Lord, Teach Us To Pray - Forgive Us Our Debts, as We Forgive Our Debtors

• The Lord's Prayer is given to us in the Word of God in two passages, Luke 11, and Matthew 6

 
Matt 6:9-13 "After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. 10Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. 11Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen."

Luke 11:2-4 "And he said unto them, When ye pray, say, Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done, as in heaven, so in earth. 3Give us day by day our daily bread. 4And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil."

• "And forgive us our debts" - At least three words are commonly used in the New Testament to signify "sin," including the word "debt." We are debtors to God because we have sinned. The Bible says, "For the wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). There is a penalty that we must pay to God for our sins, and that payment is eternal destruction. When we pray, "forgive us our debts," effectively, we are praying, "O God, have mercy on me. I'm a sinner. Will you pay the penalty that I rightly deserve to pay?" The Lord Jesus came to endure that payment on our behalf. He came to ransom us from the power of the grave, from eternal destruction, from the wrath of God.

Mat 1:21 "And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.”

John 1:29 “The next day John seeth Jesus coming unto him, and saith, Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.”

Luke 4:18-19 "[quoting Isa 61:1-2] The Spirit of the Lord is upon me [Jesus] , because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance [forgiveness] to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord.”

Acts 10:43 "To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him [Jesus] shall receive remission [forgiveness] of sins.”

Luke 23:34 "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them [elect of God]; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots."

Psa 103:3-4,12 “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; 12As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."

Heb 10:16-18 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more. Now where remission of these is, there is no more offering for sin.”

Psa 32:1-2 “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.”

Eph 4:32 “And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”

Psa 130:4 "But there is forgiveness with thee, that thou mayest be feared."

Rom 4:4 "Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt.”

Rom 11:6 “And if by grace, then is it no more of works: otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work.”

Eph 2:5,8 "Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) 8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:"

• "As we forgive our debtors" - The Lord's Prayer is focused on God our Savior until this phrase, which could be a bellwether or indicator as to where we stand before Christ. Blessed are the merciful. God is merciful to us while we were yet sinners and expects the same from us. We show Mercy by forgiving the ones who has done wrong to us and also by proclaiming the Gospel of Grace to them so that they too might find Mercy from God. The unsaved can be bitter, resentful, and angry if they believe they have been wronged by another person's word or deed. The reason is because mankind by nature is egotistical and proud. When God calls us, He effectively says, if you pray and acknowledge God as your Savior, and there is resentment in your heart for some individual whom you cannot love, then examine your heart. You do not know what salvation is. When we have resentment, we have to ask, "Am I born again? How can I expect God to forgive me if I continue with this unforgiven relationship?" The phrase "As we forgive our debtors," therefore, is a reminder to examine ourselves to determine whether we are truly saved.

Matt 5:7 "Blessed are the merciful: for they shall obtain mercy."

Matt 5:43-45 "Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."

Matt 6:12 "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."

Matt 18:23-38 "Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. 24And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. 25But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. 26The servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 27Then the lord of that servant was moved with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. 28But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. 29And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. 30And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt. 31So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. 32Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: 33Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee? 34And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was due unto him. 35So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses"

2 Cor 13:5 "Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?"