The Lord's Prayer: Forgiveness

Matthew 6:12, 14-15

October 13, 2002

            

Forgiveness is more commonly presumed than experienced. Few in our world take seriously the transcendent holiness of God and their own depravity. It is not that most do not acknowledge some measure of sin. The refrain, "Well, no one is perfect," accompanies various degrees of transgression of God's law so that sin is at least thinly acknowledged even if not addressed. In spite of their transgressions, sinners assume that there is nothing standing in the way of God's blessings. They may even believe that God is beholden to bless them. Their view of God amounts to that of a divine facilitator existing to further the sinner's ambitions and desires in life.

 

The Catholic teaching of confession in which a person may sin vigorously, and then offer a Saturday night confession and penance, only to repeat the same practice the next week, has furthered some of this presumption. But there is no reformation divide at this point. Baptists have their own version of penance by church attendance or multiplied activity in order to "compensate" for sin. Clinging to baptism and church membership, many Baptists sin vigorously and presume that the childhood profession that they do not remember covers their trail of sin.

 

But the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer stops us in our tracks. Just as necessary as daily bread - even more so - is daily forgiveness. It is not that the true believer must be re-justified or re-redeemed. That application of Christ's work has satisfied the divine call for justice forever. But being a child of God calls for a pure relationship with God in daily life. It is a relationship that recognizes one's own sinfulness and constant need for divine mercy. And it is also one that bears the fruit of mercy toward others. Horizontally, the believer forgives his debtors; vertically, the believer receives forgiveness for his own debts before God - for it is only when he is forgiven that a person can relate to God.

 

Once again we see just how radical it is to be a kingdom citizen - for as such we are concerned about addressing sin in our lives every day. The matter of holiness is taken seriously - both in relationships to God and to man. The plea to be forgiven evidences our repentance as we forgive in the way we want to be forgiven. Do you take forgiveness seriously, or do you merely presume that you are forgiven? Consider with me the dimensions of forgiveness in the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer.

 

I. Debt as sin

 

The word "debts" in this petition calls attention to the obligation each person faces before God. "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." In Luke's version of this prayer (11:4), his literal translation is "and forgive us our sins as also we have forgiven all the ones indebted to us." Here "sins" is used as a synonym of "debts" so that they are "material equivalents" [TDNT, V, 560]. The use of "indebted" in the parallel issue of forgiving those that sin against us emphasizes that our Lord puts debts and sins together synonymously. So as we think of our Lord's use of "debts" in this context he is not referring to something in the financial realm, rather he is dealing with moral and religious concepts. "Debts" is used for "sins."

 

1. Nature of sin

 

The whole idea of "debts" really helps us to understand the nature of sin. We live in a society that eats, sleeps, and breaths debt! We have a national debt that staggers our imaginations. And sometimes we feel as though our own personal debts stagger the imagination as well! Debt means that I am under obligation to someone - I owe something that must be repaid. There is a moral necessity for repayment. There is even a legal obligation that we have to repay our debts or else face the demands of justice. But it is one thing to be in debt to another person or to a bank, but quite a different thing to be in debt to God. The Jewish idea behind this term suggests the concept of a person being in "arrears in payment" in relation to God [TDNT, V, 562]. To be in arrears with a lending institution distresses us deeply but to be in arrears before the Creator and Judge for eternal issues makes our financial woes seem trivial. In other words, the moral/religious/spiritual debt we have before him is so large, so unmanageable, and so incomprehensible that with all of our attempts to pay it we still find ourselves in arrears - and as such we are accountable to him as our Judge.

 

It was this same idea that our Lord used in describing forgiveness in Matthew 18. There was a slave that owed his master an enormous sum - ten thousand talents or $25 million. No slave had the capacity to pay that kind of debt. With the common worker making a denarius each day, and that amount being barely enough to take care of a day's needs, a sum of ten thousand talents was mind-boggling. The slave's master demanded that he pay his debt. The slave asked the master to have patience with him and he would pay the entire amount. Obviously, he was stalling for time because there was no way that a slave could cover that kind of debt. Yet the master showed him great mercy and forgave his debt.

 

We are not told what the slave spent $25 million on, but I suppose we could speculate that he was having a good time at the master's expense without thought of the debt he was amassing. The more "fun" he had the more fun he wanted to have - and so he increased his debt and furthered the impossibility of repayment. But the day came.

 

We see something of the nature of sin at this point. The proportion of numbers may not seem as staggering in our day as it did in the first century, but you can be assured that the ten thousand talent price tag meant one thing: impossible. There was no way that the debt could be paid. It would be tantamount to a fast-food worker amassing a billion dollar debt. But money was not the subject of our Lord's story. Jesus uses "debt" in this context to refer to sin and man's moral obligation before God for his sin.

