Turn to Matthew chapter six for the preaching of God's word. Begin the reading in verse nine, but the substance is really in verses 15 and 16 for what we consider this morning. with the help of the Lord, and as you can see, this is a topical sermon, morning and evening. We'll consider the same doctrine. And it's likely, especially with some travel overseas that I will have at the end of the year, that the next Lord's Day as well will be some topical sermons for our help in edification. We'll return to our regular series in the new year as the Lord wills. But let's look at the doctrine of forgiveness today. Let's begin with looking at Matthew chapter 6. Let us hear God's word at verse 9. 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 men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. May the Lord bless the reading and now preaching of his holy word. Well, as you likely know, forgiveness is a central component to the Christian religion. It is absolutely central and right in the center of the Christian faith, because without the forgiveness of our sins, we would be eternally lost. And so forgiveness is part and parcel, and it is central to the Christian religion. And you think about first the sin debt that you owe and I owe to God. If God would call that debt to account, each and every one of us here, we would find a debt that is eternal, that we could never really repay. And that's why hell, of course, is eternal. It's because the debt we owe to God is infinite, but we thank God as Christians who believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, that the forgiveness of sins in Christ is central to the gospel and it cannot be missed when you read the word of God, at least if you read it honestly and openly. And we know that by the grace of God then, received by faith alone, our sins are forgiven through the satisfaction of them by the Lord Jesus Christ as our surety. But then, having been saved, the Lord lays an expectation on us. And you find it here in this text, that out of gratitude for the blotting out of all of our sin, removing them from our person as far as east is from west, this debt that is so grand and so vast that we could never, ever pay it ourselves, he expects that out of gratitude, we would be moved to forgive others. of far lesser debts that they owe to us for their offenses against us. And in view of the great debt we owe God that has been blotted out by the Redeemer, we would then look upon the debt that others owe to us and we would say, what is this? This is absolutely nothing compared to what I owe to God. and we would from the heart then desire to forgive others as we ourselves have been forgiven. In fact, the expectation that we would do so out of the heart is so great that the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer hinges upon it. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. As others have pointed out, it is rather striking that this is the only petition of the Lord's Prayer that calls to witness anything we have done. It's the only one. And in fact, it's so significant, it seems like as soon as the argument to the Lord's Prayer ends, for thine is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever, amen, what comes immediately after? A reminder that you must forgive. For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you," et cetera. Do you see how central, then, this doctrine is to the Christian faith? Not only the forgiveness that we need from God, but that we are to forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. In other words, you might see this grave and terrible warning, if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. And you'd have to ask yourself the question, am I even born again if I have no desire? Now we all struggle, but if I have no desire to forgive someone, If I have no desire, and I might wrestle with God over the need for it, right, but I do understand I have pressed upon me a need to forgive others as I have been forgiven by the Lord. If I have no desire for that, one would have to rightfully ask, looking at the Bible, whether or not they are actually forgiven of God. It is not that you earn the new birth and forgiveness of sins by forgiving others. but those who have been regenerated and have been given faith, truly the new birth, a new creature, created by God in Christ, the one who has said, have mercy on me, a sinner, would find that God has deposited in their soul a forgiving disposition. And it is weak. Often we come as newborn babes into the kingdom, and we find ourselves weak in this point and others, but we need it strengthened. And we need to grow in this grace, because it is rather vital, as the Lord shows. We are born again to be forgiven, and born again to forgive others. Well, what it means to forgive can confuse us, especially today. Because our society has very unbiblical views of forgiveness, of course. Sometimes they'll say, you're not obligated to forgive others. Nurse a grudge, they don't deserve to be forgiven. Though here the Lord says all men, not just Christians, are to be forgiven. You're to forgive men, generally speaking, or forgiveness is turned into something selfish and therapeutic, right? Forgive others because otherwise it's going to really damage your soul or damage your life. Now, there's a sense in which that is true, absolutely. A lack of forgiveness and bitterness is corrosive to your soul, but that's not where the Lord grounds it first and foremost. It is to glorify God, to be as children of your Father in heaven, who has a forgiving character, and that we ourselves would release the debt others owe to us, not foremost that we would feel good about ourselves, but rather because it is good, because it glorifies God and it is good as well for our neighbor. And of course, blessings come to us as well. So there is confusion in our society, and there are others who will teach, even in the Reformed Church, variants of forgiveness