And Forgive Us Our Debts,
As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors
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.”
Matthew 7:1-5
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
Day 1
And Forgive Us Our Debts, As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors
Start your day by praying: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
Think about this: is there anyone you have not forgiven? As God puts them on your heart, say yes to the Lord and, with His help, forgive them now.
If there are practical steps you need to do and can do, pray now and prepare yourself for the action. Step out in faith and let God lead you to full forgiveness.
Father, please forgive my debts as I have forgiven my debtors. Is there anyone that I need to forgive? If so, please bring them to my mind and help me to take the step of forgiveness. Lord, do I need to reach out to a particular person in forgiveness? Give me the strength to do whatever you need me to do. I thank You that I don’t have to rely on my own strength. You are the strength of my heart! Help me, Lord.
In the previous lesson, we learned that Jesus is our daily bread. He feeds us as we do His will and obey Him. One of the ways to carry out God’s will is to forgive others. In His prayer, Jesus tells us to pray the following words: “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
As I was growing up with six siblings, my dad tried his best to teach us the importance of forgiving others. After we fought, I would hate to hear him call us to come and apologize. He asked us to hug and kiss and to go in peace and forgiveness. Many times I felt that I would rather kill than forgive. I would say that I forgave my siblings, but in my heart I would feel anger and hate. I felt I was forced to do something I hated. But since we were children, it didn’t take any of us very long to come back and play together again and forget our quarrels.
Over time, I realized that forgiveness is truly important, yet it felt so hard to forgive at times. I sincerely prayed to God to teach me how to forgive. And He really took any opportunity to do so! In His grace, He is still teaching me and helping me to forgive.
Looking back, I’m really thankful that my dad emphasized to us the importance of forgiveness.
Freed from Debt
Jesus teaches about forgiveness in detail in Matthew 7, but He gives this admonition immediately following the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6:
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.” It is the only prayer request in the Lord’s Prayer for which our Father in heaven gives a contingency.
Do you believe these words of Jesus? If so, how do these words shine light on your unforgiveness toward others?
Jesus shows us how crucial it is to forgive others. Forgiveness is not just a recommendation. We are told that it is impossible to be forgiven by His Father in heaven if we don’t forgive others. Forgiveness does not come if we do not forgive others. To be forgiven and to forgive are two faces of the same coin. They have the same value. As our sins are serious and need to be forgiven, so everyone’s sins are serious and need to be forgiven, by God and by man.
A woman once told me that she believes in Jesus but she can’t ever forgive her father. I pointed her to Jesus’ words in Matthew 6:14-15. She said she had heard that, but she believed that there had to be some exception for her to be forgiven. Sadly, she is very mistaken. Jesus states clearly: if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Do you have an example in your life where you have not forgiven but are hoping for Jesus to make an exception for you–forgiving you your sins despite your unforgiveness?
Jesus assumes that when we enter into His Kingdom, we will know and fully understand the necessity of forgiveness. He expects us to have an idea of the depravity and consequences of sin. This understanding of our own sin is one of the reasons we move toward Jesus and seek His redemption. This need that we have, to be forgiven, is the same need that everyone else has. If we think we are the only ones worthy to be forgiven, then we don’t really believe that we are sinners. We would be worthy only if there was no sin in us! We are all sinners who need forgiveness, so we are required to forgive others also.
When we are truly remorseful for our sins and live in real gratitude for Christ’s forgiveness, we will be brokenhearted for others when they sin. We will be moved to imitate our Redeemer, and with the joy of our salvation, we will actively forgive others. We will be able to pray “as we also have forgiven our debtors.” This change of our hearts does not leave us the option to pray “we hope to forgive” or “at some point we will forgive.”
Why do you think that your Father will not forgive your sins if you do not forgive others their sins?
For many of us, the command and concept of always forgiving others is very hard. It was the same for Jesus’ disciples and the people that followed Him while He was with them here on earth. They attempted several times to find a way out of forgiving others.
Matthew 18:21
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?”
