Called to Forgive:Matthew 6:12-15; 18:21-35

“My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart” (Matt. 18:35, NASB).

If you are a Christian it is because God calls us to come out of a dark world into His kingdom where light extinguishes darkness and enables us to see (see 2 Pet. 1:1-11). Darkness represents blindness, ignorance, and bondage. Until the Lord calls us we remain in blindness, unable to understand the things of God, and unable to be free from a world ruled by the dark world that we live in. Darkness means that we are in bondage to sin. We are slaves to sin. When God calls us we are invited into a kingdom where light reigns. Light represents sight, knowledge of God, and freedom from the sin that keeps us in bondage. God calls us out of His sovereign grace to give us freedom from sin. When God calls us there is something that He expects us to do. He determines in what manner we are to serve Him for His glory and the edification of His people.

Now, this article is not specifically about the call of God. So, you might ask why I mentioned calling in the first place. It is because I believe that scripture teaches that while certain specific people may be called to do a certain thing, everyone is called to mutually share in kingdom work, and more specifically, there are some things that all Christians are called to do. In this article I want to talk about the call upon the life of every person that God sets free from sin, to be a people called to forgive.

When John writes, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life” (Jn 3:16, NASB), he is talking about God providing a means by which we are forgiven of our sins. Let me explain. Sin is death. Sin is bondage to death. We have no means by which we can pay for our sins. There is nothing that we can offer God so that we can be free from sin. Our bondage to sin and death is the result of the first man and woman act of disobedience to God’s command not to eat from the tree in the middle of the garden (Gen. 3). We commit a specific sin when we disobey a specific command or law given by God. “Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness” (1 Jn. 3:4, NASB). Since we have not the means to set ourselves free from sin and lawlessness, who or what can set us free? How can we be set free form our sin?

John 3:16 says that God sends His Son so that we might have life; life that is eternal. Since we have life, it stands to reason that the Son is the means by which God removes sin and restores us to life. Thus, God forgives people and at the same time God requires that all people in His kingdom have His Spirit and forgive others as he/she is forgiven by God.

Sin creates a barrier between God and people as well as a barrier between people. We cannot undo what we have done. When we break the law of God we commit an act that we cannot undo. Only the offended party can remove the barrier between the offender and the offended. God is the offended and people are the offender. When God forgives us our sin, God is bearing the hurt and damage that we cause. God has mercy upon us, not holing our sins against us. Instead, God has compassion on us, and He gives us grace so that we can be reconciled to Him. In effect, God is saying, “let’s forget about the past. I’ll take the loss because I love you, and I want us to start over again.” Paul expresses it in these words: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord” (Rom. 6:23, NASB). Paul also tells us the reason that God is motivated to give us another chance and what justifies His right to do so. He says, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:8, NASB). God expects that we also have the same attitude toward others; and especially others that share in the freedom that Christ gives to us. Let us now look specifically at the scripture passages that motivate and guides this article.

In Matthew 6:5-15 Jesus instructs his disciples on prayer. One of the elements of the prayer is that they are to ask God to forgive them of their debts/transgressions because they also forgive others (v. 12). After completing the model for praying, Jesus makes additional comments about forgiving sins. He says, “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly father will also forgive you.” “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matt. 6:14-15, NASB). There is a law in the kingdom of God that applies to all people and to God as well. The kingdom is founded because God forgives sin. Those who are residents in the kingdom are called, that is they are obligated to live by the same Spirit and the same law. Everyone is called to forgive sins. Again, sin creates a barrier that separates two parties. In order to live holy as God is holy sin must be removed. Sin cannot be allowed to form a barrier that keeps those in the kingdom separated from each other.

There is another element to the call to forgive. It has to do with righteousness and justice. God’s kingdom is ruled by righteousness and justice. God is the source of both righteousness and justice. The two go together. Only the righteous can do justice. Only the righteous are able to receive justice. When the righteous forgives the barrier is broken down and justice results.

The parable that Jesus tells in chapter 18 serves to give an illustration of how the Father views those that refuse to forgive. The parable shows us that God is eager to forgive those that confess that they owe a debt. They confess their inability to pay the debt. The one that owes the debt has but one course of action that is available to him. He must ask the master to allow him time to gain the resource to repay the debt. The master knows very well that the slave will never be able to repay him. Since the master cares for the slave, he gladly forgives the debt. All the other slaves are aware of what has taken place (see Matt. 18:21-27).

The parable continues and the second scene gives us a warning for how the master responds to the one that refuses to be like him; to follow his example. The slave that the master forgives refuses to forgive a fellow slave. Instead, he has the slave that owes him put in prison. The other slaves tell the master how the slave forgiven of his debt treats a fellow slave. The master is angry because the slave has jeopardized the kingdom. Such attitude and behavior makes void the kingdom of its holiness; its righteousness and justice. Paul is right when he says that love is demonstrated in a willingness to forgive sin. Life in the kingdom we cannot earn. It is a free gift of God.

The warning that Jesus gives in Matthew 6:14-15 and 18:35 is written by Matthew, one of the twelve disciples. Matthew, also called Levi, is a Jew, a tax collector. He is hated by his own people because he works for the oppressor, the Romans. In addition, tax collectors are known to cheat the people. Thus, Matthew is sensitive to those who are called sinners and not worthy to be forgiven. Matthew writes to a believing community, a church. He is telling the church that all members are worthy to be forgiven. All members are expected to forgive each other regardless of the offense. Church members do not have the right to ask to be forgiven if they are not willing to forgive other member. All members are slaves, meaning that all members stand equally before God. When we forgive one another, we show the world that God forgives all people of their sins so that they can be reconciled to God.