Forgive us as we forgive others

How to Pray

TLK 4

Bottom Line: The more we grasp the depth of the gospel, the more freely we give grace to others

Intro

Week 4 of How to Pray… Today’s portion of the Lord’s prayer answers two important questions and in the process reveals a truth about God’s kingdom many of us miss or at least misunderstand…

Questions: Why should I forgive someone who sins against me? Which sins should I forgive?

Got me thinking about growing up as one of four kids in my family…. Often there were situations I found myself in with mom/dad saying to one, “say your sorry” and then turning to the other, “Say you forgive them.” Guaranteed one of the two running off screaming no… reflecting on this got me realizing… we struggle to forgive others and ask for forgiveness from others… Jesus leans into the reality behind that struggle in the Lord’s Prayer

Truth

Matthew 6:9-12→ context→ middle of Jesus’ sermon called the Sermon on the Mount→ teaching on the kingdom of God and Kingdom People should live

Matthew 6:9-11 → One sentence review

Matthew 6:12→ Begins the second thing we need to depend on God for→ the “and” connects this to the previous request→ Jesus is teaching us that forgiveness is not something we need JUST at the moment of salvation… What is in view here is not a moment between a non-christian and God but rather someone who is already a disciple of Christ…

Forgive us our debts→ two massive truths being talked about here… going to work backwards→ Debts→ Jesus is using a financial term to talk about a spiritual reality… Spiritual debt caused by sin… When we sin there is a debt that is accrued, just like swiping a credit card and then not paying the bill… this debt must be paid because God is a perfectly Just and Holy God. Meaning He cannot let debt go unpaid… Scripture tells us that the wages of our sin is death… the debt your sin has accrued costs a life… your life

Forgive→ so naturally this is a desire for us to have→ for God to wipe out, delete, cancel from existence our sin because the price is too much for us to pay… like trying to pay off a billion dollar debt working a minimum wage, part time job… So God steps in… Colossians 2:14→ gospel→ the moment you put your faith and trust in Jesus’ work and not your own, the debt is paid for your past, present, and future sins… you are no longer condemned… now a child of God… Relationship status has changed… But there is a truth that Jesus wants us to understand about sin that many of us can forget

There are still consequences for our sin after salvation→ 1 John 1:8-10→ no longer condemned to separation from God but sin has intimacy consequences as we walk this Earth… Marriage illustration

Jesus reminds us that we still need to confess and repent of our sin we commit daily… How much unconfessed sin do you have piled up right now?

As we have forgiven our debtors→ This is where Jesus begins to open our eyes to the answers of the questions we asked in the beginning→ first, this can sound like Jesus is saying our salvation is dependent upon if we forgive others… not what is going on here… “as” is a comparative/evidential clause… Meaning→ “If I truly have received the gift of grace, I will extend it to others” Forgiving others is evidence that we have received God’s forgiveness→ it is a way for us to check our hearts

Why do we forgive others? Answer: We forgive because we are called to reflect the Savior we claim as our own… Because Jesus forgave us, we should be a people who forgive others… Jesus explains this further in Matthew 6:14-15→ A heart transformed by God’s grace, extends grace to others

This leaves us with the second question: Which sins do I forgive? Jesus shows us this answer in Matthew 18:21-22→ Setting up a parable we are going to look at in a moment… Answer: We forgive any sin that anyone commits against us… no matter how severe… no matter how many times…. God cares deeply about how we live in relation to others in light of the gospel we have received… Matthew 5:23-24 → our standing with others affects our worship of God

Here is where the push back happens on our end… “Kyle, you don't know what they did to me.” your right, but God does…. “Kyle, I could never forget what they did.”

Jesus calls us to forgive, not forget→ Forgiving is releasing the offense to God, allowing it to control your thoughts and actions no more, surrendering vengeance and judgement to God→ therefore you can move forward from the sin… not living in your head rent free, or blood boiling at the sight of the person… Forgetting is bringing the relationship back fully to where it was before the sin hapened… bank letting the employee work security after robbing them…

Maybe still you are thinking, "I could never forgive them, the sin was too great.” Friend, God tells us that mindset is a major sign of something in your heart with major implications

When you choose to not forgive… You down play Christ’s work on the cross (that persons sin is not worthy of forgiveness), you attempt to remove God from His rightful place as righteous judge (lacking trust that God will avenge the sin as He sees fit), and you hinder yourself from flourishing as God has intended (sinning against God by not forgiving the sin of another)

Jesus gives us a peek into what it is like when we, as people who claim His name, choose not to forgive→ Matthew 18:23-35→ We are like that servant when we choose not to forgive→ the heart of this teaching is simple yet profound… Unforgiveness towards others reveals sinfulness in us→ our sin against God is always exponentially greater than others sin against us→ we have forgotten the cost for God to forgive our own sin

Here is the truth we must understand… The more we grasp the depth of the gospel, the more freely we give grace to others→ when we better understand where we stood before God intervened, the more we are willing to offer forgiveness to others

Application

We are called to reflect our savior to a watching world… What would happen if we were known as forgiving people in our circles… Who would God draw to Himself through our forgiving of their sins against us?

Do you understand the depth of the gospel?

Who do you need to forgive? → Write names and reach out this week.

Who do you need to ask for forgiveness from? Same

Communion reflection time→ As we go to take communion→ for believers

Ask God to reveal any unconfessed sin in your life, and confess it to Him.

Ask God to reveal who you need to forgive or seek forgiveness from. Ask Him to help you release the offense to Him, and consider how you will pursue forgiveness with that person.

Reflect on the price Jesus paid for the forgiveness of your sin.

Take Communion