Is there a limit to how much we should forgive? We just heard a big command, not a suggestion or a recommendation. Jesus commands us to forgive.

Here in Matthew 18 Peter is asking Jesus about the limits of forgiveness.

When you consider the wrongs that have been committed against you, is there a limit to the number of times you will forgive someone? Is there a limit to how many times you think God can forgive you? Do you ask God to forgive you but you refuse to forgive other people? Is there a consequence if you don’t forgive other people?

Many questions.

I’m guessing if you’ve lived long enough, you’ve been offended or hurt or insulted or harmed by someone. Someone has sinned against you.

So before we talk about forgiveness we have to talk about sin, because we wouldn’t need forgiveness if our lives were free of sin.

“If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” -1 John 1:8

None of us can claim we have no sin. So we must recognize the depth of our own personal need for forgiveness, we will see that we are called to forgive others, and we will see we are given the power to choose to accept the forgiveness that Christ offers us.

So we’re leaving Matthew for a moment. Let’s turn first to Romans 1:28.

”And since they did not see fit to acknowledge God, God gave them up to a debased mind to do what ought not to be done. They were filled with all manner of unrighteousness, evil, covetousness, malice. They are full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, maliciousness. They are gossips, slanderers, haters of God, insolent, haughty, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, foolish, faithless, heartless, ruthless. Though they know God's righteous decree that those who practice such things deserve to die, they not only do them but give approval to those who practice them.”

That last part there is the scariest. They not only sin but they approve of those who sin. Could this be any more relevant than it is today when you look at the world? The lies you read or see on TV, the way Satan can deceive the minds of people to believe hate is love and love is hate? To believe murder can be called healthcare or “a choice…” to believe you can be any gender you want to be? A society filled with sin and lacking both common sense and godliness.

Many people have "exchanged the truth about God for a lie” instead of believing in the Word of God which is alive and powerful and full of truth.

Isaiah 5:20 says, “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness…”

Sin is rebellion against God, where people choose their own evil desires rather than the goodness of God.

Then there are things you do that you don’t want to do, but you do them anyway. From Romans 7:

“For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate. For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.”

Sin is nothing new. In Genesis 3 we can read the account of humanity’s first sin. Adam and Eve are in the Garden of Eden. Paradise… overflowing with beauty and an abundance of everything they could possibly need. Satan lies and deceives Eve with a piece of fruit. Both Adam and Eve rebelled against God’s authority. The consequences of their sin were immediate: they were ashamed, they hid from God in fear, they were judged for their sin, they were separated from God, and no longer allowed to live in the perfection of the Garden. Pain and suffering had entered humanity.

In this story we also see the birth of the necessity of forgiveness. While disobedience made us all sinners, God had a plan to restore mankind to Himself through Jesus.

“For as by the one man's disobedience (Adam’s) the many were made sinners, so by the one Man’s obedience (Jesus’) the many will be made righteous.” -Romans 5:19

While Adam was disobedient and failed, Christ was obedient to death on the cross and succeeded.

In the days of Noah great wickedness ran rampant. The sin of the people was not occasional: it was constant. Every intention of the thoughts of man’s heart was only evil all the time. Every person was infected with sin and rebellion against God, so God flooded the whole earth.

Later in Genesis we find another reminder of the consequences of sin. “Now the people of Sodom were wicked and were sinning greatly against the Lord.” Immorality, impurity, violence, pride, arrogance, greed, rebellion. But most of all a rejection of God and a refusal to repent. So God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah.

Sin is so detrimental to us we are separated from God because of our sin. And there is no way we can overcome this problem except through Christ.

We need forgiveness.

So now as we get into Matthew 18:21 Peter asks Jesus a question about the limitations of forgiveness:

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?”

Peter probably thought he was being generous by suggesting 7 times. The Jewish rabbis taught that a brother could be forgiven only three times for the same offense, but not four times. Peter is most likely trying to be a superior Law keeper here, so he doubled the three times and added one: seven times. Surely seven times would be enough and surely there must be a limit.

Peter did not anticipate Jesus' response, which was not a compliment but instead a correction.

