210 - Pursuing Peace: God's Resolution of Our Conflict is the Pattern for Us to Resolve Conflicts [C]

Hebrews Lesson 210
September 2010

^NKJ Acts 4:12 "Nor is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved."

Just for a quick review, we've been looking at Hebrews 12:14 which mandates that we are to pursue peace with all people. This isn't just related to believers. This is related to all. There are other passages that we have looked at to demonstrate the use of the term "all" here that distinguishes it from just other believers. 

We are to pursue peace with all, but that is not a peace that compromises with truth. It is a peace that is based upon objectivity and humility. Otherwise it's not pursuing peace; it's just a capitulation for the sake of avoiding conflict. That's not the purpose at all. There has to be objectivity. There has to be humility on our part.

As I keep emphasizing there are always people who are so willing to say, "Oh, I'm sorry. Forgive me," taking ownership or taking blame for something they have not contributed to just for the sake of restoring peace. That is not fair to the situation or to the other people involved because when someone is guilty of some sort of infraction, they have somehow offended us or they have abused others or whatever the problem might be and what we do when we just sort of act as if it really didn't happen, we take blame that is not ours, and then that person just continues in that behavior. We basically aid and abet their sinful arrogance. So there has to be that genuine objectivity there.

Pursuing peace brings in a series of different important doctrines related to reconciliation, forgiveness and love. All of these intersect and interact with each other. The pattern is, as I've stated again and again, how God has forgiven us. The conflict that developed between God and man at the garden of Eden is resolved by God on the cross. God is the one who took the initiative. He is the one who loved man in such a way that He would provide the solution. There's a solution that pays the penalty so that we're not covering over sin as if it didn't happen. There's a penalty that's there that is paid for by Christ.  Then there is the need for each individual to apply that through faith in Christ.

Ephesians 4:32-5:2 states this. We are to be kind to one another. The word there for kind is the word chrestos meaning that which causes no discomfort, meets a high standard of value. It's benevolent, kind, pleasant. It's used in several passages in the Scripture and it is a corollary to being gracious and to dealing with somebody not on the basis of what they've done but on the basis of a higher standard. That higher standard is God's character. We love people not on the basis of who we are because we're not that good either; but on the basis of who God is. It's His integrity that's at the focal point when we forgive others. We're kind to one another, then tenderhearted. That word eusplagchnos indicates compassion: genuine compassion, not pseudo compassion. And we're kind to one another by forgiving one another. 

The participle there of charizomai tells us how we are to be kind to one another by forgiving one another even as God in Christ forgave you. Therefore we are to be imitators of God as dear children. So forgiveness, the Greek word charizomai, has a root meaning of the idea being gracious. That is what forgiveness is; it is an act of grace toward those who have offended in some way. 

That passage took us to a reference to Christ in Ephesians 5:2, His offering as a sweet smelling aroma. It took us back to Leviticus 3 where you have one of the various sweet smelling or sweet savor offerings in the Old Testament. The peace offering we looked at as a picture of fellowship because it's only in that one offering described in Leviticus 3 that the worshiper sits down and has a meal indicating that whatever the conflict was between him and God that it has been resolved. 

From there we looked at the whole doctrine of reconciliation over in Romans 5:1, 9, 10; that even though when we were still enemies or at hostility with God we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son. Reconciliation is through the payment of a penalty. I'm emphasizing this for a very important reason. That is, that too often people think of forgiveness without recognizing that forgiveness in the Bible is always predicated on admission of guilt or the payment of the penalty. Now that payment of penalty or admission of guilt may then be removed as it was when God or maybe reduced as God reduced the penalty for David. But it's not like you're just covering something over as if it didn't happen. There is a penalty that is paid. There is an honest recognition of fault and responsibility. It's not aiding irresponsibility or ignoring the fact that there is someone one at fault who has caused offense. The payment is done through Christ.

^NKJ Romans 5:10 …we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.

So there's a pattern in Christ's life that is the pattern for the spiritual life. 

From there I went to the next passage which is central to understanding reconciliation and 2 Corinthians 5:17–20 which tells us (especially in verse 20) that we are ambassadors for Christ.

^NKJ 2 Corinthians 5:20 Now then, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were pleading through us: we implore you on Christ's behalf, be reconciled to God.

That's the application of reconciliation that takes place objectively at the cross, but subjectively when a person trusts in Christ as Savior.

