Angels are spiritual beings created by God to serve, deliver messages, and worship. The Bible's descriptions are far more terrifying than any painting.

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Day 2 of 5

The Debt You Can't Repay

Back to plan

The Community Rules Nobody Expected.

Q: What Does the Bible Say About Cancel Culture?

The Bible believes in accountability AND restoration. Cancel culture often does the first without the second.

Q: What Are the Most Misquoted Bible Verses?

Jeremiah 29:11 was for exiles. Philippians 4:13 is about contentment. Context matters.

Q: What Does the Bible Say About Forgiveness?

The Bible commands radical forgiveness — but it also gives nuance. Forgiveness isn't pretending it didn't happen.

Q: What Does the Bible Say About Toxic Relationships?

Forgiveness is commanded. But staying in a harmful relationship isn't. The Bible models both grace AND boundaries — Jesus himself walked away from people.

Q: What Does the Bible Say About Church Hurt?

Church hurt is real, and the Bible doesn't pretend communities of faith are perfect. It gives instructions for confrontation, restoration, and sometimes walking away.

Matthew 18 — Where Jesus nukes your ego, your grudges, and your subtweets

6 min read

Key Takeaways

A servant got billions in debt forgiven, then choked a guy over pocket change — Jesus said that's exactly what we look like when we hold grudges after receiving God's grace.

Jesus said the greatest in the Kingdom isn't whoever has the most clout — it's whoever has kid energy, pure humility and zero ego.
Jesus' conflict resolution framework is lowkey revolutionary — go direct, don't subtweet, and the goal is always reconciliation not cancellation.

📢 Chapter 18 — The Community Rules Nobody Expected 🫶

The had been following long enough to start wondering about rankings. Who's first? Who's the MVP? Who's sitting closest to the throne when this thing fully drops? So they came to Jesus with the question that was clearly living rent free in their heads.

Inside this Chapter

Love Identity Community Comparison Leadership Forgiveness Relationships

Questions about this Chapter

culture

What Does the Bible Say About Cancel Culture?

application

What Are the Most Misquoted Bible Verses?

theology

What Does the Bible Say About Forgiveness?

application

What Does the Bible Say About Toxic Relationships?

theology

What Are Angels?

application

What Does the Bible Say About Church Hurt?

From the Spotlight

news

Cancel Culture and the Bible

A crowd demanded public punishment. Jesus knelt down and wrote in the dirt. John 8 still hits.

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Reflect

When you think about how much God has forgiven you, does it change how you see the people who've hurt you?

Is there a small grudge you're holding onto that looks ridiculous next to the grace you've been given?

What they got back wasn't a leadership seminar. It was a complete reset on what greatness even means — followed by some of the most practical (and most intense) teaching Jesus ever gave about how His people should actually treat each other.

Become Like Children 👶

The came to with the question everyone was thinking:

"Who is the greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven?"

Jesus didn't answer with a speech. He called a little kid over, stood the child right in the middle of the group, and said:

Jesus said: "No cap — unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom. And whoever welcomes one child like this in my name welcomes me."

In a world obsessed with and status, Jesus pointed to a child — someone with zero influence, zero platform, zero credentials — and said THAT is the model. Not main character energy. Kid energy. . Dependence. Trust. 👑

Don't Be the Reason Someone Falls 🚨

Then tone shifted hard. From gentle to deadly serious:

Jesus said: "But whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to stumble — it would be better for him to have a massive millstone tied around his neck and be drowned in the deep sea.

Jesus said: Woe to the world because of temptations to sin. Temptations are going to come — that's unavoidable. But woe to the person who brings them.

Jesus said: If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off. It's better to enter life crippled than to be thrown into the eternal fire with both hands. If your eye causes you to sin, tear it out. Better to enter life with one eye than to be thrown into the fire of Hell with two."

This is heavy. Jesus isn't just talking about personal management here — He's saying that leading someone else into sin, especially someone vulnerable, is one of the most dangerous things a person can do. The millstone image isn't a metaphor for a bad day. It's a picture of how seriously God takes it when someone damages another person's . The "cut it off" language is the same extreme point He made back in chapter 5: whatever is feeding the problem, remove it before it removes you.

The Parable of the Lost Sheep 🐑

Next, told them a story to drive the point home about how much God values every single person:

Jesus said: "Don't look down on any of these little ones. I'm telling you, their Angels in Heaven are always in the presence of my Father.

