“Pray then like this:
‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
Your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.’” Matthew 6:9-13
Good morning. So far we have looked at the first “half” of the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew’s Gospel. I pray that you are beginning to get a new or renewed appreciation for this very simple prayer. This prayer as we have seen is a “full” prayer and we have only looked at half of it, so far. My other prayer is that this prayer would become precious to us and to our families for it along with all the other prayers in the Bible are given to us to teach us how to pray but also to be incorporated into our hearts for the times when we do not know what to pray. On Friday we began the next half of the prayer with “Give us this day our daily bread…” By using this phrase, He is consciously seeking for us to remember that life is short and we need to focus on this day to bring the Father glory by and through His provision for us…not tomorrow for we are not to be anxious about tomorrow.
Today, we come to the 5th petition, “…and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Interesting to note that thisphrase does not stand alone but is linked with “Give us this day our daily bread…”This little word “and” indicates that there is a close relationship between these two phrases of the same sentence. It is true that each of the petition are intricately related to one another, yet they could each stand alone as well. By being linked, as they are, we are automatically to think that without pardon all good things in life will not be a benefit to us. Matthew Henry stated here, “Our daily bread doth but fatten us as lambs for the slaughter if our sins be not pardoned first.” Also, we should consider that because we sin so often during the day, that reception of such daily bread is a mercy of God. Even one mouthful of food and/or provision from God is undeserved. Jacob reminds us in Genesis 32:10-“I am not worthy of the least of all the deeds of steadfast love and all the faithfulness that you have shown to your servant…” Along with this it seems Jesus is reminding us of the great obstacle our sins are to the blessing we might experience from God. So we need to be mindful…when we says “Give us…” we must add “and forgive us…” before or after the other. Daily bread will satisfy the stomach today but forgiveness of sin satisfies the soul today and eternally.
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Why debt? In the Greek NT this word means, “undischarged obligations or failure to give to God His lawful due”…hence debt not trespass as some versions like to render it. We owe to God sincere and perfect worship something we are unable to do in this life …hence a debt that needs to be paid. Jesus said in Luke 17:10-“So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.’” When we pray this part of the prayer we are not asking to be set free from the duties we owe God but to be acquitted from our guilt so that we are able to perform that which God commands with a joyful heart. All our trespasses and sins have been forgiven in Christ but just like “daily or day by day” we ask for God’s provision we need to daily pray for acquittal from our on-going debts so that we might actually bring God glory.
Next, and interestingly enough, the Lord teaches us to confirm this petition with an argument, “…as we also have forgiven our debtors.” The little word “as” says so much here in explanation. “As” is not a note of equity…rather it is forgiving others in the same manner God grants forgiveness to us…we are to imitate His action of forgiving others just He forgave us and we are arguing that we will do just that (see vss. 14-15). Every Christian is required/ charged with forgiving his brother in Christ. I want to be real clear here; if the forgiveness we receive is proportional to the forgiveness we give, then we are all damned because none of us has forgiven perfectly. Rather, we are to forgive and at the same time we are asking God to forgive us in the way we have forgiven others daily. He who knows and understands that he is forgiven is more willing to forgive. So those who would rightly pray to God for daily pardon must daily pardon those who sin against us.
We must also pray to God for Him to remove all bitterness from our hearts toward, especially, our brothers and sisters in Christ. But, having said that, to forgive our debtors does not exclude the possibility of rebuke, especially where public interests are involved. To let a brother or sister continue in sin without saying something to them personally, first, would show a lack of love for them and for the church and a lack of understanding of what God commands.
Bottom line, every time we pray this prayer we need to realize Jesus makes the point that if this is not our practice…even as hard as it is…we need to ask ourselves, “Do we understand our daily forgiveness?” If we are unwilling to forgive others as God has forgiven us we cannot claim God’s daily forgiveness as our own.
So today, set things right with God, first and then your brother and sister in Christ so that you will be able to experience the blessing of a forgiven life today.
God Bless y’all.
In His Grip,
Pastor Mike