Peter knew that if this really was a serious request, forgiving others would go on forever. He wondered if there somehow was an end to it. It sounds unfair to be constantly beaten and still have to forgive others. I’m sure most of us feel like Peter. He was hoping that if we forgave up to seven times, we would be done with our “duty” of forgiving and then would be let off the hook. But Jesus has a different answer:
Matthew 18:22
Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
Seventy-seven times? We might think, “Seventy-seven is a large number but at least after that, we are no longer obliged to forgive. Phew!” But no, this is not what Jesus meant. He continues to explain His answer and how forgiveness works in the kingdom of heaven by telling us this story:
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 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.”
Jesus answers again that in order for us to be forgiven, we must understand the absolute necessity of forgiving others! Not only seventy-seven times but countless times! Always. There are no exceptions.
The servant in the story above owed his king an immense debt of ten thousand bags of gold and was not able to repay it. “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.” The king pronounced the just judgment.
The servant begged his king to wait for him until he was able to repay. The king knew that the servant would never be able to earn that much gold and pay it back; there was no point in waiting. Either his servant had to serve some kind of penalty or be shown mercy. He decided to show him mercy. It was undeserved mercy!
Imagine for a moment that you are the servant in this story.
How would we feel if we were the servant in this story? In our reality, we aren’t doing business with an earthly king. We have sinned against the Holy God, the King of Kings. We are in debt to a living God who pronounced the righteous judgment for us: death and eternity in hell.
Our Father in heaven knew that we could not repay Him. Instead of letting us serve our penalty by imprisonment in hell, He offered us His mercy by letting His own Son pay our debts through His sacrifice on the cross. Jesus had to be born and He had to suffer; He was rejected, mocked, and killed. He took it upon Himself to repay all the damage of sin that we are responsible for and He went through agony that we would never understand. He did all of this so that we could be set free from our debts and be given a new chance of a debt-free life–life in all the fullness of God.
Jesus didn’t just take the penalty for us. This would not have been enough. He paid the debt and, with that, erased everything we owed so that we do not have to serve the penalty in hell. And then He offers us His Kingdom to live in with all of the resources He has.
Let us pause for a moment and think about this. We deserve all of God’s wrath that was poured on Jesus Christ on the cross. We deserve to bear the punishment for sin–death and eternity in hell. It was only by our Father’s mercy that we escaped all of that. We are fully free! There is NOTHING we need to do to repay Him. Can we ever grasp that?
Can you say you understand how much Christ forgave you?
Please take a moment and think about the magnitude of your sin and His forgiveness. Pray about it. Are you overwhelmed with gratitude, or what is your reaction?
Think again: after escaping all of this by His mercy, how hard is it for us now to forgive others? Hard enough to reject God’s forgiveness by not forgiving others? Would that be our choice today?
We all sin against each other. We all are offenders and we all are victims. We are not like the king in our story; he had only debtors. We are like the servant in the story who owed a lot, and we have people who owe us a little.
The servant, after he was forgiven, went out and found his debtor (a fellow servant like himself), started to choke him, and then put him into prison until he could pay. Are your hands choking someone today? From whom are you demanding repayment? Have you thrown someone into prison with your unforgiveness?
Name people you have not forgiven.
Name things you are expecting others to pay back to you.
Do you feel remorse for your own selfish unforgiveness? Ask God to help you to forgive others.
Day 2
And Forgive Us Our Debts, As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors
Start your day by praying: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Ask the Lord to help you to forgive others.
Lord, forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. Any debt that is owed to me by any person is nothing in comparison to the debt that I owed You for my sin. Thank You that Jesus paid that debt! Thank You for Your great love and mercy. Help me to respond to others in love and grace and mercy.
Freed from Judgment
I like that Jesus explains forgiveness by using the terms debt and debtor. When people sin against us, they cause some sort of damage that either needs to be reversed or repaid with something else.
We know that when damage is done, it can’t be reversed unless we can go back in time and undo it. We are left with the option of paying with something else. For example, if your friend steals your candy and eats it, he can’t give it back to you but he can easily replace it with the same kind of candy. It might be annoying, but it’s not a big deal. But if somebody kills your child, how can he repay you? Selling his “wife and his children and all that he had” would never replace what he owes you.
The reality is that we can’t undo damage done to others. Even if we could offer some sort of replacement for the damage, that replacement wouldn’t fully take the place of what was lost. And there is still the problem of who gets to decide the just repayment.
Jesus emphasizes again in Matthew 7 that we should forgive others:
Matthew 7:1-2
1 “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. 2 For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
What is the definition of judging?