Now as ambassadors for Christ our mission is to proclaim the gospel that reconciliation has been accomplished at the cross, and therefore unbelievers (all mankind) are to be reconciled to God. How can we be messengers of reconciliation in a salvation message if in terms of personal relationships there is no reconciliation? That's why there should not be a conflict there.

Then I went to Colossians 2:13-14 talking about the fact that we are reconciled to God because the penalty has been paid. The sins are wiped out; and forgiveness here recognizes that aspect that it's canceled.

Colossians 2:13 in a revised, sort of expanded translation here translates:

And you when you were dead in your trespasses in the uncircumcision of your flesh He has made alive together with Him.  

He makes us a live together with Him at the instant of salvation; but He makes us alive together at the instant of salvation because He's already done something in the past. That is indicated by the next clause – by having already forgiven you. It is an aorist participle there, which means the action of forgiveness precedes the action of the main verb, which is to be made alive. So He forgave the trespasses before regeneration took place. When did He forgive the trespasses? When you trusted in Christ? That is not what the verse says. 

^NKJ Colossians 2:13 And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses,

Again the word there for forgiven is charizomai. It is being gracious to us by canceling out that debt. We will see that in another passage in Luke 7 tonight that forgiveness (charizomai) has the same ideas as aphiemi. It's removal of a debt. Both are used in economic contexts to indicate the cancellation of a debt. It's just wiped out as if it had never been. So we are made alive together by already having been forgiven. That's the forensic cancellation of the debt of sin that took place at the cross, which is what's indicated in the next phrase "because He wiped out the handwriting of requirements."

Now what's interesting is that the word that's translated (I think this is the New American Standard I have out here) "He wiped out." In the ESV it is translated cancelled, which is also how they translate charizomai. The Greek word that's used for "wiped out" is the synonym of charizomai. He uses these two synonyms to stress the point that the trespasses are forgiven or canceled because He has cancelled out…

^NKJ Colossians 2:14 having wiped out

or eradicated

the handwriting of requirements

That's the indictment for sin. 

Or, the certificate of death as the King James read.

that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

That's where it occurred: at the cross, not when you trusted Jesus, not when I trusted Jesus; but at the cross historically. That's when the indictment against us is nailed to the cross and eradicated. That is why I called that forensic or legal forgiveness.

There are four kinds of forgiveness in the Bible. The first kind is this legal forgiveness that occurs at the cross where our sins are eradicated. That is why we say sin isn't the issue. When you hear preachers get up and they start harping on sin and focusing on sin as if sin is the issue, then they are already into a legalistic gospel. Sin isn't the issue any more. Now we have to recognize we're spiritually dead. That's going to bring in some discussion about sin. We are born spiritually dead but that sin has already been paid for at the cross. He wiped out that sin, that indictment against us, so that the issue is now just faith in Christ. That occurred at the cross. Now that's where I ended last time. 

Now I want to go to Luke 17, Luke 17:3-4. Let's just start off in verse 1 to get the context. This is Jesus talking to His disciples.

^NKJ Luke 17:1 Then He said to the disciples, "It is impossible that no offenses should come, but woe to him through whom they do come!

² "It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck, and he were thrown into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

This is a summary of more expanded context that we'll look at a little later on in Matthew 18. Luke just shortens the account. 

^NKJ Luke 17:3 "Take heed to yourselves.

In other words, watch yourselves. 

If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

This is the abridged version of what Jesus talks about in Matthew 18, that if your brother offends you then you go to him in private to talk to him and try to smooth things out (pursuing peace). But if he doesn't admit the fault and deal with it, then you go back to with 2 or 3 witnesses that by their mouth whatever is conducted is seen with a witness and is verified and validated. This is just a summary of that where he says:

^NKJ Luke 17:3 "Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.

The reason I wanted to go to this verse is because many people will say, "Well, see what Jesus is saying here is that I don't need to forgive that person unless they repent." 

And we all know circumstances, people, and situations that we may have had in our life or that others have where someone does something. They either break a contract or they are guilty of some sort of horrible abuse or some other situation where they have done something wrong and they have offended us in a great way; but they don't admit it. They act as if they're completely justified in whatever they did. There's no admission of fault on their part. 

Some people will go to this passage and say, "See, what Jesus says is that I only need to forgive them if they repent." 

I've been pointing out that there are two aspects to repentance, a subjective aspect and an objective aspect. The subjective aspect has to do what goes on in you or me as the one who is forgiving, the subject of verb forgive. Objective forgiveness has to do with what's going on on the part of the person who's being forgiven, the object of the verb. That forgiveness in its root meaning and part of its root meaning in English is to remove any sort of mental attitude sin of hate or bitterness or anger or resentment towards the person who has offended us. 

