May We Forgive as We Have Been Forgiven
Preached by Nate Phillips
May 17, 2020
Scripture Reading
Matthew 6:5-15
5 “And when you pray, you must not be like the hypocrites. For they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, that they may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. 6 But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
7 “And when you pray, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do, for they think that they will be heard for their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 Pray then like this:
“Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name.
10 Your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us this day our daily bread,
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.
14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Introduction
Forgiveness...what is it? And why does it exist? Why is the Bible so concerned with it? Why has God chosen to show it? Why do the people of God show it?
In short, we will see that forgiveness exists for the glory of God and the good of his people. We will see what true forgiveness is and we will see how forgiveness is to be an integral part of the church.
One thing I have come to see so much more clearly over the last couple of years is the forgiveness of God and how that impacts so much of who we are. Hebrews 1:1-4 says “Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world. He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high.”
Jesus is sitting down! But why?!
Because he has made the purification for sins. The work is fully done and it will always stay done. What a beautiful picture of God’s love for his people.
Then we look further back in the Bible and read the story of David. A man that was called a man after God’s own heart. A man that God made a covenant with to establish the royal blood line of Jesus. And David commits a sin that in the Bible is punishable by death. David should have been put to death! But the prophet Nathan responds to David in 2 Samuel 12:13, “The Lord has put away your sin; you shall not die.”
God has looked forward fourteen generations to Jesus, the Son of God who is the lamb that takes away the sin of the world, and applied the blood of Jesus to David first because God is sovereign, gracious, slow to anger and full of mercy, and second because David was repentant. See Psalm 51. In the Bible we see that forgiveness starts in Genesis 3:21, when God covers Adam and Eve with an animal skin, and culminates in Revelation 22 when Jesus will return doing away with sin and establishing the full and consummated kingdom of God.
What I want us to see most clearly today is that forgiveness is not just simply saying “I forgive you” and moving on. Forgiveness is a mark, it is not just a way of life, but it is integral to who we are as God’s people. If we as the people of God refuse to forgive those who have sinned against us, we might not truly understand the forgiveness of God and therefore not know the saving grace He has shown us. Perhaps you feel like you are in a place where you know God, know forgiveness, and show this same forgiveness. Be careful about thinking that you have arrived. Forgiveness is something that we will daily have to choose. If there is anything that Satan wants, it is to cause the people of God to believe that we have not been forgiven, we have earned our forgiveness, or we have license to do whatever we want because we have been forgiven.
So let us look at these few verses. So short, but so so much for us to see.
Matthew 6:12, 14-15
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors….14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Last week when Benjamin preached on the preceding verse, he said that when we are told to pray for our daily bread, it exposes our boasting, our ingratitude, and our selfish individualism. Benjamin’s passage marked a shift from the vertical aspect of the prayer, that is to focus on God, to the horizontal part of the prayer. So when I read verse 12 and the first word is “And” it made me stop and ask why is this here. Then I kept reading and saw verse thirteen. The first word there is “And” as well.
In this short succession of phrases, Matthew is saying that each of these verses are one. You cannot take away one of them or pick and choose. Each is connected. The succession also shows that we as people need bread, daily bread, but more importantly we need forgiveness and we need to show forgiveness.
One very unfortunate trend that has overtaken many churches is this belief that God is simply concerned with our material good. So people simply provide housing, make meals, pay bills,…. They Give Daily Bread…. These are all very good things and these are all things that we should be doing. But the far greater need is…. for people to know forgiveness. Bread will sustain our earthly lives but knowing and practicing forgiveness will have eternal impact. Forgiveness will sustain our souls and one day bring us to God, our great and mighty judge, where we will boast of the blood of Christ that covers our sins and brings forgiveness to all who believe and confess that he is Lord.
Forgiven Not By works but by Faith
“Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)
A quick note on the word “Debts”. In the Roman empire debt was a really big deal. To put this into our modern terms, there are a lot of young people in our church. Many of us probably have student loans. Some might have a couple thousand, others tens of thousands, and some hundreds of thousands. The federal government or our banks have set up ways for us to pay these loans back. We might experience anxiety or be uncomfortable because of these loans, but more likely then not we will pay them back.
