The Debt [part 1]

Yesterday, I preached a message on forgiveness...out of Matthew chapter 18.

Jesus tells a story in order to teach Peter and us...what God's forgiveness looks like...and what our forgiveness should look like...in response to God's.

Peter, like us, thought himself pretty good, fairly upright, and holding his own in the area of being merciful.

He asks Jesus...how often should I forgive my brother when he sins against me...7 times?

Peter pitches this question to Jesus...and Jesus cranks it out of the ball park...a homerun...with His reply.

Not seven times Peter...seventy times seven...or in other words...your forgiveness isn't nearly as great as you would like to think.

Then Jesus tells a story...a parable.

Remember, a parable is an earthly story that is packed full of heavenly truth...it teaches us about God, God's kingdom, how God works in and through His kingdom...and it teaches us about us...how we fit should live and act in God's kingdom.

Jesus' story begins with a king who decides it is time to have accounts settled in his kingdom. As the highest authority he has his servants summoned and then brought to him to settle up.

The servants don't come on their own inner stirrings...they are brought to the King!

A man is brought to him owing him 10,000 talents. This would be a sum of money so large that it would take the average worker 170,000 years to pay it back...this guy is in over his head.

It is very likely this servant was a provincial governor, a high official who collected taxes for the king. Because of neglect and dishonestly, he spent and wasted all the kings money.

And now it was time to pay the Piper...the King wants what is due Him!

We must remember that this guy is caught off guard...this isn't a time that he has scheduled...this is a meeting that the King has ordered. This guy very likely deceived himself into thinking that what ever money he hasn't collected yet...or what ever money he has illegally spent [because its not his, its the kings] he will have the time to make up for it.

This guy gets caught in the same trap that many credit card holders do. Spend a little here, spend a little there, keep no records...then at the end of the month, the statement comes in and HEART ATTACK...

Once the King discovers that His servant has squandered the wealth that was put under his care...He commands that the servant and all that is under his authority be sold and some type of payment be made to the King.

The servant has nothing to bargain with...but with empty pockets...throws himself onto the ground and pleads for mercy before the King. But he doesn't plead for full pardon. He begs for immediate judgment to be withheld so that he can try...by his own works...to pay off this infinite debt.

The King responds in amazing grace...total and free pardon. He releases the servant from custody...and He releases him...with His debt fully paid...fully paid at the King's expense mind you.

In this first part of our story Jesus is showing us God's salvation.

Because of our sin...we don't want to come into God's presense...we love the darkness, we love our sin. But God in His mercy calls us to Himself, He draws us to Himself with invisible cords of loving-kindness.

God, by His Spirit, shows us the weight of our sin. We commit sins daily, here and there and every where...and conveniently forget them...but God keeps good books. When we see the crushing weight of our sin we fall down upon before the Lord and beg for mercy...but we still want control of our life, we don't want God to be in control.

So we ask for enough mercy to keep us from immediate punishment...so that we can begin to earn our ultimate freedom. We are so simple we don't understand the debt is infinite and we can never pay it back by our feeble religious efforts.

God in His mercy full pardons us, brings us into covenant with him, we are baptized, which is a sign of our forgiveness and our cleansing from sin through the shed blood of Jesus.

God declares that our sin is paid for...that we are fully pardoned...and how should we respond?

Cont'