Foundational Forgiveness
Pastor Chance McMullin began his sermon stating most of us are pretty familiar with this text. Most are familiar with “77 times”.
“Forgiveness is part of the foundation of our faith.”
But the more Pastor Chance looks at this foundation, the more he begins to notice a crack in this foundation.
He notices us sounding a bit like Peter. But instead of “how many times”, it sounds more like “where’s the line?”.
Surely, we can’t really believe in forgiveness every time, always, right?
Pastor Chance states that in today’s text we see the answer to this cracked foundation.
He goes on to recap the story in the text and highlights that the first guy owed millions and the second about $100.
There’s any easy “villain” in this story, right? Yet, he is so relatable.
He is a man that has been forgiven but lives as if he still owes.
“This guy is so relatable because ‘how could God forgive all my trespasses?'”, Pastor Chance states.
He then quoted Pastor Chad with this oxymoron: “It is impossible to be a guilty Christian”.
Yet, how many of us still live with this bondage?
Pastor Chance continues his sermon by stating we have turned forgiveness into a virtue: a good moral quality or trait that shows high ethical standards.
“In our inability to be forgiven, we have made forgiveness into a virtue.” The reason there are cracks in our foundation of forgiveness is because we’ve made forgiveness a virtue to practice, yet he is not convinced that forgiveness is something that can be taught.
“Forgiveness is something to be experienced and shared.”
Forgiveness as a virtue is good, but it is not what Jesus is talking about. Forgiveness is a way to victory. It is no longer the right thing to do but the thing you can’t help but do.
If you find yourself asking Peter’s question, maybe it is time to move past forgiveness as something to do and towards forgiveness as a way to victory.
Pastor Chance asked the congregation if they view God as a victor or victim.
Why wouldn’t he be a victim? If anyone should be considered a victim, it’s God.
God created a garden with Adam and Eve who betrayed Him. Later, He rescues his people from Egypt, and they keep Him at arms length for hundreds of years. Then He sends His Son to them, and they arrest, beat, and kill Him.
So, is God a victim or victorious?
Forgiveness is the weapon God has chosen for victory.
Forgiveness is a thing that can lead you into a victorious life.
Forgiveness is the weapon God used to defeat sin and death.
So then, how do we forgive from the heart as is said to do in verse 35?
The story tells it.
Forgiveness is a waterfall from our Heavenly Father, and our only role is to not dam it up (or be damned, Pastor Chance adds).
Be the one that can’t help but to forgive.