"Forgiven to Forgive: Living Out God's Mercy in a World Full of Offenses"

Introduction: A Heart Ready to Hear

We began our time together in prayer, asking the Lord to give us clean hands, pure hearts, and ears ready to hear His voice. Amid life’s distractions—festivals, unrest, personal worries—many of us forget that a spiritual realm is very much at work. Jesus calls us to be alert, not just to what's around us, but to what He's doing within us.

The Offense and the Offended: Learning from Peter

Jesus often taught in ways that revealed our heart’s condition. Take Peter’s question in Matthew 18:21: “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” He thought he was being generous. But Jesus’ response—“I say to you, not seven times, but seventy times seven”—taught a deeper truth: there’s no limit to forgiveness.

Jesus went on to tell the parable of the unforgiving servant. One man owed a king 10,000 talents (modern-day equivalent: millions). The king forgave his debt entirely. Yet, that same man refused to forgive a much smaller debt owed to him by a fellow servant. Instead, he seized and punished him harshly.

The message is clear: forgiven people must forgive.

Why We Struggle to Forgive

When we refuse to forgive, we essentially put ourselves in a prison of bitterness. The tormentors Jesus refers to in the parable symbolize the emotional and spiritual anguish that comes from harboring resentment—ulcers, anxiety, and relational isolation. Forgiveness, then, is not just a command. It's a gift to ourselves.

Two Types of Offenses: Overlook or Confront

Jesus teaches discernment in Matthew 18. Some offenses—minor slights, misunderstandings—can and should be overlooked in love. Others—abuse, deep betrayal, financial swindling—require confrontation. In these cases, forgiveness is still the goal, but it must be coupled with truth, accountability, and repentance.

We must mirror God's forgiveness—offered fully and freely to those who repent. And if someone refuses to turn from their sin, the church, out of love, should call them to repentance. If they refuse again, they are to be treated as unbelievers—not with hate, but with continued outreach and prayer.

What Forgiveness Looks Like

Forgiveness is not forgetting. It’s sending the sin away—refusing to hold it over someone’s head. It’s laying down the heavy backpack of wrath and bitterness and picking up the yoke of grace. When God forgave us, He cast our sins into the depths of the sea (Micah 7:19), remembered them no more (Hebrews 10:17), and crowned us with mercy (Psalm 103).

How Do You Know You’ve Forgiven?

Simple: you can pray for the person who wronged you. Even when the memory resurfaces, if you can genuinely ask God to bless them, you’ve released them—and yourself.

Final Thoughts: Forgiveness is the Way Forward

Jesus concluded His teaching in Matthew 18 by warning: “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother.” Let us not risk being bound again by sin and torment simply because we refuse to extend what we’ve received.

Forgiven people forgive.