God's people are monuments to
the grace of God. So true, isn't it? Monuments
to the grace of God. I turn, if you will, to Matthew
chapter 6. The name of the message is, as
we forgive, as we forgive. Matthew chapter 6, the words
as we forgive will be the basis for our text but I'd like to
read the context of this verse. So we'll read verses 1 to 15.
Now the setting before us here is the Lord Jesus is talking
to the disciples about almsgiving and then prayer and this is a
continuation from the previous chapter. The Lord Jesus Christ
is here giving instructions concerning the gift of alms in the first
five verses, and his directions are very plain, and they're that
we are to give with an eye to the Lord, and our giving is a
gift to the heart, therefore there's no need for onlookers,
right? We don't give to be seen, we
give to further the gospel and the furtherance of the gospel.
And let us ponder this, the chapter deals with these three aspects
of first century Jewish religious practices, which the Jews thought
made them right with God. And this chapter here deals with
those three things, those three aspects. First being almsgiving,
which is found in verses 2 to 4. Then prayer, which is found
in verses 5 to 15. And then fasting, which is found
in verses 16 to 18. And then the chapter finishes
from verses 19 to 34 with an exhortation to keep our eyes
upon the Lord and not to be anxious because we know that our God
is a sovereign God and that he's in full control and he watches
over us and keeps us no matter what we're going through. And
we're always to be aware of religious exhibitionism, which is doing
things to be seen of man. We never want to do things to
be seen of man. We don't want to do that. Many
things can be good or evil depending on their attitude, motive, and
purpose. So let's read verses 1 to 15. Take heed that ye do not your
alms before men to be seen to them, otherwise ye have no reward
of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore, when thou doest thine
alms, do not sound the trumpet before thee as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have the
glory of man. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But when thou doest alms, let
not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth, that thy alms
may be in secret, and thy father which seeth in secret himself
shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt
not be as the hypocrites are. For they love to pray standing
in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that
they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, they have
their reward. But thou, when thou prayest,
enter into thy closet. When thou hast shut the door,
pray to the Father, which is in secret. And thy father which
seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when you pray,
use not vain reputations as the heathens do. Now note there,
we're not to pray repetitious prayers. There's lots of religions
out there do the same prayer over and over and over and over
and over. The Lord commands right here, you're not supposed to
do that. For they think that they shall
be heard for their much speaking. And remember, a prayer can be
as short as, God be merciful to me, the sinner. That's a prayer
God heard and answered, isn't it? Wow. So, it doesn't have
to be a long, drawn-out prayer. It's a prayer from the heart. Be not ye therefore like unto
them, for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of,
before ye ask him. After this manner therefore pray
ye, Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom
come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. And remember,
this is a model prayer. People call it the Lord's Prayer.
It's a model prayer because the Lord is sinless. And in verse
12, it says, forgive us our debts. We forgive our debtors. This
is a model prayer for we who are sinners, for we who are his
people. After this manner, therefore,
pray ye, our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name,
thy kingdom come, thy will be done, in earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as
we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, and
the power, and the glory, forever. Amen. For if ye forgive men their
trespasses, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if
ye forgive not their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive
your trespasses. So today I'd like us to focus
on three words found in verse 12. As we forgive. As we forgive. Here's a great
duty for believers. And this is contrary to the flesh. Forgiving others. This is contrary
to the flesh. Men will forget kindness, but
remember wrongs. Men will forget kindness, but
remember wrongs. And we, every one of us, know
this to be true. Every one of us. Every one of
us know this to be true. And we who are the Lord's people
are not bound to trust in him, but we're bound to forgive him,
aren't we? Every son and daughter of Adam
is prone to revenge. We want our pound of flesh. It's natural. But the scriptures teach us that
God's blood-bought people are to forgive. are to forgive. Mark chapter 11 verse 25 the
scriptures declare this and when you stand praying forgive if
you have ought against any that your father which also is in
