A question of rights

Alright, so our reading today is from Matthew 18, starting at verse 15 and finishing at 35.

If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone.

If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you,

that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses.

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church.

And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

Truly I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven,

and whatever you lose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.

Again I say to you, if two of you agree on earth about anything they ask,

it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.

For where two or three are gathered in my name, there I am among them.

Then Peter came up and said to him,

Lord, how often will my brother sin against me and I forgive him?

As many as seven times, Jesus said to him.

I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

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 the same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii and seized 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 your 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.

Good morning.

Good to see everyone again this week.

Also welcome to those who are online as well.

As Sam has said, we are doing, or we are reading,

and considering the book of Matthew, chapter 18.

Matthew 18 · chapter mention

And today we are in the second part of it.

So last week we talked about

how in the church,

or in the group of people,

we seek to be important,

to be somebody.

And this week we are coming to the part

where we seek to protect our rights.

So,

we will, yeah,

consider that.

Let's pray first before we stop.

Father God,

we are so thankful that we can

come together to worship you

as we sing songs,

as we listen to your word.

How does,

Father,

not to

concentrate on ourselves,

to consider how good we are,

or how bad we are.

help us to

be able to see the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ,

the founder and the perfecter of our faith.

For we pray in Jesus' name.

Amen.

For those of us who have

watched many movies,

you might notice that

a lot of movies are about vengeance.

The story will start with

somebody,

or the main actor,

or actress,

was

bullied by

someone,

I mean,

the bad guys,

or persecuted by the bad guys,

and then

we will,

as we,

we will wait for the

development of the story,

and we will predict that

at the end,

the ugly duckling

will become a swan,

and then

it will

take revenge,

and the bad guys

suffer for what they have done.

That

will be in our mind,

but I wonder

whether we would

also wait at the same time

to

hope that

the bad guys

would

say sorry,

and repent,

and get forgiven,

and then

they become good friends again.

I think that is not very common,

we don't

think so much about it,

because

if the movie is like that,

nobody will watch

it,

I suppose,

because it's not entertaining

very much,

because in our culture,

personal rights,

human rights,

is very important,

and if

we

dare to violate it,

you will

be punished,

and you should be punished,

and we expect that

to be.

And so

we are not

very

culturally,

we are not

good

at seeking

forgiveness,

or giving

forgiveness.

So today,

we are considering

this,

especially in our,

as a church,

as God's people,

how we should

interact

with one another,

and this,

because as we gather,

there will be conflicts,

for sure,

even

husband and wife,

I mean,

conflicts happen

all the time,

and how do we

handle that,

right?

And so,

today,

we will,

with the question

of rights,

I will talk

four things about

rights.

The first one

is about

personal rights,

and when a

personal right

has been

violated,

why should I,

or why should we

forgive?

The second one

is about

the right actions.

If the conflict

is not resolved,

what do we do?

And the third

thing is the

right to take

action.

How,

who has the

right to say,

finally,

what is,

what is right

and wrong,

and take

further action?

And the fourth

thing is right

relations,

right relationship.

That is the

end goal

of

chapter 18,

I think.

So,

we'll start

with,

I will start

with verse

21,

so,

I will come

back to 15

later.

So,

on verse

21,

that is the

famous

question that

Peter asked

Jesus,

Lord,

how often

will my

brother sin

against me,

will I

forgive him?

As many as

seven times?

You see,

what Peter

is asking

is,

if somebody

has been

infringing on

my rights,

how many

times

should I

forgive the

person,

that person

is a

brother,

take note

there,

before I

stop,

I can

stop

forgiving.

That is,

because

if we

live in the

world,

he suppose

if I

forgive one

time,

I will be

very generous,

but because

in the

church

condition,

church

circumstances,

maybe seven

times is

enough,

that's what

is in

Peter's

mind.

And

then

Jesus

said,

not seven

times,

but 77

times.

Don said

70 times,

seven times,

seven times,

which is,

you can

translate that

as well.

It means

that there's

a lot of

times,

70 times,

or 490

times.