If we were to consider the national debt though. The national debt is an astronomical 25 trillion dollars. Our government and most certainly one person could never ever pay this back. So if you couldn’t pay back your debt in the Roman Empire, you would be thrown into prison until you could pay back your debt. The idea was to put pressure on the families to pay back the debt. But often this was a death sentence.
I do not believe, nor do most scholars, believe that this passage is referring to a monetary debt, but I believe that Matthew uses this language to paint a picture for us.
We owe a debt. We owe a debt that is massive.
The only way we will every be rid of it is to be forgiven.
The second half of verse 12 might suggest forgiveness is not given because it is dependent upon us forgiving others. Scripture is the very word of God. It does not contradict itself and it is put together over 15 centuries with 35 different authors. It’s a beautiful book that has a main theme of Jesus and the forgiveness he shows. The Bible clearly shows that God has shown us forgiveness apart from our showing forgiveness.
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” (Ephesians 4:32)
“For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” (2 Corinthians 5:21)
Nothing in these verses state that we must forgive in order for God to forgive us. Notice that the verse says “Forgive us our debts as we...” not “Forgive us our debts because we...” We are not forgiven because we forgive. We forgive because we are forgiven.
A True Understanding of Forgiveness Results in Forgiveness Shown
When we see the enormity of our sin and how much has been done for us something happens. Something changes. In the enormity of our sin and the greatness of God’s mercy, we change our perspective and see that in comparison to our sin, the sins of those who sin against us pale.
The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant (Matthew 18:21-35)
21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
23 “Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. 24 When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. 25 And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26 So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ 27 And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. 28 But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ 30 He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. 31 When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. 32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ 34 And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt.35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”
The unforgiving servant completely missed what had been done for him. He was shown grace and mercy. There was a debt he could not pay and instead of being cast into debtors’ prison, he was set free. His debt was forgiven. He then goes to another individual who owes him a fraction of what he owes. This man cannot pay so he throws in him in prison. The unforgiving servant did not understand forgiveness and was so blinded by his pride, he failed to see how much he had been forgiven. If he would have truly seen how great his debt was and how he could never afford to pay it back, he would have gone to the individual who owed much, much less and given them the same forgiveness. The unforgiving servant was blind. There was no change in perspective, attitude, or a growing humility. There was rather pride and arrogance... May we not be a people marked by pride, but may we be a people marked by humility and forgiveness because we recognize we have been forgiven an unpayable debt.
Forgiveness Shown By God
Charles Spurgeon said, “Unless you have forgiven others, you read your own death warrant when you repeat the Lords prayer.”
Forgiveness is something so important that if we miss what has been done for us and what we should do for others it will have eternal implications. This is a very true and very sobering statement that relates to this short but deep and heavy verse.
To see this, if we read a little further in Matthew 6 to verses 14 and 15 we see “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Again, this is not about earning forgiveness by works, but rather having a proper understanding of forgiveness.
Every single one of us will struggle with forgiveness. We will have times where something small has been done against us or we have witnessed something small done against God and it will be easier to forgive. Other times it will be much more difficult to forgive and some of us have for so long believed we are Christians but the forgiveness that we are called to show is not found. Passages like Matthew 7:22-23 should be terrifying to all of us, It says, On that day many will say to me, “Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name? and then I will declare to them, “I never knew you, depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” And then we have 2 Corinthians 11:13-15 where Satan is described as an angel of light. He is the great deceiver and I have heard it said that what better trick does Satan have than to cause someone to believe they have been a Christian their entire life only to one day stand before God and find out that they have never truly known Him. Be careful whose you say you are. Take time and evaluate who you are.
Do you want to know if you are forgiven by God? Ask yourself the question, Do I forgive?.... It is impossible to experience the richness of God’s grace and remain a stubborn, obstinate, cold hearted person. Those who truly know forgiveness of sins... forgive others.[1]
By One Another and To One Another
I believe here is where the communal aspect of God’s people comes into play. Just as Benjamin stated last week, there is a communal aspect to this prayer. It is not something we do by our individual selves, but rather we do this as a part of the church gathered. We see “forgive US our debts” not “forgive ME MY debts.” And as “we have also” not as “I also”.
