Date of message: 27 January 2003
Subject: The Family Prayer - Forgive Us Our
Debts As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
Ever heard the statement, 'you must forgive otherwise God will not forgive
you'? 'God will only forgive you if you forgive others'? For many years,
I was bombarded with statements of this nature and it became a constant
struggle for me. I had to not only remember all the things which I had
done wrong but also go on and remember to forgive all those things which
others committed against me. It was a real chore and trust me it was not
easy.
I was always fearful that the Lord would not forgive me of my sins, or
maybe He had forgiven some of them but not all. I would then quickly go
before the Lord and pray ever harder hoping that in so doing, He would
look favorably on me and forgive all my sins. That was only one side of
the story. I was also guilt ridden that I had not forgiven others of the
wrong that they might have unconsciously committed against me. I became
paranoid.
One day as I was studying the scriptures, the Holy Spirit began to remind
me of the work that our Lord Jesus Christ wrought for us when He died
on the cross. Jesus redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become
a curse for us - for it is written, "Cursed is everyone who hangs
on a tree" - in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham
might come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the
Spirit through faith. (Galatians 3: 13-14) Since Jesus took all my sins
and died in my place, then I will not be judged any more. Judgment had
already been exacted on Christ and therefore I am now acquitted of all
my sins.
What a relief that brought to my soul. Immediately I felt a heavy burden
lifted from off my shoulders and I could walk with a spring in my steps
again. "If Christ had already redeemed me from my sins, why do I
still need to confess my sins?" you may ask. "Why can I not
just go on living as I am since Jesus had already died in my place and
I am forgiven anyway?"
The apostle Paul had this precise scenario in mind when he wrote Romans
chapter 6. He knew some of his readers would venture and challenge him
with the argument that since we have received grace we should continue
to sin so that more grace will be shown. Paul's response was, "God
forbid that we should think like that." (Romans 6: 1) It was precisely
because we had been forgiven of all our sins, we should remember the position
we are in now; that we are no longer under the bondage of the Law but
we are under a higher dispensation - that of the love and grace of our
Lord Jesus Christ.
Do we still need to confess our sins to the Lord? Yes, I believe we do;
not to earn God's forgiveness but because we had been forgiven of our
sins, we confess and repent. The Greek word for 'repent' is 'meta-knoia'
or changing of the mind (meta = change; and knoia = mind). So when Jesus
taught His disciples to pray, 'forgive us our debts', I believe He was
encouraging them (and us) to have this attitude of 'meta-knoia' in our
behavior.
What about the second half of the sentence, "as we also have forgiven
our debtors"? Jesus taught His disciples a parable of the unforgiving
debtor who, when his own master had forgiven him the amount of money he
owed to the master, turned around and demanded that the ones who owed
money to him must repay him everything they owed him. When the master
found out what had happened, he became very angry and threw the ungrateful
servant into prison (Matthew 18: 21- 35). Jesus commented, "This
is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your
brother from your heart" (verse 35).
The apostle Paul advised the church of Ephesus not to let their anger
cause them to sin and not to let the sun go down while they were still
angry (Ephesians 4: 26). We should not allow anything that makes us angry
to bother us for one moment longer than is necessary but that we should
go to the person who had caused us to be angry in the first instance and
forgive that person. What revolutionary teaching! But watch the results.
Recent medical research has found that our bodies produce different enzymes
for different emotions that we feel. When the patient was joyful and shed
tears of joy, they took his tears and examining under the microscope,
they found healing properties in those tears. However, when the patient
was angry and they took his saliva for examination, they discovered that
there were death-producing properties. No wonder angry people tend to
age faster while happy and jovial people tend to look young as their bodies
undergo healing each time they think happy thoughts.
Have you believed in Jesus as the One Who had died for you and taken away
your sin? Why not take this opportunity to receive Him and join us as
children of the Lord. The Bible tells us that we become children of God
the moment we believe in Jesus and welcome Him into our hearts. Read John
1: 12 and be comforted. The Lord does not lie. For Him, whatever He speaks
comes to pass and He had promised us in the Bible that those who have
put their trust in Him will not be condemned but have passed from death
into life ( Romans 8: 1 ). Pray this simple prayer of faith and invite
Him into your heart and immediately you will experience the peace coming
your way.
Our Heavenly Father, thank you that You love us so much that even when
we were still sinners, You sent Your Beloved Son, our Lord Jesus Christ,
down into this world to take our place and die for all our sins.
Lord Jesus, thank you that You came, You obeyed the Father, You died for
all on the cross, You conquered death and You rose again on the third
day. And now, because of Your death and resurrection, we, who believe
in You as our Lord and Savior, will no longer have to die but we receive
Your eternal life. Come into my heart, I pray, and make my heart Your
home.
Thank you that because of what You have accomplished for us on the cross,
I am now a child of God the Father. I am eternally forgiven, greatly blessed,
highly favored, deeply loved and completely protected because of You,
Lord Jesus and in Your precious Name I pray. Amen.
If you have prayed that prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family
of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important
that you are not alone facing your personal trials but that you can obtain
good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your own local
Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together? You will
be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father, for
fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all
your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace.
Numbers 6: 24 - 26
Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee
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