1 UNFORGIVENESS—A THIEF OF LIFE

We have all been offended by

someone at one time or another.
Most of the time, the offense didn’t
really amount to much. But if you
don’t deal with it Scripturally, it can
cause an attitude that can literally
ruin your life.
Peter came to Jesus one day
and asked the question:
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)
Certainly, in the natural, you
wouldn’t feel like forgiving anyone
seven times, much less 490. It is
obvious that you can’t do that
yourself. You must operate in the
love of God that is shed abroad in

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our hearts by the Holy Ghost.

Jesus continued by telling a
parable:
Therefore is the
kingdom of heaven likened
unto a certain king, which
would take account of his
servants. And when he had
begun to reckon, one was
brought unto him, which
owed him ten thousand
talents. But forasmuch as
he had not to pay, his lord
commanded him to be sold,
and his wife, and children,
and all that he had, and
payment to be made. The
servant therefore fell
down, and worshipped him,
saying, Lord, have patience
with me, and I will pay
thee all. Then the lord of
that servant was moved
with compassion, and
loosed him, and forgave
him the debt. (Matthew
18:23-27)
Notice the phrase: forgave him
the debt.

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 Unforgiveness—A Thief of Life

In those days, slaves were

bought and sold. This servant and
his family were about to be sold to
pay his debt. But he pleaded for his
lord (the servant’s lord) to have
patience with him, and he would pay
all he owed.
His lord said, “I’ll do better than
that, I forgive you all the debt!”
(Paraphrased).
But the same servant went out
and found one of his fellow-
servants who owed him a hundred
pence (about $17), and he laid
hands on him, and took him by the
throat, saying, “Pay me that
thou owest.” (Matthew 18:28)
The servant had just been
forgiven a $10,000,000 debt, and he
was choking a guy because he owed
him $17! He had received mercy, but
was unwilling to have mercy on his
fellow-servant.
And his fellowservant
fell down at his feet, and
besought him, saying, Have
patience with me, and I

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will pay thee all. And he

would not: but went and
cast him into prison, till he
should pay the debt.
(Matthew 18:29-30)
He put his fellow-servant under
confinement and condemnation. He
held him in bondage and took away
his freedom for such a small debt.
So when his fellow-
servants saw what was
done, they were very sorry,
and came and told unto
their lord all that was
done. Then his lord, after
that he had called him, said
unto him, O thou wicked
servant, I forgave thee all
that debt, because thou
desiredst me: Shouldest not
thou also have had
compassion on thy fellow-
servant, even as I had pity
on thee? And his lord was
wroth, and delivered him
to the tormentors, till he
should pay all that was due
unto him. (Matthew 18:31-
34)

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The king had already said, “I

have forgiven you the debt.” He
established that fact twice, but then
he delivered the servant that had
been forgiven to the tormentors till
he could pay all that was due.
It is evident that the lord was
not referring to the debt that the
servant previously owed him and
had been forgiven.
He was referring to the debt of
mercy and forgiveness that he owed
others because of the forgiveness he
has already received.
Jesus ends the parable by
saying,
So likewise shall my
heavenly Father do also
unto you, if ye from your
hearts forgive not every
one his brother their
trespasses. (Matthew 18:35)
The jailer would have been
considered the tormentor in those
days. It was his job to make
prisoners miserable until they did
what was required of them.

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 Unforgiveness—A Thief of Life

It seems that God is required by

His Word to turn those who refuse
to forgive over to the devil to be
tormented.
I believe unforgiveness is one of
the major causes of tragedy. It opens
the door to the devil and leaves you
in the tormentor’s hands until you
forgive. I believe we could say
unforgiveness is (in one sense) a sin
unto death. Jesus said that you can’t
receive forgiveness for your sins
until you forgive. Therefore, it would
be a sin until you died unless you
forgive others.
I realize the Scripture in I John
1:9 states,
If we confess our sins,
he is faithful and just to
forgive us our sins, and to
cleanse us from all
unrighteousness.

He is FAITHFUL and JUST?