that are not necessarily fully in view with the Bible. I'll consider that a little bit later, especially when it comes to the point of forgiving the unrepentant. And the Bible actually says that we should and we must, though some have said we don't and must not until they repent. I'll consider the careful distinctions because even those who teach such a thing, their intentions are not bad, and some of the distinctions they make are not helpful, though I think in the end more or less they land in the same place. But we'll consider that a bit later on. So that said, for what we want to do today, first we're going to seek to cover the doctrine of horizontal forgiveness this morning, which is the forgiveness between man and man. We'll not cover all of it this morning, and what I want to do this morning is preach on the nature of forgiveness, the nature of it, and this evening I want to preach on the fact that even when we forgive, it is right and good to at times have consequences come to the one that we do forgive. And sometimes we can feel guilty about that, but the Bible is going to be plain that though we can forgive, it is still right at times to set consequences, even civil sanctions against those that we've forgiven. Well, with that then, let's consider the nature of forgiveness this morning under three heads. The first is forgiveness defined. Now, in this heading is where we will spend most of our time with the help of the Lord. Now, Christ says, as we have already heard, extending forgiveness to others is not optional. but it is part and parcel of the Christian life. And it's obvious, right? 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. And so the heart that has been forgiven is, as we have heard, desirous to forgive others. Now let's take this text very seriously, as seriously as the Lord Jesus Christ would have us take it. Because it is here and it is a warning to us. And how we, well, first of all, that means that we must, each of us, seek to understand it well. Because there is a serious warning here given by the Lord that's meant to arrest you and me and to grab our attention. that those with an unforgiving spirit can in no wise claim or have assurance, I should say, more appropriately, have assurance that they themselves are in the estate of grace. Now, the reason that we need to, as I was thinking upon this, and I was thinking about our church circles in particular, is that there is a great need for this as you consider what the church is often like, even in the, or maybe especially in the Reformed churches. grudges, schism, judgmentalism, lack of – there's evil speaking, there's bitterness. All of that is evil, and a lot of it is the fruit of unforgiving people, such to the point that maybe it might shock us to see how many are in the state of grace, if this is the fruit of many of our churches or in our homes. where our homes are stripped asunder, husbands and wives not talking to each other, children hating each other, friends torn asunder because there's a lack of a forgiving spirit. The fruit of this is actually quite evident if you survey the state of the church and even many of our homes. And so there's a great need in our day and age to think on what Christ is saying here. And we ought to tremble, each of us, in a right way before the Lord to ask, is it I, Lord? Am I the one that you're speaking of here? Am I the hypocrite? Now, the first thing, then, as we consider this doctrine to note is that all sins, even sins against us, are first and foremost against God. And that really helps us. as we seek to apply this need to forgive others. You remember David's horrible sin against Uriah and Bathsheba. He cried out to the Lord, what? Against thee and thee only have I sinned. Even in view of my great sins against a man and a woman and others, I can say truly that it is first and foremost against God that I have sinned. And when you are sinned against, brethren, you need to remember that in view of what the other person has done. Their sin is first and foremost against God, not against you. And that helps you, as you will see in our definition of forgiveness, squarely place, as the Apostle Paul says to, to put vengeance into the hands of God and not in yourself. But the Lord will dispose of this. offense as he sees best. Because first and foremost, I am not the offended party, but my God is. And the problem comes when we see ourselves, right, all we see is ourselves as the offended party. And what we are doing is we are taking on then the nature and role of God. And it becomes very hard. It's ironic, isn't it, that he, the one who is primarily sinned against, is ready to forgive others. And we who are second, are not. So let's always remember that as we see that others sin against us. The debt they owe is primarily to God. And when we forgive others, we in no way can actually forgive the debt they owe to God. All we can do is forgive the lesser debt that they owe to us. That's important too if you reverse it. Because when you sin against another person, your sin is not foremost against them, but against the Almighty. That means that you must first go to God before you go ask your neighbor for forgiveness. And sometimes we can neglect to go to the Lord, who is the primary offended party, even when we go and ask our neighbor or our brother or our sister for forgiveness for something we have done. So let's remember that and not neglect to go to God and ask Him for forgiveness first. But as we deal with forgiveness extended to our fellow man, with that, to set that in its proper place, let's define this kind of forgiveness, which you can already tell is not precisely and is never going to be precisely the same kind of forgiveness God extends to man, which requires atonement. So here's a definition based on one by Thomas Boston that I found to be quite helpful. I modified it a bit to add clarity, though the meaning does not change. And I'll repeat it a couple