Forgive Us as We Forgive

Our theme for 2024 is “Possessing the Land”

We are in a summer series on The Lord’s Prayer.

We want to, not just speak the prayer, but let it speak to us.

So far we have talked about addressing God.

Both coming to Him as our heavenly Father

And also seeing God as He is, holy and transcendent.

We talked about how being part of the Kingdom of God means having an eternal perspective - the bigger picture of reality.

We talked about how our lives and our desires are shaped by God’s will and knowing Him.

Last week we said that when God asks us to do something, He also provides what we need to do it.

God give us everything that we need, so what does he ask for in return?

Nothing? - well, not exactly nothing!

He asks us to credit what we owe Him to others.

First we need to acknowledge that we are all indebted to God for our very lives and our moment by moment existence.

Then, we need to take a moment to understand an internalize God’s mercy toward us.

Finally then, extend that same mercy toward others.

Let’s unpack this idea of asking God to “forgive us as we forgive”.

We are indebted to God.

Jesus told a parable about the indebted servant to show us how important it is that we forgive others.

Matthew 18:23–35 ESV

23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

The point of the parable is that if God forgives us owing Him a great debt, should we not also forgive others whose debt is small in comparison?

The problem is

We don’t consider our sin or debt to God to be all that great.

We don’t consider the faults of other or their sins against us to be any less than our sin against God.

We minimize our sin and focus on or magnify the sins of others.

Doesn’t that just prove the point?

We think we are bigger than God and that the universe revolves around us!

If we could only see how far we have fallen!

We all fall short of God’s expectation.

Romans 3:23 NLT

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.

The first step to receiving God’s forgiveness is admitting that we are sinners.

You can’t receive it if you won’t admit that you need it.

I'm not saying that to hurt you - I want to help you to see the truth.

If Spring City Fire Department responds to a fire, they may have to do some damage to get the fire out. They may have to break down a door to rescue people. They may have to make hole in the roof to get water on the fire. They may have to bust open some walls to make sure they got it all.

When I tell you that we all owe God a great debt - I am trying to save your life!

Ten thousand talents is like that largest number in the Greek language.

If you are talking in literal terms about gold or silver - that would be equal to all the gold and silver used to build the temple.

When Jesus say that this first man owes a great debt - it is like the biggest debt that anybody can owe - like billions of dollars isn today’s currency.

The point of the first part of the story is that we each owe God so much that we can never repay him.

Maybe you have been a mostly good person?

What does mostly mean?

We all have moments of our life that we are not proud of, but we choose to forget them.

Why not rather let God forgive them?

I know that when I stand before God, if He chose to bring up my past, I don’t stand a chance.

Let me see. I used to get into trouble with the neighbor kid.

There was the time I got mad at my sister and stabbed her with a pencil.

I had a pretty foul mouth in High School … need I go on?

No, I don’t need to - because the only thing that matters is Jesus!

Jesus paid for all of that- and who I now am is because of Jesus!

Jesus healed my pain and my anger that made me do those things.

Jesus cleaned up my mind and my heart that was all messed up.

And yes, Jesus is still working on me, even today.

The best thing about forgiveness and recognizing our need for it, is that now we have something to share.

What we receive is what we have to give.

Matthew 10:8 ESV

8 Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

What you have been through is now called your testimony.

If I stand up here and say that you should give your life to Jesus, but act like I have it all together - why should you listen to me?

It is precisely because I have gone through the things that I have gone through that I can speak with certainty that there is hope in Jesus!

I can pray for the sick because I used to be sick - in my head!

I can raise the dead because I used to be one of them - I was dead in my sin!

I can cleanse the lepers because I know what it is to be an outcast - I’m no better than they are.

And I can cast out demons because I have dealt with my own demons and they know who I am and that I mean business!

And everything that I do for people is not because they deserve it (some people really don’t) or because I want anything from anyone - it is because of what God has done for me.

I am indebted to God and I don’t mind saying it - because God is also merciful.

God is merciful toward us.

We talked a few weeks ago about God’s holiness and we never want to minimize His holiness - but just as amazing as His holiness is His mercy.

God is gracious and compassionate.

He truly loves us in a way that we can just barely comprehend.

There is a true story in the new testament letters of Paul that illustrates God’s mercy so well.

When Paul was a prisoner under house arrest in Rome, he came across a runaway slave named Onesimus.

Onesimus was the slave of Philemon, whom Paul knew because he was a member of the church in Colosse.

So apparently Onesimus had stolen from his master and fled to Rome where he met Paul.

Paul leads him to faith in Christ, but there is still the matter of what he had done against his master that need to be settled.

After all they are both believers in Jesus now and both are friends of Paul.

So Paul sends a brief letter along with his letter to the Colossians and in it he appeals to Philemon using his own reputation as collateral.

Paul is essentially doing what Jesus did for each of us.

Jesus gave himself in our place.

Philemon 10–15 ESV

10 I appeal to you for my child, Onesimus, whose father I became in my imprisonment. 11 (Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.) 12 I am sending him back to you, sending my very heart. 13 I would have been glad to keep him with me, in order that he might serve me on your behalf during my imprisonment for the gospel, 14 but I preferred to do nothing without your consent in order that your goodness might not be by compulsion but of your own accord. 15 For this perhaps is why he was parted from you for a while, that you might have him back forever,

Now we don’t know what transpired in Colosse between Paul and Philemon before all of this happened, but apparently Philemon owes Paul a great debt of gratitude.

Did Paul save his life - probably not.

But Paul probably did introduce Philemon to Jesus who saved his life - and that make Philemon indebted to Paul also.

Maybe Paul discipled Philemon as a young believer - or even witnessed to him as an unbeliever.

