It's the first Sabbath of the month, and on the first Sabbath of the month, we've been going through what I call a Sabbath Bible study.
On the first Sabbath, we set aside a study to be able to cover a part of the Bible, and we've been going through a series dealing with the...
I've got my fan... It's a little high. Let me see if I can fix it.
One spoke at a piece of tabernacle site where they had one wall open, and it was a winter, and the wind was gusting through, so they had a big piece of glass that you could put on your notes, so they wouldn't blow away. Can you imagine trying to give a sermon and your notes are scattered across the room?
Challenging things for speakers. But we're in Matthew chapter 18, and we've...
Last time we covered from 1 to 15. Let me just pick it up again in verse 15.
He said, Moreover, in my heading in the New King James Bible says in Matthew 18, 15, Moreover, if your brother sins against you... This isn't some minor offense. It isn't a miscue. It's not something minor. It's a sin. This is breaking God's law, okay?
Now the thing is, he says, if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.
Doodle with it privately and discreetly.
If he hears you, you have gained your brother. And I spent considerable time last time talking about the times I've done that.
And some of the people that I felt had sinned really hadn't. I had just got a wrong impression here. I was useful and even snoopier than I am now. So I made certain mistakes. But sometimes there were faults and there were things that were wrong. And in each case, every time I applied that, it worked. I applied that individually.
And the problem went away and we became much closer in friendship.
It's a wonderful blessing to have that teaching from Jesus Christ.
So we covered that last time. So now in verse 16, we cover the problems that could come up.
But if he will not hear, if you go to him and he says, oh, I don't see it that way at all, and it doesn't see it. If he will not hear, take with you one or two more that by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established. In my Bible, that by the word, by the mouth of two or three witnesses, every word may be established is a quote from Deuteronomy, a quote from the Old Testament.
So it's important to do that. So the principle is two or three witnesses establishes it. You take...
It's interesting that if somebody doesn't hear, and we talk to them, our responsibility toward God and toward the church community doesn't stop.
It doesn't stop. If somebody won't hear, that's a matter of concern. Find a wise friend or two to help.
Preferably somebody you both respect, that you both respect, and one or two who are not seen as partial or biased, a faithful witness to the events or circumstances.
I've never had to take this step on personal matters.
However, many times I had to take this step in church matters when there was strife within a congregation.
Such incidents usually don't begin as personal matters, but involve divisions within a congregation, including offenses and strife.
Yet when possible, I still follow the principle of talking to the person individually first.
If addressing the matter individually was unsuccessful, I then brought another person, usually an elder, but not always, to help resolve the problem.
In past years, Mr. Armstrong sent me to address such problems in the international areas.
I've gone over to several of them and worked on them.
One in particular was very taxing.
But anyway, I still hear his voice saying, Bob, you've got to deal with this.
Several elders were doing or saying things that were causing problems within their congregations.
HWA, Mr. Armstrong, was aware of the problems. Several members used to write him and say there's a problem here.
And of course, he was up in years and not able to run down in those areas.
But also the local leader apparently was unable or unwilling, whichever was the case, to deal with it. And problems needed to be addressed. So he would send occasion some places, but I got sent several times. And then he would send sometimes one or two with me. One time there were three of us when the problem was particularly big. And the matters that needed to be addressed were addressed. And I can just tell you those were very stressful times. But I was blessed, and the one that I remember is the most difficult, that the three of us always agreed on everything at the end. We didn't always agree at the beginning, but when we were finished, we all were in the same place. What was the right decision? And that's a blessing from God. Nobody can replace that.
One of the two, by the way, was a guy named Gerald Waterhouse.