That is what we should do even if they don't admit any guilt or any responsibility; we are to forgive them objectively. We are not to harbor mental attitude sins, bitterness, resentment, anger – any of those things toward them because all that does is wipe out our own spiritual life. But that doesn't mean that in terms of how we treat them in terms of letting them back into perhaps a position of trust or where they could perhaps offend us again; we don't do that.  There are consequences to their offense and their actions. That means that that person has to deal with those consequences. We may remove them from our live for a while or for good depending on how serious the infraction might be.

But here Jesus is talking about what we are to do if that person or under the condition that that person does repent. And by the word repent simply means they change their mind.

This is a situation where it's talking about the condition where someone comes and says, "You know I was wrong. I got very angry at you, I did this, I did that and I was wrong; and I ask your forgiveness." 

They have repented; they've changed their mind. Jesus says if they repent forgive him. 

^NKJ Luke 17:4 "And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day…

This is where we say, "Wait a minute I heard you say 'I'm sorry,' fifteen times already today. I'm not going to let you; I don't believe you anymore."

But Jesus says:

^NKJ Luke 17:4 "And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."

That's what this is talking about. You take him at his word. And the pattern's I pointed out last time is how many times in a day do we commit the same sin – anger, arrogance, whatever it might be – you fill in your favorite sin of the day and afterwards we say, "Lord, I just committed XYZ sin again for the 15^th time today. Forgive me." 

And what does God do? 

He says, "Well, wait a minute. Fourteen was okay. Fifteen is too many. I'm not going to forgive you anymore." 

No, He doesn't do that. So the pattern is how God forgives us every time we commit that same sin even though we have committed that sin 85, 692 times in the last 25 years. Every time we go back to the Lord and admit that sin, He instantly forgives us, wipe the slate clean, and that sin removed is removed as far as the east is from the west. It's not an issue any more. Even though God in His omniscience knows that we're going to commit that sin 90,392 more times before we die. He forgives us at that point. That is the pattern. Somebody gets mad, angry, whatever it is. They come to us, admit their guilt; we forgive them. 

Let's take a situation that might not quite be so personal with many people. Let's say you're involved in a business deal in a contract and this person breaks the contract.

They come back and they say, "I was wrong. Forgive me."

"Okay. I forgive you."

Does that mean that I enter into another contract with them? That's a different question. I'm not going to enter into another contract with them, especially if this has happened 7 times in the day because they have to demonstrate a level of consistency, maturity and trustworthiness; but that doesn't mean I haven't forgiven them. It just means there are still consequences to their failure.

The same thing happens with us in terms of our forgiveness with the Lord. There may be consequences to our sin. Just because God forgives us and the fellowship is restored doesn't mean that the consequences don't still come into effect. 

We used the example with David. David committed the sin of adultery with Bathsheba. Then when it was discovered that she was pregnant, he entered into a conspiracy with Joab (his general) to make sure that her husband was at the front of the lines when they assaulted the city so that he would be in a place where his life would probably be forfeited in the battle. Then they would come off without having actually committed an overt murder. But they had conspired to make sure that he would die. David is guilty of conspiracy to commit murder, cover up of the pregnancy and adultery, all of which were capital crimes under the Mosaic Law. God commuted the sentences of capital punishment. God often does that for us. 

When we confess our sins God's going to do one of three things. He's either going to remove the punishment completely or He's going to discipline us in a lesser intensity or He may let us feel the full force and impact of the divine discipline for the sake of teaching us and training us. The same thing happens in our relationships with people. Sometimes when we confess our sins or somebody comes to us in forgiveness, everything's fine and we just move right on. Other times it's a more serious nature and there are certain consequences that have to be put in place because we need to protect ourselves. 

I often get questions when I talk about forgiveness that have to do with abuse, whether it has to do with abuse of children, sexual abuse, physical abuse, emotional abuse, abuse that occurs in marriages where women have gone for some sort of trauma. Usually I get the response, "Well, does that mean I just constantly make myself a doormat to get beat up on?"

No, you don't. There are consequences to sinful behavior and experiencing those consequences is not contradictory to forgiveness. We have real problems in our culture because we're so permissive with saying that if you forgive somebody and you still want them to suffer consequences that that's contradictory. It's not contradictory. The contradiction would occur if we are really if we put ourselves in a position of vulnerability and every time we just let somebody take advantage of us and defraud us or abuse or whatever each time. There has to be a place where consequences come into play even though you've forgiven the person. That calls upon us to go a step further in making sure they understand that there's forgiveness, but there are boundaries and there are limitations within the relationship because of past failures simply for the sake of personal protection.