times, and I'll repeat it tonight as well. He says, it is our hearty forgiving them the injury done to us by entertaining no hatred or malice against them, but loving them with a love of goodwill, heartily wishing their good, and being ready to do them good, but it does not necessarily extend to a love of complacency or delight in them. Let me say that again. It is our hearty forgiving them the injury done to us by entertaining no hatred or malice against them, but loving them with a love of goodwill, heartily wishing their good, and being ready to do them good, but it does not necessarily extend to a love of complacency or delight in them." Now, you can find that definition in his exposition of the Lord's Prayer in the Fifth Petition, and if you'd like, I can send it out to you as well via email because it is quite helpful. Now, what I'll do is I will break that definition down for us, and that's what I'll spend most of the time this morning on. What you note in what he said are several careful distinctions often left untreated in contemporary treatments. And so let's find here five components of it that are scripturally based that we'll break down one at a time that might help to resolve any questions you might have about it. Now, the first thing that you note in his definition is that when someone sins against you, an injury has been done to you. An injury has been done. And that injury can take place, can be of one of several kinds. For instance, you might have a material injury done to you. You could have a physical injury done to you. You could have a spiritual injury done. A relational injury done. Even your good name, your reputation, can be harmed. These are all true injuries that are done. It's not merely physical that is in view here. It's not merely material in that somebody steals from you. But somebody slanders you, an injury has been done to you. Now not everything you feel is an injury is so. That's also important. Somebody hurts your feeling, it doesn't mean they've broken a commandment. They have not necessarily sinned against you because you feel bad. You have to make sure that the injury can be defined by God's commandments as a sin against you. Now when it comes to injuries, a determination of the magnitude of the injury will determine how we forgive such a thing. Small injuries, if you heard in 1 Peter, can often simply be overlooked and forgotten in love. Doesn't even have to be mentioned. Meekness, which we covered in another day, demands we cover those in love. But larger injuries, those which cause negative effects on our person, good name, may affect our lives significantly, bringing perhaps ruin to our healthy state or name. These are required to be forgiven at all times just as well, but it may require rebuke, it may require censure, it may require restitution, it might require boundaries placed, or even civil penalties against the offender. So there are consequences for the larger injuries that are done, but you are still to forgive them. of the injury done and what that means exactly, he unfolds as we continue to break down the definition. But I will cover that aspect of the larger injuries and censures and other consequences in the evening sermon. So I won't cover much of that this morning. But in every way we are injured, you are required to forgive. That's not negotiable. So then the second component of his definition is that forgiveness is a matter of the heart. It is part of our disposition. Christ said, Matthew 18, 35, so likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespass. So you can see there's a disposition here. There's an inward forgiveness that is necessary. So for instance, you might forgive someone outwardly. Maybe even just saying the words, right? When they ask something. But let's imagine you even go further than that. And somebody has taken something from you, and maybe it was in a state of poverty, or maybe they were moved to it for some reason that causes you in some way to say, you know what? I'm not going to count that against you. You don't have to give me restitution. I not only forgive you, right, by saying that, but I also am not going to ask for anything back. And yet, if you find resentment and bitterness and anger towards them still in your heart, inwardly, you have not truly forgiven them. So you can still cancel the debt they owe you materially, perhaps, but have not dealt with your own heart in the matter. which is the real problem. You know, when your heart nurses a grudge, contrary to Leviticus 19, or you still want revenge and you're still trying to undermine the other person in some way, then you are not forgiving of them. And so you always have to remember that, right? Christianity doesn't just touch the outward action, but it begins in the heart of man. So you can do a gracious thing outwardly, yet your heart may not be right. And so we need grace to fix our heart in this, and we need to wrestle with God to forgive those who have injured us from the heart. Now, third then, we ask, what is the disposition of the heart in forgiveness? And this is the critical component. And you can summarize it this way, that the third component is that forgiveness is the removal for the desire for revenge. And that's a very simple way to look at it. which is that when you forgive someone, you have taken away from your heart the desire to have vengeance upon them or to revenge them, to have revenge for the evil they have done. This is the critical component and is really of its essence. Going back to Leviticus 19.18, thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. I am the Lord. So forgiveness at its core is the removal of the desire for revenge. The removal of the desire for revenge. Because we are prone to say that because so and so has hurt me, I will seek to retaliate and hurt them. You know, it's not in the right way judicially, which we can talk about maybe tonight, which is, you know, this is why Christ is saying, you know, to you, the individual believer, does not belong eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth. That is a principle of justice in the civil realm, but it's not for you as individual believers. You do not seek to have revenge on the one who causes an injury to you. In fact, there is an assumption, let me actually go back a bit, which is not to say, and this is actually foundational, that is not to say that when someone sins against you, they do not deserve retribution. That is not the claim at all. In fact, you would have to say they do deserve it. They do deserve retribution. In fact, that's why Christ speaks of it as a kind of debt. Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. There is this assumption, actually, that they do deserve some sort of retaliation, and yet it does not belong to the Christian to take that up themselves. That's why Paul says in Romans 12, Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath, for it is written, vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Do you see that language? I will repay. There is a debt there that a person who sins against you owes to God. You don't take it up yourself though. You don't take it up yourself. You give room for wrath, is what he says. Vengeance is mine, I will repay, saith the Lord. Therefore what? 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. That's what it looks like to forgive even the unrepentant. is to not take vengeance in your own hand, to not start creating schemes and plans by which we are going to get back at someone for what they have done to us, even if they deserve it. Forgiving is releasing a debt of vengeance and giving it up to the Lord. And what is for us to do as those who forgive others is to love even those who are indebted to us by forgiving them, and letting God handle the matter. Now let's bring that close to home because we all have experience in the flesh. What that means is if you've forgiven someone, you don't nurse a grudge, you don't entertain malice in your heart towards them, you don't sit there thinking, taking up all of your day, how am I going to get back at this person? How am I going to undermine them as they have undermined me? In what way can I make their life miserable Instead, you release all of that up to the Lord, and you're actually called to love your enemies. So if you find any of those things in your heart, you have not actually forgiven the offender. You know, you can begrudgingly even say to somebody, I forgive you of what you have done, and yet you could be seething inside. We are often double-minded and double-tongued. And we can tell somebody that we've forgiven them, and then immediately after we're thinking about ways, you know, resentment grows, and it breeds, and I think about how I'm going to talk about them to other people, and how I'm going to do this and that to them. And we may never even do any of those things, because we might even recognize they're wicked. And yet, because those things are present in us, it cannot be said that we have forgiven from the heart. You know, There are ways that we will find tonight where there needs to be consequences coming to offenders. This is not to discount any of that, but we should, even in those things, desire their good. And sometimes we talked about this in the death penalty. Part of the reason why we do clamor for it is because it keeps them from further sinning and murdering others. But it comes from a desire to see them to do good to them even. We'll talk about that in more detail. But really for us this morning, we need to consider our heart because this kind of evil is in the bosom of too many of us with this unforgiving spirit. And we often nurse it, we harbor it, we have it grow and grow. But Proverbs 19.11 says, the discretion of a man deferreth his anger, and it is his glory to pass over a transgression. And again, a help is found in this. Vengeance belongs to God. Psalm 51, against thee and thee only have I sinned. We remember, you know, if I am feeling that this is a debt they owe to me, imagine how great the debt is they owe God. And it is to him to have vengeance. So R.L. Dabney, the American Southern Presbyterian, put it this way, I assert that this duty to forgive is not grounded in the belief that unjust aggressions deserve no retribution. They do deserve it, always, by their strict moral desert. Otherwise, how could God judge the world? Do you see that? Right? Sins against us will be judged by God. Our sins against others will be judged by God. The question is whether we pay for it or Christ does. So he says, how else could God judge the world? The ground of our duty of forgiveness is that the retributive function does not belong to the creature but to the Creator. So that's the grounds here for forgiveness. Vengeance belongs to God. And so that means no grudges, no malice, no vengeance. And in that, it helps you understand how to forgive. In fact, the Bible does not teach that we have to forgive outwardly at all points, but it does teach us we are to forgive inwardly at all points. For instance, somebody might sin against you by stealing, we'll go back to that example, and they may actually, you may actually choose to not forgive their, cancel out their physical debt to you that they owe you, but like Zacchaeus, and Christ blessed him for this, Zacchaeus pledged to give retribution back, or not retribution, to pay back fourfold. everything that He had taken from others, and so Christ commends such a thing. So there might be a sense in which restitution is owed to you, and that can be fine. You don't have to cancel out restitution, but you always have to cancel the debt of wrath and forgive from the heart. Now, fourthly then. we are to love them with the love of benevolence or goodwill. Boston said, love them with the love of goodwill, heartily wishing their good and being ready to do them good. Now, as you have heard in prior sermons preached