Since God is just, He must abide
by His own Word found in Mark
11:25-26:
And when ye stand

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praying, forgive, if ye have

ought against any: that
your Father also which is
in Heaven may forgive you
your trespasses. But if ye
do not forgive, neither will
your father which is in
Heaven forgive your
trespasses.”

We find in Luke more from

Jesus concerning forgiveness.
Be ye therefore
merciful, as your Father
also is merciful ... forgive,
and ye shall be forgiven.
(Luke 6:36-37)

It is quite clear from these

Scriptures that you can’t be
forgiven of your offenses if you are
not willing to forgive others.
If you don’t forgive, your
heavenly Father is required by His
Word to turn you over to the
tormentor; and satan will have
access to your life.
The apostle Paul admonishes
us to,

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 Unforgiveness—A Thief of Life

... forgive... lest satan

should get an advantage of
us... (II Corinthians 2:10-11)

UNFORGIVENESS CAN CAUSE YOUR FAITH TO

FAIL
And the Lord said,
Simon, Simon, behold,
satan hath desired to have
you, that he may sift you as
wheat: But I have prayed
for thee, that thy faith fail
not: and when thou art
converted, strengthen thy
brethren. (Luke 22:31-32)
The Greek word for “desire” can
also be translated “demand.” Satan
demanded to have Peter so he could
sift him as wheat! Satan demanded
that Peter be given into his hands.
Why did satan demand to have
Peter? There are several Scriptures
which indicate that Peter was
impulsive and capable of getting
into strife quickly!
When the soldiers came to get
Jesus, Peter pulled his sword and
cut off a man’s ear! That was not an

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act of love. When you walk in strife,

you give satan an advantage over
you.
Jesus said He had prayed for
Peter that his faith would not fail.
Strife steals your faith. The price of
strife is too high; you can’t afford a
faith failure. The law of faith never
fails when it is applied with love. It
always works because it is a law of
God. But if you fail to work it by
love, you invite tragic failure into
your life.
When you are in unforgiveness,
satan can demand to have you, and
he has God’s Word for it. There is
nothing God can do about it until
you forgive, because He has already
given His Word on the matter.
One of the reasons satan
demanded to have Peter is found
in Luke 22:24:
And there was also a
strife among them, which
of them should be
accounted the greatest.

James 3:14-16 reveals the

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bottom line of this matter.

But if ye have bitter
envying and strife in your
hearts, glory not, and lie
not against the truth. This
wisdom descendeth not
from above, but is earthly,
sensual, devilish. For
where envying and strife
is, there is confusion and
every evil work.
The penalty for not walking in
love is too great. Unforgiveness is a
thief of faith and sometimes a thief
of life itself. It can cause physical
problems, financial problems,
disaster in many different ways. It
is not God’s will that you suffer
these things at the hand of the
tormentor as recompense of reward
from the devil. If you fall for his
deception, he has an open door to
bring confusion and evil work.
God will “bend over backwards”
for you if you will operate in His law
of faith which works by love.

OBEDIENCE BRINGS LIFE AND PEACE

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 Unforgiveness—A Thief of Life

The other side of the coin is that

you can extend your life by obeying
the principles of God’s Word.
My son, forget not my
law; but let thine heart
keep my commandments;
For length of days, and
long life, and peace, shall
they add to thee. (Proverbs
3:1-2)

Happy is the man that

findeth wisdom, and the
man that getteth
understanding... Length of
days is in her right hand;
and in her left hand riches
and honour. (Proverbs 3:13,
16)
In Psalm 91, God reveals His
divine will for those who trust Him
and are obedient to His Word.
1 He that dwelleth in
the secret place of the most
High shall abide under the
shadow of the Almighty.

14 Because he hath set

his love upon me, therefore

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will I deliver him: I will set

him on high, because he
hath known my name.

15 He shall call upon

me, and I will answer him:
I will be with him in
trouble; I will deliver him,
and honour him.

16 With long life will I

satisfy him, and shew him
my salvation.
Make a decision to be quick to
forgive and to be satisfied with life
until Jesus comes.
MARANATHA!

Charles Capps Ministries

P. O. Box 69
England, Arkansas 72046

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