The Lord's PrayerSample

Pardon

First things first: debts here mean sins and debtors those who have done wrong against us. Nevertheless, precisely because we are used to the very concrete idea of gaining or losing money on an everyday basis, the idea of debt is helpful to our understanding. Sin is debt.

There are three important things that we must not overlook here. 

First, the Bible is clear that we all need to be thoroughly forgiven. Some people treat the idea of sin very lightly, as if it was some minor matter that, like a little bit of dust on a jacket, can easily be brushed off. The biblical picture of our sin is sadly wider, deeper and more universal. 

• Sin is wider than we think. We tend to consider sin to be just simply those things that make headlines such as spectacular greed, large-scale corruption, adultery and murder. We also tend to consider serious sins as those things we personally are not guilty of. The Bible’s definition of sin is much more wide-ranging and includes the subtle and private sins that rarely get in the spotlight: envy, betrayal, dishonour, hypocrisy, arrogance, cowardice, etc. In fact, Jesus points out that sin doesn’t just exist in the action, it lies in the thought.
• Equally sin is deeper than we think. It is a profound, chronic infection that has worked its way into every aspect of being human: body, mind, spirit. Even more unsettling is the fact that sin is not simply something that occurs between two individuals, it is also between us and God. 
• Sin is also more universal than we care to admit. No one is exempt from it. This is something that the Bible doesn’t just tell us about; it demonstrates it in Christ. In his life, as seen in the gospels, we see set out before us a standard of perfection that none of us can meet.

Second, there is the possibility of forgiveness. One of the cruelest things any religion or belief system can do is to convict people of sin without at the same time declaring forgiveness. To do this is like a doctor telling you that you have a serious illness without simultaneously offering you any cure. The joy of Christianity centers on a God of forgiveness; with him our debts can be forgiven. The Old Testament system was based around the idea of animal sacrifices that took away the believer’s sin. The New Testament explains the profound reality that those sacrifices pointed to the ultimate sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. Our debts can be paid only if we will let God pay them. Our sins can be erased; in Christ we can be set free from them.

Third, while this free forgiveness is the very best of news, it comes with an obligation. Those who are forgiven must forgive. This makes logical sense; if the medicine of forgiveness has been given us to heal our sins, then we cannot withhold it from those who have sinned against us. This principle is often misunderstood so that some people assume that God’s forgiveness is dependent on us forgiving first. The reality is that God forgives first and freely; but there is the assumption that if we have been forgiven, our natural response should be for that forgiveness to automatically overflow into the forgiveness of others. There are unbreakable links between being forgiven and forgiving. Persist!

I am under no illusions that forgiveness is easy. It is easy to say of some act of unkindness or treachery ‘it is forgiven’. The reality is that there are some wounds that go so deep that healing may take time and help from the Holy Spirit. 

It’s worth remembering, too, that although we are forgiven at the cross, we need to continually come to God to be forgiven. Our new relationship with God as our perfect parent requires us to be clear about what we’ve done wrong when we meet with him. Unconfessed and unforgiven sin becomes a barrier between him and us and damages our relationship. As we ask for daily bread, so we should ask for daily forgiveness.