Parable Of The Unmerciful Servant

[Nancy]

Greetings all. My beliefs on this parable may bother some, if not many, but I only seek to interpret and teach the word for what it says.

Specifically, I believe this parable teaches that those who do not walk in forgiveness will have their forgiveness from God rescinded. This interpretation seems patently obvious to me, based on the internal context.

But if you disagree, what is your interpretation of the meaning behind the unmerciful servant being given over to the tormentors for not forgiving his fellow servant? One argument I've found so far is that "if we do not forgive others, we are not forgiven," which I believe is intended to protect the Once saved, Always saved position by teaching that anyone who is truly saved will always forgive. But I'm not sure that bears out in real life. I think a Christian still has the ability to be unforgiving if they want to, and many are. Others profess that Jesus did not mean "tormentors" literally, or that this parable does not apply to Christians. But I don't think those interpretations hold water either.

Please share how you interpret this parable, and what you believe the words "servant" and "tormentors" are referring to in this parable.

I will post it in full below, and please don't let this thread become a contentious debate. I'd like to discuss this with some spiritual maturely if at all possible.

Thanks in advance for all replies.
Hidden In Him
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21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? 22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. 23 Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24 And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25 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. 26 The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27 Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28 But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29 And his fellow servant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30 And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32 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: 33 Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellow servant, even as I had pity on thee? 34 And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. (Matthew 18:21-35)

"I believe this parable teaches that those who do not walk in forgiveness will have their forgiveness from God rescinded."

In that case would not every sin be rescinded if Jesus died for all sin? I mean, if the "Christian" is walking in the Spirit, they will have forgiveness in their hearts but, since Spirit and flesh are always fighting against one another, and I can say that I lose many battles each day yet, I continue on in the war with prayer and repentance.

"...what is your interpretation of the meaning behind the unmerciful servant being given over to the tormentors..."
Luke 12:47 comes to mind, at least with the many and few "blows" being either one who does wrong knowingly and then the one who does so in ignorance. They both get punished (no idea who the "tormentors" are, unless the minions of Satan or Judges?) Could it mean excommunication from the Church as their punishment? Sorry, I seem to be asking more questions than you posed, lol.
As far as the servants having to "pay back" their debt-how could they, being poor servants not to mention possibly locked in prison, also not to mention...how can a man "earn" back their salvation? I do not believe they can or ever could...JMHO :)
So, I suppose my answer is, I don't know! ♥

 

[farouk]

Good reading.

Indeed. We were actually thinking about this passage from 1 Samuel 7 in church yesterday.

 

[farouk]

"I believe this parable teaches that those who do not walk in forgiveness will have their forgiveness from God rescinded."

In that case would not every sin be rescinded if Jesus died for all sin? I mean, if the "Christian" is walking in the Spirit, they will have forgiveness in their hearts but, since Spirit and flesh are always fighting against one another, and I can say that I lose many battles each day yet, I continue on in the war with prayer and repentance.

"...what is your interpretation of the meaning behind the unmerciful servant being given over to the tormentors..."
Luke 12:47 comes to mind, at least with the many and few "blows" being either one who does wrong knowingly and then the one who does so in ignorance. They both get punished (no idea who the "tormentors" are, unless the minions of Satan or Judges?) Could it mean excommunication from the Church as their punishment? Sorry, I seem to be asking more questions than you posed, lol.
As far as the servants having to "pay back" their debt-how could they, being poor servants not to mention possibly locked in prison, also not to mention...how can a man "earn" back their salvation? I do not believe they can or ever could...JMHO :)
So, I suppose my answer is, I don't know! ♥

Romans 8.38-39 clearly speaks of the true believer's eternal security. John's First Epistle speaks a great deal of the believer's assurance.

 

[marks]

Greetings all. My beliefs on this parable may bother some, if not many, but I only seek to interpret and teach the word for what it says.

Specifically, I believe this parable teaches that those who do not walk in forgiveness will have their forgiveness from God rescinded. This interpretation seems patently obvious to me, based on the internal context.

Hi Hidden in Him,

TO the OP . . .

I think Jesus is using a familiar story, what happened when people owed what they couldn't pay, in that culture, to teach about what unforgiveness is like.

I don't think that parables are meant to be "decoded", given every detail a theological meaning.

Teaching through parables is "casting a truth alongside" a familiar story.

There were debtor's prisons, and the people knew about them.

Without keeping the Law, there was no forgiveness.

But now, with Grace given us, we need to be careful to not introduce those legalist ideas of performance as affecting our salvation. The greatest loss to Christianity in the modern day, in my opinion, is the lost concept of what God's grace really is.

It is the removal of all guilt from our lives for all time.

How could guilty people be united to God as we have been?

Much love!
mark

 

[marks]

Ah. Here we have a strong disagreement on interpretive method. I am a firm believer that when the Lord used a parable He was accounting for everything in it having symbolic meaning.

This is an interesting point.

Personally I believe parables are meant to be taken simply, showing a simple truth, and that when people try to ascribe meaning to every element of the parable it goes awry.

So . . . what is the correct way to interpret a parable?

Much love!
Mark

 

[Waiting on him]

This is an interesting point.

Personally I believe parables are meant to be taken simply, showing a simple truth, and that when people try to ascribe meaning to every element of the parable it goes awry.

So . . . what is the correct way to interpret a parable?

Much love!
Mark

He no longer speaks to us in parables

 

[marks]

The imagery was of a man's children being sold into slavery to help pay for his debts,

They actually did this.

 

[marks]

He no longer speaks to us in parables

I mean the parables in the Bible.

 

[farouk]

He no longer speaks to us in parables

We should be so grateful for the complete Scriptures and the indwelling Spirit after Pentecost, privileges that saints in past ages did not have.

