The Basic Principle of Prayer

Matthew 6:14–15 KJV 1900

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Introduction

Throughout history, man has seen the evolution of great sources of power. The the 20th century, man saw.

The creation of the hydroelectric dams that provide millions of homes with power.

The laser that can burn through solid steel.

The jet- fueled rocket that can lift a space ship out of this world.

The nuclear bomb that is powerful enough to destroy earth.

These are only a few examples of the power that rests in the hands of mankind. But as great as these sources of power are, there is an even greater source of power that is available to the Christian. When put to use, this power is the world’s greatest hope. When this power is withheld and not shared with those in need, people are destroyed. What is this power? it is the power of forgiveness. The challenge from God’s Word is straight to the point and must be heeded by every Christian. In order to be forgiven, we must be willing to forgive.

Note the first word in our text this morning, “for.” This connects theses verses to the Model Prayer. Immediately after closing the Lord explained why He had said that forgiveness is conditional in verse 12. This was a necessary explanation for two reason.

The very idea that a person must forgive other in order for God to forgive him was totally new to the disciples. It would have shocked them to hear that in the model prayer.

God knows that He cannot forgive an unforgiving heart. His nature of love and justice will not permit Him to indulge in sin and give license to the passions of a man’s unforgiving heart.

Ephesians 4:32 KJV 1900

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.

The Promise

Matthew 6:14 KJV 1900

For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:

The word trespass means to stumble; to fall; to slip.

We are sinners; we have transgressed God’s law and we need forgives. Even the most mature among us fails to keep God’s law perfectly. We all stumble, fall, and slip and we do it much too often.

The greatest thing in all the world is that we can be forgiven! Christ has already paid the price and offers us forgiveness free and clear! And we can be justified in God’s sight.

Christ forgiveness is offered no matter what. When we place out faith in Him we can know without any worry that we will be with Christ in heaven.

1 John 5:13 KJV 1900

These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.

That is a promise for God, that when we ask Christ into our hearts He will. But, we are still people, and we still live in this old body and still have the sin nature. So we don’t become perfect after we ask Jesus to save us. We still need to ask forgiveness. Sometimes everyday.

But Christ teaches us here that God won’t forgive those who won’t forgive.

This teaching here is that we are not to hold a grudge against anyone. The Christian is forgiven and passes that on to others.

Corrie Ten Boom and her family resisted the Nazis by hiding Jews in their home. They were ultimately discovered and sent to a concentration camp. Corrie barely survived until the end of the war; her family members died in captivity. Seared by this terrible trial by fire, Corrie’s faith in God also survived, and she spent much of her time in the post-war years traveling in Germany and elsewhere in Europe, sharing her faith in Christ.

On one occasion in 1947, while speaking in a church in Munich, she noticed a balding man in a gray overcoat near the rear of the basement room. She had been speaking on the subject of God’s forgiveness, but her heart froze within her when she recognized the man. She could picture him as she had seen him so many times before, in his blue Nazi uniform with the visored cap—the cruelest of the guards at the Ravensbruck Camp where Corrie had suffered the most horrible indignities, and where her own sister had died. Yet here he was, at the end of her talk, coming up the aisle toward her with his hand thrust out. “Thank you for your fine message,” he said. “How wonderful it is to know that all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!”

Yes, Corrie had said that. She had spoken so easily of God’s forgiveness, but here was a man whom she despised and condemned with every fiber of her being. She couldn’t take his hand! She couldn’t extend forgiveness to this Nazi oppressor! She realized that this man didn’t remember her—how could he remember one prisoner among thousands?

“You mentioned Ravensbruck,” the man continued, his hand still extended. “I was a guard there. I’m ashamed to admit it, but it’s true. But since then, I’ve come to know Jesus as my Lord and Savior. It has been hard for me to forgive myself for all the cruel things I did but I know that God has forgiven me. And please, if you would, I would like to hear from your lips too that God has forgiven me.” And Corrie recorded her response in her book:

I stood there—I whose sins had again and again been forgiven—and could not forgive. It could not have been many seconds that he stood there—hand held out—but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do. For I had to do it. I knew that. It was as simple and as horrible as that. And still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. And so, woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, and sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. “I forgive you, brother,” I cried. “With all my heart!” For a long moment we grasped each other’s hands, the former guard and the former prisoner. I had never known God’s love so intensely as I did then.

The Warning

Matthew 6:15 KJV 1900

But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

The Christian who prays for forgiveness and holds feelings against another person is hypocritical. He is asking God to something for him that he is not willing to do for another.

Bad feelings show that a person does not know the true nature of man nor of God. He does not know the true depth of man’s sin and greatness of God’s forgiveness!

Christ warning is clear about forgiving others.

Luke 6:36–37 KJV 1900

Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:

The warning is severe when the opposite statement is seen: as we see in this verse.

Conclusion