"FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS."
--MATT. 18:21-35.--AUGUST 12.--
APPARENTLY this lesson grew out of the preceding one on the necessity for guarding against stumbling the least of the Lord's little ones. It would appear that Peter had immediately attempted to put into practice the instructions of the previous lesson, and it was his inquiry as to how often it would be his duty to exercise forgiveness toward a repentant brother, that gave our Lord the opportunity to inculcate a lesson upon the subject of forgiveness.
The teaching of the Jewish rabbis on the subject of forgiveness was, that if the wrong-doer repented of his evil words or actions and came to the aggrieved person, acknowledging his wrong and asking forgiveness, he should be granted forgiveness as often as three times. They based their teaching on this subject on the statements of Job 33:29--margin, and Amos 2:4. Our Lord's teaching on the subject was, in many respects, the reverse of this, and required the offended one to go to the offender to make inquiry respecting the matter, and to show him his fault. This would require great humility on the part of the one who felt himself aggrieved, for it is much easier to resent and avoid the injurer, than to go to him according to the rule which our Lord has laid down. Peter seems to have gotten the impression that the Lord's rule, being different from that of the rabbis in this respect, would also probably be more generous and require that forgiveness be granted a larger number of times; hence Peter adds together the three and the four times mentioned by Amos, making seven in all, and inquires whether the Lord would have his followers be generous and forgiving to those who trespassed against them to that extent--seven times. What must have been his astonishment, and that of all the apostles, to hear the Lord say that forgiveness should be accorded, practically, times without number--seventy times seven.
The thought would seem to be that those who become the Lord's people, partakers of his spirit, the spirit of love, will, in proportion as they are filled with that spirit and led by that spirit, be so generous, so magnanimous, so loving, that they would not only be willing but glad to forgive a repentant brother;--glad to be first to extend the olive branch and to make his way back to reconciliation and harmony as smooth as possible. From hearts full of pride, envy, malice and other elements of the spirit of selfishness and sin, and merely topped off with a coat of benevolence and generosity, it will be impossible to dip out very much of the spirit of forgiveness, without dipping out with it some of the bitterness and hatred; and even with this mixture forgiveness could not be granted very freely by an unregenerated heart. But with a heart emptied of malice, and hatred and envy, and filled with brotherly kindness, meekness, patience, gentleness, forbearance, love, we may dip a cup of forgiveness on every occasion and as oft as it may be applied for, and it will be without a mixture of evil, bitterness, sarcasm, etc., but pure and unadulterated, generous, loving forgiveness.
We are to remember, however, that this holy spirit which we have in our earthen vessels did not abound there at first, but with all was merely a surface coating, as it were, to begin with. Gradually, as the holy [R2666 : page 216] spirit increased in our hearts and abounded, it displaced the wrong spirit; hence those who are able from their hearts to dip the cup of forgiveness repeatedly and without a mixture of evil thereby give evidence that they have been with Jesus and have learned of him, and that they have drunk deeply of his spirit, and that they have been purging out the old leaven of malice, and are being sanctified by the truth, being made meet for the inheritance of the saints in light. We are to remember that this growth in grace, while it has a positive time of beginning, in our consecration vow, is nevertheless a gradual work, requiring patient perseverance in well-doing, requiring also that the old nature, with its evil disposition, be mortified continually--deadened --so that our minds may be renewed under the transforming influence of the spirit of the truth, in which we are to grow daily.