 

Who was owed the debt? In the parable the master corresponds with God. The slave had heaped indebtedness upon himself due to extracting something that belonged to the master. We pause to wonder how the slave could slip that amount by the master. This is where our inquisitiveness on details in parabolic teaching must not lead us away from the thrust of its implications. The slave owed an impossible debt to the master, and the master called him into account. How it came about and why it happened is not addressed - and does not need to be.

 

By ingeniously reading too much into a parable we might attempt to weasel out of its implications. We realize that we cannot diminish God in any fashion. We cannot sneak into the bank vaults of heaven and steal away something from God's wealth. So we think we are safe. Yet Jesus called sin a debt before God. It is a debt that all of us owe. In the context he is responding to a question on how often are we to forgive those that sin against us. Jesus demonstrates that whatever indebtedness man may have against us, it is paltry in comparison to the debt that we owe God for our sin.

 

But how is sin a debt? It is a debt, as Thomas Boston put it, "because it is taking away from God something for which we owe him as equivalent." He adds, "By sin we rob God of his honour (sic), and owe him reparation" [Works, II, 614]. The reason that sin is so serious, and has such a heinous nature is that it is man's attempt at robbing God of the honor that is due to him by all his creation.

 

David had such an understanding of the nature of sin as a moral debt against the honor of God the he could cry out, "Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are justified when You speak and blameless when You judge" (Psa 51:4).

 

As those created in God's image, singled out from all the created order, we have a moral necessity to honor the Creator. Our whole reason for existence is to fulfill his purposes in our lives. That is why God judges the nations throughout history. The major and minor prophets give numerous prophecies of various nations whom God would judge. It was not that they failed to uphold particular political traditions or failed to enact certain religious celebrations that brought on judgment. The problem was that they did not honor God as God. In his prophecy against Babylon, Jeremiah shows the reason for his prophetic word - Babylon did not acknowledge God for whom he is.

 

It is He who made the earth by His power, who established the world by His wisdom, and by His understanding He stretched out the heavens. When He utters His voice, there is a tumult of waters in the heavens, and He causes the clouds to ascend from the end of the earth; He makes lightning for the rain and brings forth the wind from His storehouses. All mankind is stupid, devoid of knowledge; every goldsmith is put to shame by his idols, for his molten images are deceitful, and there is no breath in them. They are worthless, a work of mockery; in the time of their punishment they will perish. The portion of Jacob is not like these; for the Maker of all is He, and the tribe of His inheritance; The Lord of hosts is His name (Jer 5:15-19, italics added).

 

Just as the Lord told Adam in the Garden concerning eating from the tree, "For in the day that you eat from it you will surely die," that same obligation is laid upon humanity for honoring God as God (Gen 2:17). Appropriately, Paul uses an accounting term as he explains the Law of God expressing the divine honor, and man's violation of his honor rendering mankind obligated to divine retribution: "so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God" (Rom 3:19).

 

2. Breadth of sin

 

But how far has sin come? The plural pronoun of our text again emphasizes the common plea for forgiveness because of the common reality of our indebtedness to God. "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors" (italics added). All of us are affected. No exceptions slip through the Prayer. Just as all of us have those that sin against us - and that is a common reality - even so we all sin against God. But the big difference is that those sinning against us do so in the temporal realm. Those sinning against God do so in the eternal realm. Our sin affects us eternally. "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God," indicating that we forever fall short by the constancy of our sin (Rom 3:23). The honor that is due God by our obedience and reverence toward him and his Law, we have slighted to pursue our own way. We have spurned him. We have considered our desires above the honor of God's holiness, and so we sin. As Paul put it, "For even though they knew God, they did not honor Him as God or give thanks, but they became futile in their speculations, and their foolish heart was darkened." The apostolic assessment is, "Professing to be wise, they became fools" (Rom 1:21-22).

 

Sin is never done in a moral vacuum as though it was a piece of trash floating in the vastness of space so that it will never collide with anyone. Sin - every sin - makes us morally culpable, if not with men, then certainly with God. Consider how often we sin against each other with our tongues, our selfishness, our mistreatment, our neglect, our biting words, our gossip, our abuse, and our taking others for granted. Not a day passes but that we do not sin against one another in some way, whether intentionally or by neglecting our duty toward others. But multiply that times without number, and realize that is how often we sin against God. When Paul got a good look at himself he did not pat himself on the back for the great way that he lived, but cried out, "Wretched man that I am!" His only hope and confidence was not in his merits or abilities but in the grace of God shown through Christ in forgiving him.