Now let's go to another passage in Luke that also focuses on forgiveness. This is in Luke 7, Luke 7. We'll begin in verse 36. One of the Pharisees invites Jesus home for dinner. He goes to the Pharisee's house. They sit down and prepare to eat.

^NKJ Luke 7:36 Then one of the Pharisees asked Him to eat with him. And He went to the Pharisee's house, and sat down to eat.

And while they're eating, the woman in the city is identified simply as a sinner. There's usually a certain amount of speculation here as to the nature of her sin. Usually she's identified as one who has been a prostitute but that is not the inherent in the identification of the word sinner here. But that's probable, but we can't say that with certainty. 

Some others want to identify here as Mary Magdalene. There is nothing that I think that identifies her as Mary Magdalene.

^NKJ Luke 7:37 And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil,

The oil that she's bringing is extremely, extremely expensive.

^NKJ Luke 7:38 and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil.

^NKJ Luke 7:39 Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself,

He is down there muttering to himself in his self-righteousness. 

saying, "This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner."

 Jesus who knew what he was thinking said to him:

^NKJ Luke 7:40 And Jesus answered and said to him, "Simon, I have something to say to you." So he said, "Teacher, say it."

In other words, "Simon, this is a teachable moment. We're going to learn a little bit about humility and see if you really have humility here or if you are still an arrogant self-righteous Pharisee." 

He's going to tell a little story. Jesus had a great way of telling these kinds of stories or parables because they brought the point home. 

^NKJ Luke 7:41 "There was a certain creditor who had two debtors. One owed five hundred denarii, and the other fifty.

The difference in this is 50 denarii was about equivalent to a days wage. I played around with some numbers this afternoon. I'm never very good when I play around with numbers, but if somebody is making around $50,000 to $60,000 a year, then a days wage would be somewhere between $25-$30 an hour. So this is going to be equivalent to about $200-$250. I mean the 50 denarii would be equivalent to about $200-$250 a day; maybe a little more, a little less but just in that ballpark. 500 denarii would be ten times that, so you're looking at $2,500 to $3,000. You have one person who owes approximately let's say $3,000 and the other owes $300. 

^NKJ Luke 7:42 "And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"

He has one person who owes him about a day's wages and the other person owes him 10 days wages or a third of a month. He freely forgives both of them. 

In some translations like the ESV charizomai is used here and it is translated as "cancelled", which gives the thrust of this. This is an economic term. We always have to go back with forgiveness. It is an economic term just as our redemption is the payment of a price. The forgiveness is the cancellation (the eradication) of the debt. These are economic concepts. He freely forgives or cancels the debt for both of them. 

Think about this. If you owe the bank something, let's say you owe the bank $50,000. 

The bank comes along and says, "I'm going to cancel the debt."

The bank doesn't come back a week later say, "Ah! You owe to it me again."

Once that cancellation has been finalized; then it's not brought up again. It's forgotten; it's history. It's in the past. It's over with. That's what is part of forgiveness: that when that debt is canceled (when somebody is forgiven), it is forgotten. It's not brought up again. You don't keep a running list and the next time they make the same mistake you say, "Okay. Let's bring out the list with the last 50 times you did this." That's over with. That's what forgiveness is. 

Here the one who's owed the debt forgives both of them. Jesus asks them a question.

^NKJ Luke 7:42 "And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?"

Who's going to have a greater love for the one who forgives? The one who is forgiven a little or the one is forgiven a lot.

^NKJ Luke 7:43 Simon answered and said, "I suppose the one whom he forgave more." And He said to him, "You have rightly judged."

Then Jesus turns to the woman and said to Simon:

^NKJ Luke 7:44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head.

^NKJ Luke 7:45 "You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in.

^NKJ Luke 7:46 "You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil.

^NKJ Luke 7:47 "Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven,

Forgiven, wiped out, cancelled!

for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little."

This may be one part of the application in terms of how we ought to understand how sinful we are because it makes us realize even more how grateful we should be for our forgiveness and that we're not any better than anyone else.

^NKJ Luke 7:48 Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven."

^NKJ Luke 7:49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?"

^NKJ Luke 7:50 Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."