The "seventy times seven," mentioned by our
Lord, we would not understand to signify a limited
number of times, but rather an unlimited number--
that whoever has the Lord's spirit will be glad at any
time to witness a repentance of evil-doers and to accord
them forgiveness. This does not imply, however, that
there may be no penalties attached with the forgiveness;
as, for instance, in the dealing of a parent with a child,
the moral obliquity of the misconduct may be forgiven,
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and the parent's indignation against the disobedience
or misbehavior pass away immediately, and yet it may
be proper at times to impose some penalty on the trespassing
child. In every such case, however, it should
be clearly understood by the child that this is not because
of the parent's disfavor, which has ceased in the
forgiveness, but that his peculiar parental duty requires
that a lesson shall be taught which will be helpful to
the child in the formation of character. In such a case
the love of the parent will of necessity be generous,
sympathetic, and careful that the punishment shall be
only such as might properly be of benefit to the child--
correction in righteousness, not in wrath. However,
such corrections as this belong only to parents and
guardians, and do not properly extend to brethren in
the Lord's family, who are not commissioned to judge
and to punish one another, but to assist one another,--
the Master's words to such being most positive and
emphatic, "Judge nothing before the time." "Dearly
beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place
unto wrath." "Remember him who hath said, Vengeance
is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord."
"Heir of the same inheritance,
In the family of God, the saints, begotten of the
holy spirit, are all to be recognized as brethren, and to
be dealt with accordingly. It is the new creature, and
not the old creature, that is the brother in Christ; hence
we may love the new creature, and in some respects
have very little love for the old, just as all have disrespect
for certain blemishes in their own mortal flesh,
as they realize its weakness and imperfection,--and the
more so in proportion as they grow in the divine likeness
as new creatures. If, therefore, a brother should
trespass against us it should be our first thought that
this wrong done us is not by the brother, the new creature
in Christ, but by his mortal flesh, which for the
moment has gotten the upper hand with him or to some
extent blinded him. Accordingly, instead of feeling
angry with the brother, we should feel sympathetic, and
our hearts should go out to him, and our desire be strong
to do him good and to help him to overcome the weaknesses
of his earthen vessel.
It is in line with this thought that our Lord suggests
that the proper course is for the aggrieved one to
go quietly, without saying a word to anyone else, and
have a kindly conference with the one who is doing him
wrong, seeking to point out the merits and demerits of
the question at issue, and if possible to gain the brother
back to fellowship, righteousness, harmony with the
Lord. If this shall be unavailing, the next step shall
be still a secret one--the taking of two or three brethren
of supposedly good heart and large experience, and that
without attempting to prejudice their minds, and to ask
these to hear the cause and to give counsel as to which
one is in error. Whichever of the brethren is in error
should be convinced by his fellow-pilgrims, whose arguments
with him should be based upon the Scriptures
and the spirit of love; but if differences still exist between
them, and cannot be harmonized, then, as a court
of last resort, the matter should be taken before the
Church--the consecrated--and after being heard by the
Church, its decision should be considered final, and be
accepted by all. If either of the brethren still have
doubts as to his receiving justice in the matter he may
console himself with the thought that he will surely obtain
a blessing by giving full and hearty assent to the
Lord's arrangements, even if he have so large a measure
of self-conceit that he still believes his side of the question
to be right, notwithstanding the judgment of all
the brethren to the contrary.
Whoever will thus humble himself in obedience to
the voice of the Church will have a blessing, and as we
understand the Lord, it will be reasonable for him to
expect that the voice of the Church in such a matter
will be supernaturally guided, that truth and righteousness
may triumph. But amongst the Lord's people, let
us not forget that this is the highest tribunal, and that
brother should not go to law with brother in the worldly
courts, however much he may feel himself aggrieved:
if he have the forgiving spirit he certainly will rest the
matter where the Lord directs, and that too without
harboring any unkind or ungenerous sentiments. This
will be the certain effect of the indwelling of the spirit
of holiness, the spirit of love.
In respect to dealings with those who are without,
in the matter of forgiveness, believing husbands dealing
with unbelieving wives, or believing wives dealing with
unbelieving husbands, or believing persons in business
relationship with unbelievers: the same spirit of love
and generosity and forgiveness will apply in every case,
but not exactly the same way. The believer should be
generous toward the unbeliever--he should expect in
himself a larger measure of generosity than he would
expect from the unbeliever, because he has had lessons
and experiences in the school of Christ which the unbeliever
never had; he has received the new mind, which
the unbeliever knows not of. He should not only,
therefore, be just in his dealings, but additionally, in
proportion as he may be able, he should be generous,
forgiving, not too exacting.
