Introduction and Setting

Mark 11:24-26 – Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses (KJV).
Jesus not only taught forgiveness; He practiced it. Upon the cross of Calvary he prayed, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do (Luke 23:34). Not only did He practice forgiveness; He taught it. In the model prayer of Matthew 6:9-15, Jesus stated that we should forgive our debtors as we forgive those who trespass against us.

Once Peter came to Christ and asked how often should a person forgive another. He thought he would be generous so he suggested, “seven times?” The Jewish custom only prescribed three times. Jesus told him not just seven, but seventy times seven (490 times). This meant once every three minutes. In other words, Jesus was telling Peter that a person should live in perpetual forgiveness. A bear and a skunk were seen during a flood floating on a bale of hay together. The lesson: You never know who you will have to buddy up with when trouble comes! The person to whom you refuse to forgive actually controls your thoughts and your life.

Jesus told a parable in Matthew 18 about a servant who owed a king 10,000 talents. A talent was equivalent to seventy five pounds. It was the total weight a man could normally carry (2 Kings 5:23). Ten thousand talents would be 750,000 pounds or 375 tons. If the price of gold were around $300 per ounce a talent of gold would be worth about $360,000. This servant would owe his master nearly 4 billion dollars. He begged forgiveness and the king promptly forgave him.

Going home he discovered that one of his servants owed him one hundred denarii. A denarius was approximately equal to a laborer’s daily wage. One hundred denarii would equal about four thousand dollars. That is a lot of money to me but in comparison to his debt to the king the debt owed the servant was miniscule. However, he seized his mortgagee and demanded that he pay up. Upon hearing of the unforgiveness of his servant the king became incensed that the servant would not himself forgive after having received forgiveness himself.

It is important that we realize Jesus was not referring to unbelievers in this story. The servant (of the king) had his debt forgiven (salvation) but he would not forgive a fellow servant. One of the most stern statements of the New Testament is seen in verses 32-35 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: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. WHAT A POWERFUL STATEMENT!

Once John Wesley was conversing with an army general when word was brought of a soldier found in minor disobedience. When the subject of forgiving came up the general said, “I never forgive.” Wesley responded, “Then, I hope, sir, that you never sin.”

The first key to living in forgiveness is to daily practice the presence of Christ. No wrong to us can ever compare to the things Christ had to face. If anyone had a right to destroy his enemies it should have been Christ. But he forgave. So should we. In sharing the signs of the final days, Paul wrote in Second Timothy that perilous times will come. For men will be…unforgiving…having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! (3:1-2). Notice he is not speaking about the lost living in unforgiveness but those of the church who have a form of godliness. It is important that we note that a form of religion and unforgiveness walk hand in hand. The only way to keep from having a form of godliness is to practice the presence of Christ daily. This means following his example in all things, including forgiveness. Second Corinthians 5:8 tells us that God reconciled us to Himself through Christ and then, He gave to us the ministry of reconciliation.

Second, we should develop a heart that is understanding of others. This does not mean that we understand why people act the way they do but we should endeavor to put ourselves into the other person’s shoes. There are often several external and internal issues that cause people to bring injury to others. Learn to look beyond the offense and love the person who has offended you. When Joseph’s brothers bowed before him in Genesis he tried to act as if he did not know them. Eventually, he could restrain himself no longer and began to weep so loudly that even the Egyptians heard him (45:1). In the 50/20 principle Joseph pointed out to them that his understanding brought him to realize that God’s plan had been enacted.

Third, we should immediately forgive when first feeling the tinge of bitterness or injury. The longer a person waits the more difficult it will be to forgive. A hidden grudge is like a termite: It eats and destroys when we hide it but when brought to light, it dries up and dies. That is why forgiveness should be a lifestyle, not an act. Forgiveness is therapeutic for the individual who has been wronged. It is also a bridge to reconciliation.  Hebrews 12:15  speaks of a root of bitterness springing up into our life and troubling us. One of the most remarkable things said about Abraham Lincoln was his heart that had no room for the memory of a wrong. When a person says, “I will forgive but will not forget,” they are saying “I can overlook a wrong but I am not really forgiving the injury.”

Fourth, after you have forgiven refuse to speak in negative terms about the situation or the person who wronged you. This is so tough. Someone else will talk to us about their problem and, strangely, it resembles ours so before we know it, we are discussing the wrong that was imposed upon us. In fact, you have to purposely find something positive to say about the offender to overcome this inclination. I was amazed several years ago to see Richard Nixon standing beside Hubert Humphrey’s widow at his funeral. I knew that they had been lifelong bitter enemies in the political arena. Later, when questioned about his actions Nixon responded that at the twilight of life all of the battles that people fight are petty in the light of eternity. He went on to say that he and Humphrey had been reconciled before Humphrey’s death.

The 50/20 Principle reminds us that we are all human beings in need of forgiveness ourselves. And Jesus said that the measure of our heavenly Father’s forgiveness will be meted according to our forgiveness of those who have offended us.