Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Matthew 18:21-22 (Read Matt. 18:21-35)

How often should we forgive a brother or sister who sins against us? This is the question Peter asked of Jesus after Jesus instructed His disciples in regard to binding or not forgiving the sins of impenitent sinners and loosing or forgiving the sins of those who repent.

Note Jesus’ answer: “I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.” Jesus did not mean only 490 times, but all the time! Like our Lord, we are always to be “good, and ready to forgive” (Psalm 86:5).

The parable of the unforgiving servant which follows illustrates Jesus’ point to Peter. A certain servant owed the king such a great amount that he would never be able to work off and repay his debt. When the king justly would have sold him and all that he had to recover at least a part of this debt, the servant pleaded for mercy. And the king was moved to compassion and forgave the entire debt.

We, like the first servant in this parable, owe to God a greater debt than we can ever repay. Our sins against the LORD God are so great that there is no hope of us ever repaying or making amends for our sins – even thinking that we could do so is foolishness. God’s law, therefore, demands that we be cast into hell’s eternal prison and suffer there forever the just penalty for our sins (cf. Rom. 3:9ff.; 6:23a). Indeed, there is nothing we can do but plead for mercy!

And God, like the king in Jesus’ parable, is merciful. He sent His only-begotten Son into the world to live a righteous and holy life in our stead and then to pay in full the debt of our sins and the sins of all by suffering our just punishment as He was crucified and died on the cross. God accepted Christ’s atoning sacrifice and raised Him up and, in the Gospel, God offers to us through faith in Christ mercy instead of judgment, forgiveness instead of eternal damnation (cf. 1 Cor. 15:3-4; Rom. 3:21ff.; 5:6ff.).

When we look to God in faith, seeking His mercy in Christ Jesus and for the sake of Christ’s atoning sacrifice on the cross, God graciously forgives our entire debt of sin. “As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

But then there is the second part of Jesus’ parable. This same servant went out and found a fellow servant who owed him only a very small and insignificant amount in comparison with the huge debt which had been forgiven him. Rather than showing mercy to this servant as he had been shown mercy by his lord, he refused to forgive this small debt and “cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.”

When the king saw that his compassion and forgiveness had no effect on this unforgiving servant, he was angry and “delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him.”

In our earthly lives, others sin against us many times; but this debt of sin, though it may seem great to us, is small and insignificant in comparison with the great debt of sin that the LORD God has forgiven us for Jesus’ sake. As a fruit of our faith, and as a result of God’s great mercy to us in Christ Jesus, we ought also to forgive those who sin against us, even “up to seventy times seven.”

In fact, the Bible urges us to “be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32).

If we refuse to forgive from our hearts those who sin against us, neither will our heavenly Father forgive us; instead, He will cast us into the fires of hell to pay in full the punishment due unto us for our sins (cf. Matt. 6:12,14-15).

Forgive our sins, Lord, we implore, remove from us their burden sore, as we their trespasses forgive who by offenses us do grieve. Thus let us dwell in charity and serve our brother willingly. Amen. — “Our Father, Thou in Heaven Above,” Martin Luther, The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn 458, v. 6

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“And, ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Ephesians 6:4

With parenting comes great responsibility toward God, who creates and gives life to children in their mothers’ wombs (cf. Ps. 139:13-16; Gen. 1:27-28).

After giving His law, the LORD God, through Moses, commanded His people: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD: and thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might. And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: and thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up” (Deut. 6:4-7).

And, as God’s people under Moses were to circumcise their sons and teach their children to know the LORD God and love Him, so also God commands parents today to bring their children to Him in baptism and to bring them up “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4; cf. Matt. 28:18-20; Act. 2:38-39; Tit. 3:4-7; Col. 2:11-15; John 3:3-6).

Not doing so causes these little ones to sin or stumble in regard to faith in Christ Jesus and results in the eternal ruin of their souls.

And Jesus said: “But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matt. 18:6).

This warning of God’s judgment upon those who cause children who believe to sin and fall away from their faith in Christ Jesus ought to make parents and others all the more diligent to bring up their children to know and trust in Christ Jesus as their Savior and to walk in His ways!

O God, for the sake of Christ Jesus and His perfect sacrifice on the cross for the sins of the world, mercifully forgive us where we have failed in our responsibilities to bring up our children “in the nurture and admonition of the Lord.” Give us Your wisdom and strength that we might bring our children to Christ in baptism and teach them all things that He has commanded. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call.” Acts 2:38-39

In his Pentecost sermon, Peter told his Jewish hearers that they had rejected and crucified the Messiah and Savior sent for them by the LORD God, and they were pricked in their hearts and asked what they should do.

Peter’s response to them was: “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation.”

While we may not like to think of it, Messiah Jesus was crucified because of you and me as well. As it says in Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”

And, when we continue on in our own ways instead of turning back to the LORD God and His Christ, we tread under our feet the Son of God and count the blood of the covenant which He shed on the cross to redeem us a common and unholy thing and despise and reject the gracious working of the Holy Spirit to bring us to repentance (cf. Heb. 10:29).

Peter’s answer to his Jewish hearers is just as valid today for you and me and the rest of this fallen and sinful world. We have, by our sins, crucified the LORD’s Christ and the only way we can be saved is to repent and be baptized in the name of Messiah Jesus for the full and free remission of all our sins. Then we too will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit who regenerates us and creates and preserves faith in our hearts in the Lord Jesus (cf. Tit. 3:3-7).

To be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ is, of course, to be baptized in the name of the Triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – as Jesus Himself commanded (Matt. 28:19).