heaven may forgive you your trespasses so let we who are God's born-again
blood-bought people be quick to forgive one another and forgive
those around us who've wronged us because when we think upon
the great forgiveness of all our sins, and I mean everyone,
ones we know we did and ones we know we didn't do. We thought
we didn't do, but we did. Sins of omission and sins of
commission. We sin when we're awake, we sin
when we're asleep. We sin. But the Lord Jesus Christ has
forgiven the sins of all his people by the shedding of his
precious blood. God has pardoned our sins. And
so this should prompt us to forgive quickly. Because our only title
to heaven, our only title to eternal life is through the forgiveness
and the pardon which we have received and which the Lord has
purchased for us. So let us therefore be tenderhearted,
kind, merciful, forgiving in the few days that we have in
this world, because our days are few. Our days are few. It's like a vapor, beloved. And
we here in Michigan know what a vapor is like. We know what
that's like in the wintertime when we just go, and it's gone. That's what our lives are like,
just like that. Think upon this. One grace preacher
has said, God's saints will need no one's forgiveness in heaven,
but we all need much forgiveness here. That's true, isn't it? That's true. That's true for
every one of us. And look what the scriptures
declare. Let's go back to Matthew chapter 5. Let's go back one
chapter. Look what the scriptures declare over here in Matthew
chapter 5, verses 43 to 45. And then we'll go to Colossians
chapter 3. Matthew chapter 5 and then Colossians chapter 3. Look at verse 43 to 45. Ye have heard that it hath been
said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor and hate thine enemy. But I say
unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do
good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully
use you and persecute you. that ye may be the children of
your Father which is in heaven. For me, he maketh his son to
rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just
and on the unjust. Now turn to Colossians chapter
three, and look what Paul pens, those were the words of the master,
look what Paul pens over here in Colossians chapter three. Put on therefore Verse 12, put on, therefore, as the elect
of God, holy and beloved, vows of mercy. Oh, be merciful to
one another. Be merciful to those around you.
Kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing
one another, and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel
against any, look at this, even as Christ forgave you. How much
did Christ forgive you? You who are His people, we who
are His people, how much did Christ forgive us? Everything. All our sins. All our sins. Even as Christ forgave you, so
also do ye. And above all these things, put
on charity, which is love, which is the bond of perfectness. Oh
my. So we've seen that our Lord brought
forth that we are to be forgiven, and Paul in Colossians 3 brings
forth that we're to be forgiven too. So here's a question for
all of us. How can we forgive when only
God can forgive sins? In the two tables of law, there
are sins against God and sins against man. And only God can
forgive the sins against him, but a sin or trespass against
us, we can forgive. We can forgive. And this is brought
out in the verse in which our text is found. Let's go back
to Matthew 6, 12. Look at this, it's right there.
And forgive us our debts. So the believer is asking God
to forgive us, forgive my debts, my sins. And look at this, as
we forgive our debtors. As we forgive. As we forgive. Wonderful words. When do we forgive others? When
we strive against wanting to seek revenge upon those who have
wronged us. For something we feel like we've
been wronged for, when we do not act like our enemies. When we hope the best for them
and pray for them. And seek reconciliation. And when we make ourselves ready
to help them in all circumstances. Note, in these things we do not
render evil for evil. We looked at that in Sunday school
not long ago. I'll read the text here. Sunday
school, in 1 Peter 3, 8 to 11, we read this. Finally, be ye
all of one mind. One mind. What are we all here
for? We who are his people. The furtherance
of the gospel. The furtherance of the gospel.
I'm here to preach Christ and him crucified. Which is the furtherance
of the gospel. Be of one mind, one mind, which
we are, it's wonderful. Having compassion one of another,
love is brethren, be pitiful, be courteous. Not rendering evil
for evil, or railing for railing, but contrived blessing, knowing
that you are there unto called, that you should inherit a blessing.
For he that will love life and see good days, let him refrain
his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile.
Let him eschew evil, which is lean away from it, go away from
it, and do good. Let him seek peace and ensue
it. 1 Peter 3 verses 8 to 11. This gospel forgiving as we,
this is gospel forgiving because think of our Savior. Think of
how evilly he was treated. And he did not render evil for
evil. And we're saved by his mercy and his grace. We're not
consumed by his wrath. But we're saved by his grace.
