Matthew 18:31-35

So from this parable we learn several easy principles.

1. Our sins are great.

2. God abundantly forgives.

3. The offenses committed against us by our brethren are relatively minor to the ones that we have committed against God.

4. We should forgive abundantly as our Master does.

5. If we do not, God will be justly angry with us and punish us.

Ultimately, our receipt of God's mercy and compassion depends on how we treat others. We have nothing to pay our debt, therefore, God's forgiveness of our sins is nothing less than a great, tremendous gift. And that gift rests on the foundation of Christ's finished work, and it is on Jesus Christ that God can cancel our spiritually bankrupt debt.

Matthew 18:32-35

Again, there is a choice to be made, as well as a tragic ending. If we have to pay our own life debt for our sins against God, we have no hope, which is what happens if we will not forgive others. This parable puts the lie to the doctrine of eternal security, as well as the idea of irresistible grace that overwhelms us and causes us to float into goodness. Those ideas are attractive and comforting, but for them to be true, we would have take out major sections of Scripture, such as many of the parables.

Matthew 18:31-35

So we see then, at the end of the parable, that the lord's grace, that the lord's compassion, the lord's mercy is forfeited because of the greed, the anger, and the lack of compassion in the forgiven one.