I mean,

it basically

means that

Jesus is

saying,

you don't

keep a

record of

how many

times people

have sinned

against you.

Because,

as you know,

I mean,

like in a

church

situation,

if there's

100 people,

if you

can remember

each one,

how many

times each

person has

sinned

against you,

seven times

is a lot

of number

to remember.

But 70

times,

it's just

impossible,

unless you

take a

notebook and

just record

every week,

who has

sinned

against me,

and whether

I've forgiven

the person.

So,

I mean,

life becomes

unlivable like

that.

So,

what Jesus

meant was

not,

don't record,

don't count.

So,

we can then

imagine,

Peter would

ask the

question that

it's not

fair.

Don't I

have my

rights?

I mean,

how,

why,

why should

I just

keep

copying

the

insults

on people,

or people

being taken

advantage

by people.

And,

in

anticipating

Peter having

this question,

then,

Jesus told

him and

the other

disciples that

the parable

of the

unforgiving

servant,

and we

know that

the servant

owes the

king,

owes the

king a

last sum

of money,

and it's

so large.

I mean,

in today's

term,

it's

calculated

to be

six billion

dollars.

Six billion

dollars,

I mean,

it's the

number that

we can

hardly

imagine.

And,

but,

obviously,

he couldn't

pay for

it.

He begged

for mercy,

and the

king had

mercy on

him,

and

canceled

his debt.

And,

the next

minute,

he went

out and

saw a

fellow

servant,

again,

his fellow

servant,

same servant

who was

serving the

king,

who

owed him

a small

debt,

which is

about

$12,000.

I mean,

it's still a

lot of

money,

$12,000,

but compared

to six

billion,

it's

nothing.

He

demanded

the

fellow

servant

to

repay

him the

debt,

and the

fellow

servant

pleaded

for mercy,

he couldn't

pay,

and then

he put

it in

jail.

And so,

when the

king found

out about

this,

the king

then put

this

unforgiveness

in jail

as well.

So,

we can,

I mean,

Peter thought

that by

forgiving seven

times,

he's already

doing better

than the

Jews.

The Jews

who forgive,

a good

Jew,

who forgive

their fellow

Jews three

times.

And,

so for

Peter to say

seven times

is very

generous.

But in

this parable,

Jesus is

reminding

Peter that

even if

you're the

best servant

of God,

you still

all got

a large

sum or

a big

debt,

because

the Jews

or the

Pharisees

or the

disciples

who think

that they

are giving

God a

service,

they are

contributing

to the

kingdom of

God.

But Jesus

is reminding

Peter that

it's not

so.

Because even

if we

serve God

perfectly in

terms of

following the

law and

doing things,

but our

hearts would

normally not

be serving

God.

We are

serving our

purpose like

the Pharisees.

I mean,

we do all

the things

for our

own reputation

or position.

And so

all the

service that

we appear

to give

service to

God is

actually for

our own

glory.

And so

we are

stealing

glory from

God

even as

we serve

him.

So we

can imagine

Jesus is

telling Peter

to imagine

one day

God

will come

to you

and demand

you to

pay back

all the

glory that

you have

stolen from

him.

and also

all the

neglect that

you should

have given

to your

brother and

you have

not.

What will

you do?

Peter and

Peter will

think,

I don't

know what

to do.

I won't

have any

way to

repeat that

debt,

but I

will plead

for mercy

and promise

that I

will do

better next

time.

I will

love God

as I

should and

love my

brothers as

I should.

okay,

I mean,

God hears

you and

forgive you.

But the

next minute

Peter,

you meet

a brother

who owe

you a

small debt.

And you

already

given this

brother seven,

extended the

debt line

seven times.

I mean,

this time is

the eighth

time you

said,

I won't

extend it

anymore,

you must

pay me

back.

And this

brother

couldn't

pay you

back,

you take

him to

court.

And put

him to

jail.

So,

Peter,

you have

broken your

promise.

What do

you think

God does

for you?

So that

is basically

what the

parable

is about.

And Jesus

is telling

us that in

the kingdom

of God,

people do

not think

in terms

of personal

rights.

