Dr. Bradford Reaves
Crossway Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
This morning we are moving through the Lord’s Prayer in the Sermon on the Mount. I have to tell you that as I’ve studied the Sermon on the Mount, I have found my own faith greatly transformed and encouraged. I have read the sermon, read a book or two on it, and I’ve preached short series on it, but this is the first time I’ve dug deep into the words of Christ. And the more I examine the richness of our Lord’s words, the more I feel overwhelmed and staggered by the implications of what Jesus gave us.
That has never been more true, than when I came to the words from this morning’s passage on forgiveness, and what I thought would be an examination this morning on the significance of forgiveness in our lives has turned into a study that will carry us through the next couple of weeks. I encourage you to pay close attention, particularly these next few weeks. If we truly practice the words of Christ in our lives, I promise you that your life will never be the same. Let us read the whole passage together:
“Pray, then, in this way: ‘Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed be Your name. 10 ‘Your kingdom come. Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven. 11 ‘Give us this day our daily bread. 12 ‘And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. 13 ‘And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. [For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.’] 14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. (Matthew 6:9–15)
If there were ever a greater need in man’s life, it would be forgiveness. And when I say forgiveness, I am saying that we need the forgiveness of the Master, and we need to master forgiveness ourselves.
John Iverson said, “The man who refuses to forgive destroys the bridge over which he must cross.” (Sermon Central)
After his assassination attempt in 1982, President Ronald Reagan publically forgave Hinkley and even wanted to meet with him, although, he was advised not to since Hinkley, a sociopath, would misinterpret the gesture, according to Reagan Biographer, Craig Shirley.
However, Reagan’s attitude after the 1982 attempt on his life made an impression on his daughter, Patti Davis: “The following day, my father said he knew his physical healing was directly dependent on his ability to forgive John Hinckley. By showing me that forgiveness is the key to everything, including physical health and healing, he gave me an example of Christ-like thinking.” (Sermon Central)
Forgiveness is the key to healing and especially the healing of the soul. It is essential because, without God’s forgiveness, you are destined for a sinner’s hell. However, with God’s forgiveness, you are introduced to an eternal fellowship with God that goes on forever. That forgiveness was provided to you on the Cross as God’s son hung there, paying the price you cannot pay for the sins you could not avoid. Thus the topic for us this week and next is the greatest need for the human heart for salvation and our continued fellowship with God.
With that, we must have a solid understanding of sin because sin has a two-fold effect on our life. First, it damns man to eternal suffering in hell. That’s our default eternal destination absent of God’s forgiveness. We are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners. That sin has indebted us beyond our ability ever to deem us righteous. The second effect of sin is that it robs us of the fullness and abundance of life given to us through fellowship with God. If we, though we have been redeemed, continue to allow sin to rule over us, we spiritually hobble our lives to enjoy the victory due to us through our Lord Jesus Christ.
To better understand that, let’s first look at the biblical definitions of sin. There are four words from the Greek that we are going to look at to understand the depth of God’s forgiveness better:
"Hamartia" = "To miss the mark." This is the general Greek word for sin and is used 221 times. It is an archery term that means you’ve missed the target. It is not that you are off the bullseye, but rather you’ve fallen short of missing the mark completely. Romans 3:23 tells us, “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” The idea is that sin keeps us from being able to shoot their arrow far enough. All of us. Not one person. Romans 3:10 “10 as it is written, “THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;”
If I were to give us all bows and arrows and told you to go outside and hit a target in New York City, not a single person would be able to do it. It’s impossible. Likewise, no person’s life can measure up to God’s holiness. We started the Lord’s prayer, praying, “Our Father who is in Heaven, hallowed be your name” (Matthew 6:9). Jesus also said in Matthew 5:48, “Therefore you are to be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
The Second word commonly used for sin is parabasis. We commonly translate this into transgression, which means stepping over the line. It is a violation of the law. Eve is described as a transgressor because she violated God’s command (Gal 3:19). Adam and Eve become sinners through a historical act. The principal effects of sin are alienation from God, others, oneself, and creation.
