Prayer For Forgiveness And From Temptation Series

The noun opheilēma is used only a few times in the New Testament, but its verb form is found often. Of the some thirty times it is used in its verb form, twenty-five times it refers to moral or spiritual debts. Sin is a moral and spiritual debt to God that must be paid. In his account of this prayer, Luke uses hamartia (“sins”; Luke 11:4), clearly indicating that the reference is to sin, not to a financial debt. Matthew probably used debts because it corresponded to the most common Aramaic term (ḥôbā˒) for sin used by Jews of that day, which also represented moral or spiritual debt to God.

A) The Problem: Debts

Sin is that which separates people from God, and is therefore humanity’s greatest enemy and greatest problem. Sin dominates the mind and heart of man. It has contaminated every human being and is the degenerative power that makes people susceptible to disease, illness, and every conceivable form of evil and unhappiness, temporal and eternal. The ultimate effects of sin are death and damnation, and the present effects are misery, dissatisfaction, and guilt. Sin is the common denominator of every crime, every theft, lie, murder, immorality, sickness, pain, and sorrow of humanity. The unredeemed do not want their sin cured, because the unredeemed love darkness rather than light (John 3:19).

Those who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ have received God’s pardon for sin and are saved from the wrath of God (Rom. 5). And since, as we have seen, this prayer is given to believers ("Our Father"), the debts referred to here are those incurred by Christians when they sin. Immeasurably more important than our need for "daily bread" is our need for continual forgiveness of sin.

Quote: Arthur Pink wrote:

As it is contrary to the holiness of God, sin is a defilement, a dishonor, and a reproach to us as it is a violation of His law. It is a crime, and as to the guilt which we contact thereby, it is a debt.

As creatures we owe a debt of obedience unto our maker and governor, and through failure to render the same on account of our rank disobedience, we have incurred a debt of punishment; and it is for this that we implore a divine pardon (An Exposition of the Sermon on the Mount (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1974), pp. 163–64:).

B) The Provision: Forgiveness

Because humanity's greatest problem is sin, our greatest need is forgiveness-and that is what God provides. One does not gain forgiveness by forgiving. But a person evidences his or her own forgiveness by forgiving others (Weber, S. K. (2000). Vol. 1: Matthew. Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference (82). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers.).

Though we have been forgiven the ultimate penalty of sin, as Christians we need God’s constant forgiveness for the sins we continue to commit. We are to pray, therefore, forgive us. Forgiveness is the central theme of this entire passage (vv. 9–15), being mentioned six times in eight verses. Everything leads to or issues from forgiveness.