How does “not judging” play into forgiving?
You might wonder what judging has to do with unforgiveness. In some cases, it has nothing to do with it. For example, if you are appointed to make a decision in a contest or competition, or if you give a critique, or if you are governing or ruling, you are participating in forms of judgment that have nothing to do with unforgiveness.
But I want to point out that the concept of judging here in these verses talks about unforgiveness. In the story in Matthew 18:23-35 about the king and the two servants, how do we know that the servant did not forgive his fellow servant? He demanded back what was owed to him and threw the other servant into prison. This servant pronounced the judgment and executed the penalty. Judging others when they sin against us is a sign of our unforgiveness. It manifests itself in words and actions that outwardly reveal the state of an unforgiving heart. Unforgiveness is judging. (If the king didn’t forgive the servant, he would have to judge him; likewise, if Christ doesn’t forgive us, He judges us.)
We might think that we have forgiven someone, but if we think or act as if that “debtor” still owes us something, or if we treat that person according to “what they deserve,” we are practicing judgment, and we can be sure that we have not forgiven them. This type of judgment can be carried out in very obvious ways, like the servant in the story above, but it can also show itself in more subtle ways. Here are a few examples: bad-mouthing a person, excluding a person, giving a person the silent treatment, or mistreating a person. The list goes on.
And it can be even worse. Sometimes our unforgiveness and judgment is based on a mental picture we build for ourselves against certain people (or groups of people) with certain characteristics or of a certain gender, race, economic status, or you-name-it! This mental picture may be based on someone else’s opinion or someone else’s bad acts or our unpleasant experience with someone. We associate certain people with that mental picture and treat them unjustly. We don’t forgive them and we judge them even though they did not sin against us. Examples of this include racism, sexism, etc.
Can you think of the ways unforgiveness shows up in the judgment of others?
Think about an example in your life where you think you have forgiven someone but you are still exercising your judgment. Where are you still demanding something from your debtors?
We have already learned that unless someone owes us something like candy, there is no repayment that is sufficient for real damage done. This is where judging comes into play. Judging that proceeds from unforgiveness is not determining if someone is guilty or not. Judging here is calculating what our debtors owe us and demanding that they pay us back.
But as we have already discussed, who from among us is perfectly just and able to define the just payment? Plus, we see in Romans 6:23 that “…the wages of sin is death….” In other words, the sentence for our sins has already been determined by God. And the sentence was carried out when Jesus died on the cross. Who are we to judge when Jesus clearly shows us that He is the only judge?
Forgiveness is not just saying “I forgive.” That is only the first step. Forgiveness means not demanding any kind of repayment. Jesus gives us a warning here: it’s not only that He can’t forgive us if we don’t forgive others, but He also tells us that in the same way we judge others, we will be judged by Him. When we judge others, we are pronouncing the judgment for ourselves. By asking us to forgive others, Jesus is protecting us from further harm and from hurling judgment on ourselves.
Did you ever consider that your way of judging others defines the way you will be judged by Christ? Who do you need to stop judging?
Freed to Love and Show Mercy
In the Old Testament law, there were specific rules for how to repay certain debts:
Leviticus 24:20
Fracture for fracture, eye for eye, tooth for tooth. The one who has inflicted the injury must suffer the same injury.
If we were to follow these rules today, we would all be blind and toothless, devoured by each other. We might like that kind of justice when wrong has been done to us, but would we like it if we were the accused one? Jesus came with His Kingdom of heaven, and here is what He teaches us:
Matthew 5:38-48
38 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye, and tooth for tooth.’ 39 But I tell you, do not resist an evil person. If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also. 40 And if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well. 41 If anyone forces you to go one mile, go with them two miles. 42 Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you. 43 “You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ 44 But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 that you may be children of your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. 46 If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Are not even the tax collectors doing that? 47 And if you greet only your own people, what are you doing more than others? Do not even pagans do that? 48 Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
Jesus is calling us to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. “Perfect” means to let His will, with no sin, rule over us. Our Heavenly Father forgave us our sins because Jesus took our punishment upon Himself. By His example on the cross, He is teaching us that living in mercy, love, and forgiveness is the only way to get rid of sin.