And this is what I mentioned, that those were stressful times. But they had to take place. So in verse 17, he says, so you take two or three witnesses. If you take one, that's two. And if you take two, that's three. If he refuses to hear them, all right? You have two witnesses there that are respected, hopefully by both sides, that are perceived as friends of both or respected by both. If he refuses to hear the three, tell it to the church. If a brother, quote-unquote, refuses to acknowledge sinful behavior after two or three respected witnesses agree he was in the wrong, brethren, that's a big red flag. The matter is no longer personal. It has now become a church matter. And so the church has to become involved. Matthew previously used the Greek word translated church in Matthew 16-18. Remember that? I will build my church in the gates of hell when I prevail against it. And he used it twice in Matthew 18-17. You may be surprised to know that these are the only places the word church appears in the four Gospels. Matthew 16 and Matthew 18. Those are the only places the word church appears in the four Gospels. It appears often in the Epistles. It appears often in the Book of Revelation. But it doesn't appear in the Gospels. And of course it appears in the Book of Acts. It's only used by Matthew in those limited places. The word translated church is ekklesia. Ek means calling, I mean out, and klesia means calling. So it's called out. They're called out. John 15-19, if you want to look at it, it's one verse where he uses, he doesn't use the word church, but he explains it from the other position. John 15-19, if you were of the world, John 15-19, if you were of the world, and the word there is cosmos, then it means the present system that the world's operating under, and it's guided invisibly by Satan the devil. If you were of the world, the world, the cosmos, would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out, the word out is ekk. I chose you out of the world. God calls his people out of this society. Therefore the world, the cosmos, hates you. In his book, Mystery of the Ages, on page 230, Mr. Armstrong wrote, The church is the called out from this world, begotten children of God. If it is the body of Christ, and he quotes several scriptures, it is the spiritual organism, spiritual organism, not a physical one, that shall be the bride of Christ, after its resurrection to immortality.
Then it shall be married to Christ. It is the spiritual temple to which Christ shall come at his second appearing. When it says the Lord will suddenly come to his temple, many think it's the physical temple and therefore needs to be built, our understanding is it's the church, the spiritual temple, that he will return to. So it's important to get that. So he says, tell it to the church. Now to Christ's hearers, that teaching would have been different, would have been a change.
For centuries, the children of Israel had been taught to take their disputes to the temple priests for resolution. Look at Deuteronomy 17. Deuteronomy chapter 17. Deuteronomy chapter 17. And we'll begin in verse 8.
Deuteronomy 17 and verse 8. If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge, now they had judges set up who were to decide. They were to be trained in God's law and they were to judge within the Israelite community. If a matter arises which is too hard for you to judge between degrees of guilt for bloodshed, even today we have degrees of guilt for bloodshed. Manslotter is different than premeditated murder. Between one judgment or another, let's say two judgments of God that are there, says one thing and the other says, you have to put them together and say, well, how do we put these together? How do we handle that? Well, it was too hard for them. Or between one punishment or another, matters of controversy within your gates. When you have a controversy, and people forget this about the church, over the years and past years, there were controversies within the church. One of them was on makeup in the mid-fifties. And there were other controversies on other topics, and they were causing division. And so it had to come up to the leadership of the church to make a decision and then everybody would cooperate, hopefully. The church would. Matters of controversy within your gates. Then you shall arise and go up to the place which the Lord your God chooses. When Moses wrote Deuteronomy, God had not yet chosen a place. So he said, which the Lord your God chooses. I don't know where it's going to be. Well, wherever it is, go there. And you shall come to the priests, the Levites, to judge there in those days and inquire of them. And they shall pronounce upon you the sentence of judgment. They shall pronounce the sentence of judgment. You shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in the place which the Lord chooses. This is an instruction from God. The Israelites should do what the judges determined. Well, if the judges are wrong, God will deal with the judges. And then he'll get it set straight. The Supreme Court in the United States was set up with this conflict in mind. That there would be a final paddle to arbitrate and judge. That's what it was set up for. It was emulating this. Oh, it was secular. And therefore we got some problems because some people look at things in a religious way, other people don't, and so we got some problems. And it says in verse 10, you shall do according to the sentence which they pronounce upon you in the place which the Lord chooses. And you shall be careful to do according to all they order you. What would this do, brother, in a community? It would unify it. Everybody would accept the judgment, and it would unify it. Right now in our nation, people are agreeing with judges back and forth. We're getting more division. We don't have the respect for our leaders. Part of that is the leaders' responsibility. Part of that is our responsibility. Because we're to respect the leaders. He says that you shall do according to all they order you. According to the sentence of the law which they instruct you, according to the judgment which they shall tell you, you shall do. And you shall not turn aside from the right hand or to the left of the sentence which they pronounce upon you. And what is it for people who don't do that? How does God view it? Verse 12, Now the man who acts presumptuously, and will not hear the priest who stands the minister there before the Lord your God, or the judge, that man shall die. So you shall put away evil from Israel, and all the people shall hear and fear and no longer act presumptuously.