However, if an unbelieving partner have attempted
a fraud, the believing partner, while exercising a spirit
of generosity toward him, if the matter appears to have
been wilful, should deliver the offender to the world's
courts, which he acknowledges, not prosecuting in a
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spirit of anger or malice or hatred, but as doing his duty
toward society for the suppression of evil-doers in proportion
as the laws and arrangements of the world are
reasonable from a Christian standpoint. And even if
he should fully forgive, concluding that there were extenuating
circumstances which would not require that
he should deliver the guilty one to the judges of earthly
courts, he might properly enough esteem it to be his
duty to have no further dealings with such a person,
whom he could not trust. This would not imply any
lack of forgiveness, but merely a reasonable and commendable
prudence.
Indeed, the consecrated people of God are admonished
by the Apostle not to be unequally yoked with
unbelievers, and this might not unreasonably be applied,
not only to marriage, but also to business engagements
and alliances. Similarly, the Apostle informs
us that if the unbelieving husband or wife choose to
depart from the believer, the latter may conclude that
it is providential and for his deliverance from an unequal
yoke, as the Apostle says, "Let the unbeliever
depart"--permit him to cancel the marriage contract
if he will.
THE PARABLE OF THE TWO DEBTORS.
----------
As was his custom, our Lord illustrated his teaching
on this subject with a parable: the king, in the
parable, first forgives one of his servants a very large
indebtedness--that is, he permits him to go free, as tho
he had no such indebtedness against him, that he might
do what he could toward the payment of the debt.
This servant in turn finds a fellow-servant who owes
him a trifling sum, and who likewise promises its payment:
but the unmerciful servant, not having the spirit
of the king, is ungenerous and exacting, and refusing forgiveness
attempts to exact it through force. The matter
reaching the ears of the king, he is justly incensed
at such conduct on the part of one who has himself
been so generously treated, and, in consequence, he puts
in operation the machinery of justice which will punish
the unmerciful servant by now requesting of him the
payment of his full debt; and our Lord followed the
parable with the statement, "So likewise shall the heavenly
Father do to you if ye from your hearts forgive
not everyone his brother their trespasses."
Not only did our Lord address these words to the
disciples and not to the multitude, but additionally he
declared that the illustration was applicable to those
reckoned members of his Kingdom, saying, "The Kingdom
of heaven is likened unto" this parable. The parable,
therefore, is not an illustration of the Lord's
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dealings with the world of mankind, but rather an illustration
of his dealings with those who have become separated
from the world through the forgiveness of their
sins, and who additionally have become heirs of the
Kingdom through consecration of themselves to the Lord
Jesus, to suffer with him, if so be that they may also
reign with him. The parable, therefore, is to the
Church, and suggests to us that our original sin was
not blotted out, not forgiven in the absolute sense of
the word forgiven, but in the language of the Scriptures,
"covered." "Blessed is the man whose sin is covered,
to whom the Lord doth not impute iniquity."--Psalm 32:1,2;
Acts 3:19.
Our sins were covered from the Lord's sight, and
we were treated as tho we owed him nothing, by his
grace, exercised toward us through Christ Jesus and
his atoning sacrifice; and this reckoned forgiveness will
be made actual by and by, and the debt entirely canceled,
if, according to the New Covenant we have made
with the Lord, we shall prove faithful in cultivating
his spirit of love and in becoming copies of his dear
Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,--forgiving others as we
would be forgiven by the Lord, loving, sympathizing
with and helping others as we have been treated by
the Lord, etc.
The parable is but an illustration of the Golden
Text of our lesson, taken from the Lord's prayer: it is
only so long as we are willing to forgive our debtors
that we may pray with confidence to our heavenly Father
and hope for his forgiveness of our trespasses. If we
forgive not our fellow-creatures, and that not merely
in word, but in deed and from the heart, neither will
our heavenly Father forgive our trespasses, and altho
he has generously covered them from his sight, and
treated us as justified by faith, he would immediately
remember our trespasses against us, and thus our justification
would lapse or be abrogated, by a failure on
our part to exercise the holy spirit toward the brethren
and toward all men as we have opportunity.
