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<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Debts in Roman Society</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">In the ancient world
cruel treatment was practiced against debtors, often without regard to the
debtor’s ability or intention to repay. In Athens prior to the establishment of
democratic rights, a creditor could demand slave labor of his debtor or of members
of the debtor’s family as surety of payment.</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Roman law provided
punishment by imprisonment to the debtors. The reason for imprisonment and
cruel treatment was to force the debtor to sell whatever property he might
secretly own, or to have the debtor’s relatives pay his debt.</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The creditor would
demand slave labor of the entire family so that the debt might be worked off.
There were legal restrictions to prevent extreme cruelty, but in spite of the
laws the entire system of debts and sureties was recklessly abused in the
ancient world.</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">The prophets frequently
condemned violations of the laws.</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">James R. Davis, The
Unmerciful Servant</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">__________________________</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Saved by Forgiveness</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Since nothing we intend
is ever faultless, and nothing we attempt ever without error, and nothing we
achieve without some measure of finitude and fallibility we call humanness, we
are saved by forgiveness.</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">David Augsburger</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">___________________________</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Forgiveness Is Not
Innate</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">William Willimon writes:
"The human animal is not supposed to be good at forgiveness. Forgiveness
is not some innate, natural human emotion.</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Vengeance, retribution,
violence, these are natural human qualities. It is natural for the human animal
to defend itself, to snarl and crouch into a defensive position when attacked,
to howl when wronged, to bite back when bitten. Forgiveness is not natural. It
is not a universal human virtue."</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;
font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Will Willimon</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">___________________________</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Two Million Dollar
Mistake</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">John D. Rockefeller
built the great Standard Oil empire. Not surprisingly, Rockefeller was a man
who demanded high performance from his executives. One day, one of those
executives made a two million dollar mistake. Word of the man’s enormous error
quickly spread throughout the executive offices, and the other men began to
make themselves scarce, not wanting to cross his path. One man didn’t have any
choice, however, since he had an appointment with the boss. So he straightened
his shoulders and walked into Rockefeller’s office. As he approached
Rockefeller’s desk, he looked up from the piece of paper on which he was
writing. “I guess you’ve heard about the two million dollar mistake our friend
made,” he said abruptly. “Yes,” the executive said, expecting Rockefeller to
explode. “Well, I’ve been sitting here listing all of our friend&rsquo ;s
good qualities, and I’ve discovered that in the past he has made us many more
times the amount he lost for us today by his one mistake. His good points far
outweigh this one human error. So I think we ought to forgive him, don’t you?”</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Dale Galloway, You Can
Win with Love, in The Tale of the Tardy Oxcart, Charles Swindoll, Word Pub., p.
215.</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">___________________________</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">What God Can Do with
Forgiveness</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">By the grace of God we
can use forgiveness as a positive, creative force bringing light into a
darkened world. Nobody does that kind of thing better, of course, than God. Who
could imagine 2,000 years ago that the symbol of the Christian church would be
a hangman's noose, an electric chair, a guillotine? Those analogies may be
necessary for us to keep from being too sentimental about "the old, rugged
cross." A cross is a terrible thing. It was indeed a symbol of suffering
and shame. Humanity nailed God's own Son on a cross. What barbarity! What
unspeakable evil! Yet God turned that cross into the means by which you and I
may find our salvation. That is what God can do with forgiveness. What can you
do?</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">King Duncan, Collected
Sermons, </span><span style="font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><a href="http://mail.churchmail.com/lists/lt.php?id=Kk8GBgcADwZUCAFJAQcCCE5QW1YECA%3D%3D"><span style="mso-ansi-font-size:13.5pt;mso-bidi-font-size:13.5pt;color:black">www.Sermons.com</span></a></span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Forgiven: Too Poor to
Pay</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">(A good sermon closer)</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">When the books of a
certain Scottish doctor were examined after his death, it was found that a
number of accounts were crossed through with a note: "Forgiven--too poor
to pay." But the physician's wife later decided that these accounts must
be paid in full and she proceeded to sue for money. When the case came to court
the judge asked but one question. Is this your husband's handwriting? When she
replied that it was he responded: "There is no court in the land that can
obtain a debt once the word forgiven has been written."</span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">And that is the good
news that the Gospel offers us this morning….</span><span style="font-size:
8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";mso-fareast-font-family:
"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;">Many additional
illustrations, sermons, commentary, and worship aids for this Sunday and for
each week of the year can be accessed at <a href="http://www.Sermons.com">www.Sermons.com</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size: 13.5pt; font-family: Verdana, sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-size:8.5pt;font-family:"Verdana","sans-serif";
mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman""><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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