That's pretty strong stuff. But that's what the judges were to do. And when the judges didn't do right, God dealt with them. Can you imagine those judges, the Levites, the Sanhedrins it was called in that time, when they judged Jesus as guilty? Can you imagine when they come up in the resurrection, they're going to be in a difficult spot.
God doesn't always deal with everything immediately. In fact, He seldom does. But when He deals with it, we want to be in line with Him completely. So that's what Israel was told for years and years. Now Jesus is telling His disciples, tell it to the church, which is a change, or was a change. His disciples were no longer to look to the temple priesthood to resolve their disputes. They were called out of the world. Sadly, the temple priests were in the world and part of the world.
With the coming fall of Jerusalem and the destruction of the temple, that priesthood would soon be inoperable. It is not operable today. They have no authority. Without the temple, they can't operate. Therefore, Jesus transitioned His servants to look to His church for such guidance. Tell it to the church meant His apostles, who were referring to those leaders, and that's who He was talking to in Matthew 18, meant that His apostles or other faithful servants were now to judge there in those days. There's a biblical example of this that I think you'll find interesting. When a dispute arose in the church, whether adult Gentile converts should be circumcised, Paul followed the instruction of Jesus Christ. If you look at Acts 15, verse 1 and 2, verses 1 and 2, Paul was in Antioch, and he was preaching.
It says in Acts 15.1, And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved. Now they came from Jerusalem, which gave them some cache. It gave them a little weight. And so here's Paul, he's got these guys from Jerusalem, of the circumcision, who are telling Gentile converts that unless they are physically circumcised, they cannot be saved. You won't be salvation. By the way, I don't want to spend time on this, but it's just according to the custom of Moses.
You will find that Moses gave no customs on that. That was their oral law. They wanted them to follow the Jews' oral law. Verse 2, Therefore, when Paul and Barnabas had no small dissension and dispute with them, they determined that Paul and Barnabas, and certain others of them, should go to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about this question. Jesus had previously informed his disciples that he would build his church, his own assembly, of which he is the head.
And his chosen leaders would be able to bind and loose, that is, make determinations that his followers would respect. I won't go over all the Scriptures on that. Let me show you one. John 13.
John 1320. You'll remember John 13 is on that final night in the flesh, before he was taken captive and tried and led to crucifixion. John 13, verse 20. Jesus said, Most assuredly I say to you, Now he's talking to those 11 disciples. I guess there were 12 at that point. Jews hadn't gone out. Most assuredly I say to you, He who receives whosoever I send receives me, and he who receives me who receives him, and he who receives me receives him who sent me, the Father.
So there are other Scripture. Well, look at 1520. He says again another way in 1520. 1520, remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not great on his master? If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. We can count on that. And if they kept my word, they'll keep yours also. And I'm speaking to his apostles there. And of course it's in a larger sense to the leaders, but especially to those apostles.