Thirdly there is the word anomia. Anomia is the condition of lawlessness. It is something that describes the world today and the spirit of the antichrist. It is a state of rebellion against God. There is a flagrant spirit of rebellion in the LGBTQ community. That is why they change the Scriptures, Creeds, and words. That is why you see them getting in the face of street preachers giving vulgar signs, and committing vulgar acts in the presence of the Word being preached.
Everyone who does sin also does lawlessness, and sin is lawlessness. (1 John 3:4)
Last, there is the word opheilema. It is used to describe debt. It is used 30 times in the New Testament. Five times it is used to describe a monetary debt, and 25 times it is used to describe a moral debt. The implication of the word is that sin is a debt. So when some translations, like the LSB, say, “Forgive us our debts,” They refer back to this word.
All four of these definitions are universally applied and the natural characteristic of the human heart.
“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; as to the guilt we contact, it is a debt. As creatures, we owe a debt of obedience to 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.” (Arthur Pink)
“The heart is more deceitful than all else And is desperately sick; Who can know it? (Jeremiah 17:9)
My flesh and my heart fail, But God is the rock of my heart and my portion forever. (Psalm 73:26)
The results of the presence and power of sin over our lives are three-fold. First, is it obvious that sin makes all of us guilty and brings the judgment of God upon our lives?
Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are in the Law, so that every mouth may be shut and all the world may become accountable to God; (Romans 3:19)
The consequences of sin affect us personally and in society. There is a degree of the effect of sin that extends to the moral collapse of culture, and the more culture tolerates sinful behavior, the greater the corrosive results of sin.
In addition, sin causes spiritual blindness to the truths of God. To unbelievers, it blinds them to the saving truth of the gospel.
“And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. 20 “For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light lest his deeds be exposed. (John 3:19–20)
Therefore this I say, and testify in the Lord, that you walk no longer just as the Gentiles also walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 being darkened in their mind, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the hardness of their heart. 19 And they, having become callous, have given themselves over to sensuality for the practice of every kind of impurity with greediness. (Ephesians 4:17–19)
in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. (2 Corinthians 4:4)
And in the case of the believer, the one who has been saved from the curse of sin, sin quenches the Spirit in the believer’s life, robs us of joy in our life, and distorts the will of God.
How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked, Nor stand in the way of sinners, Nor sit in the seat of scoffers! 2 But his delight is in the law of Yahweh, And in His law he meditates day and night. (Psalm 1:1–2)
Restore to me the joy of Your salvation And sustain me with a willing spirit. (Psalm 51:12)
And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:7)
what we have seen and heard we proclaim to you also, so that you may also have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. (1 John 1:3)
If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not do the truth; (1 John 1:6 )
If I see wickedness in my heart, The Lord will not hear; (Psalm 66:18)
And now, little children, abide in Him, so that when He is manifested, we may have confidence and not shrink away from Him in shame at His coming. (1 John 2:28)
And as we will see, not only does unconfessed sin affect our fellowship with God and God’s victory in our lives, but so does our unforgiveness toward each other. Therefore, forgiveness is not God turning a blind eye to sin after we pray at the altar and go about our lives. It is incumbently necessary for our lives and vital to our eternity and our lives here on earth that we walk daily in the life-changing forgiveness of God. The fact of the matter is many churches and many in the church make God’s forgiveness commonplace when the reality of God’s forgiveness should stir a fire in our hearts as they swell with awe of God’s love.
So when we pray, “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors,” there should be an urgency in us because we understand how desperately we need God’s forgiveness and to be people who forgive each other. I am astounded at the unforgiveness that abounds in Christ’s Church when the opposite should be true.
Forgiveness is the provision for that sin. It is God wiping our sin completely off the record. It is God setting us free from the entirety of punishment and guilt.