22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”

Jesus said he should forgive lavishly and Peter’s suggestion of 7 times was severely inadequate by Jesus’ standards. (Different translations will say “seventy times seven” which would be 490 times. But whichever translation we look at, whether it be 77 or 490, if you’re caught up in that you’re missing the point: Jesus is speaking about forgiveness in a way that represents an abounding unlimited amount.)

Jesus tells Peter and the rest of His disciples that they should forgive continuously and without limit, just as God forgives them. Jesus is speaking of forgiveness on a scale you can hardly imagine.

If you are a believer in Christ He has forgiven you far more than you will ever be asked to forgive. We must live with a spirit of continuous forgiveness, not an unforgiving spirit of counting offenses and keeping score.

The abundance of God’s forgiveness is a radical idea because we live in a world where grudges are held and offenses are not forgotten.

Jesus said to forgive 77 times. Does that mean if someone commits sin #78 they’re finished? Can’t be forgiven? Certainly not. In Luke 17:4 Jesus suggests unlimited forgiveness by saying if your brother sins against you seven times and repents seven times you must forgive him. It’s not about keeping count, but about forgiving continuously, just as God forgives us.

(Now to know that forgiveness is abundant is not a license to sin! We will all sin but let us never sin on purpose or become comfortable in our sin because of the availability of forgiveness. Sin is a heart issue. Sin should no longer dominate and control you if you have surrendered your life to Christ.)

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants.

24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

Take note that it says this servant was “brought” to him so perhaps he wasn’t looking forward to this interaction. Perhaps he didn’t come willingly. We can reason he probably wasn’t eager to face the reckoning.

One talent was equivalent to 15 years’ worth of wages. So to pay off a debt of ten thousand talents, the servant owed roughly 150,000 years’ worth of wages—an absurdly insurmountable debt.

25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made.

Sadly being forced into slavery to settle a debt was common in the ancient world. It was expected and anticipated in situations like this where repayment is unlikely or impossible.

It’s also important to see that this servant and his family would not command a selling price equal to 150,000 years’ worth of wages. They were not ordered to be sold to pay off the debt. This was a punishment.

26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’

The servant must know his promise to pay the master everything he owes is an impossible undertaking! Feeling desperate, he is begging for mercy and forgiveness. Given the absurd amount of his debt there is no hope for the servant to ever be able to pay his own way out of the debt. The only hope for this servant and his family is forgiveness of the debt.

And just like this servant, we owe a sin debt that is far greater than any sum we could ever pay!

27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt.

This is a remarkable turn of events. The idea that this servant could somehow pay is so absurd, so ludicrous, that it emphatically demonstrates the abounding generosity of the king. Moved by compassion, the king forgives the entire debt. His decision to offer forgiveness instead of judgment saves this servant from a life of slavery and poverty. Notice also that the master does more than the servant requests. The servant only asked for time to pay. The master completely released him of the debt and set him free.

28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’

This servant who had received an infinitely greater pardon from the king—whose whole life had been salvaged from ruin because of the king’s forgiveness—should have joyfully extended forgiveness to this debtor but instead he chokes him, a threatening act, and demands that he pay up.

Now 100 denarii is equal to 100 days’ wages. Compared to the first servant’s debt of 150,000 years of wages, 100 days is a tiny minuscule sum.

29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’

30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt.

Instead of showing the same mercy he had received, he has the man thrown into prison.

Now let’s not be too proud here and tell ourselves we would never do something like this unforgiving servant. We may struggle with forgiveness, especially when the wrong committed against us has caused us considerable harm. We may be bitter, angry, filled with hate… but when we struggle to forgive we must look at ourselves and own our sinfulness and our own need for forgiveness. If we have suffered because of the wrong someone else has committed against us, consider the suffering Christ endured because of the sins WE have committed against God.

Jesus endured great suffering—crucifixion is one of the most painful, horrible forms of death—and He died on the cross willingly and obediently. Jesus has infinite power. If He wanted to He could have ended the existence of anyone there who opposed Him. Jesus said, "Do you think that I cannot appeal to my Father, and he will at once send me more than twelve legions of angels?” 72,000 angels! Instead, Jesus was obedient to death to fulfill the Scriptures and to fulfill God’s plan to redeem us from our sins.

