Life Recovery Bible - Flipbook - Page 40
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tempts people to sin. Temptations are inevitable, but what sorrow awaits the person
who does the tempting. 8 So if your hand or
foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw
it away. It’s better to enter eternal life with
only one hand or one foot than to be thrown
into eternal fire with both of your hands and
feet. 9 And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge
it out and throw it away. It’s better to enter
eternal life with only one eye than to have
two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.*
10
“Beware that you don’t look down on
any of these little ones. For I tell you that in
heaven their angels are always in the presence of my heavenly Father.*
Parable of the Lost Sheep
12
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of
them wanders away, what will he do? Won’t
he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills
and go out to search for the one that is lost?
13
And if he finds it, I tell you the truth, he
will rejoice over it more than over the ninetynine that didn’t wander away! 14 In the same
way, it is not my heavenly Father’s will that
even one of these little ones should perish.
Correcting Another Believer
15
“If another believer* sins against you,* go
privately and point out the offense. If the
other person listens and confesses it, you
have won that person back. 16 But if you are
unsuccessful, take one or two others with
you and go back again, so that everything
you say may be confirmed by two or three
witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he
or she won’t accept the church’s decision,
treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax
collector.
18
“I tell you the truth, whatever you forbid* on earth will be forbidden in heaven,
and whatever you permit* on earth will be
permitted in heaven.
19
“I also tell you this: If two of you agree
here on earth concerning anything you ask,
my Father in heaven will do it for you. 20 For
where two or three gather together as my followers,* I am there among them.”
Parable of the Unforgiving Debtor
21
Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord,
how often should I forgive someone* who
sins against me? Seven times?”
22
“No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but
seventy times seven!*
23
“Therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven can
be compared to a king who decided to bring
his accounts up to date with servants who
had borrowed money from him. 24 In the process, one of his debtors was brought in who
owed him millions of dollars.* 25 He couldn’t
pay, so his master ordered that he be sold—
along with his wife, his children, and every
thing he owned—to pay the debt.
26
“But the man fell down before his master
and begged him, ‘Please, be patient with me,
and I will pay it all.’ 27 Then his master was
filled with pity for him, and he released him
and forgave his debt.
28
“But when the man left the king, he went
to a fellow servant who owed him a few thousand dollars.* He grabbed him by the throat
and demanded instant payment.
29
“His fellow servant fell down before him
and begged for a little more time. ‘Be patient
with me, and I will pay it,’ he pleaded. 30 But
his creditor wouldn’t wait. He had the man
arrested and put in prison until the debt
could be paid in full.
31
“When some of the other servants saw
this, they were very upset. They went to the
king and told him everything that had happened. 32 Then the king called in the man
he had forgiven and said, ‘You evil servant!
I forgave you that tremendous debt because
you pleaded with me. 33 Shouldn’t you have
mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had
mercy on you?’ 34 Then the angry king sent
the man to prison to be tortured until he had
paid his entire debt.
35
“That’s what my heavenly Father will do
8:9 Greek the Gehenna of fire.
1
18:10 Some manuscripts add verse 11, And the Son of Man came to save those who
are lost. Compare Luke 19:10. 18:15a Greek If your brother.
18:15b Some manuscripts do not include against you.
18:18a Or bind, or lock.
18:18b Or loose, or open.
18:20 Greek gather together in my name.
18:21 Greek my brother.
18:22 Or seventy-seven times.
18:24 Greek 10,000 talents [375 tons or 340 metric tons of silver]. 18:28 Greek
100 denarii. A denarius was equivalent to a laborer’s full day’s wage.
18:10-14 Many children and adults believe the lie that they are worthless to other people and
insignificant to God. Jesus indicated that he came to save the lost, no matter how “insignificant”
they seemed. God the Father does not want anyone to miss the opportunity for salvation or
recovery in Jesus Christ. God values each one of us, no matter how painful our past or how far we
have strayed. If we admit our need for him and seek to follow his will for us, we will discover how
very important we are to God and the people close to us.
