GOD'S FORGIVENESS

Luke 7:41-43

Morning Meditation 7/17/2014

"There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged."

Forgiveness is one of the most common words in the Bible. It is found in its different forms 98 times. The word forgiveness translates, "aphiemi," and means, "to send away, it is used of a husband divorcing his wife, to depart from one and leave him to himself so that all mutual claims are abandoned.."

While God hates divorce, it does furnish a good illustration. When one is divorced, a party is put away and the husband or wife ceases to be able to use the bond of marriage formally held. It is no more than a memory. There is no moral obligations that can be used to bring it back up.

When one is forgiven, he is set free from any legal obligations to the sin or sins for which he has been forgiven. This is illustrated in our text above.

THE FREEDOM OF FORGIVENESS

This is brought out in the words, "he frankly forgave the both." These words translate, "charizomai," and means, "to show one's self gracious, kind, benevolent, to grant forgiveness, to pardon." It means to give freely. This word comes from the root word from which we get the word grace and joy. The word joy and rejoice comes from this word. Our text illustrates the meaning of this word. The creditor frankly forgave them both. The word joy is integrated in this meaning. If you had a creditor to whom you were deeply in debt, and you didn't know how you could ever pay the debt. If he said, "I am writing this off. You owe me nothing." Would that make you happy? I think so. Another meaning incarnates itself into the word forgiveness. It is forgiveness by grace. It is not merited. You did nothing to obtain it. You no longer owe the creditor. It was his ability, mercy, and grace that provoked him to do this kind deed. He gets all the glory for this act of mercy. And we get the joy of forgiveness.

This is the way God's grace comes to us. We owe Him. We are His creation. We breath His air. We walk on His earth. We enjoy the life He breathed into us. We did nothing meritorious to obtain or sustain this life. Forgiveness came from Him to us in such a fashion, and so quickly, we hardly realized it was happening. We discovered we did not have to beg. We realized that we received the gift of forgiveness without any strings attached.

Many Christians struggle with the grace of forgiveness. It is hard for us to believe that God would so freely and completely forgive us of all the wrongs we have done. After we are saved, we keep waiting for God to come and say, "I have forgiven you. You must now keep my commandments to keep what I have given you." We are almost disappointed that He does not do this. The world we live in is selfish and demanding. We get nothing for nothing. I have people call me on the phone and say, "You have just been selected to get this special gift.. You are a winner." I have learned to say, "I don't want a gift. Give it to someone else." Then I hang up. When this world offers you a gift, just remember this. When you take the gift. Look carefully. They have their hand in your pocket where you keep your billfold.

Because this is true, we have problems taking the grace of forgiveness. When we really mess up, as most of us do, we go to the Lord in prayer, then back off and wait for God to strike us down with some bad illness or financial set back. We just have problems with the words, "and he frankly forgave them both." What a marvelous surprise from a God whose name is Jesus who gives us freely what we could never obtain otherwise.

THE SEEMING UNFAIRNESS OF FORGIVENESS

This truth is brought out in our text. "There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, "Thou hast rightly judged."

Jesus illustrates forgiveness from the standpoint of the creditor. He treats both debtors exactly the same. He wipes away both the debts with the same grace. It takes no more from Him to forgive five hundred pence than it does to forgive fifty pence. He is so rich that the cost to him is as nothing. Ephesians 1:6-7 brings this out: "To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace;"

I can imagine the imagination of the debtor who was forgiven five pence. He might say, this is not fair. I should have been more deeply in debt to the creditor. I have been cheated because my debt was small. I have been forgiven but a little. This principle is brought out in the parable of the prodigal son. The son that never left home was upset because of his fathers treatment of the son who left home, and returned bankrupt to his father. He no doubt was surprised and filled with gratitude that all was forgiven. The father gave him a new robe, ring, shoes, and made a feast to celebrate his sons return.

This principle is illustrated also in the salvation of Paul and Timothy. Paul says of himself in 1 Timothy 1:12-15, "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief." Paul's words here pulsate with a heart full of gratitude for the forgiveness that he obtained. His testimony is "that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief."

What about Timothy? Paul says in 2 Timothy 1:3-5, "I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day; Greatly desiring to see thee, being mindful of thy tears, that I may be filled with joy; When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also." This suggests that Timothy was saved at an early age. This is also brought out in 2 Timothy 3:14-15, "But continue thou in the things which thou hast learned and hast been assured of, knowing of whom thou hast learned them; And that from a child thou hast known the holy scriptures, which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus."

It took no more of God's grace to save Paul than it did Timothy.

The next factor in forgiveness is,

THE ONE WHO IS FORGIVEN MOST

"There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he, to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged."

We have in the context of our text something that is necessary to the understanding of the forgiveness that Jesus illustrates. Luke 7:36-40 sets the stage for the parable of the creditor and the two debtors, "And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And, behold, a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, And stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on."

First of all we can tell a little about what Simon believed from our Lord's being able to read his mind. Don't ever forget this. Jesus knows your thoughts. To live the Christ-Life one must live from the heart or thoughts out. To know Him we must know Him as God and as God He is in infinite. He is Omniscient. He knows all things including our thoughts. So Simon learns a lesson. The one with whom he is dealing is God incarnate in human flesh.

Jesus does not let the thought of Simon pass. It must be dealt with. Jesus knew the woman as a sinner, and I believe, as a saved sinner. Her gratitude for sins forgiven was so overwhelming she could not express her gratitude without offering Jesus her most prized possession. We are told in Marks gospel: Mark 14:3. "And being in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, as he sat at meat, there came a woman having an alabaster box of ointment of spikenard very precious; and she brake the box, and poured it on his head."

To Simon this was an extravagant waste. But probably more than the money value of the gift, he was thinking of the sad reputation of this woman. Simon said in his thoughts, "She is a sinner." People who, just like this, on the other hand, think they are not.

So how does Jesus respond? He gives the parable set before us. One debtor owed a lot. The other owed but little. It is significant that in reality both these debtors are in the very same shape though their debts differ. Both had nothing to pay.

The fact is that if you are the chief of sinners you owe God a debt you cannot pay. If you are a good moral person and do not have many visible sins in your life, you still have a debt you cannot pay. Psalms 49:7 says, "None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him."

The forgiveness of sins is the joy of every believer. God's forgiveness is free and totally unmerited. You may think someone has committed a sin much greater than yourself. Hello Simon! Jesus has a message for you. Psalms 49:7, "None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him."

The degree of our humility, and willingness to give the Lord our best, is the scope through which the perception of our forgiveness is measured..

May the Lord bless these words to our hearts.

In Christ

Bro. White