 

[Waiting on him]

We should be so grateful for the complete Scriptures and the indwelling Spirit after Pentecost, privileges that saints in past ages did not have.

Plainly.

 

[farouk]

Plainly.

Indeed so, although some Reformed/Amillennial people seem to find it hard to admit.

 

[Helen]

We should be so grateful for the complete Scriptures and the indwelling Spirit after Pentecost, privileges that saints in past ages did not have.

Amen to that, well said.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Since it does not say "delivered him to Hell", it is clear that this is not about loss of salvation, or cancellation of forgiveness of sins (which is not taught in Scripture) but about the torment which comes from an unforgiving spirit. (particularly Christians). Thus we have this: So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Ok. But it doesn't say "delivered him unto internal sufferings" either, LoL. So I guess we'll just have to leave it unresolved between us...

Wait a minute...

Primarily the torment that God has not forgiven my present sins because I am holding grudges against others

Doesn't the parable say that he gives the servant over to the tormentors until he has paid the debt? Your interpretation suggests that this is a debt that could be paid through his internal sufferings, does it not? I know we're likely not gonna get anywhere, but your interpretation suggests that there is a "price to pay" for being unforgiving, and unmerciful servants will pay that price.

 

[Hidden In Him]

In that case would not every sin be rescinded if Jesus died for all sin? I mean, if the "Christian" is walking in the Spirit, they will have forgiveness in their hearts but, since Spirit and flesh are always fighting against one another, and I can say that I lose many battles each day yet, I continue on in the war with prayer and repentance.

Well, I believe the sin in question is not momentary unforgiveness but rather harboring an unforgiving and resentful heart. It brings to mind the commandment, "If your brother sins against you, go and make peace with you and him alone..." I'm paraphrasing, but you know the one. Every effort should be made on the part of the Christian to reconcile, especially with a fellow believer. "Blessed are the peacemakers" I have always taken to mean those who make peace between themselves and others, not between opposing parties. So it's again the same principle. If we are unforgiving we are condemning, and as the scripture says, "condemn not, lest you be condemned."

 

[Hidden In Him]

But now, with Grace given us, we need to be careful to not introduce those legalist ideas of performance as affecting our salvation. The greatest loss to Christianity in the modern day, in my opinion, is the lost concept of what God's grace really is.

It is the removal of all guilt from our lives for all time.

How could guilty people be united to God as we have been?

Well, so as not to be misunderstood, I believe we all come into relationship with Him by grace, and never will we ever be saved by anything other than grace. My contention, however, is that there are certain actions that we can take which God considers serious enough as to cancel out that grace, or as I described in the OP, rescind it.

I hadn't brought it up yet, but taking the mark of the beast would be another one, IMO. Taking the mark will cancel out the grace of God from a person's life, and cause their name to be blotted out of the book of life.

Anyway, blessings, and if I hadn't said it yet it's nice having you at this forum. You always post with a gracious Spirit.

Thanks for the reply.

So . . . what is the correct way to interpret a parable?

Master = The Lord
Servant = Servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, and more especially Christian leaders
Debt = The collective sin debt of servants of the Lord
Debt forgiveness = Forgiveness of their entire sin debt through Christ's grace
Prison = Hell
Tormentors = Demons
The Rescinding of debt forgiveness = The rescinding of forgiveness for their sin debt

 

[Nancy]

Well, so as not to be misunderstood, I believe we all come into relationship with Him by grace, and never will we ever be saved by anything other than grace. My contention, however, is that there are certain actions that we can take which God considers serious enough as to cancel out that grace, or as I described in the OP, rescind it.

I hadn't brought it up yet, but taking the mark of the beast would be another one, IMO. Taking the mark will cancel out the grace of God from a person's life, and cause their name to be blotted out of the book of life.

Anyway, blessings, and if I hadn't said it yet it's nice having you at this forum. You always post with a gracious Spirit.

Thanks for the reply.


Master = The Lord
Servant = Servants of the Lord Jesus Christ, and more especially Christian leaders
Debt = The collective sin debt of servants of the Lord
Debt forgiveness = Forgiveness of their entire sin debt through Christ's grace
Prison = Hell
Tormentors = Demons
The Rescinding of debt forgiveness = The rescinding of forgiveness for their sin debt

This is a good thread. Makes one think!
Although, how do we reconcile what you said here: "My contention, however, is that there are certain actions that we can take which God considers serious enough as to cancel out that grace, or as I described in the OP, rescind it." With Mark 3:28,29? Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin." Just a thought :)

 

[CoreIssue]

This is a good thread. Makes one think!
Although, how do we reconcile what you said here: "My contention, however, is that there are certain actions that we can take which God considers serious enough as to cancel out that grace, or as I described in the OP, rescind it." With Mark 3:28,29? Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin." Just a thought :)

But if one is born again by the Holy Spirit how in the world could they ever blaspheme him?

 

[Nancy]

But if one is born again by the Holy Spirit how in the world could they ever blaspheme him?

Just pointing out here is only ONE un-forgivable sin :)

 

[Helen]

Doesn't the parable say that he gives the servant over to the tormentors until he has paid the debt? Your interpretation suggests that this is a debt that could be paid through his internal sufferings, does it not? I know we're likely not gonna get anywhere, but your interpretation suggests that there is a "price to pay" for being unforgiving, and unmerciful servants will pay that price.

There is a price to pay, but not of salvation.. praying the price of torment...and the loss of "a good and faithful servant. " Hell indeed.

 

[Helen]

I believe we all come into relationship with Him by grace, and never will we ever be saved by anything other than grace. My contention, however, is that there are certain actions that we can take which God considers serious enough as to cancel out that grace, or as I described in the OP, rescind it.

Well, maybe ask God about the above quote here.
You may find it is not so after all.

Just saying...