At the Acts 15 Conference, the Jerusalem apostles and elders made a unanimous binding decision that Gentile converts need not be circumcised, and the whole church respected that decision. It was a unanimous decision. One of the fruits of the Holy Spirit, working in a group, is when they all agree. And when there's constant division, then you have to say, wait a minute here, where is the Spirit? So, we are to bring controversial matters to Christ's chosen church leaders for resolution, whether the leaders within a congregation, or a region, or the whole church, just as Paul did.
Paul brought it to the apostles who were before him. And they agreed with his teaching. He had been taught by Christ, but then the whole church accepted it, and there it was. There's a lot more to that whole discussion, but let's leave it at that for our purposes. When they went to the church, and they got a decision from the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, and everybody agreed with it. In the church, the Pharisees in the temple would not have agreed with it.
They might or might not, but anyway, they probably didn't. Then Jesus said, back in Matthew 18, back where we were, He said, but if He refuses even to hear the church. Now, if He refuses even to hear the church, let Him be to you, singular you, like a heathen or a tax collector. A person who refuses to hear the church, the leaders of Jesus Christ chose to lead a spiritual community.
That's a strong indicator that He's not part of that spiritual community. And He's to be regarded or sheathed or regarded as a heathen, which in both Testaments refer to those who do not know God. Or a tax collector, which were in the New Testament, considered corrupt cheaters who didn't respect God. They had a profession of God, but they cheated, and they skimmed, and they were corrupt until they had a terrible reputation. It's interesting, Matthew himself, who wrote this, had been a despised tax collector. And he always acknowledges it, by the way.
He always says, I was a tax collector. Okay. These verses in Matthew began about a brother sinning against you. Jesus told us to resolve the matter with the individual directly, if possible. All members of the body of Christ must learn to be peacemakers. We all have to learn to bring peaceful resolution, or as peaceful as possible, to the community. We all have to learn how to resolve disagreements as peacefully as possible. He said the church was to become involved only after the members were unable to resolve the dispute themselves. Brethren, sin must never remain within God's church. Have a look at 1 John 3, verses 4-6. 1 John 3, verses 4-6.
Remember, John is writing about 90 A.D. He's trying to make things as plain as he can. And God enabled him to do this. 1 John 3, verse 4. Now, the word law in Greek is nomos, and the word lawlessness is anomia, the opposite. And there are Bible scholars who said when Christians use the word nomos, they mean God's law, not man's, or all of it. Because God's law tells you to follow man's law.
So when it's anomia, it means against God's law and even against all law. Whoever commits sin commits lawlessness, anomia, for sin is lawlessness. And you know that he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him there is no sin.
Think about that. If the church is to be in him, and in him is no sin, what's that tell you? There's got to be none of us either. And you know he was manifested to take away our sins, and in him there is no sin. Whoever abides, now not whoever slips up, not whoever makes a mistake, not whoever falls flat in their face sometimes, as I'm sure we all do, whoever abides in him does not sin. Whoever sins has neither seen him nor known him. It's very plain. So if somebody won't hear the church, it's a big problem, brother.
That's a big problem. Of course, I'll mention this in a minute, you've got to be sure you've got the church. Now, for other members who are sitting across in the division, there are other scriptures that provide guidance for what must be done. I put that in there because when I was teaching this to the ministers, they asked about this. How does it apply to these other cases? So I showed them a few things. These are different situations. This started off with a personal matter, but that doesn't always how things start.
Look at Romans 16. Romans 16. So the questions come up about, well, how do we deal with other things? And so I put it in some time to explain that. Romans 16 verse 17. Romans 16 verse 17. Now I urge you, brethren, note those who cause divisions and offenses.
Now, we just read that Jesus talks about offending one of these little ones. Jesus' instruction says, don't be offensive. I urge you, brethren, now he's right to the brethren, right? This is instruction to the brethren. Note those who cause divisions and offenses contrary to the teaching. What's the teaching? Don't be offensive. Don't cause division. And avoid them. That's the members. There are people who cause division by what they say, what they do. For those who are such, do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ.
