is that it resembles the teaching of the Pharisees by focusing on restricting how many times we need to forgive others.
The religious leaders would try to put a limit on their obligation to forgive someone who sinned against them. In this manner, they could feel self righteous because they had forgiven that person 7 times and he was still sinning against them. They had fulfilled their moral obligation.
Jesus quickly dismissed Peter's assumption that he would be a pretty good believer if he forgave someone 7 times. Jesus gave him an exponentially larger number by saying Peter must forgive 70 times 7! It is essentially saying that we must always be ready to forgive without any limits on how many times we might need to forgive a brother or sister who sin against us.
Peter needed to see forgiveness from God's perspective. All born again believers need forgiveness from God every moment of every day until He calls us home. None of us can fulfill the righteousness of God's holy law and each time we think an evil thought we are condemned. Because we are "in Christ" our sins have been washed away and we have been, are being and always will be forgiven.
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Paul teaches us to be kind or having a disposition to act in grace toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to have tender hearts toward each other. Notice the last part of this text. We are to forgive each other the same way that God the Father forgives you and me when we are in Christ.
How does the Father forgive the born again child of God? Unconditionally and infinitely. The Father offers eternal forgiveness when we are in Christ. The Father never brings our sins before us after we are forgiven. The Father will never run out of capacity to forgive us because His pardon is based upon the perfect, redeeming work of His Son, Jesus Christ!
Jesus illustrates forgiveness to Peter with a parable
Matthew 18:23-27 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
Jesus tells of a man who had an unpayable debt. He was going to be put in prison and all his earthly goods and family to be sold to offset the money that he owed. This man threw himself upon the mercy of the king. The king was moved with compassion and forgave all the debt.
This is a picture of the Father forgiving us when we are born again and in Christ. Jesus paid for all of our sins, even the ones that we have not yet committed!
We receive a full salvation because Jesus cancelled our sin debt with the shedding of His blood. There is nothing to pay and the Father is satisfied to look on me and see me as His child because I am in Christ.
Therefore, because all of this is true we should display the same heart of forgiveness toward those who sin against us that the Father has toward us.
Matthew 18:28-35 tells us this same man who had his debt cancelled found someone who owed him a small sum of money and cast him into prison. News of this reached the king who initially forgave the debt of this man. The king put him in prison for being merciless and unforgiving. It is a warning to us that we must be ready and willing to forgive at all times under any circumstances.
Points to Ponder....
Today the Lord is going to show us the depths of His forgiveness to those who are born again. The Father's forgiveness is full and complete because it is anchored in the work of His Son in whom He is welled pleased.
Matthew 18:15-17 Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go and tell him his fault between thee and him alone: if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. 16 But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that in the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. 17 And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the church: but if he neglect to hear the church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican.
In the paragraph above Jesus lays out the details of how church discipline should function. If a brother sins against one of us we are to go to that brother and make him aware of the issue. He may listen and seek to resolve the sin so that it is no longer causing a problem.
The next step in the process happens when the brother who sinned against you refuses to listen or fails to address the sin. We are to take 2-3 witnesses and go to this sinning brother.
If he still refuses to acknowledge the sin issue, we are to bring this before the church so that this person can be removed at least temporarily, from the fellowship of believers.
When this process is followed Jesus said the judgment of the leadership is binding. There is an example of this in 1 Corinthians 5 and 2 Corinthians 2:1-11. The sinner is confronted, the church had to withdraw from that man until such time that he repented. He did repent and they were instructed to receive him back into their fellowship.
Forgiven means our guilt and shame for sin is taken away
Peter is going to display a misunderstanding of Christ's teaching about forgiveness. Webster's 1828 dictionary defines forgiveness as the act of pardoning an offended by which he is treated as not guilty.
The Hebrew word "nasa" is most often translated forgive and it means to lift a burden up and to take it away. In the case of God forgiving the repentant sinner, it means He lifts the load of guilt and shame off of us and completely removes it.
Matthew 18:21-22 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Peter came to Jesus right away and asked Him how often he needed to forgive a brother who sins against him. He impulsively threw out a number, "Do I forgive him 7 times?" The problem with Peter's response is that it resembles the teaching of the Pharisees by focusing on restricting how many times we need to forgive others.
The religious leaders would try to put a limit on their obligation to forgive someone who sinned against them. In this manner, they could feel self righteous because they had forgiven that person 7 times and he was still sinning against them. They had fulfilled their moral obligation.
Jesus quickly dismissed Peter's assumption that he would be a pretty good believer if he forgave someone 7 times. Jesus gave him an exponentially larger number by saying Peter must forgive 70 times 7! It is essentially saying that we must always be ready to forgive without any limits on how many times we might need to forgive a brother or sister who sin against us.
Peter needed to see forgiveness from God's perspective. All born again believers need forgiveness from God every moment of every day until He calls us home. None of us can fulfill the righteousness of God's holy law and each time we think an evil thought we are condemned. Because we are "in Christ" our sins have been washed away and we have been, are being and always will be forgiven.
Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
Paul teaches us to be kind or having a disposition to act in grace toward our brothers and sisters in Christ. We are to have tender hearts toward each other. Notice the last part of this text. We are to forgive each other the same way that God the Father forgives you and me when we are in Christ.
How does the Father forgive the born again child of God? Unconditionally and infinitely. The Father offers eternal forgiveness when we are in Christ. The Father never brings our sins before us after we are forgiven. The Father will never run out of capacity to forgive us because His pardon is based upon the perfect, redeeming work of His Son, Jesus Christ!
Jesus illustrates forgiveness to Peter with a parable
Matthew 18:23-27 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt.
Jesus tells of a man who had an unpayable debt. He was going to be put in prison and all his earthly goods and family to be sold to offset the money that he owed. This man threw himself upon the mercy of the king. The king was moved with compassion and forgave all the debt.
This is a picture of the Father forgiving us when we are born again and in Christ. Jesus paid for all of our sins, even the ones that we have not yet committed!
We receive a full salvation because Jesus cancelled our sin debt with the shedding of His blood. There is nothing to pay and the Father is satisfied to look on me and see me as His child because I am in Christ.
Therefore, because all of this is true we should display the same heart of forgiveness toward those who sin against us that the Father has toward us.
Matthew 18:28-35 tells us this same man who had his debt cancelled found someone who owed him a small sum of money and cast him into prison. News of this reached the king who initially forgave the debt of this man. The king put him in prison for being merciless and unforgiving. It is a warning to us that we must be ready and willing to forgive at all times under any circumstances.
Points to Ponder....
- Peter misses the point on Jesus's teaching about forgiveness.
- Peter thought there should be a reasonable limit on how many times we forgive someone who sins against us.
- Jesus shows Peter that we must forgive others the same way that the Father in heaven forgives us.
- The Father's forgiveness is unconditional and unlimited.
How blessed is the forgiveness we receive from our Father in Heaven. Peter seemed to be thinking like a Pharisee and Jesus showed him that his thoughts about forgiving others (till 7 times) did not align with how God forgives us through Christ.
We all need to meditate upon how deeply the Father loves us and forgives us when we are born again into His family.
Have you experienced the forgiveness of God through Christ? Are you rejoicing that the guilt and shame of your sins have been permanently lifted up and removed off of you by the Father?
The Father is calling all people everywhere to repent of their sins and to accept the salvation He has provided through Jesus Christ. I urge you to put your full faith and trust in Jesus Christ if you have not yet done so. Let today be the day of your salvation and the day that you step out on the path of walking in newness of life.
Bob
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