Analogy
Jesus did not say to tolerate enemies or to avoid them. He said to love them and pray for those who persecute you. The command is…
Love · Forgiveness
Matthew 5
Analogy
The Debt We Could Not Pay
parable of the unforgiving servant / gospel pattern
Jesus told of a servant forgiven an unpayable debt who then refused to forgive a much smaller one. The shock of the story is the disproportion. We stand before God with a debt we cannot settle. The gospel is that the debt has been paid—not by our effort, but by Another. Those who have been forgiven much are meant to become people who forgive.
How you’d preach it
Core gospel image. Our debt before God is real and unpayable by us; forgiveness is gift.
- Forgiveness
- Grace
- Mercy
Matthew 18
Matthew 18:21-35