The Lord’s Prayer | Forgive Us Our Debts, Part 2

Last week we began to look at the petition in the Lord’s Prayer found in Matthew 6:12, which says: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” We briefly looked at the first section of that verse and considered what it means that forgiven people are forgiving people. When we understand that we are forgiven in Jesus—that we are forgiven ones—then we have a right view of God, a right view of ourselves, and a right view of sin. When we understand the power of God’s forgiveness for us, we can pray the next part of verse 12:

“as we also have forgiven our debtors.”

What is Jesus teaching us here? Is he saying I have to forgive so God will forgive me? First, it doesn’t mean that our salvation depends upon our ability and willingness to forgive others. God’s word tells us in Ephesians 2 that God’s grace saves us through faith and not by our works. So that’s not what Jesus means. I think some light is shed for us in another parable Jesus teaches in Matthew 18:23-35:

²³“Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. ²⁴ As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of gold[a] was brought to him. ²⁵ Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.²⁶ “At this the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Be patient with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’ ²⁷ The servant’s master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go. ²⁸ “But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. ‘Pay back what you owe me!’ he demanded. ²⁹ “His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, ‘Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.’ ³⁰ “But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt. ³¹ When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened. ³² “Then the master called the servant in. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said, ‘I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to. ³³ Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?’ ³⁴ In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed. ³⁵ “This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Verse 35 here seems to be saying something very similar to what Jesus said in Matthew 6:14-15:

¹⁴“For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. ¹⁵ But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”

There is a link between our forgiving others and God’s forgiving of us. To be clear: Jesus is not telling us that forgiving someone else is a way to pay for forgiveness from God. And Jesus is not teaching us that our salvation is based on forgiving others. Remember, the Lord’s Prayer is for those who know God is their Father—for the follower of Jesus who knows they’ve been forgiven by him and now are citizens of God’s kingdom. We recognize that this isn’t a salvation prayer but a prayer for the one who knows they are saved.

There’s a link between our forgiving others and God’s forgiving us.

But we realize in this prayer that our forgiving others is not the basis of our salvation but the evidence of it. And when we recognize the incredible power of God’s forgiveness for us in Jesus, we become a changed person. Forgiveness is not just God’s gift but a heart that he changes. His forgiveness transforms us inside and out. That’s the purpose of this entire prayer—to shape our lives to look more like Jesus.

But there’s another part of forgiveness we need to understand. If we refuse to forgive others, the weight of that pain and hurt will crush us. It will rot us from the inside out. And if you refuse in your heart to forgive someone, you are paying for that debt every day. And it weighs you down and sucks the life right out of you. You are not meant to pay that debt. But Jesus did at the cross. And to forgive someone is to release that pain and hurt to the only One who has paid the ransom at the cross and has raised from the grave to give new life to your soul so that you can say, “Father, this person has hurt me. It’s so hard. It’s so painful. So I turn to you and ask that you help me forgive. I know that Jesus alone has paid the price for my sin. I didn’t deserve his forgiveness. Yet you forgive me.”

And when you understand the grace of God for you and his forgiveness for you in Christ, you can’t help but change. It’s not salvation by works, but a salvation that works.

What a great, forgiving God we serve! What a great, gracious God who has saved us! Knowing this reality sets us free to be people who forgive because Christ has forgiven us. Rejoice in this!

–Wade