Embracing Forgiveness: Our Debt and Duty

Devotional

Day 1: Our Unpayable Debt to God

Our sins are described as debts to God, emphasizing our failure to love Him and others fully. This debt is beyond our ability to repay, underscoring our need for divine forgiveness. In the context of the Lord's Prayer, this understanding helps us grasp the depth of God's grace in forgiving us. We owe God a life of perfect love, which we have not lived, and we owe others love, which we often fail to give. This failure creates a debt that we cannot settle on our own. However, through Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life of love and sacrificed Himself for us, our debts are forgiven. This forgiveness is not something we earn but a gift we receive through faith. [10:18]

Isaiah 64:6 (ESV): "We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away."

Reflection: In what ways have you recognized your own inability to repay the debt of love you owe to God and others? How can you embrace God's grace more fully today?

Day 2: The Supernatural Call to Forgive

Just as we have been forgiven, we are called to forgive those who have wronged us. This is not a natural response but a supernatural one, enabled by God's grace. Forgiveness is a choice to let the wrongs end with us, following Christ's example. In a world where others will fail us, just as we fail them, Jesus calls us to forgive as we have been forgiven. This act of forgiveness is challenging but essential for Christian living. It requires grace and a heart transformed by God's love, choosing not to pass on the pain inflicted on us but to let it end with us. [12:32]

Colossians 3:13 (ESV): "Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive."

Reflection: Who in your life do you need to forgive today? How can you rely on God's grace to help you make the choice to forgive them?

Day 3: Restoring Our Relationship with God

The prayer for forgiveness is about restoring our relationship with God, not removing condemnation. As believers, we desire to walk closely with God, and forgiveness is essential for maintaining that fellowship. The act of seeking forgiveness is not about removing condemnation, as that has already been accomplished through Christ, but about restoring fellowship with God. As God's children, we desire to walk closely with Him, and forgiveness is a vital part of maintaining that relationship. We are called to forgive others, not as a condition for receiving God's forgiveness, but as a reflection of the forgiveness we have received. [23:02]

1 John 1:9 (ESV): "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."

Reflection: How can you actively seek to restore your fellowship with God today? What steps can you take to ensure that forgiveness is a regular part of your spiritual practice?

Day 4: Following Christ's Example of Forgiveness

Jesus' response to being wronged was not retaliation but forgiveness. He bore our sins on the cross, setting an example for us to follow. We are never more like Christ than when we choose to forgive. In the face of wrongdoing, Jesus chose forgiveness over retaliation, bearing our sins on the cross. This act of ultimate love and sacrifice sets the standard for us as His followers. We are called to emulate Christ's example, understanding that we are never more like Him than when we choose to forgive those who have wronged us. [37:17]

Ephesians 4:32 (ESV): "Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you."

Reflection: Reflect on a time when you chose forgiveness over retaliation. How did that decision align you more closely with Christ's example?

Day 5: The Ongoing Journey of Forgiveness

Forgiveness is a continuous process, often requiring us to revisit and reaffirm our decision to forgive. It is a reflection of the forgiveness we have received and a testament to God's transforming work in our lives. Living out forgiveness is not a one-time event but a continuous journey. It often requires us to revisit and reaffirm our decision to forgive, reflecting the forgiveness we have received from God. This ongoing process is a testament to God's transforming work in our lives, shaping us to be more like Christ. [29:08]

Matthew 18:21-22 (ESV): "Then Peter came up and said to him, 'Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.'"

Reflection: In what ways can you commit to the ongoing journey of forgiveness in your life? How can you remind yourself of the forgiveness you have received as you extend it to others?

Sermon Summary

In our exploration of the Lord's Prayer, we focus on the fifth petition: "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." This prayer is a profound reminder of our need for forgiveness and the call to forgive others. Jesus teaches us that our sins are like debts to God, and we live in a network of relationships where we owe love to God and others. Our failure to love fully is a debt we cannot repay, highlighting our need for God's forgiveness.

The concept of debt in this context is not merely financial but relational and spiritual. We owe God a life of perfect love, which we have not lived, and we owe others love, which we often fail to give. This failure creates a debt that we cannot settle on our own. However, through Jesus Christ, who lived a perfect life of love and sacrificed Himself for us, our debts are forgiven. This forgiveness is not something we earn but a gift we receive through faith.

Forgiving others is equally crucial. We live in a fallen world where others will fail us, just as we fail them. Jesus calls us to forgive as we have been forgiven, which is a challenging but essential part of Christian living. Forgiveness is not natural; it requires grace and a heart transformed by God's love. It is about choosing not to pass on the pain inflicted on us but to let it end with us, following the example of Christ, who bore our sins on the cross.

The prayer for forgiveness is not about removing condemnation, as that has already been accomplished through Christ, but about restoring fellowship with God. As God's children, we desire to walk closely with Him, and forgiveness is a vital part of maintaining that relationship. We are called to forgive others, not as a condition for receiving God's forgiveness, but as a reflection of the forgiveness we have received.

