Why Forgive?

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Resource Discussion Tab Why Forgive? Contained in his helpful commentary on the Gospel According to Matthew, Daniel Doriani has a great chapter based on Matthew 18. One section in that chapter focuses on the parable of the unmerciful servant, The Unforgiving Steward. Begin by reading the Scripture - Matthew 18:21-35. Pray that God would bless the time and the conversation. Read The Unforgiving Steward (pp163-168) and discuss as a group with questions such as the following: 1. As we read the Scripture and then the chapter, did anything stand out to you? It is common for God to bring things to light as we read such things. Did any thoughts or questions stir as we read?
 2. Doriani challenges our tendency to identify with the best person possible and calls us to identify with the unforgiving steward. Have you found this tendency as you read other stories or chapters or sections of the Bible? If so, where are you most prone to identify?
 3. Why do you believe we “twitch” at too much forgiveness? What is at work in our hearts when this “twitching” occurs?
 4. What application do you believe God would have you make as you take this chapter and this reading with you? Are there specific people you’ve withheld grace from? How can the material in this chapter help you?
 5. What is the great blessing that comes as we ponder the great debt we’ve been forgiven? What are other areas that ought to be impacted by such “pondering”? Consider asking the group if there is anyone they are struggling to forgive. You can provide a setting for them to share who that person is if it is appropriate. Pray for them to forgive. Pray they’d be ever-increasingly aware of God’s great forgiveness and the power available with his Spirit to extend some of the forgiveness they’ve received.