From this standpoint the question of forgiveness
of the brethren and forgiveness of all others is a very
serious one to the Lord's people. It means that if they
do not in a reasonable time develop this spirit of forgiveness,
the spirit of love, the spirit of God, the holy
spirit, they cannot continue to be recognized as Christ's
disciples, they cannot continue to be recognized as children
of God, they cannot be recognized as having their
sins covered, but, on the contrary, will be treated as
even more responsible than the world of mankind in
general, and have executed upon them severer punishments
than will be exacted from others who knew not
the Master's will, and who have never tasted of his
grace, and who therefore would be less culpable in the
exercise of a selfish, uncharitable, ungenerous, unforgiving
spirit.
The statement that the unmerciful servant would
be delivered to the tormentors, until he should pay the
uttermost farthing of his debt, might be understood in
either of two ways. First, we might understand it to
represent the original debt resting against every member
of the human family--the penalty of death--a
penalty from which our Lord Jesus redeemed all, and
from which he proposes to set free all who will obey him.
In this view of the matter the unmerciful servant's penalty
would signify a delivery to the Second Death. Or
if the debt be understood as representing, in whole or in
part, the obligations of his covenant as a new creature,
then the penalty upon him for failure to develop and
manifest the characteristics of the new creature during
the trial-time might be understood to signify that such
an one, tho an accepted servant of the Lord, would be
required to comply with the full details of his consecration
vow, by going into the great time of trouble,
and there meeting to the full the demands of his covenant,
and learning effectually the lesson of love and
sympathy, and to appreciate the grace of God in the
forgiveness of sins, as he never before appreciated it.
However, we are inclined to think of this matter from
the first of these standpoints, that the exaction of the
uttermost farthing would signify a hopeless case, in any
of the Lord's people who, after experiencing divine
favor in forgiveness of their own sins, should fail within
a reasonable time to learn to exercise mercy and forgiveness
toward the brethren,--that such would, as a
result, suffer the Second Death.
The Lord's people very generally find themselves
in considerable trouble along the line of justice. We
all recognize justice as the very foundation of all order
and righteousness, and when we feel that justice is on
our side it is proportionately the more difficult to freely
forgive the person whom we believe to have been acting
from the standpoint of injustice. There is a general
tendency to require others to measure up to our standard
of justice, by some sort of penance, before we forgive
them. It is against this very spirit that our Lord was
teaching, and to counteract which he gave this parable.
We are to remember that the Lord will require us to live
up to the standards we set for others. If our standard
in dealing with others be one of exact justice, we may
expect no mercy at the Lord's hands. (See James 2:13.)
And what would this mean as respects the sins that are
past through the forbearance of God, and what would
it mean as respects the obligations upon us every day
and every hour, to whose full requirements we are unable
to measure? As we cannot come to the Lord ourselves
on the score of justice, so we are not to deal with
others upon that standard. As we must ask of the Lord
mercy, grace, forgiveness, so we must be willing to extend
to others mercy, grace, forgiveness, when they trespass
against us; and as heartily, quickly and freely as
we ourselves hope for.
The Lord has not laid down this rule in an arbitrary
fashion, as simply saying, If you do not forgive
others I will not forgive you. There is a deeper reason
for it than this. He wishes to develop in us his own
spirit, his own character, a likeness or copy of which
was exhibited to us in the person and life of his dear
Son, our Lord Jesus. It is absolutely essential, therefore,
that we shall have the character he desires, or else
we can never attain to the joint-heirship in the Kingdom
which he is pleased to extend. Hence we are to
understand that this requirement or command of forgiveness,
etc., is with a view to develop us as copies of
his dear Son, in order that he may bestow upon us, in
due time, all the riches of his grace, contained in the
exceeding great and precious promises of his Word.
====================
Child of the self-same God,
He hath but stumbled in the path
We have in weakness trod."