You know - I am grateful to God for the people who put up with me when I was immature. Ken Reinford who is now the administrative pastor at Petra Church was my first accountability partner. In fact, my first Sunday at that church - Upper Skippack Mennonite Church - Ken pulled me aside and asked me “who are you accountable to?” I had no idea what he meant and I told him so. Well Ken became a mentor to me. He knew what kind of trouble I was inclined to get into. He would tell me, “ I want you to look me in the eye and promise me you are not going to do anything stupid!” I will always be indebted to Ken for that.

I wonder if Paul ever did that with Philemon?

And then years later he comes across Philemon’s runaway slave who did exactly what his master would have done sometime in the past.

But Paul doesn’t remind him of the past - instead he points to a future where Onesimus has value, not only as a servant but as a brother in Christ.

What Christ did for you Philemon, you can do for Onesimsus!

Value him.

Believe in him.

Watch the love of Jesus transform him!

God is so kind and merciful, like Paul is demonstrating, the truth is, we owe Him everything!

God deserves our all .

Philemon 17–20 ESV

17 So if you consider me your partner, receive him as you would receive me. 18 If he has wronged you at all, or owes you anything, charge that to my account. 19 I, Paul, write this with my own hand: I will repay it—to say nothing of your owing me even your own self. 20 Yes, brother, I want some benefit from you in the Lord. Refresh my heart in Christ.

An Paul inserts himself right in the middle of that relationship and say that whatever dept is owed - he will pay it - or you might just deduct it from what you owe me.

That is what Jesus does for us.

He pays what we owe and in turn we owe Him everything.

Forgive us our debts means that we recognize that God’s mercy puts us in His debt, not just because of what we have done, but because of what he has done for us.

And not just what he has done for us, but for who He is to us.

Philemon is who Philemon was because He met Paul.

I am who I am because of Jesus.

Now if Jesus tells me to forgive someone, it has nothing to do with that person deserving my forgiveness.

Maybe they do, maybe they don’t - that is between them and Jesus.

Whether or not I forgive is between me and Jesus.

Jesus puts himself in the middle - the transaction goes through Him.

I think that one of the reasons that we have difficulty forgiving people is because we have the whole idea of forgiveness all wrong.

Forgiveness is not based on what another person has done or not done - it is based on what Jesus has done.

You can forgive people who didn’t ask for forgiveness because it’s not about them - it’s between you and Jesus.

They don’t have to deserve it because you are not doing it for them - you are doing it out of obedience to Christ and for your own wholeness.

Forgiveness is not something we can do on our own - it is not forgetting.

You may not be able to forget what happened, but you can release the pain, because that is what Jesus bore in His body on the cross.

If anyone tells me that they can’t forgive, I say, congratulations you just took the first step - no you can’t forgive - you need God to do it in you and through you.

There is no forgiveness without the cross, justice demands that there must be a penalty for sin - but Jesus paid that penalty.

For you - for them - for everyone who will receive it.

John 3:16 ESV

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.

If that is what jesus did for us, then what is our appropriate response?

We ought to be merciful to others.

As we are praying through the Lord’s prayer, we finally got to the part where we make our requests to God, and then He asks us to forgive.

Or rather we ask Him to forgive us, and then we realize that if we want Him to forgive us, we also need to forgive.

Forgiveness is hard stuff! It’s emotional - sometimes gut-wrenching.

Sometimes seemingly impossible.

Or we do it and then discover that there is more - another layer.

And we are like, “Oh God, I just did this, not again!”

Being merciful is not necessarily pleasant.

We need ways to think about forgiveness that put it into perspective for us.

Forgiveness is your offering to God.

Matthew 5:23–24 ESV

23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Do you want to do something to please God? - Forgive.

Seriously, we worship God - we sing songs about how awesome God is and we devote our lives to serving God - but what does God want?

God wants a family - he want’s His children to get along - even love each other.

Did you know that God loves that person who hurt you just as much as he loves you?

Did you know that God’s greatest desire for that person that you never want to see again would be for them to be saved and to come into His Kingdom.

That would mean that not only would you see them again, but they would be your brother or sister in Christ - like Onesimus and Philemon.

I’m not saying you have to just put yourself out there to be abused - nobody wants that (forgiveness and trust are two different things.)

Forgiveness doesn’t mean that you automatically trust someone again - but it does mean that they now have the opportunity to earn your trust again.

It doesn’t mean that you are automatically reconciled either. (reconciliation takes time an negotiation and that can only happen as trust is rebuilt.)

What forgiveness does is it makes the process even possible.

And it is only possible because God is doing it and Jesus is in the middle of it.

Its not all up to you - but it is up to you to allow it.

Forgiveness is also your obligation.

Matthew 6:14–15 ESV

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to say it.

Forgiveness is not optional for the follower of Jesus Christ.

You can’t follow Jesus and refuse to forgive, that’s not following Jesus - that’s the opposite of what Jesus would do.

The Bible is even stronger than that - you can’t expect God to forgive you if you won’t forgive others.

Let me back up and remind you what forgiveness is not:

Nobody is saying that what was done to you is OK - it’s not - that’s why we are talking about forgiveness.

It doesn’t mean that you have to get back together or even trust that person until they have demonstrated that they are safe to be around.

Nobody expects you to change the way you feel.

Your memories will not be erased.

All that is expected of you is that you allow God to come into the relationship and be in the middle of it.

You entrust yourself to God - your thoughts, feelings, pain and anger.

And you let God decide what justice should look like in that situation.

Just know that He will be as merciful to them as He is to you.

And you let God work a miracle in your own heart as only He can do.

And as you release the tension that is holding that person, you are being released as well.

Forgive us as we forgive.