 

II. Forgiveness as pardon

 

Jesus taught us to pray, "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." What is meant by forgiveness?

 

1. Removal of guilt

 

I use the word "removal" quite intentionally since that is what is implied by the term "forgive." Just like the scapegoat that bore the sins of Israel and was led away into the wilderness to show that their sins were removed, even so forgiveness implies that our sins, and the stain caused by them, are removed "as far as the east is from the west" (Psa 103:12). Guilt gnaws away at our minds and conscience. It unrelentingly chases us from one thought to another. It might be temporarily relieved through acts of service or kindness to others or even acts of devotion, only to return with that heavy weight upon the mind.

 

"But there is forgiveness with You, that You maybe feared" (Psa 130:4). So writes the Psalmist as he considers two realities: the holiness of God and the sinfulness of man. Any meditation upon these two thoughts will inevitably place man in a quandary unless he understands that the God whom he has offended shows mercy to the offender by forgiving him.

 

That is the heart of our text. The petition for forgiveness comes because one has taken a close look at himself in light of God's revelation of himself. But there is forgiveness with God. The relationship broken and marred by sin can be restored to wholeness. It is not a forgiveness that bears a grudge or the kind that dredges up the past or forgiveness merited by a certain level of penance and works on the part of the debtor. The kind of forgiveness of which Jesus speaks removes the guilt; it is full, rich, and free; it is a forgiveness grounded in the merits of Jesus Christ and granted out of the abundance of God's grace. The conscience held captive by the guilt of sin finds liberation by the sacrifice of Christ on his behalf. And so the kingdom citizen returns again and again to the mercy seat where the sprinkled blood of Christ cleanses him from guilt, restores his fellowship, and enables him to know again the joy of salvation in Christ.

 

2. Restoration of fellowship

 

When we consider the use of "forgive" in this prayer, I think it is important that we see that forgiveness takes place on two levels. In the first place we think of forgiveness in a judicial, eternal sense. This is described by Paul in Ephesians 1:7-8, "In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us." For those among us who are yet outside of Christ, this is the forgiveness that you need this day. To pray the fifth petition in a trite, repetitive way without considering whether or not you have been forgiven eternally and judicially is to abuse this prayer. Gardiner Spring reminds us, "We go to entreat Him to condescend to hear and pardon a human rebel, to plead at the throne of the King eternal, immortal, and invisible for the deliverance of the soul that will never die, from chains of darkness and vials of wrath. It is no trifling matter to hold communion with the God of heaven on such an errand as this" [The Mercy Seat, 158]. Do you know this forgiveness that comes only by faith in Jesus Christ and his merits alone?

 

But the primary implication in this prayer for kingdom citizens is forgiveness in the temporal realm, i.e., the forgiveness that restores the fellowship of our relationship to God. I think that this might be a confusing issue for some. Derek Prime has explained this clearly:

But sin is not eradicated from our lives when we are born into God's family. While we hate sin as never before, and its power is broken, nevertheless day by day we still sin and fall short of being the people we ought to be. Sinning, we do not lose our salvation, but we forfeit our experience of fellowship with God. All the time unforgiven sin is in our life we fail to know the happiness God intends through forgiveness and cleansing (Psalm 32:1,2). Undeclared sin is unforgiven sin (Psalm 32:3). We need daily cleansing, and this was the lesson Jesus taught [The Lord's Prayer for Today, 120].


When Jesus was preparing to go to the cross, he took the disciples aside and washed their feet. Peter objected, "Never shall you wash my feet!" Our Lord answered, "If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me." Seizing this need, Peter appealed to him to wash all of him. He knew that he was a sinner in need of forgiveness. "Lord, then wash not only my feet, but also my hands and my head." He knew that every part of him was sinful. The reply of our Lord explains precisely what is happening as we pray this fifth petition. "He who has bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean" (John 13:5-11). The bathing speaks of the judicial kind of forgiveness - being saved for eternity. But the washing of the feet refers to the defilement that the kingdom citizen gets as he walks through this life. From this he needs to be washed so that his fellowship is restored and joy unabated.

 

Why is this critical for kingdom citizens? To fail to acknowledge our sin is to arrogantly live as though the Lord is not most important, and as though grace is not needed moment by moment. Zacharias Ursinus' commentary on the Heidelberg Catechism is helpful: we need to confess our sins and ask forgiveness "that we may be admonished and reminded of the remains of sin which still cleave to the most holy in this life, and that our repentance may thus become more earnest and deep" [The Commentary of Dr. Zacharias Ursinus on the Heidelberg Catechism, 650].

