“The Pardon of Prayer” (Part 6)

THE LORD’S PRAYER Sermon Series

“The Pardon of Prayer” (Part 6)

KEY PASSAGE: Matthew 6:12(NASB)

Almighty God, thank You for meeting us in worship and for the grace that flows from Your presence. As we continue in this service, we ask that You guide our thoughts, shape our desires, and deepen our understanding. Let Your Word be living and active among us. We pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. Please be seated.

TITHE and OFFERING

As we continue in worship, we will call on the ushers to pass around the offering plates to receive our tithes and offerings. The worship team will lead us with a song as we give to God our gifts. May this moment be marked by joy, lifted in heartfelt praise, and anchored in true worship as we give faithfully to the ongoing work of Christ’s church.

PRAYER FOR TITHE and OFFERING

Lord Jesus, You gave all so that we might live. Receive these gifts as acts of worship and devotion. Use these gifts to proclaim Your gospel, strengthen Your church, and meet the needs of Your people. In Your holy name we pray. Amen.

WELCOME

Welcome to our Sunday Worship Service. We are glad you have joined us today. Let’s take a moment to stand and greet one another. If you are visiting for the first time, we would love to recognize and welcome you.

ANNOUNCEMENT

📖Wednesday Night Bible Study Connect Join us every Wednesday at 7:00 p.m. for a time of learning, fellowship, and spiritual growth as we study the Word of God. We are currently in the Book of First Samuel, and this week we will focus on Chapter 20. Come ready to grow, connect, and be encouraged in your walk with Christ Jesus.  📅Corporate Prayer Meeting: We gather every Sunday at 9:00 a.m. downstairs in the fellowship hall for a time of prayer. All are welcome as we seek the Lord together in unity and intercession.  

DECLARATION of FAITH in GOD

Let us stand and say the Declaration of Faith in God together. Please remain standing as we pray.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Let us pray. Holy and merciful God, speak now through Your living Word. By Your Spirit, awaken the hearts of the repentant, restore those wounded by sin, call us out of comfort into conviction, and strengthen those who seek Your will. Let Your truth not only inform us but transform us, taking root in our lives and bearing fruit that reflects Your grace. As we reflect on the pardon You offer and the pardon You require, shape us into a church marked by mercy, humility, and reconciliation. We ask this in the name of Jesus Christ, our foundation, our forgiveness, and our hope. Amen. You may be seated.

SERMON INTRODUCTION WITH ILLUSTRATION  

One of the things I don’t enjoy right now as a father of three young children — ages seven, four, and five months — is cleaning up after muddy shoes. After a rainy day, they come into the house, bursting through the door, full of energy and joy, tracking mud across the carpet, the tile, and even up the stairs. And every time, I have to stop what I am doing, grab the towels, and clean up their mess. It is not that I don’t love my children; I absolutely do —but I don’t love the mess they bring into the house. God is a Father. He loves His children, but He doesn’t love the mess we track into His holy presence. Sin leaves a trail. Sin leaves its mark on what was meant to reflect God’s glory. But like any good parent, God doesn’t ignore the mud. God steps in. He cleans. He restores.

The old saying still rings true today: “To live above with saints we love, that will be glory. But to live below with saints we know, now that is a different story.” This is the heart of “The Pardon of Prayer.” When Jesus teaches us to pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors,” He is not just inviting us to be cleansed, Jesus is commanding us to become cleansers. To be people who forgive, people who restore, and people who refuse to let others sit in the mud. Because grace is not just received, grace is released. And today, God is calling this church to be more than a gathering; He is calling us to be a conduit of grace.

SERMON EXPOSITION 1

We have reflected on the Lord’s divine nature and relational posture in the phrase, “Our Father, who is in heaven.” Then we considered the Lord’s Program—“Your kingdom come,” His Priority—“Your will be done,” and His Provision—“Give us this day our daily bread.” Today, we turn our attention to His Pardon, found in Matthew 6:12: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Here, we encounter one of the most challenging subjects of the Christian life—forgiveness. There is likely no one among us who has not wrestled with this issue: forgiving ourselves, wondering whether we have truly been forgiven by God, or struggling to forgive others. Forgiveness haunts us because sin haunts us. Sin is real within us and real upon us.

