Forging Forgiveness

Because the Lord Jesus Christ is the King of all men, He gets to determine the laws of His kingdom. His law of mercy requires that believers forgive one another. In Matthew 18 Jesus gives a clear answer to Peter's question regarding how often a brother can sin and should be forgiven - it is not three times as the religious leaders taught, nor seven times as Peter generously offered, but seventy-times seven as a picture of unlimited forgiveness. Jesus then illustrates this consistent life of mercy by sharing a story of a king who settled accounts with his slaves. His generously forgiven slave turned around and viciously refused to forgive his fellow slave of a very small debt. Other slaves reported this wickedness to their master, their master was moved with anger and then handed this slave over to the torturers, until the wicked slave repaid his debt. This story portrays how an unforgiving believer is placed in prison when he refuses to release the debt of a fellow slave. Genuine freedom is only supplied to those who truly forgive others - an unwillingness to forgive brings a torturous prison sentence until we pardon our offender.