 

I would pinpoint the problem in some among us to be this very thing. You have truly been saved, and even have assurance of your salvation. But you have been negligent in dealing with the sin that yet clings to you. You have neglected the ongoing repentance that is to characterize the lives of those who are poor in spirit. You have neglected the ongoing mourning of your sin, recognizing your own need for grace each day. In so doing you have tried to stride into life on your own strength with your fellowship with God weakened. Deal with sin daily. Just as you need daily bread, you also need daily forgiveness so that your fellowship with the Lord might be unhindered. John tells us, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I John 1:9). Ask the Lord each day to search your heart and expose any sin you've not acknowledged by confession. Turn from that sin; receive the Lord's forgiveness. Throughout your day as you become aware of sin, confess it and repent of it. Keep your accounts short. Make sure that your "debts" are forgiven by humbling yourself before the Lord, and asking him to cleanse you through the provision in Christ's blood shed for you.

 

III. The forgiven forgiving

 

The second part of this petition has given rise to speculation that forgiveness is merited by the level of forgiveness that we show to others. "And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." What does it mean?

 

1. Evidence of forgiveness

 

If there is any degree of merit implied on the part of the one forgiving others in order to be forgiven, then the forgiveness for which we apply before God's throne is not totally a work of grace, and we therefore have room to boast before God. Rather the point of the statement insists upon forgiveness being more than a legal transaction. Forgiveness affects one's character, attitude, and disposition. To be forgiven implies that you have humbled yourself before God, repented of your sin, and cast yourself upon God's graciousness. Can you maintain an unforgiving spirit toward others when you have so humbled yourself before the Lord? The insistence of our Lord is "absolutely not."

 

"There is no forgiveness for the one who does not forgive," writes Don Carson. "How could it be otherwise? His unforgiving spirit bears strong witness to the fact that he has never repented" [The Sermon on the Mount, 69]. Thomas Watson adds, "A man can as well go to hell for not forgiving as for not believing." Spurgeon declared just as forthrightly, "Unless you have forgiven others, you read your own death-warrant when you repeat the Lord's Prayer" [quoted by Kent Hughes, The Sermon on the Mount: The Message of the Kingdom, 189]. This is where the balance of the parable in Matthew 18 helps us. The slave owning an impossible sum received forgiveness from his master only to turn around and demand that one of his fellow slaves pay him a small sum. Throwing the other slave into jail, the man showed no pity and forgiveness toward the other one. Consequently, when the master heard the report, he called the first slave "wicked" and required that he pay the amount that he owed. His debt was not forgiven because he had not forgiven the debt of his fellow slave.

 

I remember talking to a woman in great distress over her soul during my sophomore year in college. I was on staff in a church, and following a service I saw this lady in great trouble. After talking with her for some time, she admitted that she had "walked the aisle" numerous times and be baptized several times, all in attempts to be forgiven - but to no avail. She was the most active person in the little church, working with children and youth, showing up for every service. But she was not forgiven. After probing a bit she admitted that there was a lady that had wronged her when she was a teenager and she had not forgiven this lady. I exhorted her to repent of her sin - in this case an unforgiving spirit. With much wrestling, she turned from her sin, called upon the Lord, and the burden of her sin was lifted. She could now pray, 'forgive me of my debts as I also have forgiven others'.

 

The same thing happens with Christians. If we harbor bitterness and grudges toward others, then God's forgiveness comes to us in the same manner. What this calls for is repentance accompanying our plea for forgiveness.

 

2. Desire for God's glory

 

What we are doing in such a prayer is to treat others in the same way that God has treated us. That is the very same logic used by Paul: "Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you" (Eph 4:32). If you are having trouble forgiving someone that has wronged you, then meditate on the cross; meditate on your own forgiveness. God has not forgiven you because you deserved it any more than he commands you to forgive someone else because he deserves it. Just as you have been met by grace, even so show the grace of forgiveness to others.

 

Once again we are met with the plural pronoun: "and forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors." Thomas Boston reminds us that we not only pray for ourselves but we pray for forgiveness with others in mind. "The saints are daily orators at the throne of grace, for the rest of the world, and are concerned for pardon to those who are not concerned for it themselves" [615]. This reminds again of the missionary nature of this prayer. We are to deal with forgiveness in our lives but we are to concern ourselves with the unconcerned. Christ died to save sinners. Let us pray for sinners in particular that they might meet with the forgiveness wrought through the saving work of Christ. And let us pray for one another as well that we might keep short accounts with our sins, and that we might have much grace in forgiving others to the glory of God.

 

Conclusion

 

Are you forgiven? If so, then you must also be forgiving. That is what our Lord teaches in this prayer. Let us daily go to the throne of grace and have our feet washed from defilement so that we might delight in fellowship with our God.

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