Jesus's Teaching on Prayer, Part 8
As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors
Matthew 6v12b
24th October 2025
Last time, we considered the first part of the fourth petition in the Lord's Prayer:
Matthew 6v12
"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."
We who have been born again are living less sinful lives than we once did. The Holy Spirit is sanctifying us. However, we have not reached a state of sinless perfection, and we won't until we enter into glory. As 1 John 1v8 tells us, "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." Of course we need to continue to pray "forgive us our debts".
As 1 John 1v9 assures us, "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." This process of confessing our sins to God and asking Him to forgive us - again and again but less frequently - will continue until we die.
Also, it's right that we, who have been forgiven so much, should forgive those who have sinned against us, hurt us, cheated us,betrayed us. We should be able to say, "we also have forgiven our debtors". But what exactly is the relationship between the first part of this petition and the second?
This is not some sort of contract, some sort of deal. It's not, "I've done this, so God must do that". God is not obliged to forgive us. God forgives us because He has chosen to have mercy on us. It's certainly not "I did a very bad thing last week, and I know I need to be forgiven for it, so I suppose I'll forgive so-and-so so God can forgive me". We can never earn God's forgiveness.
God forgives us on the basis of the New Covenant in the blood of Christ. A Christian is by definition somebody who has gone to God to plead for the forgiveness of sins, has been given faith by the Holy Spirit in the power of the redeeming sacrifice of Jesus Christ who bled and died on the cross, and who knows that ledger of debt has been erased. How can we go through that experience, come to that wonderful realisation, put our faith in our wonderful Saviour, and not forgive those who've sinned against us? How can I remember all the sin that's been forgiven me, and not forgive you for the sins you've committed against me?
That would be an absolutely dreadful thing. It's totally inconsistent with believing in the forgiveness of God through Jesus Christ, to hold onto unforgiveness against my neighbour. So I think that, if we totally reject the idea of forgiving other people, then we cannot have embraced the idea of being forgiven by God, so if we don't believe in forgiving, then we're not Christians and our sins are not forgiven.
Further, if out of gratitude to the God who sent His Son to suffer to make our forgiveness possible, we have embraced the idea that we, who have been freely forgiven for so much sin, should freely forgive others, then we have no business deciding for ourselves that we should forgive some people but not others, or forgive a person for some sins and not others. If we don't want to forgive others, perhaps we've never really acknowledged the depth of our own sin.
More than this, if we who have been forgiven by God hold a grudge against another person, there will be a price to pay. Unforgiveness is not good for us, and God is not pleased by it. Jesus addresses this issue in verses 14-15, which we will study soon.