Turn if you would to Proverbs 19.11. Do you know it's the glory
of man to pass over a transgression? It's a glory of man to pass over
a transgression. Look at Proverbs 19.11. There's
so much wisdom in the book of Proverbs. You know, sometimes unforgiveness
can become like a tree. It starts off really small. And
then it grows up into this root. And it grows into this large
tree. And it becomes a tree of bitterness. A tree of unforgiveness. And we as believers are to lay
the axe to those kind of trees. We are to lay the axe to them.
Just lay the ax, lay the gospel ax to them. What forgiveness
we have in Christ Jesus our Lord. Look at this in Proverbs 19.11,
the discretion of a man deferred his anger and it is his glory
to pass over a transgression. It's more honoring to forgive
and forget, beloved. It's more honoring to forgive
and forget than to revenge it. Rather than revenge, they often
bring reproach and they bring more anger and more pain. That's
what they do. He that is slow to wrath is of
a great understanding, but he that is hasty of spirit executeth
folly. Proverbs 14, 29. Think upon this. Some will say,
well, the wrong that that person did to me was great. I don't know if I can ever forgive
them or not. Have you ever heard someone say that? Or have you
ever said that? Let us hope for the salvation
of those who have wronged us. And let we as believers pass
by petty offenses and injuries. And let us pray that God would
work within us a forgiven spirit. I again bring forth what Paul
put on, therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, vows
of mercy, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering,
forbearing one another and forgiving one another. If any man have
a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, so do ye
also." That's the key right there in verse 13 of Colossians 3.
Even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. God's people who
have been forgiven will forgive. Will forgive. Will forgive. Paul also penned this over in
Ephesians chapter four. And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you. Now let that just burn into our
hearts. That's a wonderful, wonderful verse. Turn if you will, we'll
read it. We'll read it. It's an important verse to read.
It's just a wonderful verse. It's a wonderful verse. Ephesians
4, verse 32. Ephesians 4, 32. Our Lord is
plenteous in mercy towards his people. Our God is merciful and
full of grace towards his people in Christ Jesus our Lord. And
let we who profess to be his people be ready to forgive and
be plenteous in mercy to those who offend us or sin against
us. Look at this again in Ephesians
4.32. And be ye kind one to another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's
sake hath forgiven you. When I ponder, when I stop and
I ponder how much God has forgiven me, I know for me personally,
it makes it easy for me to forgive other people. It does. When I
think of the, unfortunately, the greatness of my sin, and
God wiped it all clean, oh my, oh my. It's amazing. God's grace is amazing. Psalm
86, 5 says this, for thou, Lord, art good and ready to forgive
and plenteous in mercy. Have we not, have we not, who
are his redeemed people, tasted that he's plenteous in mercy?
Psalm 86, 5, he's plenteous in mercy. Unto who? Unto all them
that call upon thee. He's merciful to his people.
He's merciful to those who call upon him. Have you called upon
him? Have you called upon him? I just
pray that God will make it so that he'll give you grace to
call upon him. Because he's plenteous in mercy unto all them that call
upon him. And every one of God's blood-bought
people know this to be true. Know this to be true. Just ponder
again how much God has forgiven you who are in Christ. How much
God has forgiven you. Again, we sin and we do not even
know it. We sin and we don't even know it. We sin willingly,
yet God has forgiven the sins of his people in Christ. And
this should make we who are redeemed, this should make we who are the
redeemed of the Lord be quick to forgive those who have sinned
against us. You can tell a lot about someone
who's an unforgiven person. You can tell a lot about them. Look at verse 14 and 15 in Matthew
chapter six. And I'll read James chapter two,
verse 13, which says, for he shall have judgment without mercy
that showeth no mercy and mercy rejoices against judgment. Look
at this in Matthew 6, verses 14 and 15. For if you forgive
men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
But if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your
Father forgive your trespasses. There's a lot said right there.
