The Sermon Notes of Harold Buls
On the Gospel Lessons of the Ingrian Lutheran Church of Russia
Text from Matthew 18:23-35
Trinity XII
1. At Lk. 6:36 Jesus says: "Therefore be merciful, just as
your Father also is merciful." Vs. 33 of our text contains
the verb "to be merciful" twice. The wicked servant had no
mercy. The sinful flesh of all human beings, also that of
Christians, is merciless. When Christians fall from the faith
they show their true merciless condition. Think of Cain, Saul
and Judas.
2. Note the adverb "as" in vs. 33. It reminds us of the same
word at Mt. 6:12: "Forgive us our debts _as_ we forgive our
debtors." This does not denote amount but spirit and
attitude.
3. Scholars have computed that the wicked servant was
forgiven 600,000 times more than what was owed by the fellow
servant. God has forgiven us infinitely more than our
neighbor forgives us.
4. Mercy is an attitude of love and forgiveness toward
someone who is miserable and undeserving. When David
confessed his sin with Bathsheba he cried: "Have mercy upon
me, 0 God, according to Your loving kindness." Ps. 51:5. When
Paul acknowledged himself to be the chief of sinners, he
added: "However, for this reason I obtained mercy, that in
me first Jesus Christ might show all longsuffering." I Tim.
1:16. Many times in the OT we read: "Oh, give thanks to the
Lord, for He is good because His mercy endures forever!" Ps.
118:1. In what sense is He "good"? His mercy endures forever.
Tit. 3:5 reads: "Not by works of righteousness which we have
done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit."
Holy Baptism is a constant and enduring covenant of God's
mercy which forgives our many, many sins.
5. In vs. 21 Peter had asked Jesus, "How often should I
forgive my brother who sins against me?" Jesus' answer says:
"There should be no limit to your forgiveness." In vs. 21
Jesus is speaking about a repentant sinner, a person who
commits many sins of weakness. In vss. 15-18 Jesus had spoken
of an impenitent sinner. Neither God nor the Christian should
forgive an impenitent sinner. His impenitence keeps an
impenitent sinner from being forgiven. In vss. 26-27 the
wicked servant at first is penitent, confessing and begging
for mercy. But in vss. 28-34 the wicked servant became
impenitent. His fellow servants grieved over his impenitence.
And the Lord refused to forgive his debt.
6. At Jn. 5:14 Jesus said to the healed man: "Look, you've
been made well. Sin no more lest a worse thing come on you."
Doesn't a Christian sin daily? Of course he does. But he does
not sin willingly. He repents and cries for mercy. And he
shows mercy to other sinners. At Gal. 5:21 after Paul had
listed the sins of the flesh, he says: "People who
constantly do such things will not inherit the Kingdom of
God." Christians do occasionally commit these sins, but not
deliberately. Christians grieve over the sins they commit
unwillingly. That is why St. Paul says: "Let not sin reign in
your mortal body so that you obey its lusts." Rom. 6:12. And
at Eph. 4:26: "Let not the sun go down on your wrath." Don't
bear a grudge. Don't let sin rule over you. Don't become
merciless like the wicked servant who refused to forgive his
fellow servant a small debt.
7. People sometimes say: "I'll forgive but I won't forget."
That is very, very dangerous. Then God forgives us for Jesus'
sake, does He forget? Surely He does. At Jer. 31:34 God says:
"I will forgive their iniquity and their sin I will remember
no more." At Ps. 25:7 David prays: "Do not remember the sins
of my youth." When God forgives, He forgets even though, like
David, we remember the sins of our youth and therefore beg
God not to remember our sins
8. Can a Christian fall from the faith and lose his soul?
Yes. That is why Paul warns us: "Let him who thinks he
stands, take heed lest he fall." I Cor. 10:12. Lord, have
mercy on me, a sinful being!