This isn't talking about just phase 1 salvation. Remember we talk about phase 1 salvation as justification; phase 2 is our spiritual life; and phase 3 is glorification. So it's really important when we study this to keep the distinction between what we do to be justified and what we do in terms of forgiveness in our spiritual growth. That's what Jesus is talking about here. This woman already understands He's the Messiah. In terms of being an Old Testament saint, she is already trusted in Him. And this is just her gratitude now in expressing that. It has to do more with her ongoing phase 2 spiritual life faith and forgiveness, not her justification forgiveness. So saved here is used in a forgiveness sense – phase 2 forgiveness sense. 

^NKJ Luke 7:50 Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."

What's the result of forgiveness here? Conflict resolution, reconciliation, peace. Peace comes as a result of forgiveness of sin. This exemplifies that in this transaction. 

Let's go to another passage. Turn back one more or two more books in the Gospels to Matthew.  We'll go back to a passage we looked 3 or 4 lessons back in Matthew 18. In Matthew 18 is the expanded version of the passage we looked at in Luke 17 earlier. Now I want to go back and pick up the context again. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:15 " Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.

That's what we read in Luke. 

If he hears you, you have gained your brother.

^NKJ Matthew 18:16 "But if he will not hear, take with you one or two more, that 'by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.'

It's going to take witnesses to confirm things. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:17 "And if he refuses

Notice, in this telling of it I think there are two different episodes between the one that Luke is explaining and one that Matthew is explaining because some of the key terminology is a little different. Just because Jesus talks about something in one place (in one Gospel) and it's similar in another gospel doesn't mean it's the same episode. He taught the same thing in different contexts many different times. Over in Luke He used the word repent. Here He just says, "If he hears you." But it's similar circumstances. 

to hear them, tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church, let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.

In other words, treat him like an unbeliever. He may not be, but treat him as if he's an unbeliever. 

Then he goes on talking to the disciples as disciples. He says:

^NKJ Matthew 18:18 "Assuredly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose

Or, release. That's another word for forgiveness there.

on earth will be loosed

Or released. 

in heaven.

This was typical rabbinic terminology. It doesn't have to do with binding the devil or anything like that which you'll hear in Pentecostal circles. It has to do with pronouncing a decision or a judgment because they're the ones who are in authority (that will be in authority) in the church.

^NKJ Matthew 18:19 "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.

This is not a prayer verse. The "two" are talking about the two or three witnesses that come in the context of this conflict resolution. It's not talking about prayer here. Prayer hasn't even entered into it. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:19 "Again I say to you that if two of you agree on earth concerning anything that they ask, it will be done for them by My Father in heaven.

^NKJ Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

What are the two or three gathered to do in the context? To make a decision about this individual who is recalcitrant in admission of his guilt that he has offended the other believer. It's not talking about prayer here at all. This verse is one of those verses everybody quotes for a prayer verse, and it has nothing to do with prayer. You just have to read the context. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together in My name,

For a discipline decision.

This would be like if somebody were causing trouble with in a local congregation; and there needed to be an action taken as to whether or not you would allow that person to continue to associate or to come. That's happened on occasion here, and other churches were somebody causes trouble. Then the deacons meet to talk about the situation and decide whether or not they're going to allow that person to come or if they need to exercise some level of discipline and ask the person not to come back. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:20 "For where two or three are gathered together

For the purpose of making this kind of disciplinary decision.

in My name, I am there in the midst of them."

You have the authority to make that decision.

Here's a problem with one believer who offends, abuses, defrauds another believer and refuses to admit it, refuses to be reconciled.

So Peter catches on to this and Peter says in verse 21:

^NKJ Matthew 18:21 Then Peter came to Him and said, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?"

He's looking at the other side of this. He says, "If this brother sins against me and I go to him and he responds to me, then I've got to forgive him. How many times do I have to forgive him?" 

Leave it to Peter to want to get down to the real issues here.

^NKJ Matthew 18:22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

Now within Scripture, seven is a number that represents completion, based on the seven days in the week, in the creation week. So "seventy times seven" is just an the idiom for expressing never-ending. Even if he does it 490 times, he's not talking about literally 490 times. It's like an infinite number is what that represents.

^NKJ Matthew 18:22 Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.

In other words, as many times as he comes to you and asks forgiveness, you forgive him. 

Then he gives a little illustration starting in verse 23. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:23 "Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

²⁴ "And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.

Now 10,000 talents is a huge amount of money. A talent was a measure of gold, which was equivalent to somewhere between 60 and 80 pounds of gold, and would be worth several million dollars today. So he has someone who owes him $6 or $7 million dollars, let's say, and he is unable to pay. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:25 "But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children

..all of them sold into slavery, debt slavery.

and all that he had, and that payment be made.