The prophet Isaiah wrote:

“…he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him (Jesus) the iniquity (the sinfulness) of us all.” -Isaiah 53:5-6

It is Jesus alone who offers forgiveness and salvation from the judgment that sin deserves, and He alone makes us righteous.

31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place.

There’s an important observation to be made here. Yes, the servant owed the debt. Yes, the servant could legitimately be sent to prison because of the debt. However, these fellow servants clearly recognize the injustice that has been committed. They react in anger to the arrogance and the unforgiving heart of the first servant who had been forgiven so much yet refuses to forgive.

32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me.

33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’

The king is outraged when he hears of what this servant has done. This servant was released because of the king’s mercy and forgiveness. You can hear it in the words the king chooses. He said, “I forgave you ALL that debt.” A great emphasis is placed on the magnitude of the forgiveness extended by the king. Now the same servant who was forgiven so much… then refused to forgive so little.

God forgives us. Therefore, how can we claim the right to withhold forgiveness? One commentary says, “A community of the forgiven must be a forgiving community.”

As a believer in Christ, forgiveness should be our response to those who sin against us.

34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.

This master originally forgave the debt this servant could never pay but now would not forgive the servant’s refusal to forgive the much smaller debt of his fellow slave.

We know that the man’s debt was insurmountable. So once he was in jail, he would never get out.

Like jail, refusing to forgive binds you in chains of bitterness and prevents you from fully experiencing the freedom that Christ offers.

In the Lord’s Prayer Jesus teaches us to pray these words: “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

“For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” -Matthew 6:14-15

In verse 35 the parable warns us of the dangers of an unforgiving heart.

35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Jesus issues a sobering warning. This unforgiving servant, despite receiving great mercy, ultimately faced severe consequences for his lack of mercy when he wouldn’t forgive.

To be clear, we are not talking about believers losing their salvation. We are saved in order to DO good works, but we are not saved BY our works.

“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” -Ephesians 2:8-10

Forgiving abundantly goes against everything in our human nature. The only hope we have of doing anything good is if Christ is working in us. How can you accept the forgiveness of Christ who covers the sins you’ve committed but you refuse to forgive another person for the wrong they’ve committed against you?

James wrote:

“For judgment is without mercy to one who has shown no mercy. Mercy triumphs over judgment.” -James 2:13

Jesus said:

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” -John 13:34-35

Just as Christ has loved us, we are to love one another. Just as Christ forgives us, we are to forgive one another.

In our own strength, we don’t want to forgive. We want to get even. We want people to get what they deserve! Yet we should be abundantly thankful God doesn’t give us what we deserve!

Christ calls us to forgive just as we have been forgiven. Lavish, abundant, infinite forgiveness is not an option or a suggestion—it’s a command.

“bearing with one another and if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.” -Colossians 3:13

“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” -Ephesians 4:32

Jesus said the greatest commandment is, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” Then he said the second is, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”

When you love God and you are in right relationship with Him then you will have the ability to love other people and to forgive.

Back in the beginning, you heard several examples of destruction being brought upon people because of their sin.

In the book of Jonah we find the potential destruction of another large population of people, but this time the people were saved from destruction because of their repentance. Normally when you think about the story of Jonah, you think about Jonah being swallowed by a great fish. But today we will focus on the end of the story. The city of Nineveh was so filled with sin and wickedness, God told Jonah to go to Nineveh to preach against it because of its wickedness. Jonah didn’t want to go. He didn’t like the people of Nineveh. He didn’t want God to forgive them. So Jonah ran from God, but after a series of events he finally obeyed and went to Nineveh to preach… he told the people to repent or in 40 days God would destroy them. And the whole city repented! Even the King repented. One of the greatest revivals in the history of the world at that time. And you know what God did? He forgave them.

