September 9, 2007
Rev. Terry D. Campbell

The Living Prayer: God’s Forgiveness
Matthew 6:12

“’This, then, is how you should pray: . . . Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.’”

Imagine life without forgiveness . . . your past wrongs always being brought up by family, friends and enemies; your past mistakes being held against you keeping you from future opportunities; all your relationships burdened with the stench of your accumulating bags of errors and hurts you have committed through the years.

We see that it is important pray and honor God, to seek God’s will, and trust God’s provision. But we must never forget that we need forgiveness—and to give it to others, too.

I. I need God’s forgiveness.

Why did Jesus assume that we would need or want to pray for forgiveness? One extreme—“Don’t call us sinners . . .We’re not sinners—we’re not mass murders, bank robbers, etc.” The other extreme is—“Sin is not that big a deal—God is love and He can just forget our wrongs.”

If you have sincerely prayed the first part of this prayer, you don’t have to ask why. You know that without God’s forgiveness, I am separated from holy God. Nothing sinful is near God!

A Sunday School teacher had just concluded her lesson and wanted to make sure she had made her point. She said, “Can anyone tell me what you must do before you can obtain forgiveness of sin?” There was a short pause and then, from the back of the room, a small boy spoke up. “Sin,” he said.[i]

We have no problem with that! Every human being needs to pray, “Forgive us our debts.” The whole human race is estranged from God and needs daily reconciliation, too. Many in our day resist the idea of “original sin”. John Wesley experienced it when he was preaching in the 1700’s. It is even more true today! Everyone needs to be forgiven and saved. Wesley points out that God created both male and female in a perfect state--in the image of God and pronounced them good. But committing sin against God through disobedience, humankind fell from this position and lost “both the knowledge and love of God.” We became unable to reflect the full image of God that we were created in, and death entered our lives. This fallen, sinful nature separates us from God and leaves us without hope. Original sin, therefore, is the state of humankind that cries out for salvation.

For those who deny or disagree with the idea of fallen humanity that needs a Savior, John Wesley asks, “But what must we do with our Bibles? --for they will never agree with this.” And even the text of Wesley’s last sermon was “Seek ye the Lord while He may be found, call ye upon Him while He is near.” (Isa 55:6).”[ii]

Sin is self-will over God’s will first! “I am in charge of my life.” The Greek word used in the text is “opheilema” and translated “debts” means that we are not giving God what we owe Him. We owe God total and complete obedience! That is why we need a Savior.

Romans 3:22-26-“This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, ²³for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. ²⁵God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood. He did this to demonstrate his justice, because in his forbearance he had left the sins committed beforehand unpunished-- ²⁶he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.”

To summarize: Romans 6:23-“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Just ask for it.

II. My forgiving is based on God not on them.

How would you handle it if a man were to abduct, torture and then murder your only daughter and child? What if he not only wouldn’t ask for forgiveness but claimed that your daughter was a willing party to this. If asking for forgiveness must come before we forgive and move on ourselves, we may never be able to move on. He has imprisoned us in the past and in our bitterness and anger—if our forgiving is based on him.

But I don’t have to wait on the one who hurt me to be released from my prison of anger, grief or loss. I can forgive them NOW—whether they have asked for it or not. Some may take longer to ask for it, while others may never ask. My freedom and moving forward doesn’t depend on them. God will help me be free today! Because Jesus forgave me so greatly, I can forgive others—with Jesus’ help. I can forgive in His image—and live in His image.

Because God forgave me, in Christ I can forgive them. Ephesians 4:32-“Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.”. We are to return good for evil. We can do that based on what God has done for us in Christ and promised us. Romans 12:19 -“Do not take revenge, my friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: ‘It is mine to avenge; I will repay,’ says the Lord.” Romans 12:21-“Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”

So our forgiving is a blessing . . .

• A blessing to God—when our witness shows that we are no longer consumed by bitterness and hatred. We can’t do that by ourselves.
• A blessing to ourselves—freed from that pain-causing situation.
• A blessing to others—When evangelist John Wesley was returning home from a service one night, he was robbed. The thief, however, found his victim to have only a little money and some Christian literature. As the bandit was leaving, Wesley called out, “Stop! I have something more to give you.” The surprised robber paused. “My friend,” said Wesley, “you may live to regret this sort of life. If you ever do, here’s something to remember: ‘The blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin!’” The thief hurried away, and Wesley prayed that his words might bear fruit.
  Years later, Wesley was greeting people after a Sunday service when he was approached by a stranger. What a surprise to learn that this visitor, now a believer in Christ as a successful businessman, was the one who had robbed him years before! “I owe it all to you,” said the transformed man. “Oh no, my friend,” Wesley exclaimed, "not to me, but to the precious blood of Christ that cleanses us from all sin!”[iii]

III. My forgiveness of others demonstrates my receiving God’s forgiveness.

The kicker here is “as”. “Like, in a similar manner as, the like proportions to, the same as”. I don’t understand everything about this but what is certainly clear—God expects us to forgive! “I don’t care what others do—in Our family, God’s family, we forgive and as long as you are living in my family—you will, too, or we’ll be going to the woodshed.

Do you want to walk closely to God? Let go of your unforgiveness! Do you want to be free yourself? Let go! Think of a child holding a hand full of candy in jar with a narrow neck. The child can’t get free unless they let go of the candy in their hand. So the question is, “Do you want to be forgiven and free?” Then let go of the un-forgiveness you are holding on to against someone.

Matthew 6:14-15-“’For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.’” We can’t fully match God’s character so God provides us forgiveness.

Matthew 18:21-35-“Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, ‘Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?’
²²Jesus answered, ‘I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
²³”’Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.’” Jesus tells about a man who owed a huge amount of money, and when payment was demanded, he begged and pleaded and the debt was forgiven. But when he saw someone on the street who owed HIM just a little money, he had him put in jail until he paid. When the man who forgave the big debt heard this, in his anger, he chewed him out and had him jailed until he paid everything! Matthew 18:35-“’This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.’”

The number “7” is God’s number, the number of perfection, completeness. So, 70 x 7 would be to forgive completely—infinitely.

It is not about our being perfect in forgiveness but about the intent and effort of our hearts—toward obedience.

What will you do now?

“’Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.’” These are words of joy—we can be forgiven. But they are also words of responsibility and a call to maturity—we work to forgive people who have injured us. To grow in Christ’s image and walk freely in God’s presence, we must do BOTH! God help us. Amen.