There's a lot said right there. Those who have been forgiven
will forgive others. And those who have not been forgiven
will be unforgiven people. I just look at my own life. Oh boy, before I was saved, somebody
wronged me. I just want, oh man, is it not
so with all of us? Does that not creep even now
as believers into it? It does, doesn't it? But we look
at the scriptures and we look at how much the Lord's forgiven
us and we're like, no, Lord, I've been forgiven so great. The forgiveness I have in you
is so great. We've seen in the lives of believers,
through our studies in the word of God and with the saints, that
we know that God's people have a forgiven spirit. Joseph's a
good example of that. Turn, if you would, to Genesis
chapter 50. Joseph's a wonderful example of that. His brethren
sell him into slavery. But beloved, he saw by God's
grace that what they meant for evil, God meant for good. And he forgave them. Could you
imagine that? If your own brothers sold you into slavery? Could we forgive them? My, I love my brothers, but they
sold me into slavery. I don't know what I'd think in
the natural state, right? But we who are God's people,
we who have received the grace of God in Christ, we know that
God works all things for good. Look at this in Genesis 50 verses
19 to 21. And Joseph said unto them, fear
not, for I am in the place of God. He knew that he was right
where God had ordained him to be, beloved. Right there. But as for you, you thought evil
against me, but God met it unto good. To bring it to pass is
this day to save much people alive. Now think of this in light
of the cross. Jews meant it for evil, didn't
they? Crucify, crucify them. But God meant it for good. Christ redeems a people that
no man can number by the shedding of his precious blood, all according
to God's plan and purpose. My, to save much people alive,
Now, therefore, fear ye not, I will nourish you. Christ does
that for us and your little ones. And he comforted them and spake
kindly unto them. Does not the gospel do that to
us? Does it not bring us comfort? Does God not speak kindly to
us through the preaching of the gospel? Oh, it's wonderful, beloved. It's wonderful. Moses is another
good example. Turn if you would, the number's
21-7. We looked at this portion last week, but I'm just gonna
look at one verse here. Here's another good example. The Israelites,
how did the Israelites treat Moses? They didn't treat him
good all the time, did they? No. They murmured and they complained
and they spoke evil against him sometimes. They accused him of all kinds
of things, but what do we see? We see him interceding for them.
What a picture of Christ. What a picture of Christ. Look
at verse 7 in Numbers 21, 7. Therefore the people came to
Moses and said, we have sinned, for we have spoken against the
Lord and against thee. Pray unto the Lord that he take
away the serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
Oh, my. Oh, my. He didn't render evil
for evil, did he? Not at all. Not at all. So for
the believer in Christ, not forgiving the person who's wronged us is
a greater wrong as the person offending you, because they've
offended men. But for the believer in Christ,
in not forgiving those who trespass against us or wrong us, we're
offending God. Because he commands us to forgive. To forgive. Oh, forgiving and doing good
for an enemy is the best way to win an enemy. Turn if you
would to Romans chapter 12. Paul wrote of this over in Romans
chapter 12. Look at this. Romans chapter 12, verses 19
to 21. Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves. That goes right against the flesh.
But this is what Paul writes by inspiration of the Holy Spirit
of God. Avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath.
For it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith
the Lord. Mine. Therefore, if thine enemy
hunger, feed him. If he thirst, give him drink.
For in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head. Be
not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good. Don't render
evil for evil. Same thing Peter wrote. Don't
render evil for evil. Now how must we forgive, beloved?
Well, we forgive as God forgives. What does he do? He puts away
our sin, doesn't he? And he forgets it. He forgets
it. He forgets it. I had Brother Matt read that
portion over in Matthew 18. Let's turn there again. I had
Brother Matt read that because it ties right in with what we're
looking at. Matthew 18, verses 18 to 35. Verily I say unto you, whatsoever
ye shall bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatsoever
ye shall loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven. Again I
say unto you, that if two of you shall agree on the earth
as touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be done for
them of my Father which is in heaven. Verse 20, for where two
or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the
midst of them. Then came Peter to him and said, Lord, how often
shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Till seven
times, just seven times, Lord, just seven times. Jesus saith unto him, I say not
unto thee, until seven times, but until 70 times seven. Therefore the kingdom of heaven
is likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his
servants. And when he had began to reckon,
one was bought unto him, which owed him 10,000 talents. For
as much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be
sold, and his wife and children, and all that they had, payment
to be made. The servant therefore fell down
and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I
will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant
was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him.
But the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants,
which owed him a hundred pence. The first servant he owed an
amount that he could never pay. A debt that he could never pay.
