23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 And the lord of that slave felt compassion and released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow slave fell to the ground and began to plead with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 Then summoning him, his lord *said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart.” Luke 18:23-35 [NASB]
Our pastor referred to this passage in a sermon on the Lord’s Prayer. He was pointing out the connexion between our prayer to receive forgiveness and our willingness to be forgiving.
However, what caught my attention was the analogy to salvation – the forgiveness of debts being analogous to the forgiveness of sin.
The senior slave was forgiven the debt, and the forgiveness was subsequently revoked. There can be no claim here that the forgiveness wasn’t real – which is what some assert when a Christian renounces his or her faith. The debt had been forgiven by the king’s grace.
What is clear is that the fact of his forgiveness was expected to produce a change in his conduct towards his fellow slaves. Because he did not forgive others, the forgiveness he had received was cancelled.
At the very least, we need to heed the words of Jesus: 14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. – Matthew 6:14,15
– SSXG