In this prayer, Jesus makes it abundantly clear that forgiveness is not a peripheral concern—it is central to our spiritual life. After addressing our physical needs with the petition, “Give us this day our daily bread,” Jesus immediately shifts to the deeper issue of our spiritual condition: “Forgive us our debts.” In doing so, Jesus teaches us not to approach God only with concern for our physical well-being, but with a deep awareness of our spiritual standing. And this request for forgiveness reminds us that spiritual renewal begins with reconciliation. Forgiveness is the doorway to fellowship with God. Without pardon, there can be no progress. That is why Jesus places this petition at the very heart of our prayer —not as a footnote or afterthought, but as a spiritual necessity.

In the New Testament, several Greek words are used to describe sin. In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus uses the word “debtor.” And this word emphasizes sin as an accumulating liability, an outstanding bill. It is a metaphor that resonates with our everyday life. And so, every time we sin against God, we ring up the register in heaven. We accrue a spiritual debt, not because of arbitrary rules, but because we stand before a perfect, righteous, and holy God.

And so, to help us understand this, Jesus ties sin to the language of finance and obligation. In the same way that a financial debt demands repayment, sin demands accountability. In practical terms, sin is like jumping offside in a game, crossing a line that was never meant to be crossed. The Bible uses a variety of terms to describe this: missing the mark, veering off the path, and crossing the line. But in all these, the result is the same—we become indebted to a holy God.

SERMON EXPOSITION 2

The Greek word for “forgive” means “to hurl away”—to remove what causes guilt and restore what sin has broken. Forgiveness lifts the burden, clears the ledger, and refuses to credit the offense to the offender’s account. I remember learning to type on a computer for the first time. Whenever I made a mistake, the backspace key was my best friend; it didn’t just cover the error, it removed it entirely. One tap, and the mistake was gone, making room for correction and clarity. That is what forgiveness does. It doesn’t just hide our faults; it clears them away, giving us space to begin again with God’s grace. Forgiveness doesn’t just cover the mistake. Forgiveness removes the visible trace of error and opens the door to a new beginning.

1 Peter 4:8 reminds us, “Love covers a multitude of sins.”  Love does not excuse sin. Instead, love chooses to cover sin —not to conceal wrongdoing —but to protect dignity and pursue restoration. Noah’s sons turned their faces upon seeing their father in a shameful state and covered their father’s shame with a garment. Love seeks to restore dignity rather than expose shame. Love moves toward redemption, not retribution. Forgiveness is not weakness—it is the strength to choose mercy over judgment, and healing over harm.

This brings us to a profound question in theology: If we are already forgiven in Christ, why do we still ask for forgiveness? I thought after I had accepted Jesus, He wiped away all our sins—past, present, and future? The key to understanding forgiveness lies in recognizing that there are two kinds of forgiveness in Scripture. The first is judicial forgiveness—the legal pardon granted at the moment of your salvation. [Watch This] When you placed your faith in Jesus Christ, you were declared righteous in the courtroom of heaven. Your record was not only cleared of past transgressions, but fully forgiven of all sin, past, present, and future. You were forgiven once and for all. This is why you cannot lose your salvation. Judicial forgiveness or legal forgiveness is final and irrevocable. The legal matter has been settled forever at the cross of Calvary.

In addition to judicial forgiveness, Scripture also reveals what we might call relational or parental forgiveness. This is the kind of forgiveness Jesus refers to in the Lord’s Prayer. Please notice that Jesus is not speaking to unbelievers, but to disciples, those who can say, “Our Father.” The prayer is not framed around God as Judge, but God as Father. And while our legal standing as children of God is eternally secure, our relational harmony with God requires ongoing attention. This is the daily cleansing believers seek to maintain fellowship with God—not to regain salvation, but to restore intimacy with God.

And we see this dynamic in our own families. Our children remain legally ours, even on their worst days. We cannot disown our children by law. But that doesn’t mean we always enjoy relational closeness. There are times when fellowship is broken, when trust is tested. The relationship still exists, but it needs repair. Just as this is true in our families, it is also true in our walk with God. Judicial forgiveness secures our salvation. But relational forgiveness restores our daily fellowship with God. That is why Jesus teaches us to pray, “Forgive us our debts.” Not because we fear losing our salvation, but because we long to walk in unhindered communion with our God, our Father.