here, there is a lot more care in the nature of love in times past. We would distinguish, perhaps, between the love of benevolence or goodwill and the love of complacency or delight. These are two kinds of loves. Right? God loves all of His creation with a love of benevolence. He does good to all, but He has a particular love, a discriminating love, a love of delight for His elect, which is different. And so he says, Boston does, and this reflects the Bible, when we forgive somebody who hasn't repented especially, we love them with a love of goodwill, we want their good, and we are ready to do them good, and yet it is not necessary, and we'll come to this, that we have to love them with a love of complacency or delight. So the love of goodwill. This is a love that desires the other person's good, and it is a love that shows that we are prepared to do them good. This is a disposition completely opposed to malice. Our desire is actually to do good, even to our enemies. Christ said, 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. Matthew 5, 44, this is that kind of love of benevolence that you and I owe to those that we have forgiven. So imagine this, if they are in need, we must consider if it is safe for us to do them good, to bless them and not curse them. And our desire is especially for their greatest need, which is their repentance. That's really their greatest need, isn't it? And so we actually want them reconciled to God and to us. And so we love them in that way and we might even exhort them and encourage them in that way. If they're unbelievers. We pray that they would be forgiven of the Lord through Jesus Christ, and if it so please God that his vengeance on them for the debt that they owe God, even the debt they owe God because of their sin against me, would be that vengeance would be taken on the Son of God by having them come to a saving knowledge of him. Can you love your enemies that way? And those that have hurt you? Could you love them in such a way that you desire their salvation if they be lost or desire their repentance if they are Christians so that they would themselves be reconciled to God? How often do we love our enemies in that way and desire that kind of good for them? That's what they need most of all. Now that leads to our last component, but I've covered the love of benevolence before. in terms of seeking to do good even to those who hate us, if it so far doesn't break other commandments. Now, fifthly, and lastly, what we cannot do is love them with the love of complacency or love of delight until they repent of their sin towards us. Again, this is where older theologians excelled in distinguishing loves. We love them with the love of goodwill, cannot love them with the love of delight until they repent of their sin. Something like Psalm 26.4, I've not sat with vain persons, neither will I go in with dissemblers. So you find that those who are sinful, they're still not repentant of it. There is no way you can delight in them because of their sin. There's no way to love them in that way. The way you can love a repentant brother or sister who is reconciled to God and to yourself. That also means that you are not naive about those who have sinned against you. We wish them well, we seek to do good to them as able, but you cannot delight in them. You especially cannot delight in their actions which are sinful. Now, you take all of this together, and we can spend a little bit more time on it, and maybe we will in the other two heads, but let's use a case example where you find all of this meet together, and it's in the martyrdom of Stephen. It's in Stephen's martyrdom. He had a love of goodwill for those who would kill him. He wanted them saved, he wanted them forgiven, but he had absolutely no delight in those men because of their sin. You think about their very last, he didn't have the love of complacency, his last words to them were these. Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost as your fathers did, so do ye. Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted? And they have slain them which showed before of the coming of the just one, of whom ye have been now the betrayers and murderers. He's very bold. to preach about their sin. He cannot delight in their persons because they have opposed the Lord and they have persecuted God's people. But do you not see the love of benevolence in that man at the same time? He wants what is good for them. How? His prayer right after, he kneeled down and cried with a loud voice, Lord, lay not this sin to their charge. Can you see biblical forgiveness here? Can you see how he prays, he loves the murderer by desiring their salvation and repentance, the love of benevolence, while at the same time witnessing to them, to their face, that he cannot have the love of complacency. He cannot have a love of delight for them because they have blasphemed the Lord and even murdered him. And yet he wanted them pricked by his preaching to turn to Jesus Christ, and that God himself would forgive these men, because he bore zero ill will towards them. This requires the grace of God. To have no ill will towards the one who's about to murder you, to have forgiven them, and yet be a bold witness, turn to Jesus Christ. I cannot delight in your person. But I do want what is best for you, which is salvation. But if they do repent, and you live to see it, of course, then you have the fullest form of forgiveness where you can delight in them, where you can delight in them, and you can have actual gospel reconciliation at that point. That's where reconciliation comes in. Sometimes you can forgive, and you must always forgive, but you cannot be reconciled. Stephen wasn't reconciled to his murderers at that time. And yet, you imagine how that man smiled in glory to see the Apostle Paul converted. That the Lord did answer this prayer of goodwill towards these men, and at least one there was converted through the witness and