And he's going after this little guy that only owes him a small
amount. A small amount. A hundred pence. And he laid
hands on him and took him by the throat saying, pay me that
thou owest. And the fellow servant fell down
on his feet and besought him saying, have patience with me
and I will pay thee all. He didn't have compassion on
him, nor did he. Not at all. He didn't forgive him. Look at
this, and he would not, but went and cast him into prison until
he should pay the debt. So when his fellow servants saw
what was done, they were very sorry and came and told unto
their Lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he
had called him, and said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I
forgave thee all the debt, because thou desirest me. Shouldest not
thou also have compassion on thy fellow-servant, even as I
had pity on thee? And his lord was wroth, and delivered
him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto
him. So likewise shall my heavenly
Father do unto you. If ye from your hearts forgive
not every one his brothers their trespasses. So think of this.
So if somebody wrongs you or offends you, and it happens all
the time in our lives, doesn't it? It happens all the time. Be quick to forgive them. We
who are God's people, be quick to forgive them. And if you're
having a hard time forgiving someone, just remember how much
Christ has forgiven you. My goodness. All my sins. All my sins are forgiven. All
of them. God doesn't even remember them
anymore. And as I said earlier, we're quick to forget kindness,
but quick to remember wrongs. God's not like that, is he? Think of all the wrong that we've
done. Did we ever do anything kind to him? No. No. Scripture says we're unprofitable
servants. Oh, but what mercy, what mercy
we have received in Christ. So how must we forgive as God
does? Fully, he fully forgives our sins against him, doesn't
he? Psalm 103, turn there if you would, Psalm 103, look at
this wonderful scripture. Now think of this too, a hypocrite
will pass by some offenses, A hypocrite will pass by some offenses, but
not others. There's just some things they
just will not forgive. And God's people, though, we
forgive. We forgive those who've wronged
us. We're to forgive our brethren.
Seven times? No, 70 times seven. Hey, 70 times
seven. And Christ's meaning is that
believing men and women should be all the days and every day
of their life forgiving those that sin against them. as they
repent and acknowledge their fault. Look at this in Psalm
103, verses 1 to 3. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and
all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the
Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Now, when we
just stop right there, think of all the benefits we as believers
have in Christ. And I'm not talking about the
word of faith lying preachers say. I'm not talking about that
stuff, the health, wealth, prosperity lies. And that's all that is.
That's all that is, a bunch of lies. I'm talking the benefits
that the believer has in Christ. Clothed in his perfect righteousness,
justified before God, the law and justice of God fully satisfied,
a complete salvation which is complete in Christ and Christ
alone. Oh, what wonderful benefits we
have in it. I could just go on. I could just go on. Look at this
though in verse three. Who forgiveth what? All thine
iniquities. Every sin. The believer says,
My sins are forgiven because that's what the scripture says All my sins are forgiven I was
on Facebook, and I don't get, I'm like Tim James, I don't even
bother responding to these pages anymore. But I was on this one
page and they debate all different things. It's just, I look for
about three minutes and I get so sick of it and I have to leave.
I don't know why I don't take myself right out of the group,
but sometimes there's an interesting topic that comes up and I'd like
to look at it. But I noticed something. I noticed
something in religious circles. And tell me if it's not so. Tell
me if it's not so with people you've talked to. They always
give their opinion and there's no scripture. None at all. And someone was talking about
the forgiveness of sins and some guy was popping off and saying,
well, that's not all your future sins. I guess he hasn't read
the scripture. Because all means all. And I look at this scripture,
do you not you who are the redeemed of the Lord and rejoice? Who forgiveth all thine iniquities. Who healeth all thy diseases. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities.
How? because of the shed blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ, because of His supreme sacrifice, the
sinless Lamb of God dying in the room and place of sinners. Is it any wonder that David says,
bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless
His holy name. The just one, We looked at the
Sunday school. The just one dies for the unjust. The sinless one dies for sinners. And the redeemed sinner proclaims,
bless the Lord, oh my soul. Oh, bless the Lord, that I've
received this forgiveness and grace in Christ Jesus, my Lord. In all that is within me, bless
his holy name. And beloved of God, never forget
his benefits towards you. Never forget the mercy and grace
that you've received. You didn't seek it out, you never
would have. But he sought you out. Bless
the Lord, oh my soul. And forget not all his benefits.
So God's people, we forgive. We're forgiving people.