Who is a God like You, who forgives iniquity And passes over the transgression of the remnant of His inheritance? He does not hold fast to His anger forever Because He delights in lovingkindness. 19 He will again have compassion on us; He will subdue our iniquities. And You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea. (Micah 7:18–19)
“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins. (Isaiah 43:25)
“Therefore repent and return, so that your sins may be wiped away, in order that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord; (Acts 3:19)
Biblically speaking, there are two kinds of forgiveness: Judicial Forgiveness and Relational Forgiveness. Judicial Forgiveness is the legal and complete atonement for all of your sins in the court of God. Your salvation is based upon God’s judicial forgiveness.
In judicial forgiveness, God looks down as your judge and says, “You are guilty, you have violated my law, you have crossed the line, you have missed the mark, you have rebelled against me, and you are in condemnation of eternal punishment.”
“But,” He says, “Based on the death of my Son Jesus Christ, who bore your punishment and paid the debt for your sins, I declare to you that you are forgiven.”
And by that act of forgiveness, all your sins, past, present, and future, are totally and completely forgiven. God has taken His own righteousness and clothed you with it.
for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28)
In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace (Ephesians 1:7 )
I am writing to you, little children, because your sins have been forgiven you for His name’s sake. (1 John 2:12)
How is that forgiveness applied? It is applied when you believe in Christ Jesus and his sacrifice in faith. When we confess to God our inability to pay the debt of our sins and believe upon the Lord Jesus Christ in faith that His righteousness will cover our sins, our sins are forgiven.
And the Scripture was fulfilled, which says, “AND ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS COUNTED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS,” and he was called the friend of God. (James 2:23)
And you being dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive with Him, having graciously forgiven us all our transgressions. (Colossians 2:13)
Now some of you are sitting there, saying, “That’s great! I can go about my life and never worry about sin again and its effects, and I can go about my merry way, right? Not so fast. We still sin even though our sins are forgiven, right? Currently, we’ve been saved by the power and the punishment of our sins; after the Rapture, we will be transformed from these corruptible bodies to the incorruptible, and we’ll be saved from the presence of sin. So does it matter right now if I sin or not? Remember Matthew 6:14-15 “14 “For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.”
Who is Jesus talking about here? He’s not talking about unbelievers. He’s talking about believers, so what did Jesus mean? If all my sins are already forgiven in Christ if all my sins were dealt with in the cross of Christ, why do I need to ask for forgiveness? There’s quite a bit of confusion over these two verses, so I am putting so much time into this section. That brings us to the other kind of forgiveness, and there’s a big difference between Judicial Forgiveness and Relational Forgiveness. We’ll look at that difference when we come back next week.
But how about your life today? Have you confessed your sins before God and received the payment for those sins through God’s Son, Jesus Christ? What is stopping you from coming to him today and discovering the liberty of life that awaits you in Jesus? The payment has been made in full, and the signature of God is on the check.
A beggar stopped a lawyer on the street in a large city and asked him for some coins. Taking a long, hard look into the man’s unshaven face, the attorney asked, "Don’t I know you from somewhere?"
"You should," came the reply. "I’m your former classmate. Remember, 2nd floor, old Oxford High School?"
"Why Sam, of course I know you!" Without further question, the lawyer wrote a check for $1000.
"Here, take this and get a new start. I don’t care what’s happened in the past; it’s the future that counts." And with that, he hurried on.
Tears welled up in the man’s eyes as he walked to a bank nearby. Stopping at the door, he saw through the glass well-dressed tellers & the spotlessly clean interior. Then he looked at his filthy rags.
"They won’t take this from me. They’ll swear that I forged it," he muttered as he turned away.
The next day the two men met again. "Why, Sam, what did you do with my check? Gamble it away? Drink it up?"
"No," said the beggar as he pulled it out of his dirty shirt pocket and told why he hadn’t cashed it.
"Listen, friend," said the lawyer. "What makes that cheque good is not your clothes or appearance, but my signature. Go on, cash it!" (Christian Cheong, Sermon Central)
