FORGIVENESS - The Superpower That Breaks Bondage

 BY Argie Simonis 

"Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus said to him, I say not to you, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." Mat. 18:21-22

Peter thought it was generous enough to forgive someone 7 times, but Jesus raised the bar much higher, to 490 times! Of course, what he meant was that forgiveness has no limit and we must constantly walk with a heart of forgiveness. Some may not receive it, but we as Christians must always be willing to offer it.

By studying the parable of Jesus with the king, who wanted to examine his accounts with his slaves (Matt. 18: 23-35) we can find many lessons on the subject of forgiveness.

In those days you could not file for bankruptcy as is the case today. If you could not pay your debt, they sold your wife and children and all your belongings, and you ended up either a slave or in prison. And if your possessions were not enough to cover the debt, you would stay in jail for the rest of your life.

So when the king discovered the debt of his servant, he did the only thing left to him:

"The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay you all." Mat. 18:26

Look at the King's reaction:

"Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt." Mat. 18:27

The debt owed by the servant was 10,000 talents. According to a study I did, at today's value that would equal to about 6.5 billion euros! As you can see, it was impossible to pay such a debt, so he forgave him his debt.

We owed a similar debt: The debt of our sin, which was paid in full with the blood of our Lord.

There is also a serious warning in the parable. We see that the servant, despite being forgiven such a large debt, on his part did not forgive the small debt of his fellow servant. When we hold on unforgiveness we surrender to the tormenters (Mat.18:34). In other words, we allow the devil to come with all kinds of evil in our lives. Depression, fear, sickness, poverty and much more.

Forgiveness is a decision and not an emotion!

"And if he trespass against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to you, saying, I repent; you shall forgive him. 

And the apostles said to the Lord, Increase our faith." Luke 17:4-5

Something very interesting is happening here. As soon as Jesus speaks of forgiveness, His disciples ask Him to increase their faith. They had witnessed so many wonderful miracles that the Lord performed before them, and yet this never inspired them to ask for more faith.

Truly, walking in love and forgiveness with one another requires faith! Unforgiveness does not hurt the other. It hurts you who hold on it. It's like drinking poison to hurt someone else. Make the right decision and the Lord will help you to walk in it.