If they're causing division, they're not servants of Christ. That's what Paul says. Don't blame me. That's what he said. I was once talking to somebody about something Paul wrote, and this guy is arguing with it. I think it was in Australia somewhere, or maybe Scotland, I forget which.
But he was saying, well, this is what I said to him. I smiled at him. I said, you know, I think your problem is Paul and not with me.
I think, yeah, I guess it is.
For those who are such, do not serve our Lord Jesus Christ, but their own belly, and by smooth words and flattering speech, deceive the hearts of the simple. There are many other scriptures on that. I think I'm not going to go over it. Well, I'm tempted because... Let's look at 1 Corinthians 15. 1 Corinthians 5. I don't want to get into that whole section there, but I think most members are aware of 1 Corinthians 5, that Paul asked them to send out a brother who was sinning.
He was committing sin, so he dealt with it. But let me deal with the part after which he dealt with it. At 1 Corinthians 5 and verse 9, he said, I wrote you in my epistle. Notice there was a previous epistle to the Corinthians than 1 Corinthians. So 1 Corinthians may not be technically to Paul 1 Corinthians.
But somehow he decided not to save that one, or somebody did. I wrote you in an epistle not to keep company with sexually immoral people. Yet I certainly did not mean with the sexually immoral people of this world, or with the covenants, or extortioners, or idolaters, since then you would need to go out of the world. You need to go to the moon.
Okay? Verse 11, But now I have written to you not to keep company with anyone named a brother who is sexually immoral, or covetous, or an idolater, or a reviler, or a drunkard, or an extortioner. Not even he was such a person.
For what have I to do with judging those who are outside? Do you not judge those who are inside? God's judgments are for the church, not for the world. They're on their own. They'll have to answer later on. But those who are outside, God judges. Therefore, put away from yourselves the evil person. If you have a Bible that shows the Old Testament quotes, put away from you yourselves the evil person, that's a quote from Deuteronomy. Actually, I think there are eight verses in Deuteronomy that that ends with in Hebrew, of course. So it's not the exact same wording, but he's quoting them, put away from you the evil person, which is a principle in Deuteronomy.
I could show you many other scriptures in that, but I think the point has been made. Let me just give you one proverb. Proverbs 22.10. When I say that, I reminded of Raina McNair, my teacher, in third and fourth year. He would often say, just one more proverb. He loved the proverbs, and helped me to love them as well. Proverbs 22.10. It says, Cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave.
Yes, strife and reproach will cease. A scoffer is somebody who doesn't listen to anybody. There are different definitions, but it's somebody who doesn't listen or doesn't learn. You cast out the scoffer, and contention will leave. Yes, strife and reproach will cease. Okay, back to Matthew 18. Matthew 18. Verse 18. Matthew 18. 18. Assuredly I say to you... Now, we've been picking up on those statements where it says, Assuredly I say to you...
It's another, I tell you the truth statement. The NIV translates that, I tell you the truth. I explained that previously. But Christ is emphasizing the point He's about to make. Assuredly I say to you... Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. And again I say to you that if two or three on earth...
If two of you agree on earth concerning anything, they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where there are two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them. Okay, He starts off verse 18. Assuredly I say to you... Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven. This statement is similar to Matthew 1619. Got it backwards. Matthew 1619. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.
Now, the New King James margin has, will have been bound in heaven. And what Christ is saying, that He was going to speak through those apostles. God would reveal and fully support the decisions of His chosen apostles, His chosen apostles agreed upon.
When they got two or three and agreed, then He would back it. In reality, the apostles weren't making the decisions, they were just announcing them, because He would let them know. In Acts chapter 5, God revealed to Peter that Ananias and Sapphira were lying to them.
Sin was within the church community. Lying is sin. And God made His disapproval very plain. If you know the story, they both dropped dead. That decision was made in heaven and announced by Peter. God revealed through Peter how God viewed Simon the Sorcerer. You can find that in Acts 8, 20-23. The Acts 15 decision was binding on earth. Christ's apostles were also given discernment of those with right attitudes. Not just negative things, but also of right attitudes.
