Forgive Us Our Debts
This week I listened to a sermon on the fifth petition of the Lord's Prayer:
"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Matthew 6:12)
One thought stayed with me long after the service ended: this is a remarkably bold prayer.
When I pray these words, I am asking God to forgive a debt that I could never repay. Not reduce it. Not delay it. Not give me more time. Forgive it completely.
I think many of us underestimate how serious our sin is before a holy God. We often compare ourselves to other people and conclude that we are doing reasonably well. Yet Jesus tells a different story. In the parable of the unforgiving servant, He describes a debt so large that repayment is impossible. That is what our sin debt looks like before God.
And yet He invites us to ask for forgiveness.
That is what amazes me.
God is perfectly just. He does not ignore sin or pretend it does not matter. Every wrong will be accounted for. Every act of rebellion against Him deserves judgment. At the same time, God delights to forgive. These two truths meet perfectly at the cross.
Our debt did not simply disappear. It was paid by Jesus Christ.
When Christ died on the cross, He took upon Himself the debt that belonged to us. The punishment we deserved was placed on Him. Because of His sacrifice, we can come before God with confidence and ask for complete forgiveness.
As I reflected on this, I was reminded how easy it is to focus on my failures rather than God's mercy. King David's prayer in Psalm 51 provides a better example. David did not excuse his sin or minimize it. He confessed it honestly and threw himself upon God's mercy. He knew that God's compassion was greater than his guilt.
That is still true today.
No sin is hidden from God, but neither is any repentant sinner beyond His grace.
The second half of the petition challenged me even more:
"As we also have forgiven our debtors."
It is one thing to receive forgiveness. It is another thing to extend it.
The sermon pointed to the contrast between Lamech in Genesis 4 and Jesus in Matthew 18. Lamech boasted about revenge. Jesus spoke about extravagant forgiveness. The world naturally moves toward retaliation, but the Christian is called to move toward mercy.
If I am honest, that is not always easy.
There are hurts that linger. There are words that are difficult to forget. Sometimes bitterness feels more natural than forgiveness. Yet the gospel reminds me that the same grace that forgives me is also at work within me.
God does not simply forgive His people; He transforms them.
That transformation is often slow. It requires prayer, repentance, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. Forgiveness is not pretending that wrong never happened. It is choosing not to hold that wrong against someone forever. It is entrusting justice to God instead of carrying the burden ourselves.
One question I have been asking myself this week is this:
Is there anyone I need to forgive?
Not because they deserve it, but because I have received forgiveness that I did not deserve.
Another question is equally important:
Is there any sin in my own life that I need to bring before God instead of hiding it?
The good news of the gospel is that God is more willing to forgive than we are often willing to ask. Through Jesus Christ, the door of mercy remains open.
As I continue praying the Lord's Prayer, I hope I will never say these words casually:
"Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors."
They remind me of both the greatness of God's grace toward me and His ongoing work within me.
May God give us humble hearts that are quick to seek forgiveness and quick to extend it.
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