Dr. Bradford Reaves
Crossway Christian Fellowship
Hagerstown, MD
www.mycrossway.org
This is our third and final week in the installment of the Lord’s Prayer, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” Before we wrap up this glorious petition of prayer, let us all stand and read together the entire passage
“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 LSB)
Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve presented to you the case that there is no greater need in man than the need for God’s forgiveness. Within that context, I presented two types of forgiveness we receive from God. The first is what is known as “Judiciary Forgiveness” or “Positional Forgiveness.” It is the forgiveness that God provides to the unregenerate or spiritually dead, who is lost in the debt of sin that they can never repay to God. Without God’s forgiveness of this debt, we are destined to eternal damnation, but with God’s judiciary forgiveness, our sins (or debts) are forgiven.
The other type of forgiveness is known as Relational Forgiveness or Parental Forgiveness. This is the forgiveness that is continually provided to the believer, as we live in a sinful world in these bodies that are in battle with sin. Obviously, we still struggle with sin; our desire now, with the love and grace of God in our lives, is to turn away from sin, yet in our carnal state, we falter and fail. Even though we live under the grace of God, sin’s consequences can distance us from God. With that, our Heavenly Father doesn’t just kick us out of the family, but as a Good Father who loves His children, He forgives us as we confess our sins to Him, just as a child will find forgiveness when he disobeys his parents.
All of this is provided because of the Cross. Jesus paid the penalty for your sins, past, present, and future, and because of that, God takes away the power of sin, covers our sins, blots out our sins, and forgets our sins. As the Psalmist writes in Psalm 103:12, “As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us.” Therefore in Christ, we are saved from the penalty of sin, we are saved from the power of sin, and in the future, we will be saved from the very presence of sin.
Yet there is another aspect of forgiveness that is in the petition in the Lord’s prayer and we have not fully covered, and that is the forgiveness that is to exist between each other, for the petition says, Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” and then after the prayer Jesus includes a footnote, Matthew 6:14-15 “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.”
You will remember, as we covered earlier in the Sermon on the Mount the story of how the Amish demonstrated radical forgiveness to the family of the man involved in the West Nickle Mines school shooting. But even with that example, it seems that we in the Church do a lousy job practicing forgiveness with each other. So as we conclude this portion of the Lord’s prayer, I want to provide you with several reasons why we are to forgive each other:
It is the Character of the Saints
First of all, we are to forgive, because it is the very nature of the redeemed person in Christ to forgive.
“You have heard that it was said, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR and hate your enemy.’ 44 “But I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven; for He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. (Matthew 5:43–45)
It is the very nature of the Saint of God to forgive. How can we withhold forgiveness when our Heavenly Father has forgiven us and continues to forgive us? Have we forgotten from where we came from and our sins that are under the blood of Christ?
It Follows the Example of Christ
Secondly, we are to forgive each other because it follows the example of Christ.
the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked. (1 John 2:6)
Instead, be kind to one another, tender-hearted, graciously forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has graciously forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:32)
Even as Christ was on the Cross, in agony and those around him cursed him, mocked him, and reviled him, he prayed, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” (Luke 23:34)
For You, Lord, are good, and by nature forgiving, And abundant in lovingkindness to all who call upon You. (Psalm 86:5
But they were saying, “Not during the festival, lest a riot occur among the people.” (Matthew 26:5)
It Expresses the Highest Virtue of Man
Third, we are to forgive because it follows the highest virtue of man. Unforgiveness imprisons us in our past, rather than allowing Christ to dictate our future.
seeing to it that no one falls short of the grace of God; that no ROOT OF BITTERNESS SPRINGING UP CAUSES TROUBLE, and by it many be defiled; (Hebrews 12:15)
Forgiveness is the most god-like act that a person can do because it affirms unmerited love, extends to others grace in the same way God gives us grace, and sets people free from our grudges. We are more like God when we practice forgiveness than any other virtue.
A man’s insight makes him slow to anger, And it is his honor to overlook a transgression. (Proverbs 19:11)
It Liberates Us from Discipline
When there is a need to be forgiven and to forgive there is the presence of guilt, shame, and pain associated with the transgression. Where there is an unforgiving spirit there is sin, and where there is sin the believer will find the discipline of the Lord.
FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE FLOGS EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES.” (Hebrews 12:6)
John Maxwell relates the story of Bobby Jones, a legendary golfer who won a major tournament at twenty-one. By age twenty-eight, he had already won the grand slam and retired.
Jones had an uncle who said that by the time he was fourteen, Bobby was probably already the best golfer in the world. He certainly was popular. However, Jones was also known for his temper because he threw his clubs when irritated. Jones’s uncle sat down with him and said, "Bobby, your problem is you’ve mastered the game of golf, but you haven’t mastered your emotions, and until you master your emotions, you’ll never be a champion in golf." (Sermon Central)
Maxwell observes: "We have choices when it comes to our emotions: we can master them, or they can master us."
