The Kingdom of Heaven – Part 9
The Kingdom of Heaven is based on forgiveness. The truth is that without forgiveness the Kingdom of Heaven would have no citizens. Our access to the Kingdom of Heaven was obtained through forgiveness. We did not do anything to deserve forgiveness. In fact we were worthy of condemnation.
Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. – John 3:18
But thanks God He sent His son to we could obtain for us forgiveness through faith in Jesus.
In the same way that we are forgiven, we are expected to forgive others. Jesus taught about the importance of forgiving others. In fact, our forgiveness is conditioned upon us having forgiven those who have offended us. This is clearly stated in the prayer of the lord.
Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins. – Mt 6:12;14-15
This is like basic math: If we forgive, then we are forgiven. If we don’t forgive then we are not forgiven. This condition is not exclusive to the prayer of the lord, it can be found in other passages of the gospels.
And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your sins. – Mk 11:25-26
Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. – Lk 6:37
There is no limit on how much or how many times we shall forgive those who offend us.
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times. – Mt 18:21-22
Even though our debt with God was so big that there was no way we could have been able to pay for it, it was totally forgiven through Jesus. To teach about this, Jesus told His disciples the following parable.
“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt. “The servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay you back.’ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. When the other servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed and went and told their master everything that had happened. “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?‘ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” – Mt 18:23-35
As we discussed in part 8 of this series, a talent was the equivalent of at least $300,000. So in this parable the first servant owed his master about $300,000,000 ($300 million). Certainly, the servant was unable to pay his debt. Pay attention to the fact that the debt was canceled. Why? Because his master took pity on him (do you see any coincidence?). However, just after been forgiven such a big debt this servant found a fellow servant that owed him 100 denarii, the equivalent of $1388.75. Though his fellow servant begged him, as he begged his master, he refused to forgive him and put him in jail. Because of his decision of not forgiving his fellow servant, he ended in jail and tortured until he was able to pay back what was originally forgiven to him – literally never.
Jesus ends his teaching saying “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.” This might be difficult to receive, but this is how things work in the Kingdom of Heaven. The truth is that if we have really understood how much we have been forgiven, forgiving others shall not be a difficult task at all. In fact, the more we experience God in our lives the more we will act like Him.
Lets pray that we learn how to forgive others the same way have been forgiven, and by doing so, help others becoming part of the Kingdom of Heaven.
If you would like to begin a discussion on this teaching please do so by accesing the topic about the Kingdom of Heaven our forum site http://forum.forachangeonline.org/
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