Daily Bible Study

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Day 52 Matthew 18:21 Matthew 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times? 22 Jesus said unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellow servants, which owed him a hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owe. 29 And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desired me: 33 Should not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses. You have people who do something you consider unforgiveable, and you shut those people from your lives, having nothing more to do with them until they apologize for what they did, and even then, you have a hard time forgiving them. Peter went to Jesus and asked how many times he was to forgive someone who wronged him, and considered he was generous by saying seven times a day. Yet, Jesus upped the number to seventy times seven, or an infinite number of times. Jesus then told a parable to make his point. Forgiveness is important to God. If you don’t forgive the person who wronged you, God won’t forgive you. When Jesus taught the people to pray, he made a point of showing the importance of forgiveness. Matthew 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: 15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. (KJV) Mark 11:25 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. 26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses. (KJV) Paul and John also showed the importance of forgiveness. Ephesians 4:32 And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you. (KJV) 2 Corinthians 2:10 To whom ye forgive anything, I forgive also: for if I forgave anything, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgave I it in the person of Christ; 11 Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices. Colossians 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering; 13 Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. (KJV) 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (KJV) When Jesus went to the cross, he asked his Father to forgive those who put him there. If he can do that, shouldn’t you also forgive those who wronged you? Some people are of the mind that only God can forgive, yet Jesus told his disciples they had the same authority as he did, and much more, because he was going to his Father in heaven. You have the authority to forgive those who wrong you, and it is important that you do. If you don’t. God won’t forgive you, and you will not spend eternity with him in heaven. The saying is: To err is human, to forgive divine. You have the divine authority to forgive because Jesus gave it to you. You might not have the ability to forgive the person who wronged you, because they passed from this life. You can still forgive them. When you do, the freedom you feel from forgiving them, is the cleansing power of God on your life, because he also forgave you. Let’s pray: Father, help me forgive all those who wronged me. In Jesus’ name, I pray, amen. Copyright © 10 June 2018 by Valerie Routhieaux Image courtesy of Pixabay