SERMON OUTLINE

Unconditional and Conditional Forgiveness

Luke 17.3-4

Introduction

-Matthew 18.21-22 commands unconditional forgiveness

Jesus, Luke 23.34; Stephen, Acts 7.60; Paul, Colossians 3.13

-Luke 17.3-4 commands conditional forgiveness for repentance

Pay Attention to Yourselves

1)    Not to cause others to sin. Vs 1,2; 1Cor 8-10; Rom 14

2)    That you do not sin. Matthew 18.8-9

3)    That you forgive a repentant brother. Vs 3

The Forgiving Process

1)    Rebuke him for his sin.

-Make sure he has sinned against you and name the sin

2)    If he repents forgive him. If he does not repent follow

the steps outlined in Matthew 18.15-17.

3) Unconditionally forgive for own spiritual wellbeing.

Conclusion

1)    Unconditionally forgive and hold not grudges.

2)    Conditionally forgive to promote repentance and unity.

3)    Faith is required to forgive our brothers.

SERMON NOTES

Unconditional and Conditional Forgiveness Luke 17.1-5

-We have been thinking together about Christians forgiving one another.

-We learned in Matthew 18.21-22 that our forgiveness of others is to be unlimited with no apparent conditions attached. “Not just 7 times but 70 times 7 times.”

-We learned in the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18.23-35) that those who are truly forgiven must forgive others. The forgiveness of others shows that forgiveness from God has been understood and received, and that there is a dependence on God’s mercy and not works for forgiveness. Forgiveness extended to others demonstrates a conviction of personal sin and repentance toward God which has produced humility, submission to God, and mercy toward others. Lack of forgiveness towards others expresses that there is no true salvation or rebellion against God.

-We learned that forgiveness is a choice but is also a process that may take years and even a lifetime to work through while trusting in God.

-We have some compelling examples of unlimited and unconditional forgiveness in the NT. 1) We have the example of Jesus on the cross. When Jesus was crucified by the Roman soldiers between two thieves, one on his right and one on his left he said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23.34). This was the first of seven sayings from the cross, a request that God the Father might forgive those who sinned against him because they did it in ignorance. Their ignorance was due to their spiritual blindness which only God could cure by leading them to repentance and forgiveness through the sacrifice of Christ. 2) We have the example of Stephen the first martyr of the Church (Acts 7.60). Stephen was stoned by the Jews “And falling to his knees he cried out with a loud voice, ‘Lord, do not hold this sin against them.’ And when he had said this, he fell asleep.” One of the young men in the crowd that day who later received God’s mercy was Saul who became the apostle Paul. 3) Then we have Paul who forgave all his many enemies, accusers and persecutors. Some were jealous of Paul, while others sought to kill him, but Paul held no grudge against them, even though he continued to expose them as enemies of the Gospel and of Christ. Paul encourages those in the Church to forgive each other “as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3.13). Christians are to be examples of forgiveness while continuing to uphold justice.

-When we come to these verses in Luke we find a condition is added to forgiving others. That condition is the requirement of repentance, “if he repents, forgive him”. Let’s go through these verses together.

–Verse 3 begins with the words, “Pay attention to yourselves!” Keep a watch on yourselves. Be careful of your actions. These words point back to verses 1 and 2 and forward to the rest of verse 3 and verse 4 and caution the disciples about three things.

1) First of all Jesus is warning his disciples to be careful not to cause others to sin. [Read verses 1-2]

-We can cause other believers to sin by offending their conscience through reckless practice of our freedom in Christ. Paul gives the same caution in 1 Corinthians 8-10 and Romans 14. We can cause other believers to sin by sinning ourselves and tempting believers to sin. We must be careful not to cause others and especially young believers to sin.

2) Second Jesus is warning his disciples to be careful that they do not sin. In Matthew 18, a parallel passage to this passage in Luke, Jesus warns his disciples, “if your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away”. We are not only to be careful not to tempt others to sin but we are to make whatever precautions are needed not to sin ourselves.

3) Third Jesus is warning his disciples to be careful not to sin by holding a grudge and refusing to forgive a repentant brother. [Read verse 3]

-Sin must be carefully guarded against by not tempting others to sin, by making sure we do not sin, and by making sure we forgive fellow believers who have sinned against us.

-Jesus next outlines the process for forgiving a brother who sins against us. Notice that this teaching is about forgiveness between believers and not unbelievers who sin against us. We are to unconditionally forgive unbelievers who sin against us and we may in certain circumstances call for justice to be exercised but we cannot expect repentance from unbelievers or expect to apply the process of church discipline to unbelievers.

