This is the seventh in a series on the Lord’s Prayer.
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
– Jesus, The Lord’s Prayer (Matthew 6:12)
Many of the people listening to Jesus speak on the mountaintop had had their sins declared forgiven by Him. The Savior had been walking around forgiving sins, announcing that the day of freedom had arrived. Forgiveness had come! The disciples were forgiven because Christ had forgiven them!
In teaching us to pray, Jesus throws in a phrase that reveals how vital it is that we treat others as we have been treated. If we think we’ve accepted forgiveness from God but have refused that forgiveness to others, we have deceived ourselves. Failure to forgive communicates, “I haven’t been forgiven.” You cannot be a genuine member of the Kingdom of God and not forgive!
Some might object that Jesus speaks here of forgiving “debts”, not “sins.” Sin is definitely implied here, but debt is the word that Jesus specifically uses. In many ways, forgiving debts is even more vast and difficult to accomplish. Suddenly, forgiveness is not consigned only to personal affronts due to others’ misbehavior; it means forgiving others their economic debt or social debt. It is an offering of forgiveness much more radical than the act of letting something slide. God’s Kingdom people will offer forgiveness of debts on every level – the personal, the business, the statewide, even the international level.
Why pray for forgiveness when we, as Christians, have already been forgiven because of the cross? The prayer reminds us of our identity – the people called and chosen by God to execute His forgiveness into everyday life. We should be breathing in and out forgiveness like air! We must be able to throw up our hands in excitement and announce to the whole world – “The Kingdom has come! The King has arrived! The debt is paid in full! I can pay off your debt, because Jesus paid mine.” The Kingdom people do not only forgive as they have been forgiven; they bless as they have been blessed.