Romans 13:8-10
8 Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not covet,” and whatever other command there may be, are summed up in this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
When people sin against us, they owe us a debt. The only way that the debt can be settled is if we, in love, have mercy and forgive. When we forgive, they owe us NOTHING anymore, not even an apology. An apology is not part of our forgiveness. It is part of the repentance of those who sin against us.
Did you ever think that a debt owed to you can be paid through your own love and forgiveness toward your debtors? Thinking practically, how can this look for you today?
When we sin against others, we owe them a debt. Would we like to be forgiven with love and mercy or would we like to pay for it forever? We need to remember that as much as we like to think that we are only victims, we are also offenders–and it is often a big deal!
Think of a recent example where you hurt and sinned against someone.
We may think it is impossible to forgive because the pain of the damage done to us is unbearable. If you have had or are currently in that experience, Jesus is the refuge you need to run to. He is the only one who can really heal us and restore us and forever give us His love. His compassion for us is greater than we can understand. Because He knows the deep consequences of unforgiveness and the damage it can do to our lives, He’ll lead us to forgive. It is key for us to forgive in any circumstance so that our hearts can be changed and be healed.
Corrie ten Boom was a Dutch Christian who helped many Jews escape the Nazi Holocaust during World War II. After being betrayed by her neighbor, she and her family were arrested and sent to a concentration labor camp in Germany. During that time, she lost her beloved father and sister. She endured horrific treatment under Nazi guards.
After the war, Corrie was at a church in Munich when she met a guard from the prison camp. He asked for her forgiveness and wanted to shake her hand. At that moment, all of the memories of pain and suffering and the loss of her sister and father came into her mind. She had a choice. Would she withhold that handshake and the forgiveness it represented or would she forgive? As she held out her trembling hand, the power of God and His forgiveness flowed through her, and the shackles of bitterness and unforgiveness were broken.
When we forgive, Jesus is able to work on our hurt and heal us because this is the point where we turn to Him, turn away from our bitterness, and offer Him our pain (pain done to us by others, and pain inflicted on us by ourselves from our own hatred and unforgiveness).
Freed to be Healed
God’s forgiveness to us cost Him much. He humbled Himself by sending His precious Son to become flesh and to suffer and die. The payment made by Jesus was the only sufficient payment for any sin we humans commit. When people sin against us, it also costs us something. It may cost us something like candy, or it may cost us our most precious people or things. The consequences of sins against us can deeply hurt us to the point of despair. There is always a price to be paid.
Think about the price you are paying now for a wrong done to you. Take the first step of handing your pain to Jesus.
When we forgive, we take the payment upon ourselves (we accept damage done to us by others) as Christ took the payment for our sins upon Himself.
But what do we do when we are hurt by others? How do we deal with the aftermath? Here is some wisdom and experience from King David:
Psalm 17:7
Show me the wonders of your great love, you who save by your right hand those who take refuge in you from their foes.
Psalm 18:30
As for God, his way is perfect: The Lord’s word is flawless; he shields all who take refuge in him.
Psalm 147:3
He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds.
King David had many enemies who sought to kill him, and yet he sings more than 40 times in his recorded psalms about how he found refuge in the Lord. As King David did, let us first run to our Lord Jesus.
Psalm 103:1-6
1 Praise the Lord, my soul;
all my inmost being, praise his holy name.
2 Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits—
3 who forgives all your sins
and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit
and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The Lord works righteousness
and justice for all the oppressed.
Go on your knees and pray David’s prayer above.
When we come to Christ with our pain, we allow Him to bestow His healing and love on us. In that love, we can work and focus on love toward others so that we don’t sin against others and inflict upon them pain and a price to pay.
Proverbs 10:12
Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs.
Proverbs 17:9
Whoever would foster love covers over an offense, but whoever repeats the matter separates close friends.
1 Peter 4:8
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins.
My friend asked me, “Do I surrender to Christ or do I still go to therapy?” We need to surrender to Christ because in Him we find all that we need, but therapy is a great resource for healing. Christ is using other people and good professionals to help us understand and walk through our process of healing. God prepares and uses many resources to help us. He provides wisdom for medicine and counseling and myriads of other ways to bring us healing and wholeness.
Once I was badly hurt by a friend. I could not eat or sleep and was depressed. A counselor helped me to walk through my pain and gave me the right tools to deal with the situation. It was a God-given gift for me in that time of hurt.