He's going to recover his money that is owed him. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:26 "The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, 'Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.'

"I can't work and make it and pay it back to you if I'm in prison. Give me time and I will pay it all back."

^NKJ Matthew 18:27 "Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion,

This is splanchnon again. It's that same kind of word that we saw with heartfelt tenderness back in Ephesians 4:32. It's a shortened form of the word.  

It's an expression of grace.

released him, and forgave him the debt.

Now the word here for released is the Greek verb apoluo which is a synonym for forgiveness. So it says he released him and forgave him (aphiemi). That's the same verb that we have in 1 John 1:9 for forgiveness.

forgave him the debt.

He's moved with compassion. He releases him and cancels the debt – millions of dollars. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:28 "But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii;

Now he has somebody under him. This servant that's just been forgiven of millions of dollars of debt then goes out, finds another servant who owes him a hundred denarii. This is about two days worth of wages. I pointed out 50 denarii in the previous parable was about a days wage so this is two days wage.  This would be $500 -$600. So he goes out and he finds one of his fellow servants who owes 100 denarii.

and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, 'Pay me what you owe!'

He gets a little violent with him, a little physical with him. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:29 "So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, 'Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.

He says basically the same thing that the other servant had said to the king. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:30 "And he would not, but went and threw him into prison

He went to prison for this paltry sum.

till he should pay the debt.

^NKJ Matthew 18:31 "So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master, the king, all that had been done.

^NKJ Matthew 18:32 "Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, 'You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.

^NKJ Matthew 18:33 'Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?'

^NKJ Matthew 18:34 "And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.

Now that's the story. Jesus is not saying if you don't forgive your brother God's going to deliver you over to the tortures. See, that's not the application there; that's the story. It's not the doctrine. 

But there is a principle there, verse 35. 

^NKJ Matthew 18:35 "So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses."

Every time we ask for forgiveness (every time we confess our sins) and then we in turn, turn around and somebody does something to us and we want a harbor it, we want to be angry, have resentment and not forgive them when they when they ask forgiveness. We are ungrateful. We haven't learned the lesson, and Jesus draws a point here that if we're not willing to forgive others when God forgives us, then we remain out of fellowship. Oh, you might get back in fellowship for a nanosecond but as soon as you fail to have forgiveness towards others you're not applying the principle that you've learned and there's no spiritual growth. You're just operating in carnality. 

So there's a connection between our forgiveness, our relationship with God, and the peace that we have experienced there because of forgiveness of sins and that which we apply in terms of our relationships with other human beings. 

Forgiveness isn't an option, as I pointed out; it's mandatory; it is part of our spiritual life and reflects how grace oriented we really are. Because if you we don't forgive others, we're not charizomai –ing others. We're not being gracious to them. And because we're not being gracious to them, we haven't lived up to the standard that God has established for members of the royal family of God.

This takes us back to our passage in Hebrews 12:14. So I think we're actually going to move forward tonight in Hebrews. All of this is to help us understand what is about to be said in verse 15. 

^NKJ Hebrews 12:14 Pursue peace with all people, and holiness,

That is our spiritual growth or spiritual advance.

without which no one will see the Lord:

That has to do with special privilege for maturing, overcoming believers in the kingdom.

The participle that begins 12:15 is a participle of means. We are to pursue peace by looking carefully—self-examination. It is the Greek word episkopeo. We have a noun episkopos where we get our word Episcopal. It is translated bishop. It is a word for someone who takes oversight or care for something.  The idea of looking carefully is that we're to take oversight and carefully look at our lives, our motives, our thoughts, our actions. We pursue peace by looking carefully (by self examination) lest anyone falls short of the grace of God.

^NKJ Hebrews 12:15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

That is an unfortunate translation because it looks to people at first glance that if you don't pursue peace, then you fall short of God's grace and you're not saved. Remember he's not talking to unbelievers; he's talking to believers here. He's saying that your job is to pursue peace because that is the grace- oriented thing to do. If you don't, you fall short of the standard. You've just come short of God's standard. God's standard is for you to be gracious to all, to forgive everyone just as God for Christ's sake has forgiven you. When you don't do that, when we don't forgive others; we harbor anger and resentment and revenge motivation, all these other things. We want to get back at them. Then what happens is we have fallen short of the standard. We haven't lived up to the standard that God has established for the believer in the royal family of God. 