the prayer. of this faithful man. And so you can see how all of this works together, brethren. You see this fullest form of forgiveness is possible in reconciliation, and all of this puts together the biblical data then for us. And we'll continue to expound and work through these things today, morning and evening. But let us now, with that basic understanding and definition, and let me give you again for your edification the definition that Boston gave so that you might have it again in your mind. It is a hearty forgiving them the injury done to us by entertaining no hatred or malice against them, but loving them with a love of goodwill, heartily wishing their good and being ready to do them good, but it does not necessarily extend to a love of complacency or delight in them. And as I said, I will send that out to you if that would be helpful to you. Well that takes us then to our second heading, which is forgiving the unrepentant, forgiving the unrepentant. And a question has actually arisen in recent years, can you forgive one who is unrepentant? Now you've seen that there is a type of forgiveness that must be given, but let's dive into the question a bit, because it is a very practical and very necessary doctrine to take a hold of. For instance, it comes up all the time. Recently you saw Mrs. Kirk get up and she said before a huge audience televised that she forgives the alleged murder of her husband. I forgive you. Now I do believe this is something that truly glorifies God in heaven because God always uses such a witness to the astonishment of those who will watch such a thing. I think I've given you the anecdote as well. In earlier years, in the year 2017, there was an Egyptian newscaster. He watched in disbelief as an Egyptian Christian woman goes on TV being interviewed, and she says before that whole audience that she forgives the Muslims who perpetrated the murder of her husband. And he said, with shock, the interviewer did, he said, or the newscaster did, he said, if it was my father, I could never say this. These people have so much forgiveness. These people, listen to these words from an unbeliever, are made from a different substance. It's the substance of grace, of course. But some, recently after Mrs. Kirk said she forgave the alleged perpetrator, said, no, no, she should not have done that. It is not right to do so. You must only forgive those who repent. You must say to the unrepentant, I am willing to forgive you, but first you must repent. Now, that's not right. And if you follow the definition of forgiveness we've considered, you can see that you can forgive an unrepentant person. In what way do you forgive them? First, you have a disposition without a grudge or malice, not seeking vengeance to take into your own hands. You can have a love of goodwill towards them, particularly asking for their repentance. In those ways, you forgive them. You bear no malice towards this person. And just because you even call for civil sanctions doesn't mean you have malice towards them. If you do call for civil sanctions because of malice, that's something that is contrary to forgiveness, but we'll consider that tonight. But for those who are repentant, we do want to say this, you enjoy the fullest form of forgiveness extended to them, which is to love that person with a love of delight. You can imagine if Stephen lived and he came to see Paul converted, he would clasp that man as a brother now. And that's the fullest form of forgiveness you can extend, which is to a brother or a sister who is repentant. But you are to forgive even the unrepentant in those other ways. Now, you might ask, why do some people maintain you cannot forgive the unrepentant? Well, the text that trips you up, and it did for me for quite some time, is Luke 17. You can turn there if you wish. Luke 17, verses three to four, is the text that is often cited. And here we find in Luke 17 verse three, take heed to yourselves, if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him, and if he repent, forgive him. And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day and seven times in a day, turn again to thee saying, I repent, thou shalt forgive him. Now, the note that comes is, you know, you start to notice that the Lord says, if he repent, forgive him. And it is from that little detail in the text that some of you might know him, Dr. J. Adams, built a particular doctrine of forgiveness, which is to say that you forgive only those who are repentant. but you are to maintain a forgiving kind of disposition towards them until they do. That's what was taught to me at the seminary, at my seminary, and it was the view I held for some time. And to be fair to Dr. Adams, he does approximate the biblical data. He's not heretical in what he taught, but it is sometimes very unhelpful, because it does take away the great weight of texts where Christ says you must forgive men, generally. And there are many people who have been confused by Dr. Adams who said, well, now this person and that person has passed away and they never reconciled with me. I don't know what to do with that. I don't know what to do with that. What do I do with that? Well, we would say biblically, you can forgive them. You can forgive them of the debt that they owe to you. Absolutely so. You don't have to wait for repentance in order to bring forgiveness. Now, to build a doctrine of forgiveness purely on Luke 17 is a bit dangerous because what is often overlooked is the kind of person in view here, which is a brother, someone that you can forgive with the highest form of forgiveness that leads to a love of delight, a love of complacency through a thorough and complete reconciliation. And that's the kind of person and that's the kind of forgiveness that is being spoken of here. One in which you can have the fullest form of forgiveness, which is where you can have the love of delight in them. And the Lord says, don't get tired. Even if they come