Forgiven and Forgiving

Big Idea: Our forgiveness of others is evidence of our being forgiven

The Lord’s Prayer (Or, the disciples prayer)

Hallowed be your name: He is Holy, holy, holy. We must treat him with all reverence

Your kingdom come: May there be continually increasing evidence of God’s kingdom impacting this world.

Give us each day our daily bread: We bring to God our needs, even smaller needs, yet it is bread and not cake we ask for. We humbly ask for that which is needful.

Today we look at “And forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”

Luke 11:1–4 ESV

Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.” And he said to them, “When you pray, say: “Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.”

Luther: When our Lord and Master Jesus Christ said “Repent,” he intended that the entire life of believers should be repentance.

Repent: to turn around. Turn away from the evil, the wrong, turn towards God. Turn towards truth. Agree with God.

Part of this is confessing (admitting our wrong and agreeing with God that it is sin)

1 John 1:8–9 ESV

If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

The prayer Jesus gives is a template or example to us for the way we ought to pray as a habit. This is not a one-time prayer for a particularly important prayer, but what should be in our daily conversations with God. Daily, we should include these thoughts and words in our prayers; that we reverence God and desire his kingdom, that we ask him to meet our needs, and that he forgive us.

So part of this daily habit is confession and a plea for forgiveness, just as Luther said, the entire life of the believer should be repentance. Our repentance does not end after our first admission of guilt before the Lord. No, and neither should our repentance ebb or slow down in the slightest. We have daily need of repentance, so we need to daily ask for it.

A believer is saved from sins past, present, and future. This is true. Yet, this prayer is not only about confessing each individual sin; it is about an attitude of humility, being in constant need of what God alone can provide, in this case the forgiveness of sins.

CEF: Sin is anything we think, say, or do that displeases God

We would be unable to even recall every stray thought, every sinful word, or deed.

To think that every sin must be remembered and verbalized would be an unrelenting burden.

“for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us.”

Here we see that sin is a debt. It was our debt that we could not pay to God, and for those who sin against us, it is a debt

So as God has relieved us of our debts, so we need to relieve others of the debt they incurred when they harmed us, or offended us.

In the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus expands on this prayer, he adds:

Matthew 6:14–15 ESV

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

The parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18)

“For we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us”

We should not take this lightly, but we also should not make it heavier than Jesus intended it.

Our salvation is not contingent on our forgiveness of others. (Faith Alone)

If you got mugged and shot, and in your final moments of life in this body you did not forgive your mugger, all is not lost. Your salvation does not depend on perfect forgiveness towards others; if it did, not many, or possibly none, would be saved.

Again, do not take lightly Jesus’ warning about our attitude of forgiveness, but likewise do not make it heavier than it is. Some have preached this in an extreme way, such that you would almost think you could lose your salvation if you forgot to forgive someone, or had trouble letting a hurt go.

Instead, let us realize that the attitude of a person forgiven of God by sin should be one that realizes that they can release their grudges and offenses.

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Matthew 6:9–13; Luke 11:1–4)

As we forgive our debtors. This condition is added, that no one may presume to approach God and ask forgiveness, who is not pure and free from all resentment. And yet the forgiveness, which we ask that God would give us, does not depend on the forgiveness which we grant to others: but the design of Christ was, to exhort us, in this manner, to forgive the offences which have been committed against us, and at the same time, to give, as it were, the impression of his seal, to ratify the confidence in our own forgiveness. Nor is any thing inconsistent with this in the phrase used by Luke, “for we also.” Christ did not intend to point out the cause, but only to remind us of the feelings which we ought to cherish towards brethren, when we desire to be reconciled to God. And certainly, if the Spirit of God reigns in our hearts, every description of ill-will and revenge ought to be banished. The Spirit is the witness of our adoption, (Rom. 8:16,) and therefore this is put down simply as a mark, to distinguish the children of God from strangers. The name debtors is here given, not to those who owe us money, or any other service, but to those who are indebted to us on account of offences which they have committed

He also said:

Commentary on a Harmony of the Evangelists Matthew, Mark, and Luke (Matthew 6:14–15; Luke 11:25–26)

Here Christ only explains the reason why that condition was added, Forgive us, as we forgive. The reason is, that God will not be ready to hear us, unless we also show ourselves ready to grant forgiveness to those who have offended us. If we are not harder than iron, this exhortation ought to soften us, and render us disposed to forgive offences. Unless God pardon us every day many sins, we know that we are ruined in innumerable ways: and on no other condition does he admit us to pardon, but that we pardon our brethren whatever offences they have committed against us. Those who refuse to forget the injuries which have been done to them, devote themselves willingly and deliberately to destruction, and knowingly prevent God from forgiving them.

Big Idea: Our forgiveness of others is evidence of our being forgiven

Forgiveness is health: How many people suffer physically because they cannot forgive (bitterness)

Forgiveness is life: A life or forgiveness reflects a life of one who knows what it is to be forgiven

Forgiveness is commanded here by Christ. It is not a request

Not forgiving will make you miserable.

Not forgiving may indicate that your soul is in dangerous condition. Either you are saved, and have fallen away for a time, or you are not really saved. If you cannot forgive someone, the only remedy is to cry out to God for your own sins, including the sin of being a n unforgiving person yourself.

I mentioned the parable of the unforgiving servant. This parable was told in response to a question Peter asked: Matt18.21-22

Matthew 18:21–22 ESV

Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

You can keep forgiving one who has offended you, even if they never change.

You cannot hold back forgiveness.

Even if you never received an apology, forgive!

If the person apologizes, but keeps sinning against you, forgive!

If the person hates and reviles you, forgive!

If you would be like Jesus, forgive

This is easier said than done.

You need help to forgive.

Who better to call on for help than the one who has forgiven the most?