Forgiveness – PART 2 – do not stop – 2025.07.23

Matthew 18:21-35 (KJV)
21 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.
23 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.
28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest.
29 And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all.
30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
31 So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done.
32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.
35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Let us be encouraged to keep on forgiving. There are at least two possibilities why the same person keeps sinning against us. No matter the reason we are to forgive and keep on forgiving as we read in verse 22.
One of the reason is that it is done inadvertently then other it is when someone on purpose misuses and exploits us for their selfish benefit.

Here are some pointers:

  • As mentioned before we need to keep on forgiving. Jesus forgivable on the cross “Luke 23:34 (KJV) Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”
  • We need to be wise in our dealing with people. “Matthew 10:16 (KJV) Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.” We can learn and see if the person changes their way or not (repent), we can see/learn a pattern.
  • Even if they do not repent we still should forgive but we need to be wise and start avoiding that situation for example: if there is domestic violence or if a person keep asking to borrow money promising to pay it back but never pays back or someone who keeps gossiping about us. “Proverbs 24:21 (KJV) My son, fear thou the LORD and the king: and meddle not with them that are given to change:”, “Proverbs 20:19 (KJV) He that goeth about as a talebearer revealeth secrets: therefore meddle not with him that flattereth with his lips.”
  • In Matthew 18:15-17 (KJV) We see how we are to handle this in the church “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.”
  • Now if the LORD tells us for example to still lend then we obey Him and when He says stop then we stop.
  • We need to understand that GOD working/dealing with us and maybe with the other person in this situation.
  • In the end it all boils down to being obedient to Jesus Christ.
  • By forgiving people we are released from bondage of what people have done to us.
  • We need to personally go to them if we believe someone has something against us
  • We learn to trust in the LORD.

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