Then in verse 19, He says, Again I say to you that if two or three agree on earth concerning anything they ask, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven. For where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them. When His chosen leaders, especially His apostles, agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, the Father will act on it. See, the Spirit's dwelling in them, and what they ask is going to be, I'll show you in a minute, is going to be consistent with His will to start with.
Now, verse 20 has been greatly misunderstood. One misunderstanding is that Jesus is speaking of two or three Christians getting together to pray. They're all there, and then they say, well, the Christ is in the midst of them. That's not how those verses are understood. Maybe my chair will work out here. Okay.
Exposers Bible Commentary on verses 19 and 20. These two verses should not, in this setting, be taken as a promise regarding any prayer on which two or three believers agree. Scripture is rich in prayer promises. Listen, a number of them. But if this passage deals with prayer at all, it is restricted by the context and by the phrase, He has the Greek phrase that's translated into the NIV, about anything, which should here be rendered about any judicial matter. The word pragma is often used in the sense. It was the word that was used. A sense nicely fitting the argument of Matthew 18. David Stern's New Testament commentary says on page 56, 18-20, contrary to most Christian interpreters, I take the plain sense of the passage to be dealing with making legal judgments and halakha, not prayer. The words rendered prohibit or permit, which are translated in the Jewish New Testament, are literally bind and loose. These terms were used in the first century Judaism to mean prohibit and permit. As is clear from the article, binding and loosing in the Jewish Encyclopedia. So he's talking about whatever you agree on something, and they were dealing with somebody who didn't listen to the church, and they were to agree on it, the father would back it up. Another misunderstanding is that most Christian address these words to all Christian leaders and to all members. Technically, he speak to those who would become his future apostles. As we saw in Acts 15, the apostles, including Paul, came together to a unanimous agreement on the Gentile converts not needing to be circumcised. God revealed his will through his apostles and other elders. And you can see that in Acts 15, verse 4, and also in verse 22. Additionally, his apostles would write or oversee the writing of the New Testament. They were going to write the New Testament. They had to get it right. He had to inspire them to that degree. As we understand it, Paul oversaw Mark's Gospel, and Paul oversaw Luke's. Mark worked with Peter, and Luke worked with Paul. Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whoever you loose on earth will be loosing in heaven. The New Testament is given from heaven through his chosen apostle, and the New Testament is binding on earth. It's important we understand that. Yet Matthew also recorded Jesus saying, lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. Remember that in Matthew 28? So we know Jesus Christ will be with his chosen leaders to the very end of the age. We also know that not everyone who claims to be a leader chosen by God, by Christ, really is. I've had it a couple times when people would tell me their fruits were terrible, and they were being awkward, and they'd say, but I'm a child of God. And I'd say, well, that's what the Pope says.
I mean, you just can't say I'm a child of God. You've got to show by the fruits you're a child of God, right? And the Pope's not the only one that says that. A lot of people think they're children of God. But their fruits are inconsistent with them. And Christ told us in Matthew 7, 15 to 20, you will know them by their fruits. You won't know them by their claims. You will know them by their fruits. And what are the fruits? That's a very, when you understand that, that's a quick guide to dealing with things. Sometimes not always quick, but it's a sure guide to dealing with things.
Before leaving this section, what does it mean to pray or act in Jesus' name?
We use that phrase a lot, but do we fully understand what it means? Here's how I explain that. Have you ever given anyone the authority to act in your name? Given them control of your checking account, given you the control of your credit card, given them the power of attorney to act in your name? If you have, I bet you only gave it with strict limitations on both scope and time. You just don't turn your whole affairs over to somebody else and do whatever you want. You don't do that. It would be foolish.
We would say, he can use my name only in this circumstance and only for this time period. Right? Wouldn't you do that? I sure would.
