Forgiveness (3)

Matthew 6:9-15

10/19/25

Matthew 6:9-15

This is known as the Lord’s prayer.

Actually His prayer is found in John 17.

This prayer is a templet if you will for us to follow in our prayers.

Many churches recite this prayer corporately as we do every Sunday.

A few weeks ago Neal Shramek challenged us to really pay attention to the prayer as we recite it.

Around that same time the horrific event that took Chralie Kurk’s life happened.

It isn’t often that current events align with biblical teaching in a positive way these days.

The Sunday after the murder we witnessed a massive evangelistic event which will probably go down as the largest number of people to ever hear the gospel at one time.

There are estimates that over 6 million people heard several clear presentations of the gospel at the Charlie Kirk memorial service.

What an exciting time. What a great example of how one man’s faith resulted in the conversion of untold numbers people at one time.

But something else happened at the memorial service and that is what I want to focus in on today.

Charlie’s wife Erica spoke and gave a very powerful message.

She spoke of the drive and passion of her husband to not only get people to appreciate the greatness of our country but most of all that they might embrace his faith in Christ.

She promised to continue his legacy.

Then at the end of her remarks she, with great difficulty stated that she forgave the man who took the life of her husband and the father of her two little children.

How can someone do that?

Should someone do that?

What does the bible say about forgiveness?

This morning since we don't have enough time to study it all I want to focus on one part of the prayer we just read.

Vs. 9-10 set the stage or priority of prayer.

All prayers must seek and have 3 things at their core .

God’s glory: hollowed be Your name

God’s plans: Your kingdom come.

God’s purposes: Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven

This becomes very important as the prayer progresses.

Verse 12 is the petition I want us to fucus on this morning.

I would like to look at forgiveness in three perspectives.

What forgiveness means generally

What forgiveness means personally

What forgiveness means with regard to others

What forgiveness means.

One bible dictionary defines forgiveness as “Pardon, involving restoration of broken relationships; ceasing to feel resentment for wrongs and offenses.”

The word here means - send away, to set free or let alone.

Forgiveness isn’t something that comes naturally.

The natural tendency is to seek retribution for the wrong.

To seek justice.

To punish the wrong doer.

Forgiveness is something that requires an act of the will of the one forgiving.

To decide to not seek retribution or justice.

To decide to release another from past acts or deeds

Forgiveness does not remove the wrong done.

That can never happen.

We have memories that we will never be able to purge from our mind.

It doesn’t remove consequences either.

Only God alone can forgive perfectly. Ps103 12

Forgiveness pardons the person who sins from the guilt of his or her act.

The memory of the act will still be there but we choose to release the other person from it.

This is probably the most difficult part of forgiveness.

Being willing to let go of our sense of retribution for wrongs committed against us.

So we can define forgiveness as the act of releasing some one from an act or deed done against another.

What forgiveness means to us personally

According to Eph. 1:7 we have forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ.

When Adam and Eve sinned in the Garden their act had a profound effect on all mankind.

Their sin resulted in a sin nature being passed on to each one of us.

All of mankind became enslaved to Sin.

Jn 8:34 “everyone who sins is a slave to sin.”

Romans 3:10-12,23 Paul makes this point quiet clearly

That’s pretty inclusive don’t you think? Pretty damning too isn’t it?

There is also a debt acquired as a result of our sin which is the way it is described here in vs.12

Ro. 6:23 which must be paid one of two ways.

We can stand before the God we have sinned against and plead our case

We can accept God’s gracious sacrifice of His Son to pay our sin debt in our place.

Jesus Christ through His sacrifice on the cross has purchased our redemption, our freedom, our forgiveness.

His death paid the penalty for our sin. 1Pet 2 24

We no longer have to suffer the ultimate payment for our sin.

All of this is because of the His great grace.

God forgives us not because of what we have done or may do. Eph. 2:4-9

He forgives because of His mercy and grace. Eph 1:7-8

According to the riches. Not out of but on the basis of.

Ro.5:20

There is also a benefit to God’s forgiveness according to Eph.1:8

God not only causes His grace to abound toward us in forgiving us but we also receive wisdom and understanding from Him.

God places in us a whole new out look on life when we appropriate His forgiveness in Christ.

Forgiveness is the releasing of someone from their sin.