Because they

are so

overwhelmed

by the

forgiveness

that they

have received

from God

that they

basically

lose

themselves

in that

amazement.

So you

can imagine

if you

borrow $6

million

from the

bank,

from a

bank,

and you

couldn't

repay it,

and the

bank

cancels

your $6

million

debt.

Would you

care if

your brother

all used

$12?

for any

person of

logic and

heart,

you won't

care about

how much

other people

owe you

if you

know how

much you

owe God

and how

much debt

God has

cancelled.

So if

we are not

forgiving,

that means

we have

not tasted

the forgiveness

of God,

or we have

not understood

the forgiveness

of God,

I understand

that sometimes,

as Don just

announced,

that sometimes

it's actually

very hard for

us to

forgive,

because the

hurt is so

deep.

But I

think the

important thing

is that we

do have a

desire to

forgive.

We may

not be able

to do it

straight away,

but at

least the

desire is

there to

tell God

that I

want to

forgive,

but I

find it

hard.

If we

do have

that desire,

I think

the Holy

Spirit is

already

working in

our hearts

for it.

Sometimes

people who

ask for

forgiveness

may not

be sincere.

We know

that.

They say,

I'm sorry,

but they

are not

actually

sorry.

What do

we do

then?

Or sometimes

people,

just like

in this

story,

just keep

sinning

against you.

What do

you do

then?

so we

will come

back to

verse 15

to look

at the

actions

that we

should take

if we

are suffering

or we

have been

wrong,

what do we

do if the

other party

has not

come to

apologize?

So there

are, I

will put

down in

five points

just quickly,

because verse

15 to

17 will

take the

whole sermon

at least.

So I

was, first

of all,

initiative.

So if we

find that

our relationship

has been

strained,

we should

be the

one who

take

initiative

to

reestablish

the

relationship.

So we

should talk

to the

person that

has wronged

us or

have not

sincerely

apologized.

we should

help the

person to

understand the

damage that's

done to

the relationship,

the hurt that's

caused.

It's not

easy, okay,

to do that.

Unless we

do it often

enough, we

just don't

know how to

do it, but

we have to

start somewhere.

We need to

have the

right place,

so we

don't just

in the

public area

and talk

about this.

Right

timing,

like if

the person

is busy

with something

else,

occupied with

something

else,

it's not

a good

time to

talk about

it.

And the

right attitude,

the attitude

will be the

next thing

that is,

we talk

about,

this is not

to protect

our rights,

but to

restore

relationship.

If you

have this

in mind,

then the

way we

talk will

be gentler,

not coming

down as

someone

aggressive,

and also

the attitude

of caring

for the

other party,

not so

much

condemning.

So we

also want

to consider,

not only our

rights have

been infringed,

we want to

talk about,

if you see

a brother

sinning against

somebody else,

somebody who's

weaker and

unable to

defend

themselves,

I think we

should still

talk to

the brother

as well,

or the

sister,

about this.

Or even

if you see

somebody who's

harming

himself,

himself,

herself,

by addiction,

alcohol,

pornography,

bambling,

all these

things,

I think we

should,

even though

it's not

sinning against

me or

ourselves,

then we

should still

talk to

the person.

So that

is our

attitude.

And then

there's the

steps that

we take,

that is

privacy.

So the

third thing

would be

privacy,

that is

when we

try to

settle

conflicts,

bear in

mind privacy

because we

do not

want to

publish the

whole thing

to everyone.

So as

the Lord

say,

it's one

to one

to start

with.

If it

doesn't get

resolved,

you get

some weaknesses,

so small

group leader,

or another

elder,

or somebody

else who

is appropriate

to talk

to the

person.

And only

if it's

not resolved

that you

bring the

whole matter

to the

church.

And then

so the

church can

make the

decision

or make

a judgment

on this

case.

And there

is the,

we also

need to

consider the

cause of

doing it.

sometimes

we try

to resolve

the

conflict

that it

may not

be

resolvable.

We thank

God that

most of

the time

it is

resolvable,

one to

one

level.

