The Forgiven Unforgiving Man

Good Monday Morning To You! Pour yourself a cup of coffee, or a big glass of juice and lets visit a while. Do you know what else sounds good? Bacon and eggs with gravy and biscuits! When I was a kid, we often visited my mamaw and papaw, Ruby and Austin Emery down in Harlan Co. Kentucky. There was no better way to wake up than to smell bacon and eggs frying. Not only that, but my favorite smell in the whole world is coal burning. There in Shields, Kentucky, that was how folk heated their homes, and some had wood/coal burning stoves to cook with. My mamaw had an electric stove, but her house was heated with coal. To this day I love to smell coal burning. It brings back good memories, and takes me back in my mind to those carefree days of the little yellow haired five year old who was the apple of his papaw’s eyes. Maybe you don’t like the smell of coal burning, or maybe you’ve never smelled it. However, for me, there is no flower that smells any better. It is not so much the smell, but the memories it recalls. Psychologists call it a trigger; something that triggers a long buried memory. They say smells are strong triggers. I guess they are right, but for me, I’d love to smell burning coal once again and let it take me back to Harlan County Kentucky in the late fifties. Yesterday was a super day at Friendship Harmony. Attendance was good, and the service was very uplifting. I began a series of messages from the parables of our Lord Jesus Christ. Parable one, and there is no particular order, came from Matthew 18: 21-35. In it we see a man who owed his king an enormous sum of money. In fact, he owed so much he could not pay. The king decides to sell him, his wife and children, and all his possessions to settle the debt. The man pleads for more time, but the wise and compassionate king, who realized the man could never repay the debt, forgives it and declares him debt free. He had been forgiven much! Later that day, the man sees a friend who owes him a small amount of money, and in his gratitude for what the king did for him, he forgives his friend his debt. That sounds good, doesn’t it? That is exactly what should have happened but didn’t. The first man, who the Bible tells us was brought before his king, takes the man who owes him by the throat and demands payment. Did you catch that? One man is brought while the other is dragged. Not only does he take the man owing him a small amount by the throat, but he demands payment. When the second man asks exactly what the first man had previously asked the king, he has him thrown into jail. The forgiven man becomes an unforgiving man. If you are a born again believer, Christ has forgiven you much. Your sin was infinite and vast, and you could not pay. I told the folk at Friendship Harmony a theological fact that most Christians do not want to hear; sin cannot be forgiven! Does that statement bother you? It should, because it tells us the infinite and vast horror of our sin. Sin is a violation of God’s law. If sin was only a breaking of God’s heart, it could be forgiven. However God’s holiness requires restitution. Romans 3:23 tells us that all of us have violated God’s law, and it cannot be forgiven. Payment must be made. That payment for sin is a word called “atonement.” Scriptures tell us that man will pay for his sin in the lake of fire. Not only that, but a sinner stays in that fiery place of torment, until the debt is paid. The trouble is, man can never be in hell long enough to pay the debt: it is an eternal sentence. The Bible tells us in Rev. 14:10-11, “… he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb: [11] And the smoke of their torment ascendeth up for ever and ever: and they have no rest day nor night… Christian are you glad you aren’t going to hell? Your debt has been forgiven! “Hold on preacher,” you are saying, “you said sin cannot be forgiven.” That’s right, sin cannot be forgiven, but sinners can. Remember this: “All sin must be paid for. Either Jesus Christ pays for it on the cross for you, or you pay for it in Hell. Take your pick. Lots of folk don’t like that kind of preaching. I’ve been preaching forty years this month, and for the entire time I never preached according to man’s likes. I can’t see starting now. As a believer, you know about atonement. Christ has atoned for (paid for) your sin debt. If you are unsaved, you still owe God, and will until you cry out to him for mercy as the first man did to his king. Now, if Christ has forgiven you much, should you not forgive your fellow man his sin debt to you? Remember, what he owes you is paltry compared to what you owed God. The parable also teaches us that one sure sign of a grateful heart toward God is a forgiving spirit toward others. Has someone wronged you and asked your forgiveness? According to Jesus, you must forgive. Peter asked in that same chapter of Matthew how often should he forgive. Peter suggested seven times, which was four more times than the rabbis taught. Jesus told him not seven times, but seventy times seven. In other words, don’t keep score. Forgive when genuine forgiveness is sought. Scripture also tells us that when we refuse to forgive, God withholds forgiveness from us. The king in our story brought the first man back before him. Jesus concludes the parable by saying, “And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. [35] So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart." Matthew 18:34-35 (ESV) Are you a forgiven unforgiving person. Don’t let it be true of you! Remember, grudges hurt the one holding them more than the one they are held against. Forgiving is Biblical, but it certainly is not easy. It takes grace from God to be able to forgive. However, the kingdom of Heaven is a kingdom of grace. God is a grace giving God. The theological definition of grace is receiving from God that which you do not deserve. Therefore, granting grace toward others is forgiving them when they don’t deserve it. To receive it all they must do is ask --- just like you did when you asked God to forgive you. I’ve enjoyed our visit this week. I hope you have as well. Maybe Miss Bessie will fry me up some bacon and eggs - biscuits and gravy would round out the menu quite well. If she won’t, I’ll just have to forgive her. I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!