Jesus gave his apostles authority to act in his name. I don't think I have to prove that to you. I've already shown a couple scriptures on that. So to pray or to act in Jesus' name is to say that we are Christ's servants, and what we are asking is completely in line with his teaching and his will.
What we are asking for or acting on is completely in line with his teaching and his will. In fact, our request is the same as if Jesus himself were requesting it. We're using his name.
Our prayer or our action reflects our desire to live in complete agreement with everything Jesus Christ did and taught. Verse 20, for where two or three are gathered together in my name, I am there in the midst of them. He's directing them, working with them, and he's talking about his leaders making binding decisions. Remember the commandment, You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless, who takes his name in vain. That's a pretty serious scripture. I think we all agree. That's one of the Ten Commandments, right up there. When we use that name, we want to take it very seriously and say it reflects God's will to our level of understanding. It exacts God's Jesus teaching to our level of understanding. Of course, we're always learning. We're always trying to gain more understanding. But when we use his name, we want to do it with great respect. Okay, Matthew 18, 21. Then Peter came to him and said, Lord, how often shall my brothers sin against me? And I forgive him. Up to seven times? And Jesus said to him, I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. Peter's question suggests that he felt there should be an end to forgiveness. You know, I can forgive him as many times, and then that's enough, surely. The guy's a loser. His question implies, forgive for so long, but after that, no. How shocked he must have been to hear seven times was not nearly enough. And seventy times seven is thought to indicate times without number. Not that he's put a new number on there. Times without number. I find that encouraging because I find myself going back to God and say, Lord, it's me again. And I did it again. Or I thought it again. Or I said it again. Or I got angry again. Or whatever it was. When I was younger, there were times when I thought, you know, I've overcome that problem. I've overcome that problem. But it wasn't long until I was shocked and saddened to find that I hadn't really overcome it. Some things. And they were still with me, often in a more subtle form.
In some areas, I tell you frankly, I hope I haven't crossed that seventy times seventy threshold. I've been going back a lot over the years. And that's important. Our life as a Christian begins with forgiveness. You realize that? It starts with forgiveness. Forgiveness is where we start. And then we're baptized. And then we're granted God's Holy Spirit.
After sincere repentance toward God, He applies the sacrifice of Christ to our sins. And they are forever forgiven. Those are gone forever. New ones, that's a different deal. Start over again.
So, Christian life begins with forgiveness. And our Christian life is maintained by forgiveness.
And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
And then He said in verse 14 of Matthew 6, For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
So our Christian life begins with forgiveness, and it's maintained by forgiveness. By being willing to forgive.
That doesn't mean people don't make mistakes and do things wrong. But there are times when you forgive somebody, but they still got some things to learn. That's fair enough.
And when He says forgiveness, by the way, He means forgiveness. He says in Psalm 103 that He removes our sins as far away as the east is from the west. Now, they're still trying to figure out how long that is. Nobody knows how far the east is from the west. There's no boundary. There's no brick walls. There's an ant here. It just goes on. So, have you ever heard somebody say, well, I forgive you, but I never want to talk to you again?
It's a good thing God doesn't take that approach, or we'd all be toast.
Let's look at Matthew 18, verse 23.
Matthew 18, verse 23.
I'm going to rise again.
Stand up, that is. Matthew 18, verse 23.
This is another parable.
And 10,000 talents. It's an extraordinary amount of money. It's huge.
Some estimates in various commentators say billions of dollars, billions upon billions of dollars. And others come up with different figures, but it's an extraordinary amount of money. And we must comprehend that our sin is exceedingly large debt, and that we could never possibly pay off. There's no way that we could ever pay our own sin of debt.
Verse 25.
The family was sold into servitude. That's how they handled things in such things in the past. And that's how they handled things in the beginning of America, by the way. There were debtor prisons. You're a debtor, you go in there. And even some people who were helpful to the nation ended up in debtor prison.
