Dr Tom Hover
January 11, 2026
Matthew 18:21-35 / Matthew 19:4
Jesus On Forgiveness / Jesus On Marriage: Marriage Matters
Jesus On Forgiveness
TEXT: Matthew 18:21-35
Introduction: THE GREATEST FREEDOM IS TO BE FORGIVEN, AND THE SECOND IS LIKE UNTO IT, AND THAT IS TO FORGIVE!
The speaking by Christ on the subject of offending and how to deal with personal offenses lead to the inquiry of Christ about forgiveness.
Matthew 18:35
I. JESUS HAS FORGIVEN US!
Now you think of your sin as a debt that you owe God.
Have you ever thought about being in debt to God?
Why are you in debt to God?
Number One: He created you.
Number Two: He redeemed you.
Number Three: He takes care of you day by day. Ezra 9:6
Sin is a debt I owe. Sin is a debt I cannot pay. Morally and spiritually, I am bankrupt before Almighty God. I have nothing to offer. Isaiah 64:6 When that king forgave that servant that 10,000 talents, what did it cost that king? Ten thousand talents. Hebrews 12:2
II. JESUS DEMANDS US TO FORGIVE OTHERS Matthew 18:22
A. The Grace Factor. Matthew 10:8, Ephesians 4:32
You pass on what you have received. God forgives you. You forgive others. The grace factor.
B. The Guilt Factor. Matthew 6:14-15
An unforgiving spirit is unforgivable. The man, the woman, who will not forgive destroys the bridge over which he or she must travel.
C. The Grief Factor. Matthew 6:14-15, Matthew 18:32-34
D. The Gain Factor. Matthew 18:15, Ephesians 4:32 An unforgiving spirit makes foes. A forgiving spirit makes friends. How should you forgive?
III. JESUS TELL US HOW TO FORGIVE
Let me tell you how to forgive.
A. Jesus Teaches on Forgiveness
1. Forgive Freely “Freely ye have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). Matthew 18:15, Luke 17:4, Luke 23:34
The attitude of forgiveness will free you. The act of forgiveness will free them.
2. Forgive Fully Matthew 6:9-13 “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
3. Forgive Finally Psalm 103:12, Isaiah 38:17, Micah 7:19, Hebrews 8:12, Philippians 2:13 “To err is human. To forgive is divine.”
B. Jesus Illustrates Forgiveness Matthew 23:23-35
1. Note The Purpose of The Illustration. After sharing the illustrative story Jesus said: Matthew 18:35
2. Note The Portrayal in The Illustration. Matthew 18:23
The portrayal of forgiveness in this illustration portrays the great magnanimity of forgiveness in our salvation. The debt forgiven is huge: Matthew 18:27
Just one Talents was a whole year of Taxes in Rome at that time.
Ten thousand years of taxes.
3. Note The Perversion in The Illustration. (Perniciousness)
Matthew 18:28, Matthew 18:30
First, The Unforgiveness Was Unfitting.
Second, The Unforgiveness Was Unkind.
Third, The Unforgiveness Was Unreasonable.
Fourth, The Unforgiveness Was Unrealistic.
4. The Punishment in The Illustration. Matthew 18:31, Matthew 18:34
Here is a guy who begged for forgiveness without repentance.
Here is a guy who was received the same judgement he acted upon others.
First, The Witnesses for The Punishment.
“His fellow servants saw what was done” (Matthew 18:31).
Second, The Weeping for The Punishment. “They were very sorry.”
Third, The Word for The Punishment. “Told their lord all that was done.”
Fourth, The Wrath in The Punishment. “His lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due.”
Corrie Ten Boom Quotes: “Forgiveness Is an Act of The Will, And the Will Can Function Regardless of the Temperature of the heart.” “To Forgive Is to Set a Prisoner Free and Discover the Prisoner Was You” Luke 6:37
Conclusion: God not only commands us to forgive; He enables us to forgive. Again, let me tell you something. There are some in this building that have been so wronged against by parents, husbands, wives, and employers that in order for you to forgive you’re going to have your own private Gethsemane and your own private Calvary. But if you do it, you’ll have your own private Resurrection / Easter. It costs. But it’s worth it.
PM
Jesus On Marriage: Marriage Matters
Matthew 19:1-15
Introduction: We have so many who have what I call throwaway marriages. Somehow it just doesn’t work out, so they just throw it away. As somebody said, they start, they get married, as an ideal. Then, that ideal turns to an ordeal. And then, they’re looking around for a new deal. Broken homes produce broken lives, which produce broken homes, which produce broken lives—and on and on it goes.” No wonder God says, in the Book of Malachi: Malachi 2:16 “For the Lord, the God of Israel, saith that he hateth putting away:...”“I hate divorce.” (Malachi 2:16) That’s what God says. God says, “I hate it.”There are three things I want to lay on your heart and I pray God that he will write them indelibly upon your heart.
I. Marriage Is Made by Heaven
Matthew 19:4
A. Leave: The Priority of Marriage “Leave”
EXAMPLE: “as an eagle stirs her nest.” (Deuteronomy 32:11)
As Jesus said, “For this cause shall a man leave father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife.” (Matthew 19:5)
B. Cleave: The Permanence of Marriage “cleave”
The word cleave means “to weld” or “to glue.”
C. Receive - The Purpose of Marriage “Be One Flesh”
When you got married, you married a whole person: body, soul, and spirit. Exodus 20:14, Hebrews 13:4
God is not trying to keep us from sex; God is trying to keep sex for us. It is God’s gift, and so God has put some high walls to protect it and to preserve it. It’s God’s wonderful gift so that a husband and wife can know one another in the most intimate of relationships.
II. Marriage Can Be Marred by Hell
Matthew 19:1-3, Matthew 5:31-32
The word fornication is the Greek word porneia, and it means “sexual impurity.” But even when a husband or wife has been unfaithful and committed adultery, does that mean that a divorce is called for? No. Reconciliation and forgiveness is called for to put the family back together in spite of that; to forgive, to restore, to replace—and it can be done.
Example: Hosea the prophet had a wife whose name was Gomer. Ephesians 5:25, Titus 2:4
III. Marriage Is Always Marked by Hope
God gives you hope in your home, even if you’ve been divorced, even if you cannot get remarried, or whatever the situation. And I believe there are legitimate times for a person to be remarried; but no matter where you are, whether your home seems to be a living hell, whether you’ve been deserted, no matter what—listen to me—divorce is not the unpardonable sin; it is not a dead-end street. And if you’ve been divorced, you are not a second-class citizen. There’s something called the grace of God.
Now we need to hold that up in this church. Forgiveness is always available. The Bible says, in: Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
I John 1:7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin. Isaiah 1:18 Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
EXAMPLE: The woman taken in adultery. John 8:1–11 Example: The woman at the well. John 4:1–42
I Corinthians 6:9-11 Marriages that are made in heaven are either marred by hell or marked by hope. And He is the God of grace and the God of forgiveness.
Conclusion
A home is the sweetest place on earth, the nearest place to heaven. It’s the only part of the Garden of Eden that we have left.
