Hebrews 9:22-28
Matthew 18:23-35
May 17, 2015
Pastor Lori Broschat
THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS: YOURS AND MINE
The Viceroy of Naples was visiting in Spain. He visited the harbor and saw a galley ship of
convicts used to man the oars. The Viceroy went aboard and asked the men why they were
there. One man said that the judge was bribed to convict him. Another said that his enemies
paid people to bear false witness against him. Still another said his best friend had lied to
protect himself. Finally one man said, “I’m here because I deserve to be. I wanted money and
I stole a purse.” With this the Viceroy said to the captain, “Here are all these innocent men
and only one wicked man in their midst. Let us release this man lest he infect the others.”
The man was set free and pardoned.1
Only one sinner among the innocent; isn’t that quite the opposite of how we often view the
world? We are the ones who claim innocence amidst a world of sinners. It doesn’t take a
sophisticated mind to know the difference between good and evil, between right and wrong.
Here is perhaps a different perspective to consider. “The Bible takes sin seriously because it
takes humanity seriously. As we have seen, Christians do not deny the fact – in some
circumstances – of diminished responsibility, but we affirm that diminished responsibility
always entails diminished humanity.
To say that somebody ‘is not responsible for his actions’ is to demean him or her as a human
being. It is part of the glory of being human that we are held responsible for our actions.
Then, when we also acknowledge our sin and guilt, we receive God’s forgiveness, enter into
the joy of his salvation, and so become yet more completely human and healthy. What is
unhealthy is wallowing in guilt which does not lead to confession, repentance, faith in Jesus
Christ and so forgiveness.”2
Without genuine repentance for sin there can be no divine forgiveness. This must go both
ways for us. At the heart of the teaching of Jesus was the insistence that the human who
would not forgive the human could never be forgiven of God. Mutual forgiveness indicates
the condition of the heart accepting divine forgiveness with humility. Thus the call to follow
Christ is always a call to share the work of forgiving men their sins. Forgiveness is the Christlike
suffering which it is the Christian’s duty to bear.
Jesus wanted to elevate us above the need for revenge, urging us to be pacifists against evil.
If this sounds to you like a lie down and die mentality, you are partly right. After all, Jesus did
lie down and die for the hostility of the world, and He went willingly. Jesus was not revoking
the law, but He was showing people a new way of living in community in the kingdom of God.
There is a quote often attributed to Gandhi that says an eye for an eye leaves the whole world
blind. Turning the other cheek may make you feel like a wimp or a doormat, but God would
rather you have humility than pride.
God handles the enemies of the world; we are responsible for our everyday encounters. In
the new kingdom all people are under God, the righteous and the unrighteous alike. We are
accountable to God, they are accountable to God. He has to sort things out, not us. When we
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2
http://www.preaching.com/sermon-illustrations/11551802/
Stott, John R. W., The Cross of Christ, pg. 103
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Hebrews 9:22-28
Matthew 18:23-35
May 17, 2015
Pastor Lori Broschat
encounter evil our job is not to conquer it through more evil or violence, but to overcome evil
with good.
Jesus pointed out that even sinners love those who love them. We must step up our game by
loving our enemies, doing good to those who hate us, blessing those who curse us and praying
for those who mistreat us. How does God handle our enemies? He has answered them in the
cross. Christ forgave those who crucified Him while He was being crucified. Can we forgive
in the moment of transgression?
That remains with us, but the moment we refuse we have already lost God’s forgiveness of
our own sins. We are still subject to civil law and the ways in which justice should be done
between citizens, but in personal sins we are to always take the moral high ground. G.K.
Chesterton made an astute observation, “The Bible tells us to love our neighbors and also to
love our enemies, probably because generally they are the same people.” Fragile humans that
we are, he was right.
If sin makes us enemies of God, then the solution is not to sin, right? Even Paul seemed to
struggle with the idea that Christians can’t sin, yet knowing that in his own life sin was a reality.
It’s often difficult for us to differentiate between what the Bible calls sin and what it calls sins.
Jesus died on the cross for our sins; that’s been the mantra of every believer from childhood
to adulthood. But what do we mean when we say that? If He rid us of our sins, why do we
still sin?
We understand sin to be within our nature, something we inherited from the first two sinners
who fell from God’s grace. We will continue to fight against this nature even though Christ
has dealt with our sins. We have the power to say no to sin, to mature and grow in our faith.
Sin can enslave us, as Paul said, if we let it. Think of it this way: sin is the tree, sins are the
fruit. Sin is the disease, sins are the symptoms. Sin is what we are, sins are what we do.
God does not hold sin against us because we have a solution for it and ultimately it will be
removed from the world. Sins, on the other hand, are chosen, whether by omission or
commission. Everyone in the world sins, whether they choose to acknowledge it or not. We
sin against God and we sin against each other. This is why we have to extend forgiveness just
as we were forgiven. This is what Jesus died for. This is what He dealt with on the cross. Just
look again at Colossians 2:14, “He destroyed the record of the debt we owed, with its
requirements that worked against us. He canceled it by nailing it to the cross.”
Imagine the cross on which Christ died. Picture in your mind what it looked like after that
gruesome execution. Picture it empty, bloodstained, its victim dead and buried. Look closely.
