Forgiveness and My Salvation

This message confronts one of the most challenging questions we face about forgiveness: if we don't forgive others, can God truly forgive us? At first glance, this sounds like we're adding conditions to grace, turning salvation into a works-based transaction. But the truth runs deeper than that. Through the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18, we discover that unforgiveness isn't a condition that blocks God's power to forgive us—it's a heart condition that reveals we haven't fully grasped what we've already been forgiven. The servant who was forgiven an impossible debt of thousands of talents refused to forgive a fellow servant who owed him mere coins. His unforgiving heart exposed that he never truly understood the magnitude of mercy he'd received. When we cling to offenses and calculate what others owe us, we're demonstrating that we're still living by a system of debts rather than resting in grace. The radical invitation here is to stop focusing on what was done to us and start marveling at what was done for us at the cross. As we open our eyes to the width and depth of Christ's mercy toward us, forgiveness will naturally flow from our hearts toward others—not as a duty we perform to earn God's approval, but as an overflow of the grace we've already received.