If you are hurting right now, make sure Jesus is your stronghold and refuge. You can go to Him any time in prayer. Don’t hesitate to seek professional help and help from people that care for you and love you.
If you know anyone else who is hurting, please pray for them now.
Day 3
And Forgive Us Our Debts, As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors
Start your day by praying: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Bring your pain to Christ with the hope and expectancy of His healing, love, and grace for you.
Lord, forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. Thank You for the precious blood of Jesus Christ that paid for and covers all of my sin. Thank You for Your great love. Thank You that you can heal any pain that has been caused by others. Help me today with the pain that I have, O Lord…
Just Judge
When we forgive others, we are ready to give our unforgiveness (our sin) to God to forgive us. Keeping others in our debt is persisting in our sin of unforgiveness. It would be absurd to ask God to forgive us and still hold on to some sins (keep our unforgiveness).
Our God is a just God, and therefore, He deals justly with our sins. He can’t forgive us for part of our sins, let us keep other sins, and then proclaim us righteous. He is just and He can only forgive if we let go of sin (if we let our debtors go free). On the cross, He paid the penalty for ALL the sin of humanity: our sins against others and the sins done to us. He wants us to be perfectly cleansed of our sins.
Why did Jesus come if not to judge the world?
It is important to see what Jesus Himself says about His judgment. In the scriptures below, He says that He did not come to judge but to save:
John 12:47-48
47 “If anyone hears my words but does not keep them, I do not judge that person. For I did not come to judge the world, but to save the world. 48 There is a judge for the one who rejects me and does not accept my words; the very words I have spoken will condemn them at the last day.
John 3:16-18
16 For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.
But in other places in scripture, Jesus says that He came to judge:
John 5:22
Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son.
John 5:27
And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.
Acts 17:31
For he has set a day when he will judge the world with justice by the man he has appointed. He has given proof of this to everyone by raising him from the dead.”
This might sound confusing. He is not judging, and then He is judging. Which one is He doing? The answer is both.
Jesus is the true and just Judge. He has the right to judge, and He is going to judge. On the last day, Jesus will come to judge this world.
What is your response to Jesus, knowing that He is coming to judge one day soon?
What is your response toward others in your debt, knowing that Jesus is coming to judge one day soon?
But before Jesus comes to judge, He came as a sacrifice. Jesus came in His mercy to forgive and to save. He came not to condemn but to set us free.
We humans are the ones who offend God. We are the accused ones. Our sin has set charges against us. As ones on the opposite side of the judgment seat, we do not possess any rights to judge. All we deserve is condemnation.
Do you see yourself on the judgment seat or as the guilty one? Why?
When Jesus commands us not to judge, He tells us to follow His example. Jesus, the right Judge, came to give complete mercy. If we accept His forgiveness, there is no further judgment. He sets us fully free, free from our sins and from His judgment.
In the same way, when we who are deserving of judgment forgive others, we need to set them free from their sins and from our judgment. So let us not forget the mercy we have received, and let us not neglect to forgive others and set them free also.
Colossians 3:13
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Knowing what Jesus has done for you on the cross and accepting the forgiveness you have received from Christ, what is your understanding of forgiveness toward others now?
How can Jesus’ example change your perspective and actions toward forgiving others?
Write a prayer, thanking God for His forgiveness and asking Him to help you forgive others.
Earthly Authorities
We are called to forgive and not to judge. This does not mean we should not speak up when evil is done. It doesn’t mean that we shouldn’t fight against evil or fight for justice. This does not mean that evil actions should not be judged by the judicial system here on earth and go unpunished.
When Jesus talks about not judging others, He is not talking about the judicial system we have in place in our country. The judicial system is placed here on earth by God and we should really be thankful for it. We need to have it since God’s Kingdom is not yet established in many hearts and Satan is using many people to cause harm. The judicial system is for our protection here on earth–for those believing in Christ and for those who don’t–and for keeping peace as much as possible in the midst of evil trying to prevail. Paul speaks of this in his letter to the Romans.