Sometimes

you go

to one

to,

many to

one,

some

two or

three to

one.

But in

reality,

in the

church

situation,

it's very

rare for

the case

to bring

up to

the

whole

church.

For my

last ten

years being

involved in

the

eldership,

there's none

of these

cases ever

come to

this.

Just because

by the

second stage,

when there

are two

or three

talking to

one, if

it doesn't

get resolved,

the person

usually leave

the church

and they

just go to

another

church.

church.

And that's

the cause

of it,

when there's

not resolved

on both

sides.

And the

other cause

would be

reputation,

because the

person who

leave the

church would

usually get

asked,

why did

you leave

the church?

So then

he would

talk about

the hurt

that he

received

by somebody

in the

church.

But those

who left

in the

church,

who are

involved in

it,

because of

privacy,

they don't

tend to

talk about

their side

of the

story.

And so

whoever

tries to

resolve

problems,

sometimes

they will

be the

ones paying

for the

price for

doing it.

Just be

mindful of

this as

well when

we try to

resolve

conflicts.

Sorry,

I need to

hurry.

So we

will go

to the

next,

from

18 to

20.

It's

talked about

here,

the church

has got

the final

authority to

decide on

a conflict.

Who gave

the church

that authority?

So that's

18 to

20.

Jesus is

saying that

God has

given the

church

authority to

decide in

terms of

the binding

and losing.

And of course,

if the church

went through a

trade,

gather in

Jesus'

name,

and God

will guide

the church

for the

decision.

The question

would be,

would the

church,

even as

the church

make a

decision,

to make a

judgment,

would the

church always

be right?

It depends

on what

you define

as right.

How do you

know something

is right or

wrong?

Sometimes we

don't actually

know or

can never

know.

in

1748,

Jonathan

Edwards,

the famous

preacher in

America,

was dismissed

by his own

church.

Because the

church,

by that

tradition of

the church

is that

the Lord's

Supper was

open to

anyone,

whether they

are Christian

or not.

So this

is a means

of the

church to

attract

non-Christians

who come

to church

and start

joining the

church.

But Jonathan

Edwards insisted

that only

Christians,

people who

have repented

of their

sins,

should take

part in

the Lord's

Supper.

So the

church came

together and

out of the

230 people,

only 10%

voted for

Jonathan

Edwards.

The others

were against

him.

So Jonathan

Edwards was

dismissed.

Jonathan Edwards

wasn't

bitter about

this.

He was

very calm.

He gave

a farewell

sermon and

in the

sermon he

told,

advised the

church to

keep their

unity.

I mean,

don't divide

because of

this.

And he

just went

on and

do some

other

ministries.

So is

it a right

or wrong

decision?

It's very

hard to say.

the church

definitely

have

possibly the

best pastor

and preacher

American ever

had.

But in

God's

sovereignty,

the church

has set

loose a

very powerful

missionary to

the Indians

because they

dismissed

Jonathan

Edwards.

So we

can never

know in

terms of

right or

wrong in

there.

But in

God's

sovereignty,

things will

always turn

up right in

God's plan

in any

case.

So why

should we do

all these

things?

That is the

main point

of the

second half

of 18.

That is to

have the

right

relationship.

We try to

reestablish

relationship with

people and

with God.

And so

with the

forgiveness

and all

those going

on, we

are talking

about is

about

relationship.

You see

the word

righteousness

is not

only to

do the

right thing

in God's

eye, it's

actually to

have the

right

relationship.

Relationship

with God

and relationship

with man.

For example,

in Psalm

Psalms 112:9

112,

verse 9,

it says

that he

has

distributed

freely,

he has

given to

the poor,

his

righteousness

endures

forever.

And his

horn is

exorbitant

honor.

Righteousness

in here is

saying that

somebody is

generous,

distributed,

freely,

given to

the poor,

and so

he established

a relationship

with people,

the poor

people,

the needy

people,

and that's

righteousness.

And so

it is

important for

us to

know that

to be

considered

righteous,

it's not

only sort

of living

according to

God's

law,

but more

so is

having

the love

towards

God

and other

people.