Key Takeaways

1. The Nature of Our Debts: Our sins are described as debts to God, highlighting our failure to love Him and others fully. This debt is beyond our ability to repay, emphasizing our need for divine forgiveness. Understanding this helps us grasp the depth of God's grace in forgiving us. [10:18]
2. The Call to Forgive: Just as we have been forgiven, we are called to forgive those who have wronged us. This is not a natural response but a supernatural one, enabled by God's grace. Forgiveness is a choice to let the wrongs end with us, following Christ's example. [12:32]
3. Restoring Fellowship with God: The prayer for forgiveness is about restoring our relationship with God, not removing condemnation. As believers, we desire to walk closely with God, and forgiveness is essential for maintaining that fellowship. [23:02]
4. The Example of Christ: Jesus' response to being wronged was not retaliation but forgiveness. He bore our sins on the cross, setting an example for us to follow. We are never more like Christ than when we choose to forgive. [37:17]
5. Living Out Forgiveness: Forgiveness is a continuous process, often requiring us to revisit and reaffirm our decision to forgive. It is a reflection of the forgiveness we have received and a testament to God's transforming work in our lives. [29:08]
** [29:08]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:14] - Introduction to the Lord's Prayer
[00:59] - Our Fundamental Needs
[02:18] - The Connection of Petitions
[03:54] - The Fifth Petition: Forgiveness
[04:23] - Understanding Our Debts
[05:26] - The Network of Relationships
[07:01] - Our Obligation to Love
[10:18] - Why We Need Forgiveness
[12:32] - The Challenge of Forgiving Others
[19:39] - How We Can Be Forgiven
[23:02] - Restoring Fellowship with God
[27:29] - How We Can Forgive
[33:02] - The Example of Christ
[37:17] - Living Out Forgiveness

Sermon Clips

"Now it seems quite clear that our lord Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer on more than one occasion and Luke records that Jesus said forgive us our sins and so very clearly putting these side by side our sins are being described as debt to God and then you see that our Lord here speaks about debtors that is people who have sinned against us so here's the reality of our position in this world we need to get this settled in our minds we sin and we are sinned against we have debts and we are debtors we have debtors." [00:04:49]

"Now in using the language of debt and of debtors our Lord makes it very clear that each of us lives within a network of relationships in which we have responsibilities and obligations debts debtors that means that there are certain things that I owe to God and there are certain things that I owe to other people and there are certain things that other people owe to me notice that there is only one who stands outside of this network of obligations and that one of course is God himself God is no one's debtor." [00:05:39]

"When we think about our sins what usually comes first to mind is things that we have thought or said or done that are wrong but the starting point in understanding the extent of our sin is not so much with what we have done but with what we have failed to do we owe God a life of devoted love every hour of every day for the entire course of our lives and what we owe we have not paid." [00:07:30]

"Now Jesus is making this very clear our sins are debts they are measured in our failure to love God and in our failure to love others we have not loved God as he has loved us and we have not loved our neighbor as we have loved ourselves and this debt of love because love is that to which God has called us it is a debt that we have not paid and it is a debt that we cannot pay." [00:09:45]

"Now taking what the Lord Jesus is teaching us here this means that there will be people in your life who will not give you what they owe God places on you an obligation to love others and God places on others an obligation to love you but we live in a fallen world and just as you have defaulted in what you owe to God and what you owe to others so others will default in what they owe to God and in what they owe to you they will be your debtors." [00:10:48]

"When another person fails to love me well I am still under a God-given obligation to love that other person well and that really is the heart of the challenge of living as a Christian in this fallen world what does it look like then to love other people well now there is of course a difference between our love for God and our love for others loving God means that we obey all his commands Jesus said if you love me you will obey my commandments." [00:12:29]

"Forgiving forgive one another as God in Christ has forgiven you we read earlier from Ephesians and chapter four in other words we are called as part of loving other people well to forgive those who have wronged us to forgive those who have failed us to forgive those who have disappointed us and we are called to do this as we have been forgiven in other words the starting point for forgiving others is always knowing the extent of the forgiveness that you have received yourself." [00:17:07]

"Why does a Christian need to pray this prayer you see when we come to faith and repentance in the Lord Jesus Christ the Bible is very clear God justifies us fully completely and forever he drops all charges against us when we come to him through faith in Jesus so that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus now here's the question if it is really true that God has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west why would any of us need to pray forgive us our debts this week." [00:21:56]

"The point of this prayer is not that condemnation should be removed that's happened already for those who are in Christ and he's speaking here to his disciples the point of this prayer is not that condemnation should be removed but that fellowship with God should be restored we are God's wayward children prone to wonder Lord I feel it prone to leave the God I love and God's justified children sin in many ways when we sin our sins do not bring us back into condemnation but here's what happens they really do clog up our relationship with God." [00:22:42]

"How can God do that how can a just and holy God forgive our repeated failure to do what he has commanded and brothers and sisters you know this takes us to the very heart of the Bible story we are debtors to God and we are not able to pay the debt that we owe and in that position our only hope is that someone else will step in and be willing to pay the debt for us and that is what God has done for us wonderfully in his love and mercy in and through Jesus Christ." [00:25:12]

"Now what was the example for the next verse when he was reviled he did not revile in return you think about our Lord Jesus on the cross he was mocked he was shamed he was insulted he was treated with utter contempt that's what came to Jesus and he could have called 12 legions of angels to give a multiple of it back but Jesus did not do that what did he do well Peter tells us when he suffered he did not threaten but continued to entrust himself to him who judges justly." [00:35:57]

"And we are never more like the Son of God than when we choose to forgive Dr. J.I. Packer has a poem that I found helpful and I'd like just to read it to you forgive our sins as we forgive you taught us Lord to pray but you alone can give us grace to live the words we say how can your pardon reach an unforgiving heart that broods on wrongs and will not let old bitterness depart." [00:39:22]

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