SERMON EXPOSITION 3

In the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus speaks parentally: “Our Father… forgive us.” In this request, believers appeal for God to remove whatever sin has erected a barrier between them and their heavenly Father. All of us know what it is to be out of fellowship with our children. The same is true for married couples; conflict can interrupt intimacy. So, the first forgiveness is about salvation. The second one is about fellowship or intimacy. And this is what the Book of First John is all about: how to be intimate with the Lord. The Book of First John teaches us how to maintain relational closeness with, not legal standing before God. These are two distinct expressions of forgiveness.

That raises another question about forgiveness in theology. And that is, what is the relationship between forgiving and forgetting? Must forgiveness always include forgetfulness? One of the most challenging issues today is, if I forgive someone, does that mean I have to forget? Theologically, we must ask: Does God forget? Isaiah 43:25 declares, “I will remember your sins no more.” Psalm 103:12 says, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.” The Bible regularly speaks of God forgetting our sins. But we must be careful not to misunderstand this. God is omniscient. That means that He knows everything about everything. God even knows the unknowable, and He is the only One the Bible says who can answer the what-if questions.

When the Bible speaks of God “forgetting” our sins, it does not mean He loses the memory of our sins, as we might forget a date or a name. God forgets relationally. Hebrews 10:17 says, “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” In other words, God does not allow the offense to stand between us and Himself. The breach caused by sin is real, but once forgiven, it is no longer a barrier to fellowship with God. When you come before God in prayer, He doesn’t greet you with a list of yesterday’s failures. God doesn’t say, “Why are you here? Instead, God welcomes you as a Father who has already chosen to remove your transgressions, as far as the east is from the west. Refusing to forget is like keeping a file of offenses. The file is labeled, accessible, and ready to be reopened at any time. So, what do you do with the pain left by a coworker, a parent, a sibling, a friend, or even a child? The hurt is real, and the pain doesn’t go away just because we have chosen to forgive.

SERMON ILLUSTRATION 1

I want you to picture a campfire. When someone wounds you deeply, it is like they have thrown a burning log into your heart. The flames of anger, bitterness, and pain begin to rise. Forgiveness is like choosing to stop feeding that fire. You stop adding fuel to the fire, no more replaying the offense, and no more rehearsing the hurt. The danger is in returning to the fire—picking up old logs of offense and throwing them back in the fire. That is what keeps the blaze alive. But if you leave it alone, the fire will fade away. The ashes will cool, and peace will settle in. Forgiveness is not the absence of pain; it is the refusal to keep the fire burning. It is a decision of the will: I will no longer fuel this fire.

SERMON EXPOSITION 4

The criteria for forgiveness are clearly stated in Matthew 6:12: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” We must be willing to extend to others what we ourselves expect from God. To put it another way: to ask God for forgiveness while refusing to forgive someone else is to destroy the very bridge over which we ourselves must cross. Evidently, this phrase is the most important in the Lord’s Prayer. Why do I say that? Because it is the only line in the prayer that Jesus immediately comments on. Look at verses 14 and 15: “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

Jesus doesn’t offer commentary on any other petition in the prayer. But on this one, He pauses and expands. That tells us something: forgiveness is not optional—it is essential. Why is this so crucial? Because of what it cost God to forgive us. Forgiveness was not cheap. It was purchased through the blood of His Son, Jesus Christ. It was a costly provision, and God does not want us to treat it lightly. To withhold forgiveness from others while receiving it from God is not only hypocritical, it is spiritually dangerous.

To refuse to forgive somebody for what they have done to you is to block the flow of grace. And God has called us to be a conduit of grace. You ask God to let it flow to you, but you won’t let it flow through you. You say, “Lord, I messed up—give me grace,” while you deny that same grace to others. Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13 remind us that we forgive because we have been forgiven. God constantly wants to pour out grace through us, but look at how many problems exist in our churches and families today because we refuse to forgive. There are two ways to extend forgiveness. One is unilateral forgiveness, and the other is transactional forgiveness. Unilateral forgiveness means choosing to forgive someone even when they have not asked for it. You might ask the question, “Why would I forgive someone who never sought forgiveness?” There are several reasons. First, sometimes the offense is so minor that it is simply not worth the emotional energy. Have you ever noticed that some things—and some people—just are not worth the time? The offense may be petty, the situation trivial, and trying to fix it would cost more than it is worth. In those cases, it is wiser to release it and move on with your Christian life.