to you over and over again, repenting in that way, acknowledging their sin before you, don't lose your delight in this brother or this sister. This is the kind of reconciliation that is being spoken of here particularly. And that is how the older theologians would have understood it, as Boston indicated. Consider what Dabney said, quote, this then is the duty of forgiveness, to forgive or remit the retaliation and suppress the active impulse thereto, and give back to the injurer the love of benevolence, but not that of complacency until he repents. So it is that love that is being spoken of here in Luke 17, the love of complacency. But we don't withhold the love of benevolence from one who does not repent. We can be said to have forgiven them. And so the explanatory power of the classical definition, and not Dr. Adams, and I'll say this, I've benefited much from Dr. Adams, though he's a bit innovative here. The explanatory power of the classical definition is that it can easily explain Stephen forgiving those who are killing him by asking God to forgive them while at the same time expressing no delight in their actions and their blasphemy against Christ. Stephen can be rightly said to have forgiven those men, but Dr. Adams maintains that Stephen did not forgive those who killed him. He only prayed they would be forgiven. That's an uncomfortable position to be in as a Christian, especially with all the texts that talk about forgiving men generally, and not just your brother specifically. So much so that people have asked the question, then I guess I can't ever forgive. an unbeliever. I guess forgiveness is only for believers, because it says here, if repentance, then forgive. That would have to be the necessary conclusion, and yet God says we must forgive all men, but not in the same way that we can forgive a brother Now, there's something important about Luke 17 as well. If a brother or sister sins against you and you cannot cover that in love, you are called to rebuke them in the hope that you might be reconciled completely. But you rebuke them in love, speaking the truth in love, with the love of benevolence, with the desire to show them the love of delight when the distance and the gap is closed. In fact, and let me say this because we're in an era of niceness, which is actually kind of a problem because niceness is not biblical goodness necessarily. We're in an era and age where we have heard that it is not nice to rebuke someone. And yet it is actually a symptom that you don't have the love of benevolence for someone if you don't rebuke them. In fact, as you go back to Leviticus, you'll not suffer sin in your brother, but you shall rebuke them. Because that's loving. That's loving. And the love of benevolence moves us when we find that a brother or sister has sinned in order to bring that to their attention that they would be reconciled to God and to us. Because that is what is good. And that is what is love. And in some ways, don't be deceived brethren, you don't want to rebuke your brother or your sister because, or an unbeliever, because you actually don't want to be reconciled. And you would much rather nurse a grudge. And you would much rather elevate yourself over them. I'm not a sinner like them. There are many reasons that come where it actually feels good to hold a nurse a grudge and not rebuke your brother. In fact, that was at heart, wasn't it, in Jonah, where he doesn't want to go to Nineveh and rebuke the Ninevites. to see good come to them. And so a lot of times we're withholding good from our brother or sister when we don't rebuke them. And yet here's the direction in Luke 17. If your brother sins against you, rebuke them in the hope that you will be reconciled completely. And when a brother repents, you must show the love of delight in them, not receiving their repentance begrudgingly, even if they repent 490 times. but delight in it, bless God for it. And he says, take heed to yourselves, pay attention to that. Well, let's lastly then consider concluding considerations. Forgiveness is a very practical and pastoral matter, one we need to practice very often. Why is it practical? Well, we are sinners and we live among sinners. and it's your experience that you're going to be sinned against. And so you need to know how to deal with that, brethren. You'll be sinned against by those outside, but also those in the church, and also those in your own home. You need to come to grips with that, and you need to know how to respond to that. Those who do not come to grips with the fact that you are going to be sinned against will have a very hard time forgiving others. because you'll think it's out of the ordinary, but it is actually part of the ordinary experience. It should not be so, but it is, that we are often sinned against. And secondly, you must recognize that you yourself will offend others, whether intentionally or not. And that is a help to us as well when we are offended, is to remember that we ourselves sin against other men and women too. And that'll help extinguish self-righteousness. How could they sin? Just go back through a list of, I hope you in some way take note of the fact that you have sinned against others. That'll help you snuff out outrage. Self-righteousness is a great hindrance towards forgiving others, and that's why the Pharisees were so unforgiving. You remember the great debt of vengeance you owe your God, that he in his rights ought to send you to hell And that will help you forgive others freely and from the heart. And before you even take offense when somebody does something, let me just say this, make sure that you have actually been sinned against. Make sure you can go clearly to a commandment of God and say, okay, fifth commandment was broken. Sixth commandment here, eighth commandment, ninth commandment, tenth commandment. Because somebody hurt your feelings doesn't mean that they've actually sinned against you. Here's an example. It