We are to examine ourselves regularly to make sure that we don't let anger, resentment, these mental attitude sins receive a toehold in our soul so that they can then as a small seed of sin grow into something that is much more destructive. That's what is referred to by the term "root of bitterness". We let this root develop from the seed, and before long bitterness, anger, resentment begins to grow and engulf our thinking. We are out of fellowship and in carnality all the time because we have failed to deal with the situation on the basis of grace and grace orientation. As a result it becomes self destructive to our spiritual life. 

And it not only affects us, which is the point: lest any root of bitterness by springing up cause trouble; but by this many become defiled.

As a person gets into bitterness and anger and resentment, it's not long before that starts manifesting itself in sins of the tongue: angry statements, lies, slander, gossip. Then this spreads among other people and so it defiles others.  

The Greek word that is used here is miaino, which was a word that was used for spiritual defilement. It was also used of various other forms of becoming filthy in different ways in the ancient world, but it has a spiritual usage of being spiritually defiled or becoming carnal and being covered in sin.

^NKJ Hebrews 12:15 …lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

All of a sudden it begins to infect the body of Christ around this person. 

So we are to pursue peace with all people and sanctification by careful self-examination. That's how you pursue peace is by looking first inside yourself.   That goes back to the principle we looked at in Matthew 7 that we to first take the log out of our own eye before we deal with the mote or the grain of sand in the other person's eye. 

^NKJ Hebrews 12:15 looking carefully lest anyone fall short of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up cause trouble, and by this many become defiled;

Now we see this same idea expressed in the Old Testament in Deuteronomy 29:18. There Moses warns:

^NKJ Deuteronomy 29:18 "so that there may not be among you man or woman or family or tribe, whose heart turns away today from the LORD our God, to go and serve the gods of these nations, and that there may not be among you a root bearing bitterness or wormwood;

It's the same idea is that when we get involved in carnality that can begin to affect all of those around us in various ways. 

I want you to notice something else that I pointed out here in 12:15. You have 3 "lests". In the Greek it's indicated by a phrase me…tis but it comes across good in this translation. By careful examination there are 3 problems that can develop.

1. You can fall short the grace of God.  You don't live up to standard.
2. It can develop mental attitude sins that end up defiling other people.
3. There is a consequence in terms of inheritance. This is the third consequence indicated by the "lest" in verse 16,

^NKJ Hebrews 12:16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

^NKJ Hebrews 12:17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought it diligently with tears.

Does that mean he committed an unforgiveable sin when it says that he could find no place for repentance? No, not at all. But what it does mean is that once Isaac gave the blessing to Jacob, it was irreversible decision. So there are irreversible decisions that take place in our lives in terms of carnality. We can reach a point where we do certain things. We get away from the Lord for certain amount of time and there are missed opportunities and missed privileges. It hurts our spiritual life. 

But before we go into some of that, let me just go back to Hebrews 12:16 for just a minute.

^NKJ Hebrews 12:16 lest there be any fornicator or profane person like Esau, who for one morsel of food sold his birthright.

Now the word translated fornicator here is the Greek word pornos, which in almost every use in the New Testament refers to a literal, physical, sexual fornication or immorality. But there's no real record of that in the life of Esau that we have. However in a non-canonical book in a book called The Book of Jubilees, which is what's referred to as the Pseudepigrapha. Pseudo meaning false, and grapha, meaning writings. These are false writings. They were never ever considered to be part of the canon. It's not like the Apocryphal. They were false writings, and they do have some value historically but they're certainly not on the level of Scripture or anything you would want to read for devotional purposes or anything like that. But they do give insight into history and traditions among the Jews. In the Book of Jubilees 25:1 it states:

And in the second year of this week in this Jubilee, Rebekah called Jacob her son and spake unto him saying, "My son, do not take thee a wife of the daughters of Canaan as Esau your brother who took him two wives of the daughters of Canaan.  They have the embittered my soul with all their unclean deeds for all their deeds are fortification and lust. There's no righteousness with them for their deeds are evil.

In the Torah there's a prohibition of Jews marrying non-Jews, marrying unbelievers. That was considered to be immoral or fornication if they married someone outside of Israel. That is what is referred to here. It is not that Esau was a fornicator in the classic sense of the term but that he married outside of the clan unlike Jacob who went back to the cousins back in Haran and married there within the clan. Esau is following his own lusts as to whom he is gong to marry and he has rejected as it were the spiritual heritage within the family. 

