Matthew 6:12 “Debtors 3”

 Here’s my fairly literal translation of these verses:

¹²and forgive to us our debts as we also forgive our debtors.

Forgiveness -- again. So far I’ve been pondering the first phrase of this verse: “Forgive us our debts.” Now, let’s turn to the last phrase, “as we forgive our debtors.” As mentioned before, this is an interesting study, just to pause and think about sins as debts. As far as the first phrase, “Forgive us our debts,” it perhaps deepens our understanding of sin when we think of them as the culpable violations of the obedience and honor we owe to our Creator God.

Now we move on to seeing them in light of our debts to one another. I don’t believe I’ve ever given this any thought at all, so it has been a very interesting and enlightening study. First of all, we are in fact talking about sins, not just money we owe each other. That should be obvious, but needs to be said as we would consider the whole matter. So, what do we owe each other?

First and foremost, Jesus taught us we owe each other love. Therefore, to give to another anything less is to have sinned. We are indebted to God to “love our neighbor,” but we do not, either through sins of commission or omission. I’ve certainly done a lot of that in my 68 years of life, but then I’ve also been on the receiving end of a LOT of “unpaid debts” of love. Of course, in my myopic, self-centered world view, the LOT is far greater against me than from me. That is absurd, of course, but my sinful little nefarious heart is still full of pride and “deceitful above all things.” It may be huge in my mind, but the Lord here even infers it is “normal” for children of the Father to “let it go” and forgive all of that.

“As we forgive our debtors.” Again, the assumption of this prayer is that we do. Let’s think about that for a second. First of all, remember this is a child’s prayer to their Father. This world is full of unregenerate people who sadly are “of their father, the devil…and the lusts of their father they will do” – lying and stealing and killing. This prayer is NOT directed at them. Who they are would be obvious except that too many of them sit on the pews of Bible-preaching churches. I would have to say, most of the people I’ve ever attended church with were probably unregenerate. They may have appeared moral and made a good show at church, but there was absolutely not the slightest hint of Jesus in who they were – and in fact it was quite the opposite. Too often, in private and even sometimes in public, they had tongues “set on fire by hell.” We’ve all known them and probably been too often on the receiving end of those tongues.

So, before we talk about whether “forgiveness” is normal or not for Christians, let’s dispel this notion that most of the people who call themselves Christians really are. They are not. Just because someone is a church-goer does not make them a Christian. Real Christians are Jesus people. Although they themselves (like me) still have their issues and struggles, yet there is that sweet, graciousness of Jesus about them.

I’ve known a number of people who really did come to salvation and I saw for myself that instant transformation. Yes, they were new believers, and yes, they had a lifetime of spiritual growth ahead of them, but immediately they became Jesus people. Suddenly there was a sweetness about them, suddenly they really did want to love other people. Suddenly there was a hunger to know God and to know the Bible. As Jesus said, “By their fruits, you shall know them.”

SO…first of all, yes, Jesus can instruct us children of the Father to say, “as we forgive our debtors.”  I may not do it very well, but the fact is, as a real Christian, a real child of the Father, that is my heart’s desire. And that is true of everyone (I hope including you) who has been born again. So, that settled, let’s us born again people, us children of the Father, think more about this business of forgiving our debtors.

Why is it hard to forgive? First of all, let us remind ourselves, when a debt is forgiven, it’s the creditor (in this case us) who loses. It’s the creditor who must “give up” something in order for the debtor to go free. That is difficult, because, in a sense, they really do “owe” us. As we noted above, at minimum, we all (saved and unsaved alike) owe each other love. The problem with that is we’re all sinners and do a terrible job of it, sometimes in ways we find very hurtful. At those times we may find it seemingly impossible to forgive that person.

What to do? One way is to “walk backwards” through Ephesians 4:32. What does that verse say? “And be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” Think first about that last phrase, “Even as God in Christ forgave you.” As Romans 5:10 says, “When we were God’s enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son…” How much sin did Jesus have to pay for to save me? How much have I failed Him even since He saved me? Yet, God forgave (forgives) me. Now, still working backwards through Ephesians 4:32, He asks us to be “forgiving one another.” As I look at that person, can I see that they’re no different than me? I’m no different than them. Yes, perhaps what they did was very, very bad – but sin is still sin. Even if I can say “I’ve never done that,” the fact is I’ve done just as bad (or worse). In the light of Jesus’ forgiveness of me, I realize I’m just as capable of every sin in the book, and I needed Jesus’ forgiveness just as much as them.

Then God asks us to be “tenderhearted.” Hopefully, at this point, we’re already there. Can I actually feel sorry for that person? Sin is a horrible beast, yet it seems to be the very skin we live in – we all live in. It’s awful to be its slave. I myself know its pain, its darkness, its slavery, its hopelessness. Hopefully by this point, we are wishing we could help that person somehow. Hopefully we actually want to be “kind” to them in some way. And hopefully in our Christian heart we’re finding that, “Yes, I can forgive them. In fact, I want to. Jesus died for me and I don’t deserve His forgiveness any more than anyone else, yet He forgives me. I want to do the same.” As Erika Kirk said to the young man who murdered her husband, “I forgive you…that’s what Christ did.”

Finally, let me offer one more observation in all of this which I find enormously helpful. As we noted above, we all really do “owe” each other love. Justice says those who do not have sinned and done wrong. They really do “owe” it to us. So there is this natural and in fact very legitimate sense of justice within us. No wonder it is a struggle. In an ideal world of law and justice, they really have done us “wrong” and should be punished. Yet, is that the world you and I (children of the Father ) live in? No. We live in a world of grace. Based on law and justice, we should be burning in hell. Yet, in Christ, God the Father forgives us and welcomes us into His big loving lap. Do we “owe” Him sinlessness? Yes. Does He require it of us? In Christ, no. He “lets it go.”

Because I myself live in grace, I can look out at my world and be gracious. My love for others is not a matter of law and justice. I can see them through Jesus’ eyes. Because of grace and because of Jesus, I can look at my world and honestly say from my heart, no one owes me anything. I myself deserve hell. Who am I to look around and think I deserve anything from anyone? No. Because of Jesus, my only concern is that I “owe” my world love – and like Jesus, I should give it to them regardless of how well or how badly they treat me. My Father takes care of me. He will make sure I get every little thing I truly need. “He opens His hand and satisfies the desires of every living thing.” So I depend on Him, not others, to make sure I get “what I need.” My job is to give love. Whether I receive it is up to Him.

No one owes me anything. I’m the debtor. What this verse has taught me is to try and look out at my world through those eyes. Then, what does it matter really what others do to me? “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” “Jesus was a man, ordained by God, who went about doing good.” Like Charlie Kirk and Stephen before him, they killed him for it – while He only did them good. “It is enough for a disciple to be like his Master.” What does the Lord tell us? “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children, and live a life of love…” (Eph.5:1,2).

No one owes me anything. If I can keep that in my head, what does it really matter what they do or don’t do to me? I want to just go on being like my Savior – loving a world that may or may not love me, “forgiving my debtors.” “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Lord, help us to so fill our hearts with You, that we can look out and see our world through Your loving eyes. May us children live the grace You’ve already showered on us, and may we truly find, as we bring our failures to our God, it really is true we’re living a life of “forgiving our debtors.” Jesus, make us like You, and change a world because of it!