As We Also Forgive

And Forgive Us Our Sins

the model prayer Jesus taught His disciples to pray

He instructed us to pray for forgiveness

this prayer is to our Father

and not to the judge

when the judge of the the world justified us we were declared not guilty

that is when we became a Christian

that is because God put our sin upon Jesus when He was on the cross

the debt that He paid for us wiped our slate clean forever

Matthew 26:28 LSB

for this is My blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for forgiveness of sins.

Ephesians 1:7 LSB

In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our transgressions, according to the riches of His grace

so if we have had all our sins taken away and we have been declared not guilty

why do we need to continue asking for forgiveness?

to regain the joy of our salvation

to regain the good relationship with God

every time we sin it is a jab in the back of God

we continue to do what put Jesus on the cross to pay for

and when we confess

1 John 1:9 LSB

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

Jesus is now going to say the obvious

Luke 11:4 (LSB)

‘And forgive us our sins, For we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us.

this is the phrase we are looking at this morning

it is assumed that because all of our sins have been paid for on the cross

that an impossible debt has been forgiven that we now have a forgiving spirit

lets read Luke 11 1-4.

How many Times?

Matthew 18 21.

Peter asks the Lord

How many times are we required to forgive someone?

before we retaliate?

up to 7 times?

he was being very generous

Jesus multiplied that amount by 70

an infinite number where forgiveness is concerned

V 21-23

now Jesus is going to tell us about the kingdom of Heaven

what does this kingdom look like

what does the King and subjects of this kingdom look like

King Jesus died and settled the account for His people

the people then, with their new heart of flesh that used to be a heart of stone

follows the example of their king and also forgives

bu what happens when the people of the kingdom do not forgive?

Matthew 6:14–15 LSB

“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

V 24-27 The King has cancelled the debt

V 28-30 refused to forgive a $20 debt

V 31-33 you should have forgiven

Handed Over To The Torturers

V 34 the King handed him over to the tortures

Heard it said that to not forgive someone else is the same as hitting yourself in the head with a hammer

all of the torture starts in your head

as hateful thoughts

as ways of revenge

sleeplessness

stress of playing it over and over in your mind

then it turns into physical ailments

then goes to your body

ulcers, chronic diseases, HBP,

the torturers are ourselves

and the more we allow the unforgiveness to fester, the more torture we are inflicting on ourselves.

why would we want to do that?

maybe the person who you are angry at does not even know it

V 34 until all was repaid all that he owed

the original debt was cancelled

so the king could not count that against him

so what is owed now?

full forgiveness of the other person

unforgiveness is a blight on society and God knows this

this it is why it is so important for us to do it

or we will be taken to the woodshed

so lets get back to this verse

Matthew 6:14–15 LSB

“For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. “But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions.

Jesus says we should daily confess and ask for forgiveness

but here it says he wont forgive unless...

lets say I am robbing a bank and half way through I ask God for forgiveness and then continue to rob the bank

we are doing the same thing here with unforgiveness

Jesus forgive my sin that I am still doing and being tortured for

Soo we have these longstanding unforgiven people.

some maybe even dead

and for whatever reason you have not forgiven them

maybe you find it difficult or impossible

Grace

this is where Gods grace has to be used

tell God what this person did

tell God how this person hurt you deeply

and you cant forgive without His help

God’s grace steps in when we are weak

unable to

when we humbly ask for His grace

then He gives us the strength to forgive

but still we might not forget

to let go of the rope

as was told to Corrie Ten Boom by a Lutheran minister when she could not forgive and forget

she was still troubled in her mind even after she had forgiven him

we have to choose to forget

we have to choose not to think about it

we have to stop pulling on the church bell rope

are you being tormented by your unforgiveness?

is there someone in your mind right now that you need to forgive?

this person does not even need to know that you have forgiven them

it’s time to put down the hammer