The Sermon Outline of Harold Buls
On the Gospel Lessons of the Ingrian Lutheran Church of Russia
Text from Matthew 18:23-35
Trinity XII
THEME: THE NECESSITY OF BEING MERCIFUL
INTRODUCTION
God says in vs. 33 of our text: was it not necessary for you
to have mercy on your fellow servant just as I had mercy on
you?" Mercy is necessary for me. I can be saved in no other
way. Mercy is necessary also for my fellowmen. He can be
loved in no other way. If I refuse to show mercy I cut myself
off from God's mercy and I am loveless toward my neighbor.
That is what our text is saying.
I. THE NECESSITY OF MERCY FOR MYSELF
A. Sinful man is totally helpless and lost
without mercy. This thought, like a golden
thread, is found throughout the Bible. Tit. 3:5
stays it very well: "Not by works in
righteousness which we have done but by his
mercy He has saved us." When David committed
adultery but was forgiven he exclaimed: "Have
mercy upon me, Oh God!" Ps. 51:1. After Paul
called himself the chief of sinners he said,
"For this reason God had mercy on me so that in
me first of all Christ Jesus might exhibit His
longsuffering as a pattern for those who will
believe in Him for life eternal." Until the end
of the world Paul will serve as a model for all
sinners who cannot save themselves by their
works but on whom Christ Jesus has had mercy.
How often don't we read in the Gospels about
people who said to Jesus: "Lord, have mercy on
me!" How often don't we repeat this sentence.
Sinful man cannot be helped without God's mercy.
B. The Triune God is a God of mercy. About
twelve times in the OT we read: "Oh give thanks
to the Lord for He is good because His mercy
endures forever." Ps. 118:1. He is a merciful
God in Christ Jesus. And that mercy is endless.
That's the way He is pictured in our text. He
decided to take accounts with His servants. One
was brought before Him who owed Him ten thousand
talents, a huge amount. He could not pay. He
deserved to be sold with his household as a
slave. But he begged for mercy. The Lord had
mercy on him and forgave his entire debt. That
is the true picture of God toward all Mankind.
His mercies in Christ Jesus are new every
morning. They endure forever. He forgives His
children daily, weekly, monthly, annually, all
their life.
II. THE NECESSITY OF MERCY FOR MY NEIGHBOR
A. My neighbor is as sinful and helpless as I
am. In Adam all have sinned and therefore do now
fall short of the glory of God. Rom. 3:22. But
there is a difference. My neighbor owes me far,
far less than I owe God. In our text the
comparative debts were ten thousand talents
compared to one hundred danaria. When we pray:
"Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those
who sin against us" we are not comparing amounts
but rather attitude. I owe God much, much more
than my neighbor owes me. But I should have the
same attitude toward him that God has toward me.
Trust as God has mercifully forgiven me in
Christ Jesus, so I must mercifully forgive my
neighbor. In Christ God forgives and forgets.
Jer. 31:34. He does not remember the sins of my
youth. Ps. 25:7.
B. The danger of being merciless toward my
neighbor. If and when I refuse to forgive my
neighbor two things happen: I become offensive
to my fellow-Christians as the parable plainly
shows and, secondly, I bring the just judgment
of God down on myself. If I refuse to forgive my
neighbor, all my debts come back again and I
become liable. Mercy has come to an end. Those
who refuse to forgive their fellowman bring the
mercy of the Lord to an end and, unless they
repent, will be forever banished from the
presence of the Lord" II Thess. 1:8-9. They will
be thrown into outer darkness where there is
nothing but weeping and gnashing of teeth.
CONCLUSION
We have many sins to confess. Included in these sins are the
times when we refused to forgive our neighbor. Lord, have
mercy on us! Forgive us our sins as we forgive those who sin
against us.
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This text was converted to ascii format for Project Wittenberg
by Cindy A. Beesley and is in the public domain by permission
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text.
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Rev. Robert E. Smith
Walther Library
at Concordia Theological Seminary
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