And that

is the,

I suppose,

sum up

the message

of chapter

18.

Then,

from this

understanding,

I will go

back to

the parable

of unforgiving

Because I

think there

are many

questions that

we will have

from this

parable.

I will

deal with

three

questions.

The question

one is,

is the

unforgiving

servant

a believer?

Is he

a sort

of,

according to

a Christian?

If he's

not a

believer,

how can

he be a

servant of

the king?

But if

he's a

believer,

how can

he be

condemned

by the

king at

the end?

How do

we resolve

this,

question?

We need

to think

about

relationship.

When the

unforgiving

servant

asked for

mercy,

do you

think he

have,

what did

he have

in mind?

Why did

he ask

for mercy?

So he

didn't want

to be

punished,

obviously.

Did he

have in

mind he

want to

reestablish

his

relationship

with the

king?

Possibly

not.

So his

mind is

about himself,

how he

can get

off the

punishment.

So the

relationship

is very

important in

here.

If we

go back

to,

if we

go to

Luke 15,

in Luke

15 we

have the

parables of

the lost

sheep,

the lost

coin,

the lost

son.

Remember

Jesus was

talking to

the Pharisees

in Luke

15 and

he first

mentioned the

lost sheep,

one lost

sheep with

99 sheep

who didn't

think that

they were

lost.

The 99

sheep is

actually

referring to

the Pharisees,

people who

think that

they are

right with

God because

they have

followed the

law,

the

diligently,

but they

are not

actually,

their heart

is not

with God.

And then we

go to the

lost son.

The son is

lost,

the younger

son,

not because

he lost

his ways

or his

mind,

but he

lost his

relationship

with the

father.

When he

demanded his

inheritance,

he's already

considered his

father dead.

He didn't

actually care

about his

father.

So the

lost son

is about

people who

pay no

regard to

God,

who

who's

got his

pleasure.

He just

focused on

finding

pleasure in

life.

But the

lost son,

when he

realized that

worldly

pleasure

did not

last or

did not

satisfy,

he remembered

the goodness

of the

father.

So he

went home

and apologized.

He said,

I sinned

against heaven

and I sinned

against you,

the father.

So it

shows that

he wants

to reestablish

relationship

with the

father.

In the

story of

the lost

son,

there's also

the older

brother who

didn't think

that he

was lost

because he

had been

serving the

father faithfully.

But he

was equally

lost because

he did not

have a right

relationship with

the father

or the

younger

brother.

So the

older brother

represents people

who are lost

because his

God is

religion.

religion to

him is

the most

important.

He worships,

he's not

worshipping God,

he's worshipping

religion.

It means that

he's worshipping

himself because

by religion he's

establishing his

position,

his reputation.

And so if

we look at

this parable,

we know that

again,

the right

relationship is

very important.

so we

come back

to this

servant,

is he a

believer?

Now,

it is not

easy to

define a

believer.

While it's

quite easy to

define an

unbeliever,

unbeliever is

like the

younger son

who did

not pay

any attention

to God

at all

and have

nothing to

do with

God.

But to

define

believer is

harder.

You see,

most of

us,

when we

come to

believe in

God,

we usually

believe in

God because

God is

useful to

us.

God can

help us,

God can

make us

happier,

or suffer

less.

So that

is still

about

myself

when I

come to

believe in

God.

Am I a

believer then?

Possibly.

But if

at some

stage I

can see the

beauty of

God and

I want

to know

God and

love him

and love

other people

as well,

then I'm

coming to

believe in

God not

because he's

useful to

me, but

because he's

beautiful.

And I

think Jesus

is talking

to Peter

in this

level of

belief,

desire to

have a

right

relationship

with God.

And that

is very

important to

the church

definitely

because if

you have

desire to

have the

right

relationship

with God

and then

you have

desire to

have the

right

relationship

with one

another.

And that's

how the

church will

grow and

be attractive

to other

people as

well.

So that is

the first

question.

The second

question would

be, I

imagine

Peter

asked

Jesus,

he said,

Peter could

say,

Lord, I

know that I

need to

love God

for all my