might seem silly, right? Somebody doesn't return your text message and you now start to feel offended, whereas charity is not easily provoked and might say, well, I wonder if their phone is on. I wonder if they, you know, lost it or they're having some sort of trouble responding to me, right? Not everything you imagine is a sin is actually so. So you have to be very clear of whether or not you have been sinned against before you take offense. So make sure this is a good way to know the commandments of God. If somebody has offended me, can I go to the commandments and actually verify that this is a true sin? Our children know sin is any lack of conformity unto or transgression of the law of God. So be clear on these things. But I just want to close, and I know our time is up, and we'll continue on this evening, but I want to close with an exhortation from the parable of the unforgiving servant, which we have considered Matthew 18 and verse 21. Then came Peter to him and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him till seven times? But, and Jesus said unto him, I say not unto thee until seven times, but until 70 times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him which owed him 10,000 talents, but for as much as he had not to pay, his Lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife and children and all that he had in payment to be made, The servant therefore fell down and worshiped 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 the debt. This is what we've received, brethren, if we be in Christ. We received compassion, here's a debt, right? It's pictured here. This is a parable of one who is so in debt that even his children and his wife must be sold into slavery. That's how great our debt is before God. Impossible to pay off. We find though the compassion and pity of our Father in heaven and we are truly debtors to mercy. Then in verse 28, but the same servant went out and found one of his fellow servants which owed him a hundred pence and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, you can see vengeance here, saying, pay me that thou owest. And his fellow servant fell down at his feet and besought him saying, have patience with me and I will pay thee all. And he would not, but went and cast him into prison till 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. Here's the unforgiving heart, wanting to take vengeance, taking someone by the throat for a much, much smaller debt. Do you not see the hypocrisy here, the ingratitude? God has forgiven me all this, and I'm going to take someone who has a much smaller debt they owe to me and take them by the throat. Vengeance. And note this as well, how other men can see it. The fellow servants saw it. People can notice, brethren, when you are bitter and unforgiving towards others, the way you speak about others, the way your face changes when another person comes into your consideration. It's often more obvious than you think. And in the parable, the other servants notice this and are troubled by it. But worst of all, God knows what we are. Then his Lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt because thou desirest me. Shouldest thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? You see the compassion and the pity, find that in Stephen even. 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 also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not everyone his brother their trespasses. So especially when a brother comes, we're to be pitiful towards them. And so the warning is here to not have malice, to not take revenge, to not have a vengeful spirit, but to forgive others. because it is a fruit of a saved heart and is to be nurtured and manifest in our sanctification. But with all that, practical questions do arise that we will take up tonight. Can we forgive and still seek that transgressors pay for their crimes or fall under censure? Can we defend our lives physically even to the point of killing those that attack us? And the answer is yes. Does forgiving someone mean that we must never set boundaries in place with them? And God's Word deals with these things, and we'll take them up with His help tonight. But there is a much richness in the Word of God when it comes to this doctrine, and we ought to pay much attention to it, because it is part and parcel of the core of our faith. Well, may the Lord bless these considerations until we take them up again. Let us stand for prayer and fable. Our Heavenly Father, cause us to be a forgiving people, Help us, O Lord, to forgive from the heart. Help us to bear no malice to any man, no matter what it is they have done for us. And though we cannot delight in those that have sinned against us until their repentance is manifest, we do pray for those who have sinned against us, that we might be reconciled with that highest form of forgiveness, where we can delight and we can be reconciled. But Lord, for all of us, deal with our hearts this day. Remove from us malice and vengeance and bitterness. Help us to commit vengeance to the God of heaven, who disposes of debts in the way in which he says is meet and good, even at times putting that vengeance, as we know in Romans 13, into the hands of the magistrate. But we do leave vengeance in thy hand, or we desire to. For any of us who are embittered and unforgiving, O Lord, remove that from us, that we would shine as children of our Father in heaven, who sends the rain on the just and the unjust alike, and gives good things even to those who do not deserve it, especially to us who believe, who have received the greatest gift of all, utterly undeserved. out of the love of benevolence, giving us Jesus Christ, the son of thy delight, the one whom thou hast said, this is my beloved son, in whom I delight, so that we might be beloved of thee through him. And we pray that thou wouldst answer our prayers and our desire to be conformed to his image, for we ask it all in Jesus' name, amen.