“When Jonah’s warning reached the king of Nineveh, he rose from his throne, took off his royal robes, covered himself with sackcloth and sat down in the dust. This is the proclamation he issued in Nineveh: ‘By the decree of the king and his nobles: Do not let people or animals, herds or flocks, taste anything; do not let them eat or drink. But let people and animals be covered with sackcloth. Let everyone call urgently on God. Let them give up their evil ways and their violence. Who knows? God may yet relent and with compassion turn from his fierce anger so that we will not perish.’” -Jonah 3:6-9

“When God saw what they did and how they turned from their evil ways, he relented and did not bring on them the destruction he had threatened.” -Jonah 3:10

Repentance leads to forgiveness.

Do we forgive like Christ or are we like Jonah? Do we struggle to forgive? Or do we forgive lavishly and abundantly just as Christ forgives us?

Even when a person experiences the worst persecution imaginable, forgiveness is possible.

Joseph’s brothers betrayed him. They were jealous of him. They hated him. They threw him in a pit and left him to die.

Then an opportunity presented itself and they sold him into slavery and made some money on him instead of just leaving him to die.

As a slave in Egypt Joseph was falsely accused and thrown into prison. Then through a series of improbable and extraordinary events, Joseph is appointed as second in command over all of Egypt. He went from being a slave and a prisoner to becoming one of the most powerful men in the world.

Years later when a famine struck, Joseph’s brothers came to Egypt looking for food. They had no idea their brother they betrayed was now the ruler who controlled whether they would eat or die.

You could say Joseph had a right to revenge, but instead he offers up one of the great acts of mercy and forgiveness in the Bible.

He said to his brothers: “do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here, for God sent me before you to preserve life.”

“As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good…”

Forgiveness is a choice to let go of resentment and trust in God’s plan and also to trust in God’s justice.

How can we possibly forgive like this?

We can’t!

Unless the power of Christ is alive in us. Unless our hearts are filled with thankfulness for the forgiveness Christ lavishes upon us. This kind of forgiveness can only come from a heart that has been transformed by Christ.

“…if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” -2 Corinthians 5:17

If you are a new creation, you can forgive like it.

Jesus was willing to give His life for you so that you can be forgiven. When He was hanging on the cross, in the final moments before his death, Jesus said these words:

“Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” -Luke 23:34

We all have a choice to make. We can repent and be forgiven or we can keep sinning, reject the forgiveness of Christ, and refuse to forgive other people.

To repent means to turn: to turn away from your sin and to turn to God.

“For the Lord your God is gracious and merciful and will not turn away his face from you, if you return to him.” -2 Chronicles 30:9

"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." -1 John 1:9

God does not LIMIT forgiveness but He does place a DEADLINE on forgiveness and after that you can no longer be forgiven. The time will come when your time is up. If you die without first repenting of your sins and accepting Christ it’s too late.

That’s why the Bible says, “…behold, now is the day of salvation.” -2 Corinthians 6:2

James 4 says,

“Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”

Jesus said,

“I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” - John 11:25-26

Do you believe this? That’s the most important question you’ll ever answer in your entire life. Or do you choose to not believe?

Those who do not believe in Christ consider everything I just said to be foolishness.

“For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” -1 Corinthians 1:18

“There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way to death.” -Proverbs 14:12

If you do believe in Christ your sins are forgiven.

"There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus." - Romans 8:1

“And you, who were dead in your trespasses… God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” -Colossians 2:13-14

Today you must make a choice. If you have not made the decision to follow Christ, don’t leave saying you’ll decide some other time.

Up until now maybe you’ve lived your life and you have rejected God and you have rebelled against Him. But there is a way back to restore that relationship. It is not too late.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” -1 John 1:9

Jesus offers you complete forgiveness. You must choose to accept Christ or to reject Christ.

To be a believer in Christ means you have been set free from the curse of sin. You have been released from your sin debt. You are no longer condemned. You are set free from fear. You no longer have to fear death. You are set free from ALL your guilt and shame. Jesus paid the price to cover ALL of your sins. You have become one of God’s children. You are FORGIVEN.

“…you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy." -1 Peter 2:9-10

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.” -Ephesians 2:4-7

When you make Jesus the Lord of your life, you can leave all your sins behind you. No more guilt. No more shame. Jesus offers you freedom from your past, hope for the future, and abounding forgiveness only He can provide.

And once you’ve experienced the forgiveness that Christ offers you, you will be able to forgive other people the way Jesus commands us to forgive.