Forgive Men Their Trespasses

The point: Weigh every truth or every statement that purports to be truth in the light of the word of God.

Martin recounts a childhood memory of his father threatening no swimming if the lawn wasn't cut. This illustrates how a threat can lead to grudging obedience, contrasting it with the spirit of true forgiveness.

Like the fellow whose dad says, look son, if you don't cut the grass by the time I get home from work at five o'clock tonight, you can't go swimming from six to seven down at the pool. So as the time draws near in the afternoon, I know this is so because I was once a boy. And it wasn't a pool. We lived right next to Long Island Shore up in Connecticut.

8:57 - 9:19 Read in full sermon

Driving home: For true forgiveness always breaks a man and a broken man will be a forgiving man.

The story of John Wesley rebuking Mr. Oglethorpe, who refused to forgive his valet for stealing wine, illustrates that those who refuse to forgive have likely never truly understood their own need for God's forgiveness.

The story is told of John Wesley who was on the boat with a man by the name of Oglethorpe who was one of the military leaders and political leaders of the early South. And Mr. Oglethorpe was quite upset and he said to Mr. Wesley, to John Wesley, he said, Mr. Wesley, I want you to forgive me.

17:05 - 17:25 Read in full sermon

The point: Do you nurse a grudge for days?

Martin asks about nursing grudges among siblings or dragging up past wrongs in marital spats, using these as examples of unforgiveness that proves a lack of true repentance.

What about you fellas and girls? You've got brothers and sisters in the home. Do you nurse a grudge for days?

25:59 - 26:04 Read in full sermon

The point: When a little spat comes in the home, do you begin to drag up a whole list of things from past years? That's proof you've never forgiven.

He uses the analogy of sweeping things under the rug to describe how people 'forgive' but keep a mental file of past wrongs, ready to bring them out later, contrasting this with God's forgetting of forgiven sins.

God's forgiveness is always identified with His forgetting.

26:21 - 26:24 Read in full sermon

The point: If not, dear one, you have reason to question whether or not you've ever truly been brought to repentance and true faith in Jesus Christ.

Martin mentions the rabbinical teaching of forgiving only up to three times, which Peter exceeded by suggesting seven times, to set up Jesus' teaching on continuous forgiveness.

Beginning with verse 21, we have the account of how Peter came to the Lord Jesus asking Him a question. Now, the rabbinical teachers of our Lord's day taught that you had to forgive a man up to three times, but after that you could turn around and shoot him if you needed to. If you went three times, that was far enough. Maybe they were hog wild on Bible numerics.

27:22 - 27:43 Read in full sermon