Romans 13:1-7
1 Let everyone be subject to the governing authorities, for there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God. 2 Consequently, whoever rebels against the authority is rebelling against what God has instituted, and those who do so will bring judgment on themselves. 3 For rulers hold no terror for those who do right, but for those who do wrong. Do you want to be free from fear of the one in authority? Then do what is right and you will be commended. 4 For the one in authority is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for rulers do not bear the sword for no reason. They are God’s servants, agents of wrath to bring punishment on the wrongdoer. 5 Therefore, it is necessary to submit to the authorities, not only because of possible punishment but also as a matter of conscience. 6 This is also why you pay taxes, for the authorities are God’s servants, who give their full time to governing. 7 Give to everyone what you owe them: If you owe taxes, pay taxes; if revenue, then revenue; if respect, then respect; if honor, then honor.
Please take a moment to pray for the judicial system in our country. Pray for peace and justice for all.
The text above is very hard to accept as God’s word when there are bad authorities. But here are some thoughts that helped me. They might sound too simple, and they are simple because the subject of authority is very complex
The earthly authorities will always be imperfect and full of shortcomings. The main reason for this is that sinful humans are put in these positions. Even great people can easily become corrupt and evil when in positions of power. God is dealing here with the choices of sinful people. In heaven, no sinful and broken people will rule.
Also, this text talks about authorities who are keeping order so that people do right for the common good. When authorities become evil and ruin their own people by disobeying the laws they are supposed to uphold, the same correction and punishment applies to them. We see in the Old Testament that people who were put in power by God as kings were taken down because of their evil actions and disobedience.
But remember, our first responsibility in living right is to obey God. We answer first to God. When Peter and the apostles were commanded by the authorities to not preach the Gospel:
Acts 5:29
Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings!
Day 4
And Forgive Us Our Debts, As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors
Start your day by praying: “And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Pray to the Lord to help you to understand His just judgment. Pray for those in authority to obey God when judging here on earth.
Lord, forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors. Thank You for the precious blood of Jesus Christ that You provided in Your mercy. Help me to understand and trust in Your just judgment. Heavenly Father, I lift up those in authority in my city, in my state, and in my nation. Give them hearts that seek after You and Your wisdom. Make them aware of the seriousness of their responsibility. Prevent them from taking their responsibility lightly or using it for their own ends. O Lord, help these people to judge justly here on earth.
Cover Over a Multitude of Sins
Jesus teaches us not to judge when we forgive but to set others free. He warns us about judging because it keeps us from true forgiveness and condemns us.
But at the same time, it is important not to confuse this type of judgment with the idea of pointing out sin in others in order to help lead them to repentance. God gave us His law, and He wants us to keep His law and teach it to others. Through the Bible, we are taught how to help others by warning, encouraging, and leading them into repentance. The issue is not about whether or not we should keep each other accountable; it’s about how we should go about it. God wants us to follow His example of love and mercy when we correct one another. We need to keep in mind that the end result should always be freedom from sin for us and others!
How important is it for you to see yourself and others freed from sin?
How are you helping others to turn away from their sins?
We see here how important this task was in the early church.
James 5:20
Remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Galatians 5:19-26
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Jesus expects us to help others remove sin from their lives. In the same way, He expects us to remove sin from our own lives. He also knows that by giving us the task of helping others remove their sin, we can easily fall into hypocrisy. This is why Jesus gives us a warning and an important lesson.
First, He tells us that before we help others, we must look at our own sin. Remove your own sin first. In Matthew 15:14, He gives us a simple reason: If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit.
Is removing your own sins a higher priority than helping others to remove their sins?
Where has your own blindness led you to hypocrisy?
Matthew 7:3-5
3 “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? 4 How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? 5 You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.”
We often think that the plank represents a “big” sin and the speck is a “small” sin. What does it actually matter? If both are sin, then it doesn’t matter how “big” they are; they lead us into the same problem. They both separate us from God.
If we have a plank in our eye, we can’t see. This is the main point: the plank obscures our whole view. Have you ever seen a blind surgeon working on someone’s eye? We need to remove our own sin because it obscures our view of the truth and defiles us.
What plank is obscuring your view of yourself? If you can’t see, who in your life can be a good person to point out your plank?
If we have a speck of sawdust (which is like a little splinter) in our eye, we should not be proud and think that, since it is just a speck, we can let it be. And we should not believe that others have no right to say anything about our sin because it is just a little speck. If you’ve ever had a splinter in your finger, you can imagine what it is like to have one in your eye. It hurts like the devil, and you also can’t see! If you leave it there, it damages and scratches your eye. Unless there is no one around, you will immediately let others look at it and help you get it out–to prevent it from moving around and causing more pain. Just the process of getting it out is very painful. The same is true with our “little” sin. It can cost us a lot of pain and damage, just as the plank obscures our whole view of truth and righteousness.