The world is committed first and foremost to themselves and their own power. This is characterized by selfish ambition, self-promotion, and neglect for others. But the church is to be characterized by mercy, kindness, compassion, and forgiveness. Christians ought to be the most kind, the most humble, the most compassionate, and the most forgiving people because as one scholar says, “The only thing that surpasses our need for constant forgiveness is God’s determination to forgive sin.” God has paid the penalty in full, he has taken away our sin, he has called us righteous and redeemed. This is not a get out of jail free card but rather transformational and life giving. God has forgiven our sins for all time, but still calls us to grow in our holiness towards Him.
The church community is what helps call these things out in individuals. Are you selfish and only care for yourself? Or are you kind, compassionate, and forgiving? What do the people around you say? Not only can they help you identify unforgiveness of yourself or in yourself, but they can point you back to the cross of Christ and the great gift of forgiveness we have been shown. Here is where it is so important to be a part of a church small group or a discipleship relationship. Every Wednesday night for the last 1.5 years I have been meeting with a group of guys for accountability, encouragement, and help remembering where our identities lie. Every other week I am discipled by an elder in our church. On Sunday nights I help co-lead a small group of midtwenty somethings that seek to understand the scriptures and one another on a deeper level. I have opened myself up to each of these people and given them permission to confront me in my sin. They challenge me to place my identity in God rather than in my own name, selfish desires, or even the lies that the enemy tells me, and they hold me to such a high standard.
I do not say these things to brag, I say these things to show that there are so many ways to be a part of the body in ways that will allow people to know you, love you, and challenge you as you seek to follow after Christ. This people will be able to say, Yes! You know Christ....-look at the ways you have changed and grown, look at the ways you show forgiveness to those who are around you.” How beautiful a gift is the church that God has given to his people?
What are ways that we as the local church can have this become a part of our weekly and daily practice?
Often pastor Ben includes a time of repentance during our worship sets. Follow along. Speak the words out loud. Reflect on the heaviness of the sin that is being confessed. When he asks you to confess your sins silently, don’t just stand their with a blank mind but rather confess your sins to God. If you have troubles doing this, ask the person next to you if you can confess with them. Then when pastor Ben reads the assurance of pardon-listen, meditate on it, rejoice greatly for the forgiveness of your sins and the communal sins of Gods people have been washed over by the blood of Jesus.
Another practice that we could do as a church has to do with communion. When I was younger my pastor would state before we took communion each time that if we needed to confess sin to another brother or sister in the church that we should do this before we took communion and if someone came to you and confessed sin you were to forgive them. (1 Corinthians 11:27-32) What would our body of believers look like if when we came back together after COVID-19 and communion was no longer just a practice of taking bread and juice but also a practice of forgiving one another? Maybe we would see the elements with a greater sense of understanding and beauty as we choose to confess and forgive as we have been forgiven?
Does your small group participate in a time of confession and repentance? If you are a part of a group that has been together for more than 2 minutes, there is much opportunity for disagreement, sin, and conflict to happen between one another. It is hard. That is part of doing community. The other side though is how we respond. Be intentional about forgiving each other. I am a part of a small group of men that intentionally studies the bible and seeks to know and love God more through confessing sin. If you want to be a part of something like this, please reach out to myself and I let me help you get connected.
Seek to change your language about forgiveness. One issue I see that often takes place when someone confesses a sin that they have committed against another or against God is the response of “It’s okay” “Don’t worry about it” etc. The issue is that it is not okay and our sin is something that should cause remorse in light of God and His holiness. When someone confesses a sin to you tell them that you forgive them and then help them remember the Gospel. When I confess sin I don’t need to know it’s okay. I know myself and I know what I am feeling- feeling that it is okay is no where close to what I am feeling. But believing that you have forgiven me and that God has shown everlasting forgiveness is the thing that I need, that we all need.
Know that you aren’t going to be perfect with this. Know that forgiveness is something you will grown over your life as you come to know and love God more. This is one reason I believe it is so important to be connected to other people who love God and can help you know Him and love Him more.
Maybe you are sitting here listening to me, maybe some of the things I have said have provoked thought and brought conviction and you either need to repent of the sin of unforgiveness or you realize that you have never known the forgiveness of God....
I love you all and I can’t wait to be back together with you. Let us pray.
[1] Dr. Mohler, The prayer that turned the world upside down
