Matthew 18:23–35: Can Forgiveness Be Revoked?
Let's look at what those who reject eternal security have to say about this.
Anti-OSAS Argument Summary
This parable is commonly used to argue that:
* A servant was fully forgiven
* His forgiveness was later revoked due to his unforgiveness
* He was handed over to tormentors, which supposedly represents hell.
* Therefore, salvation can be lost by refusing to forgive others
Section 1: Immediate Context: Jesus Answers Peter’s Question
The parable begins in response to a discipleship question.
In Matthew 18:21. Peter asks:
“Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?”
Jesus responds not with a doctrine about how salvation is gained or lost, but with a lesson about forgiveness between brethren.
The parable is directed to those already in relationship with God, not to the unsaved.
It is a warning within the sphere of discipleship, not a roadmap to salvation.
This passage warns believers about the serious consequences of harboring an unforgiving heart.
It does not describe the loss of eternal life.
Section 2: Parable Summary:
The Forgiven Servant
* A king forgives his servant an unpayable debt of 10,000 talents
* That same servant refuses to forgive a fellow servant’s small debt of 100 pence
* The king hears of this and delivers the unforgiving servant to the tormentors until the original debt is repaid.
Jesus concludes:
“So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses” (Matthew 18:35, KJV)
The text never says that the servant lost his position, his identity, or his eternal destiny.
The parable ends with a warning about conduct and divine chastening, not with a pronouncement of eternal condemnation.
Section 3: Greek Analysis from the Textus Receptus
ἀπέλυσεν (apolyō): “he released” (aorist active)
ἀφῆκεν (aphiēmi ): “he forgave” (aorist active)
παρέδωκεν (paradidōmi ): “he delivered over” (aorist active)
βασανισταῖς (basanistēs): “tormentors” or “jailers”
The word basanistēs refers to legal enforcers or jailers, not demonic tormentors in hell.
The verb paradidōmi is also used in 1 Corinthians 5:5, where a sinning believer is delivered to Satan for the destruction of the flesh so that the spirit may be saved.
This shows that “delivered over” refers to discipline, not damnation.
The phrase “till he should pay all that was due” further highlights the gravity of the discipline.
It does not imply that salvation is earned back.
Since the debt is unpayable, this emphasizes that the chastening would be severe and prolonged.
This is parabolic exaggeration to underscore the seriousness.
a parabolic exaggeration is a storytelling often used by Jesus in parables.
It means Jesus intentionally uses hyperbole (exaggeration) to drive home a spiritual truth.
Even though our salvation is secure (John 5:24), unforgiveness leads to:
Broken fellowship with God (1 John 1:6-7)
Loss of joy and peace (Psalm 32:3-4)
Chastening from the Lord (Hebrews 12:5-11)
Disqualification for reward (2 Corinthians 5:10, 1 Corinthians 9:27)
Section 4: Judicial Forgiveness and Parental Forgiveness
Judicial forgiveness is the permanent and unconditional pardon granted at the moment of faith in Christ (John 5:24).
Parental forgiveness a child of God has daily fellowship with Him.
This fellowship can be interrupted by sin (1 John 1:9).
In this parable:
* The king’s initial forgiveness represents judicial forgiveness.
* The later discipline reflects parental correction.
Just as a father disciplines his child without disowning him, the king chastens his servant without stripping him of his identity.
Hebrews 12:6-9
Psalm 89:33
Isaiah 54:10
The servanthood remains intact, but the servant is corrected for his disobedience.
Servanthood remains just as Sonship and Union with God remains, but fellowship can be broken.
Section 5: Discipline and the Judgment Seat of Christ
This parable illustrates the temporal consequences of sin for the believer:
* Broken fellowship with God
* Inner torment, spiritual dryness, or painful discipline
* Loss of reward and rebuke at the Judgment Seat of Christ
“For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that every one may receive the things done in his body” (2 Corinthians 5:10)
“If any man's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved” (1 Corinthians 3:15)
The servant’s torment represents divine chastening.
The discipline is serious and even severe, but it does not imply the loss of eternal salvation.
Section 6: Typology: Sin, Servants, and Correction
* 10,000 talents symbolize mankind’s unpayable sin debt
* 100 pence represents comparatively minor offenses from others
* The servant represents a believer who has been forgiven but acts wickedly
* The tormentors represent God’s disciplinary agents: inner guilt, chastisement, or physical suffering
Parables often use symbolic or exaggerated details to illustrate one or two core lessons.
They are not systematic doctrinal treatises.
In this case, Jesus uses extreme debt, judgment, and discipline to illustrate the seriousness of refusing to forgive after having been forgiven.
Section 7: Related Passages Supporting Eternal Security
The Bible consistently teaches that believers can be chastened, but they are never disinherited:
* 1 Corinthians 5:5: The sinning believer is delivered to Satan so that the spirit may be saved
* Hebrews 12:6: “For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth”
* 2 Corinthians 2:6–8: The disciplined man is restored to fellowship
* John 5:24: The believer “is passed from death unto life”
* Romans 8:1: “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus”
Each of these passages confirms that while sin leads to real consequences, it does not revoke eternal life.
Section 8: Commentary Summary
“This is not a picture of losing eternal life.
The man remains a servant throughout.
He is disciplined, not damned.”
“The passage reflects the gravity of unforgiveness among believers and the real consequences it can have.
But it is not about salvation.”
Final Conclusion: A Warning, Not a Threat of Damnation
Matthew 18:23 to 35 teaches that God takes forgiveness seriously and will discipline His children who withhold forgiveness from others.
But the passage does not suggest:
* That the servant lost his salvation
* That he ceased to be a servant
* That he was cast into hell
The phrase “till he should pay all” does not imply a works-based purgatory or re-earning of salvation.
It is a rhetorical tool that underscores the seriousness of divine discipline.
This is a warning passage to believers, not a revocation passage about salvation.
The consistent testimony of Scripture is that salvation is a free gift, permanently secured by faith in Christ.
“He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation, but is passed from death unto life” (John 5:24)
“The gifts and calling of God are without repentance” (Romans 11:29)
While eternal life is secure, discipline is real.
Believers are warned that failing to forgive may result in suffering, shame, or loss of reward.
However, salvation itself is never revoked.
Once saved, always saved.
The servant was forgiven, chastened, and still a servant.
God disciplines His children but never unadapts them.
There are no verses in the Bible that show God ever unadapting, undegenerating, unsaveing, or unsealing one of His children once they have been born again.
There is no scriptural support for the idea that a genuine child of God ever ceases to be His Child.