Can you see a document there, a record of debt, a catalog of sins with the names of everyone
who ever lived or ever will? Search for your name there. Can you see the words “Paid in Full”
next to it?
The cross, then, tells us just how seriously God takes our sin. God doesn’t excuse it or look
the other way. In an age that wants to ignore the problem of sin, deny its consequences and
forget “what a heavy weight sin is,” we need to be reminded of the true nature and extreme
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Hebrews 9:22-28
Matthew 18:23-35
May 17, 2015
Pastor Lori Broschat
gravity of sin. Not only does the cross graphically reveal sin, but it also reveals the incredible
costliness of what God has done to atone for it.
There is a painting of the crucifixion hanging in an Italian church. At first glance it looks like
most other paintings of the crucifixion, but as you examine it closely you perceive that
“there’s a vast and shadowy Figure behind the figure of Jesus. The nail that pierces the hand
of Jesus goes through to the hand of God. The spear thrust into the side of Jesus goes through
into God’s.”3
Meant to be a place of torture and humiliation, the cross actually was a place of great beauty
and love, a Father’s love for His children and His divine burden placed on His Son. It is where
forgiveness happened, and it should serve to remind us that to forget might be painful, and it
might cost us. As the author of Hebrews stated, “There is no forgiveness without blood being
shed.” Even speaking metaphorically, I think that frightens us a little bit.
Jesus firmly stated that He did not come to abolish the Law of Moses. He wasn’t taking an
easier approach to murder or infidelity or social responsibility. He was saying that love is
always the way. Yes, it’s a harder way, but it is the only way. If you are a grudge holder, a
revenge seeker, a carrier of a chip on your shoulder, you do yourself harm because those you
are angry with may not even know or care. I’ve been betrayed by friends, family members, a
spouse, colleagues, and a church. All of that gives me a reason to be angry, but not an excuse.
Jesus allows no excuse to be unforgiving.
How can we accept this incredible good news made possible through Jesus’ death on the
cross? Jesus first declares this good news and then tells us how to respond. We as the
forgiven, reconciled people of God respond by forgiving those who have sinned against us.
Remember, He is determined that we be like Him.
We who have been forgiven become like Him by becoming forgivers. In fact, if we will not
forgive those who have sinned against us, then we have not actually heard the good news of
our own forgiveness. God is not just reconciling individual sinners to Himself. He is reconciling
us to one another and, indeed, ultimately with the whole of creation.4
The two sides of forgiveness are accepting and extending. The person who accepts
forgiveness becomes deeply aware of his own weakness and need. We begin to see others as
creatures who are, like us, deeply flawed by weakness. It isn’t that God will not forgive the
unforgiving. It is simply that the unforgiving lack the humble attitude that both permits them
to accept forgiveness and frees them to extend forgiveness.5
This is the original pay it forward movement, a proactive way of living in a world that will
shock, hurt, and disappoint us. But the good news is that Christ has already accomplished
everything for us. All debts are cancelled, all sins – past, present, and future are forgiven. His
3
Seamands, Stephen, Give Them Christ,pg. 65
Tennent, Timothy C., This We Believe! Meditations on the Apostles’ Creed, pg. 95
5 Richards, Lawrence O.,editor, Encyclopedia of Bible Words, pg. 91
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Hebrews 9:22-28
Matthew 18:23-35
May 17, 2015
Pastor Lori Broschat
blood has covered our guilt. The death that we earned through our transgressions was
handed off to Jesus.
This does not relieve us of our obligation to try or grant us permission to sin and confess and
receive forgiveness just because we know God will forgive. As Paul said, because grace
abounds, should we sin all the more so we receive more grace? A resounding no is the answer
to that question.
The object of the spiritual life is to grow more spiritual, not more worldly. Sin is still a part of
our lives but we have the tools to say no. Sin mars relationships, it creates shame, and it
becomes the cause of so many destroyed lives. The parable Jesus told in Matthew 18 may
sound like some kind of riddle or warning against mounting debt, but at its core is the formula
for forgiveness.
The first servant owed the king an amount that would have taken him 165,000 years to work
off. Because of his humility and shame, the servant was granted a pardon and his debt was
wiped out. However, when he ran into a fellow servant who owed him a day’s wages, he was
harsh and unforgiving, so he was thrown into prison and his whole debt was once again to be
paid to the king.
Jesus’ warning at the end of this parable cannot be overlooked. “My heavenly Father will also
do the same to you if you don’t forgive your brother or sister from your heart.” Basically He was
saying that if we withhold forgiveness of others, no matter how slight the offense, God has
the right to cross out the “paid in full” next to our name because of our hardened hearts.
Ask yourself if you are throwing God’s forgiveness away by holding onto old grievances. If
you are, but find it difficult to let them go so that you can forgive the people who have
wronged you, pray that God will give you the gift of His Holy Spirit of love and forgiveness so
that you can release your anger and resentment and receive His forgiveness for them and for
yourself.6
As we heard in Hebrews, Jesus was offered once as the sacrifice for sins. He will appear a
second time, not to take away sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him. Be
eager, be glad, and be not ashamed.
6
Baxter, Christina, The Wounds of Jesus: A Meditation on the Crucified Savior, pg. 123
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