And, as Luther explained, to continue in baptismal grace is to continue to live in daily contrition and repentance, daily acknowledging and confessing our sins and failures and looking to the Lord Jesus and His blood shed for us upon the cross for our forgiveness and for life everlasting (cf. Romans 6:1ff.; 1 John 1:7 – 2:2).

O dearest Lord Jesus, Son of God and our Savior, forgive us for our sin and rebellion against You and grant that we live in continual repentance, acknowledging and turning from our evil ways to You for mercy, forgiveness, and life everlasting. Amen.

[Scripture quotations are from the King James Version of the Bible.]

And he said also unto his disciples, There was a certain rich man, which had a steward; and the same was accused unto him that he had wasted his goods. And he called him, and said unto him, How is it that I hear this of thee? give an account of thy stewardship; for thou mayest be no longer steward. Then the steward said within himself, What shall I do? for my lord taketh away from me the stewardship: I cannot dig; to beg I am ashamed. I am resolved what to do, that, when I am put out of the stewardship, they may receive me into their houses. So he called every one of his lord’s debtors unto him, and said unto the first, How much owest thou unto my lord? And he said, An hundred measures of oil. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and sit down quickly, and write fifty. Then said he to another, And how much owest thou? And he said, An hundred measures of wheat. And he said unto him, Take thy bill, and write fourscore. And the lord commended the unjust steward, because he had done wisely: for the children of this world are in their generation wiser than the children of light. And I say unto you, Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that, when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations. He that is faithful in that which is least is faithful also in much: and he that is unjust in the least is unjust also in much. If therefore ye have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if ye have not been faithful in that which is another man’s, who shall give you that which is your own? No servant can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon. Luke 16:1-13

What do we learn from the unjust steward? What is Jesus teaching us with this parable?

With this parable, Jesus instructs us concerning wise use of the money and earthly goods that are entrusted to us by God. While Jesus does not commend the wickedness of the unjust steward, He does hold up the wisdom of this unjust steward as an example for us.

When this unjust steward saw that he would lose his position as steward or manager of his lord’s goods, he used the short time he had left as steward to reduce the bills of his lord’s debtors so that they would show kindness and care for him when he was no longer steward. In this way, the unjust steward wisely used the money and goods entrusted to his care to provide for his future well-being.

During our earthly lives, God also entrusts us with money and goods to use wisely for Him. Like the unjust steward, we ought to consider our eternal future and use this money and these goods in a way that looks ahead to that day when our earthly life comes to an end and we stand before God’s judgment.

Certainly, we cannot buy our way into heaven with the unrighteous mammon of this world; but since God freely gives us forgiveness of sins and everlasting life in heaven for Jesus’ sake, we should use the unrighteous mammon entrusted to us to make ready for everlasting life in heaven.

Jesus said, “Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: for where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” (Matt. 6:19-21).

As Christians, we should use the money and goods entrusted to us in this world to advance God’s kingdom of grace, to spread the Gospel of forgiveness and life eternal through faith in Jesus Christ. Then our treasure will be in heaven, where we also will be received by the grace of God in Jesus Christ.

“Lord of Glory, who hast bought us with Thy life-blood as the price, never grudging for the lost ones that tremendous sacrifice, give us faith to trust Thee boldly, hope, to stay our souls on Thee; but, oh! best of all Thy graces, give us Thine own charity. Amen.” (The Lutheran Hymnal, Hymn #442, Verse 5)

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]

“Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy …” Exodus 20:8

The Lord God required His people (under the old covenant) to set aside the seventh day as a day of rest from their labors and as a day to consider Him and His ways. Since God Himself created the heavens and the earth in six days and rested on the seventh, so also His people were to refrain from their labors on the Sabbath to hear His Word and honor Him (cf. Ex. 20:8-11; Deut. 5:12-15; Isa. 58:13-14).

We are no longer required to rest from all our labors on the seventh day, or on any other day of the week (cf. Col. 2:16-17; Rom. 14:5-6; Acts 15:1ff.; Gal. 1:1ff.). But, as God required the children of Israel to rest on the Sabbath Day so that they might have time to hear His Word and worship Him, so He commands us to set aside time from our earthly labors that we also might hear and consider His Word and glorify His holy name (cf. Isa. 58:13-14; Col. 3:16; 2 Tim. 3:14-17; Luke 11:28; Acts 2:42; Ps. 95:1ff.; Ps. 111:1; Gal. 6:6-8; etc.).

In order to do this, Christians have historically set aside Sunday, the day of Christ’s resurrection, as a time for worship and meditation upon God’s Word. And Christians also seek to take time on a daily basis for Bible reading and prayer.

To neglect the services of God’s house and not to take the time for Bible reading and prayer in our homes is a sin against God’s commandment. And, when we neglect to hear and carefully consider the teaching of God’s Word, we endanger our own souls, for it is through the Word of God that the Holy Spirit reveals to us our Savior and eternal life in His name (cf. Heb. 10:24-25; Rom. 10:17; 2 Tim. 3:14-17).

Hearing God’s will and commandment regarding the Sabbath should move us to repent of our neglect of His Word and to turn back to Him for mercy and forgiveness in Christ Jesus, God’s Son. His commandment also guides us as we then seek to amend our ways and live for Him so that we regularly set aside a portion of the time God has given us to meditate upon His Word and worship Him.

And, as with all of God’s commandments, obedience brings with it rich blessings we would otherwise never know or experience. The treasures of God’s Word are rich!

Dear LORD God, forgive us for neglecting to set aside time to hear Your saving Word and worship You. Give us true love for You and Your Word so that we continue to learn of the salvation You have provided for us in Christ Jesus, our Savior. In His name, we pray. Amen.

[Scripture is quoted from the King James Version of the Bible.]