Are you willing for other believers to speak into your life of sin?
Are you willing to ask people to keep you accountable and help you get rid of your sin?
We need to understand that sin defiles us and leads us to sin more. We need to get rid of our sin and help others do the same.
Jesus’ brother James writes:
James 5:16-20
16 Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.
17 Elijah was a human being, even as we are. He prayed earnestly that it would not rain, and it did not rain on the land for three and a half years. 18 Again he prayed, and the heavens gave rain, and the earth produced its crops. 19 My brothers and sisters, if one of you should wander from the truth and someone should bring that person back, 20 remember this: Whoever turns a sinner from the error of their way will save them from death and cover over a multitude of sins.
Do you have a person in your life to whom you can confess your sins? How does this look practically for you?
If not, would you pray to God to lead you to a safe person you can confess your sins to?
Church is the safest and best place to settle disputes in God’s way, if the situations are handled as we are instructed by the wisdom in the Word of God. We need to help fellow believers to live in peace and forgiveness. Paul understood how important this is and, by his exemplary life, he was able to warn:
1 Corinthians 6:1-11
1 If any of you has a dispute with another, do you dare to take it before the ungodly for judgment instead of before the Lord’s people? 2 Or do you not know that the Lord’s people will judge the world? And if you are to judge the world, are you not competent to judge trivial cases? 3 Do you not know that we will judge angels? How much more the things of this life! 4 Therefore, if you have disputes about such matters, do you ask for a ruling from those whose way of life is scorned in the church? 5 I say this to shame you. Is it possible that there is nobody among you wise enough to judge a dispute between believers? 6 But instead, one brother takes another to court—and this in front of unbelievers!
7 The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means you have been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated? 8 Instead, you yourselves cheat and do wrong, and you do this to your brothers and sisters. 9 Or do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
What is Paul reminding the Corinthians of in verse 11?
How do you think this gospel truth teaches people to settle disputes among themselves?
How does knowing that Christ has forgiven you help you to encourage believers to live in peace and forgiveness?
***
Our sin caused the Father to sacrifice His only Son. God took the job of removing our sin from us very seriously.
In the same way, we need to understand very seriously that sin does not have a place in God’s Kingdom. We need to forgive. We need to remove sin from our lives. We need to lead others into repentance. We need to keep His Kingdom pure.
Let us forgive so that we can pray with confidence, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Let go of sin!
In thinking about this lesson today, please take a moment to go on your knees before our Lord Jesus, who is asking us to let go of sin. Before you ask Him to forgive you, ask Him to show you where you have not forgiven others.
If there is unforgiveness in your life, don’t wait a moment–deal with this right now. Forgive and set people free from your unforgiveness and your judgment. Make your heart ready so that you can truly pray “Our holy Father in Heaven, forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” Make sure you let go of your sin. You can be truly forgiven today.
***
In this lesson, we learned how to pray “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” as we reflected on the Sermon on the Mount. There is much more to learn about this line of the Lord’s Prayer through continued study of Jesus’ sermon. By looking at the complete teachings of Jesus in the gospels, we could learn even more–we would never exhaust the layers of meaning of this prayer.
My hope and prayer for you is that you would continue to learn how to pray “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” by obeying Christ and living in fellowship with Him and our Father in heaven. Only in our true fellowship with God can we learn How to pray.
BIBLE STUDY
INTRODUCTION
Your Kingdom Come
Sermon on the Mount
Bible Text, Matthew 5-7
Lesson 1
Our Father in Heaven, Hallowed Be Your Name
Lesson 2
Your Kingdom Come
Lesson 3
Your Will be done, on Earth as it is in Heaven
Lesson 4
Give Us Today Our Daily Bread
Lesson 5
And Forgive Us Our Debts, As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors
Lesson 6
And Lead Us Not Into Temptation, But Deliver Us From The Evil One
Lesson 7
I Am Invited.
What Is My Response?
ALL LESSONS
Your Kingdom Come
Scripture quotations taken from The Holy Bible, New International Version® NIV®
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