1) The first step in the process of forgiving a brother who has sinned against us is to rebuke him for his sin. At this point we must make sure that we have been sinned against and that we are not merely part of unpleasant circumstance, or an accident, or an annoying person who rubs us the wrong way. If we are to rebuke a fellow believer for sin we must be specific about the sin that they have committed against us. “You have stolen from me. You have slandered my name by spreading lies about me. You have defrauded me by taking sexual advantage of me. You are bitter and angry toward me and treating me in an unloving way. You are sinning against me by asking me to do that. You offended me by that ethnic joke. You broke your promise of confidence when you told your friend about our private discussion. You betrayed my trust.”

-We are to make our brother aware of their sin against us, being certain that it is sin and specifically naming the sin. The rebuked brother must know what he is to repent off in order to be forgiven by us.

-We are to rebuke our brother privately, humbly and lovingly, with an understanding that repentance will be met with full forgiveness.

2) Second, if the brother repents and asks for forgiveness he is to be forgiven. But what if the brother does not recognize their sin and refuses to repent? Matthew teaches us what is to be done in this case. Turn to Matthew 18.15-17. [Read]

-First we are to go alone and rebuke our brother or sister and if they repent we are to fully forgive them. If they do not repent the brother is to be approached with one or two others and asked once again to repent in order to be forgiven. If there is still no repentance then the sin is to be reported to the elders and then if needed to the whole church. If there continues to be no repentance then he is to be treated as an unbeliever by the whole church.

-The point here is that sin is to be confronted and forsaken so that the church may be holy and the brothers and sisters unified before God.

-If we do not forgive others who have sinned against us we are choosing to poison ourselves with hatred, bitterness, resentment, anger, and we rob ourselves of God’s promised peace and joy. In what we have studied so far I find two processes at work simultaneously – unconditional forgiveness to those who have sinned against us, and conditional forgiveness to promote repentance and reconciliation between believers.

–Unconditional forgiveness means that I forgive everyone of every sin they have ever committed against me with no conditions attached whatsoever. I hold no grudges, I expect no apology, I hold no bitterness toward the brother who has sinned against me. I love them and pray and work for their highest good. Unconditional forgiveness keeps me from poisoning my heart with unforgiveness and sets me free to enjoy fellowship with God and with my brothers and sisters in Christ. Unconditional forgiveness is for my own spiritual well being.

-We are not to avenge any sin that is committed against us. Avenging is God’s work not ours. Romans 12.17-19 says, “Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written ‘Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.’”

-Coupled with unconditional forgiveness is conditional forgiveness which requires repentance from my brother in order for me to forgive the sin he has committed against me. Conditional forgiveness holds back forgiveness toward a brother until they accept their sin, and repent and confess their sin. The goal of conditional forgiveness is reconciliation and restoration of a relationship as well as the development of godly character. This is forgiveness with the brother in mind and for the maturity of the body of Christ.

-Let me summarize Jesus’ teaching on sin and forgiveness. 1) Be careful that you don’t tempt others to sin by how you live. 2) Be careful not to fall into sin yourself and take whatever precautions are needed not to sin. 3) When you know that you have been sinned against by your brother be careful that you do not hold grudges but forgive them unconditionally. 4) Be careful to rebuke the brother who has sinned against you and offer the brother forgiveness conditional on their repentance from their sin. If they do not repent then follow the steps in Matthew 18.15-17.

-After listening to Jesus teach on sin and forgiveness we see the disciples respond in verse 5 with the words, “Increase our faith!” Not causing others to sin, not sinning ourselves and forgiving those who have sinned against us is not possible in our own strength. The disciples realized this as they heard Jesus teaching them about unlimited and unconditional as well as conditional forgiveness and cried out for more faith. That is the right response to the teaching of Jesus. We likely do not realize what Jesus is asking us to do if we expect to just go out and do what Jesus commands. If we are ready to go forth and do what Jesus commands us to do without a sense that we are not able to do it in ourselves then we likely do not understand what Jesus is commanding us to do. So it is with the unconditional command to always forgive all those who sin against us, and also the conditional command to only forgive those who repent. These commands to forgive are given to those who know God’s forgiveness and are trusting God to help them forgive others in the same way. So receive God’s forgiveness, do not cause others to sin, do not sin, and forgive those who sin against you, looking to God for the strength to live this godly life.