Jesus said: Think about it — if a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders off, doesn't he leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go search for the one that's lost? And when he finds it, he's more hyped about that one sheep than the ninety-nine that stayed put.

Jesus said: That's how your Father in Heaven works. It is not His will that even one of these little ones should be lost."

This hits different when you realize the context. Jesus isn't just telling a cute story. He's explaining WHY the previous warnings were so intense. Every person matters to God — so much that He'll leave the whole flock to go after the one. That's not bad math. That's . 🫶

How to Handle Conflict (For Real) 🤝

Then gave an incredibly practical conflict resolution framework in the entire Bible:

Jesus said: "If your brother sins against you, go talk to him about it — just you and him, one-on-one. If he listens, you've won your brother back. That's the W.

Jesus said: But if he won't listen, bring one or two others with you, so that everything is established by the testimony of two or three witnesses. If he still refuses to listen to them, bring it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church — treat him as you would a Gentile or a tax collector."

No subtweets. No vague-posting. No gossiping to everyone except the person who actually hurt you. Jesus' process is clear: go direct first, escalate only when necessary, and always with the goal of , not revenge. The endgame is , not cancellation. 🕊️

The Authority of the Gathered Church ⚡

followed up the conflict teaching with a about the authority He's giving His community:

Jesus said: "Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in Heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in Heaven.

Jesus said: And I'm telling you — if two of you agree on earth about anything you ask, my Father in Heaven will do it for you.

Jesus said: Because where two or three are gathered in my name, I am right there with them."

This isn't a blank check for whatever you want. It's connected to the context — , community decisions, together what's right. When believers come together in Jesus' name with unified hearts, there's real spiritual authority in that. He's literally present. 💯

Peter Tries to Cap Forgiveness 🔢

Forgiveness

Then pulled aside, probably feeling pretty generous:

"Lord, how many times do I have to forgive someone who keeps sinning against me? Seven times?"

Seven was already way beyond what the taught. Peter thought he was being elite. Jesus said:

Jesus said: "Not seven times. Seventy-seven times."

That's not a literal number to count down. Jesus was saying: stop counting. isn't a transaction with a limit. It's a lifestyle. And to make sure nobody missed the point, He told a that would make it crystal clear.

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant 😤

dropped one of His most devastating stories:

Jesus said: "The Kingdom of Heaven is like a king who decided to settle accounts with his servants. One servant was brought to him who owed ten thousand talents."

(Quick context: Ten thousand talents was an absurd, unpayable amount — we're talking billions in today's money. This debt was never getting paid.)

Jesus said: "Since he couldn't pay, the master ordered him to be sold — him, his wife, his children, everything he owned — to cover the debt. The servant fell on his face and begged, 'Have patience with me and I'll pay you everything.' And the master had compassion. He released the servant and forgave the entire debt."

That should have been the happiest day of that man's life. But then:

Jesus said: "That same servant went out and found a fellow servant who owed him a hundred denarii — pocket change compared to what he'd just been forgiven. He grabbed him by the throat and said, 'Pay what you owe.' The fellow servant fell down and begged him, 'Have patience with me and I'll pay you.' But he refused. He threw the man in prison until the debt was paid."

Caught in 4K. The other servants saw the whole thing and were shook. They reported it to the master.

Jesus said: "The master called him in and said, 'You wicked servant. I forgave you ALL that debt because you begged me. Shouldn't you have shown the same mercy to your fellow servant that I showed you?' And in anger, the master handed him over to the jailers until he could pay everything he owed."

The contrast is brutal. Billions forgiven, but he couldn't let go of pocket change. That's what it looks like when someone receives but refuses to give it. The you've been given by God is so massive, so incomprehensible, that holding a grudge against anyone else is absurd by comparison. Not forgiving others after God has forgiven you? That's the real L. 🫶

Key Takeaways

📢 Chapter 18 — The Community Rules Nobody Expected 🫶

Inside this Chapter

Questions about this Chapter

What Does the Bible Say About Cancel Culture?

What Are the Most Misquoted Bible Verses?

What Does the Bible Say About Forgiveness?

What Does the Bible Say About Toxic Relationships?

What Are Angels?

What Does the Bible Say About Church Hurt?

From the Spotlight

Cancel Culture and the Bible

My Notes

Become Like Children 👶

Don't Be the Reason Someone Falls 🚨

The Parable of the Lost Sheep 🐑

How to Handle Conflict (For Real) 🤝

The Authority of the Gathered Church ⚡

Peter Tries to Cap Forgiveness 🔢

The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant 😤