Now when we studied Genesis a number of years ago, I pointed out that there's this period of Esau's' rebellion occurs when he is young. I want to go and look at the passage at the passage in Genesis 25 just as we close out this evening in Genesis 25. This has to do with the family inheritance. This doesn't have anything to do with poor old Esau's eternal destiny. I think he's gotten a lot of bad rap by people who haven't understood this passage correctly. If we're dealing with him as an analogy for how a believer is to live, if he's an unbeliever there's no comparison. There's no analogy. You have to compare apples to apples. So what we're talking about is how a believer should live. So the illustration is of a believer who lived wrongly and lost something. He lost his inheritance. But he didn't lose everything. And he didn't lose his position within the family. 

Look at Genesis 25:27. The boys have grown up. Esau is a hunter. He's a man of the outdoors and he loves to hunt. Isaac loves to eat the food that Esau prepares for him. He loves to eat the wild venison. But Jacob is more of a homeboy. Jacob cooks a stew. Esau comes in from the field. In verse 30, Esau comes to Jacob. Jacob realizes that Esau is just starving to death. He didn't have a good time hunting that day. He missed whatever he shot at or he didn't see anything. He's tired and he's hungry and he smells this red lentil stew that Jacob has cooked. He's begging for it. 

He says, "Give me some of that red stew for I am weary." 

The redness is the root meaning of the word Edom, which is red. That's where Edom comes in as another name for Esau.   

And Jacob says, "Okay. I'll feed you," but he's going to finagle the situation here. Jacob knows the story that when they were born there's the prophecy that the older will serve younger, the older being Esau. He knows that God has already said he's the one is the designated heir but he is going to try to manipulate it. 

He says, "Sell me your birthright as of this day." 

And Esau said, "Well, I'm about to die. If he doesn't give me food I'll die, so what is a birthright worth to me?"

Jacob has him sign it off. This is legal within their culture. The birthright is then given up and treated profanely, treated lightly by Esau as if it has no value.  So he willingly gives it up for just a bowl of red lentil stew. This is the focal point here. Just for a morsel of food he gives up his inheritance. 

Later on he will get a second blessing from his father Isaac; but it's much less. It's not like he lost everything. But he lost his firstborn inheritance rights because he gives them up here in this transaction. 

^NKJ Hebrews 12:17 For you know that afterward, when he wanted to inherit the blessing,…

He goes to his father and says, "Can't you reverse this?"

"Well, no." Isaac said, "This was an irreversible transaction. Once it's set in law, I can't back up. I can't change. There's no change here or repentance possible."

It's not talking about the fact that Esau isn't repenting. He's weeping and begging the father to reverse the transaction but because of the codes and laws of inheritance rights Isaac's hands are tied. He can't make a change. So what we see here is the principle that there are consequences to sins in our life and to rebellion against God that will result in loss of rewards and loss of inheritance or God will not distribute certain rewards or inheritance to us that we would have had if we had walked in obedience. That's the point here. No matter what Esau did, he couldn't reverse the situation. There's no opportunity for change. 

So as we come to the end of this little study here in Hebrews 12 the emphasis has been on the importance of the application of forgiveness and not harboring these mental attitude sins toward someone and not forgiving them. 

The reason is because when we continue in that path of carnality then because we're not walking by the Spirit, because we're not in spiritual growth. We are losing opportunity to serve the Lord, to grow spiritually, and to where divine good and the fruit of the Spirit would be produced in our lives. That's just lost opportunity and failure to receive any possibility of rewards or inheritance related to that lost time and lost opportunity.

^NKJ Hebrews 12:12 Therefore strengthen the hands which hang down, and the feeble knees,

In other words don't get tired in the race but keep pressing on to the finish line.

Now next time we'll come back to another interesting section in verses 18 to 24 as we move forward in Hebrews. Does anybody have any questions on forgiveness? Tinker?

Tinker: The lesson on this is that Esau this may keep us from inheriting our rewards?

Right. At the judgment seat of Christ there are those who are going to have everything burnt up. They enter heaven and they're saved but they have no rewards, no gold, silver, precious stones. We won't achieve that. Now some people will have more; some people will have less. The point here is not that the person who fails loses all rewards. But there are some believers who won't have any. There are some who could have had more but because of carnality and lost opportunity they won't have much. Then there are those who've been faithful overcomers who pressed on and they will have more. So inheriting the blessing has to do with rewards and inheritance for post salvation blessing that will come at the Judgment Seat of Christ. 

That's why forgiveness is important because when we just out of fellowship all the time because we won't forgive other people then that just wipes out our spiritual life and spiritual growth in the meantime. It hurts us; it doesn't hurt them. 

Alright. Let's bow our heads in closing prayer.