sinners say i do (book quote 6)

From When Sinners Say "I Do," by Dave Harvey, on forgiveness...

Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything." And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, "Pay what you owe." So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, "Have patience with me, and I will pay you." He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, "You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?" And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart. (Matthew 18:23-35).

... forgiven sinners forgive sin (p. 100, emphasis mine).

When we use human standards of evaluation, we can begin to think our "run-of-the-mill" sins against our spouse (indifference, laziness, or unkind speech, for example) are on the level of a "100-denarii sin." And we could easily look at [adultery] as a "10,000-talent sin." This kind of thinking can lead us to assume that if our sin isn't as bad as someone else's (my spouse's, for example), my problem with God can't be as bad, either (p. 102).

... we do not truly grasp the good news of Jesus Christ in the gospel until we see that our sin against a holy God is a far greater injustice than anything that could be done to us. Our loving Father cares deeply about the severity of any sins committed against you. In his perfect holiness and omniscience he overlooks not a single sin. But in that same holiness and omniscience he also sees your every sin, no matter how great, no matter how small, and regardless of the circumstances which bring it to light (p. 103, emphasis mine).

You see, the status of the one sinned against is key, and the fact that all sin is against God locates every one of us in the 10,000-talent camp - a central point of this parable... The "size" of a sin is not ultimately determined by the sin itself, but by he one who is sinned against. Sin is infinitely wicked because it rejects the one who is infinitely holy and good. The more we recognize the perfection of God's holiness, the more obvious this truth becomes. For the sake of our marriages we must see ourselves in the shoes of the 10,000-talent debtor. The appreciation of a massive debt forgiven (our sin against a holy God) forms the base and starting point for our forgiveness of one another's much smaller (by comparison) offenses. Without understanding the depth of our sin against God and the riches of his forgiveness toward us, we will never be able to forgive others (p. 103-104, some emphases mine).

But true forgiveness sees another's sin for the evil that it is, addresses it, then absorbs the cost of that sin by the power of God's abundant grace. Such forgiveness sets the sinner free; the account of the sin is closed, cancelled, blotted out, just as we see in Matthew 18. Ken Sande says: "Forgiveness can be a costly activity. When you cancel a debt, it does not just simply disappear. Instead, you absorb a liability that someone else deserves to pay. Similarly, forgiveness requires that you absorb certain effects of another person's sins and you release that person from liability to punishment. This is precisely what Christ accomplished on Calvary." There is nothing in us that would naturally choose the way of full, biblical forgiveness. It's just too hard, and adding to the challenge is the fact that the extension of true forgiveness can never guarantee we won't be wronged again. So why even consider it? Because forgiveness, full and free, is precisely what has been accomplished for us on Calvary. And the one who has been forgiven is now able to forgive others. Forgiven sinners forgive sin (p. 108, emphases mine).

... we, like Peter, need to see that forgiveness is not the stuff of the extraordinary saint. Forgiveness is at the heart of the gospel and therefore is to be a defining characteristic of every believer (p. 110, emphases mine).