It Delivers Us from Retribution
Fifth, it delivers us from the burden of retribution.
never taking your own revenge, beloved—instead leave room for the wrath of God. For it is written, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY,” says the Lord. (Romans 12:19)
For we know Him who said, “VENGEANCE IS MINE, I WILL REPAY.” And again, “THE LORD WILL JUDGE HIS PEOPLE.” (Hebrews 10:30)
He who leads the upright astray in an evil way Will himself fall into his own pit, But the blameless will inherit good. (Proverbs 28:10)
Dale Carnegie tells a story about visiting Yellowstone to feed the grizzly bears. They piled a bunch of garbage in the clearing, and the guide said, now, the bear will come and eat the garbage. And sure enough, the bear came and started to eat, and they didn’t like anybody intruding on their territory. And all at once, a skunk came across the clearing and just stuck his nose right in there with the bear and started eating the bear’s food. Carnegie said that he noticed the skunk was very bold but the bear didn’t do anything. Together, they shared the food. Why? Carnegie said the answer is simple: the high cost of getting even. The bear did not want to pay the price. (MacArthur)
It is the Only Proper Response to God’s Forgiveness
Last it is the only proper response to God’s forgiveness. Jesus illustrates this well with the parable of the unmerciful servant:
Then Peter came and said to Him, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven. 23 “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. 24 “When he had begun to settle them, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him. 25 “But since he did not have the means to repay, his lord commanded him to be sold, along with his wife and children and all that he had, and repayment to be made. 26 “Therefore, the slave fell to the ground and was prostrating himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything.’ 27 “And feeling compassion, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. 28 “But that slave went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe.’ 29 “So, his fellow slave fell to the ground and was pleading with him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you.’ 30 “But he was unwilling and went and threw him in prison until he should pay back what was owed. 31 “So, when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their lord all that had happened. 32 “Then summoning him, his lord said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 ‘Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ 34 “And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your hearts.” (Matthew 18:21–35 )
It Plays A Part in Our Own Cleansing
Now all those are important reasons why you should forgive one another. But there’s one more that’s more important and Jesus brings this to light in 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.” This seems a bit shocking and many fail to understand what Jesus is talking about. It is not a passage about our salvation or that we can lose our salvation.
Jesus refers to day-to-day forgiveness when we confess our sins. It is the Relational forgiveness we talked about earlier. When Jesus washed the disciple's feet in John 13:10, he told his disciples that their whole body was clean. But their feet were dirty from their walking in the world. In this sense, forgiveness is what God threatens to withhold from Christians who refuse to forgive others. In Fact, Jesus says in John 13:14, “14 “If I then, the Lord and the Teacher, washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.”
"If there are those we have not forgiven when we pray for forgiveness, then practically speaking, we are asking God not to restore a right relationship with us after we sin. To emphasize the importance of restoring broken relationships with our brothers and sisters, Jesus states that asking for God’s forgiveness for one’s own sins while withholding forgiveness from someone else is not only bizarre but hypocritical. We cannot walk with God in true fellowship if we refuse to forgive others.” (Got Questions).
Conclusion
Who is it today that you need to forgive?
It was 1947 and Corrie Ten Boom had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives. It was the truth they needed most to hear in that bitter, bombed-out land. “When we confess our sins,” I said, “God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever.”
The solemn faces stared back at her, not quite daring to believe it. People stood silently, collected their belongings, and left the room. That’s when she saw a man in a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones.
Boom said, “It came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor, the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister’s frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment skin. Betsie, how thin you were!
Betsie and I had been arrested for concealing Jews in our home during the Nazi occupation of Holland; this man had been a guard at Ravensbrück concentration camp, where we were sent.
Now he was in front of me, hand thrusted out: “A fine message, fräulein! How good it is to know that, as you say, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!”
And I, who had spoken so glibly of forgiveness, fumbled in my pocketbook rather than take that hand. Of course, he would not remember me–how could he remember one prisoner among those thousands of women?
But I remembered him and the leather crop swinging from his belt. It was the first time since my release that I had been face-to-face with one of my captors, and my blood seemed to freeze.
“You mentioned Ravensbrück in your talk,” he was saying. “I was a guard in there. But since that time, I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would also like to hear it from your lips. Fräulein, will you forgive me?”
The message that God forgives has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. “If you do not forgive men their trespasses,” Jesus says, “neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”
And still, I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgiveness is not an emotion–I knew that too. Forgiveness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart.
“Jesus, help me!” I prayed silently. “I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling.” And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, and sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. “I forgive you, brother!” I cried. “With all my heart!”
We grasped each other’s hands for a long moment, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then. (Sermon Central)