Second, there are situations where reconciliation is impossible. For example, perhaps your father abused you, and he has now passed away. He never apologized to you, never acknowledged the harm he caused, and he never will. Or perhaps it was an abusive mother who is no longer living. You will never get an “I am sorry” from them. There is no one left to have a conversation with. In such cases, forgiveness must be unilateral because there is no one to engage in a transaction with.  Third, you forgive unilaterally when holding on to the offense is destroying you. Even if the other person refuses to repent, if the weight of their sin is still crushing your spirit, you are carrying a burden that doesn’t belong to you. You are suffering under the weight of their wrongdoing. That is why God offers us the gift of unilateral forgiveness, so we can be free, even when the other person remains unchanged.

SERMON EXPOSITION 5

You might ask, “Is that kind of forgiveness in the bible?” Absolutely. Do you remember Stephen? As he was being stoned to death, with no apology from his killers, Stephen looked up to heaven and said, “Father, forgive them.” They weren’t repenting, but he forgave anyway. Think of Jesus on the cross. No one was repenting in that moment, but Jesus cried out, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Now, let’s talk about transactional forgiveness. This is when someone comes to you and says, “I am sorry.” They are acknowledging their wrongs and requesting forgiveness. Transactional forgiveness is based on repentance. Transactional forgiveness, on the other hand, is different. It is about restoring the relationship. It happens when someone repents, not just with words, but with sincerity. And let me be clear: “I am sorry” alone is not full repentance. “I am sorry” alone is not enough.

True repentance says, “I am sorry for what I did, and I want to make it right.” It is not just about regret; it is about restoration. That is why genuine repentance always bears fruit. There are visible signs, actions that demonstrate the person is serious about change. They are committed to rebuilding what was broken. So, whether it is unilateral or transactional, forgiveness is essential. One frees your heart; the other restores the relationship. And both reflect the heart of God—because God is both the Giver and the Releaser of grace. God forgives not reluctantly, but joyfully. He does not ration mercy; He multiplies mercy. When we forgive, we mirror God’s nature.

SERMON CONCLUSION  – INVITATION TO FAITH, COMMISSION TO ACTION, AND CALL TO THE ALTAR

Let me close with this. A young man was walking along a mountain trail one day, carrying a heavy backpack. At first, it didn’t seem too bad, just a little weight on his shoulders. But as he walked through the trial, he began to feel the strain. Every step became harder. The straps dug into his shoulders. His back ached, and his legs burned. So, he sat down to rest and decided to open the backpack. To the young man’s surprise, the backpack wasn’t filled with supplies—just stones of bitterness, guilt, regret, shame, and unforgiveness.  The young man realized something: no one had put those rocks there but him. He had picked them up along the way, some from things he had done in the past, and others from things done to him. And he had carried them, thinking he had no choice.

But then he heard a voice, a gentle but firm voice: “You don’t have to carry that anymore. Lay it down. I have already paid for it.” That is what God says to us. He sees the weight we carry. God knows the rocks we have hidden in our hearts. He knows what we have done and what has been done to us. And God has already made provision for it at the cross through His Son Jesus Christ. The question is: how long will you keep carrying what Jesus already carried for you? Don’t let the enemy whisper, “Remember the rock.” Don’t let guilt or bitterness hold you captive. Bring it to God. Confess it. Release it. And walk in the freedom of forgiveness. Because when you lay it down, you don’t walk away empty; you walk away lighter, freer, and restored. God bless you.

Maybe you have asked God for forgiveness while withholding it from someone else. Or you are still carrying the pain of someone else’s sin. Today is your day to forgive, not because they deserve it, but because God desires your freedom. And maybe you have received mercy, but your heart has grown cold. Today is your day to say, “Lord, use me.” If that is you, please come to the altar to receive the pardon of prayer.

CLOSING WORDS OF GRACE

Let us stand together and pray. Merciful Father, thank You for inviting us to Your throne of grace, not only for provision, but for pardon. You have shown us that forgiveness is not optional, but essential to a life of prayer. As we go, help us carry the grace we have received into every relationship. Teach us to release resentment, restore peace, and reflect Your mercy. Let forgiveness shape our hearts, guide our words, and mark our lives. Lead us in the freedom of reconciliation, and may we echo the grace of the cross. In the name of Jesus, and all God’s people say—Amen.  You are dismissed. God bless you. We look forward to seeing you next week at 10:30 a.m.