But as he was unable to pay, his master commanded him to be sold, and the master wouldn't gain much from the sale, but at least they had some return.
Verse 26. A servant therefore fell down before him, saying, Master, have patience with me, and I'll pay you all. Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, and released him, and forgave him the debt. It was impossible for the servant to pay off such an enormous debt. The master surely knew that. But move with compassion, he forgave the entire debt. Verse 28. But when that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants, who owed him a hundred denarii, and laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me what you owe. So his fellow servants fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay you all. And he would not, but he went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. I think we all feel a kind of a sense of outrage at the analogy, at the parable. Adam Clark comments, took him by the throat, and he gives the Greek, There is no word I am acquainted with, which so fully expresses the meaning of the original Greek as the Anglo-Saxon term throttle. That's a British term. It signifies, like the Greek, to half choke a person by seizing his throat. And then he adds, his fellow servants saw what had been done, and act of this kind is so dishonorable that all the followers of Christ, and to the spirit of his gospel, that though the respect they owe the Lord master, and through the respect they owe the Lord master, and through the concern they feel for the prosperity of his cause, they are obliged to plead against it at the throne of God. Editors, expositors' commentary says, the servant's attitude is appalling. The amount owed him is not insignificant, though worth a few dollars in the terms of a metal currency. A hundred denarii represents a hundred days wages for a foot soldier or a common laborer. Yet the amount is utterly trivial compared to what he has already been forgiven him. The similarity of his fellow servant's plea to his own does not move this unforgiving man. He has him thrown into debtors' prison. Even an expensive slave sold for five hundred denarii, and it was illegal to sell a man for some greater than his debt. But the other servants, deeply distressed by the iniquity, tell the master everything. The Greek indicates they told him a great detail. Verse 32, Then his master, after he called them, said to him, You wicked servant, I forgave you all that debt because you beg me. Should you not have also had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you? And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until they should pay off all that was due him. James and Fawcett and Brown said, Then his lord, after he had called him, said to him, O you wicked servant, before bringing down his vengeance upon him, he calmly points out to him how shamefully unreasonable and heartless his conduct was, which would give the punishment inflicted on him a double sting. Wycliffe said, Should not have also had mercy. Certainly sinners who have experienced God's forgiveness ought to display a kindred spirit toward others, especially since the offenses that men commit against one another are infinitesimal when compared to the enormity of man's debt to God.
Expositor says, When the servant owes ten thousand talents, the king forgives them. But when the servant shows himself unforgiving toward a fellow servant, the king calls him wicked, and foregoing selling him turns him over to the torturers, not merely jailers. The word reminds us of earlier orms in the chapter 18-6. You know, a stone about your neck and other things. The servant is to be tortured until he pays back all he owes, which he can never do. So my heavenly Father also will do to each of you, from your heart, does not forgive his brother, his trespasses. From your heart. NIV study Bible says, forgive the one main teaching of this parable. That is the parable's teaching. Expositor says, Jesus sees no incongruity in the actions of a heavenly Father, who forgives so bountifully and punishes so ruthlessly. And neither should we. Indeed, it is precisely because he is God of such compassion and mercy that he can't possibly accept as his those devoid of compassion and mercy. That's not to say the king's compassion can be earned. Far from it. The servant is granted freedom only by virtue of the king's forgiveness. As in 6.12 and 14.15, as we forgive others, those who are forgiven must forgive, lest they show themselves incapable of receiving forgiveness. The lesson of Jesus in Matthew 18 especially is to forgive.
Galatians 6.7 and 8, chapter 6, verses 7 and 8, Paul wrote, If you look at chapter 19, verse 1, this is the signal that the discourse has ended. Matthew 19, verse 1, Now it came to pass, when Jesus had finished these sayings, that he departed from Galilee and came to the region of Judah beyond the Jordan. We finish Matthew 18. Next month we'll take up Matthew 23, 24, 25, which I think you're going to find very interesting.