On a personal level, God’s great grace and mercy caused Him to choose to forgive our sins through Christ.

What forgiveness means with regard to others vs.12.

It is super important to understand the first two parts of this message in order to understand this part.

If you don’t understand what forgiveness means or what it cost God to forgive you then you won’t get this part..

This is a reciprocal petition.

We are to forgive if we expect to be forgiven.

This is the only part of the prayer that includes commentary vs. 14-15

Let me say first of all this is NOT referring to getting or losing one’s salvation.

This refers to the daily sins we commit for which as we confess to God, He cleanses us.

Jn 13:5 Jesus demonstrates this truth in a graphic way.

If you fail to understand the feet part you really don’t understand the bath part.

1Jn.1:6-9 John got it.

We will never be sinless in this life. This is why we need to be daily in His word and constantly as Paul says 1 Cor 9 26-27

So verse 12 isn’t about your salvation but it does introduce an element that we often gloss over or miss all together.

It is easy to approach this prayer in it’s separate parts but it needs to be understood as a whole.

Go back to vs10 which is the key to the prayer.

All prayer must be predicated on God’s glory, plan and purpose.

God is sovereign over His creation.

We don’t always understand the reasons for what He does.

Remember Job?

He didn’t do anything deserving of the suffering he experienced and God NEVER explained it to him.

When things happen to us as the result of actions by others we have to understand that NOTHING gets by God.

Do you think Charlie’s wife would have let him go that day if she knew he was going to be killed?

She didn’t know, but God knew and she understood that, and because of that she was able to forgive.

Remember. God has chosen to forgive us by an act of His will.

2 Tim. 1 9

We appropriate that forgiveness by faith in the sacrifice of Christ on our behalf.

That’s fantastic and comforting but don’t miss the big picture here in vs 12.

God expects us to exemplify His forgiveness by forgiving others.

This is a tough one.

Remember the story in the gospels of the servant who was forgiven but couldn’t forgive? Matt18 23-35

This is so difficult because it goes against our human nature.

The thing you have to remember though is that our human nature is corrupted by sin.

We often do things because they feel right but upon a closer examination we will find that we are wrong from a biblical perspective..

God’s ways are not man’s ways and we need to be aware of that in dealing with others.

The practical application of vs.12.

Col. 3 12-13 Paul’s instruction on Interacting with others and forgiveness

Notice the context of these verses.

Paul is delineating those things that believers should be doing as a way of life lived in the Spirit.

He is talking about every day interaction with others and how we should handle ourselves and one of those is forgiving others.

If we endeavor to treat one another kindly we will have less strife.

If we are tenderhearted toward others we will have more success in ministering to them.

If these things are true we will be more inclined to be forgiving toward others.

In case we miss the point though he makes a very important analogy at the end of the verse. Col 3 13

Our motivation for forgiving others is outside of ourselves.

This is more than an option this has the strength of a command.

We are to have the same mindset about forgiving others as God himself had.

He willingly gave His Son as a sacrifice to die for our sins so that we could be forgiven

Paul is saying that Spirit filled believers should react the same way God does.

Let me put a different more personal light on this

What if someone hurts you deeply and they don’t repent or ask your forgiveness?

Are we to let the person’s actions affect us and our walk with the Lord? Remember the unforgiving servant.

If you are offended by someone and you can’t forgive them you are the one who suffers not them. vs15.

Unforgiveness festers in a person. It eats at their soul. It causes stress which cannot be relieved. It can even cause you to question your relationship with God.

When you forgive someone you are not only releasing them but you are releasing yourself.

But you say, “you don’t know what he/she did to me.

No, I don’t but remember. God does.

God also knows the depth of your sin and He chose to save you Ro.5:10

Paul tells us that in those cases we are to stand by and let God deal with it. – Ro.12:19-21

Conclusion:

Forgiveness is the releasing or sending away a trespass that has been done against you.

God because of His great love and mercy has chosen to Forgive you through His Son’s death on your behalf.

In response to His forgiveness toward us we in turn are to forgive others.

Two things I would like to encourage you to do today.

If you have never trusted Christ and appropriated God’s forgiveness I encourage you to come and ask me about that.

If you are a believer and there is someone you need to forgive I admonish you to do that right now.