“Forgive Us Our Sins”

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. Give us day by day our daily bread. And 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.”

The primary expression of our relationship to God is prayer. We are able to confidently approach the Heavenly Father through Christ the Son and in the Holy Spirit. An authentic prayer life is essential to our every day fellowship with the Lord. Since that is true, prayer is at the pinpoint of spiritual warfare. Well does our enemy understand and fear the Father’s response to His children. Therefore, the evil one seeks to prevent us from praying by causing our prayers to be hypocritical and mechanical rather than real. For every believer nothing is more important and nothing is more difficult to establish than a consistent, God-glorifying prayer life.

This is why we must learn from Christ how we ought to pray. The model prayer from Luke 11:2-4 is Christ’s teaching outline. These 58 words provide, not just a form which may be repeated but a framework upon which all of our prayers may be constructed. Real prayers are only addressed to one Person – God the Father. We are taught that real prayers are focused first on His name being worshipped, His kingdom being advanced, and His will be accomplished. Then we learn to pray for His daily provision of our every need, forgiveness or sins, and deliverance from evil. God is concerned for the glory of His name. He also cares for and loves to fill the needs of His people.

Our most basic physical requirement is food. This is why our Lord teaches us to daily trust Him for our every day needs. Our primary spiritual need is forgiveness, so we are taught to pray for forgiveness, and this forgiveness is contingent upon our forgiving those indebted to us. Forgiveness is as indispensible to the life and health of the soul as food is for the body. Obviously, forgiveness and the lack thereof makes a world (and an eternity) of difference. In this day and age, indeed in every era of human history, men and women cry out not only for forgiveness but for assurance of it.

The Priority of Forgiveness

Consider the paralytic man borne on a litter by four of his friends to Jesus. The interaction between Christ and this man is recorded in Mark 2:1-12. The five men were desperate to place the paralytic in front of Jesus. The only problem was the massive crowd spilling out of the house where Jesus “preached the word.” The only solution was to carry the paralytic onto the roof, tear open a hole in the roof, and lower down the man in front of Jesus. This is what they did. The need was clear. The man needed to be healed of his paralysis. So the first words from Jesus’ mouth were, “Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.”

What?!

Jesus responded this way because He was aware, as we must be, that one day the man’s body – paralyzed or whole – would die. The eternal soul was Christ’s primary focus. That is why He dealt with it first. (He also healed the physical body, proving again, as we learned in the previous lesson that He cares for the physical as well as the spiritual.) Forgiveness is unique to Christianity. The prospect of enjoying a relationship with God as Father and experiencing His forgiveness through Christ is the priority and the message of Christianity. It is also the greatest need of us all (Luke 4:43; Acts 10:42-43; 1 Timothy 2:5-6; 1 John 2:1-2).

It was necessary to make that clear, but we must understand that when Christ teaches us to pray “Forgive us our sins,” He is not speaking of the forgiveness we receive at salvation. That forgiveness establishes our relationship to God. No longer are we His enemy, but now we are His adopted children. We are able, once we have repented of our sins and trusted in Christ’s finished work on the cross, to address God as “Our Father in heaven.” Here Jesus is teaching us to request that forgiveness which comes later and comes repeatedly; a forgiveness that restores broken fellowship with God the Father.

The Principles of Forgiveness

Principle #1 – Believers still sin and still need forgiveness.

Some would say that when a person comes to trust in Christ that sin is eradicated from their lives. That is wrong. Sin no longer reigns in the believer’s life, but it remains there. When a human being becomes a Christian he does not cease to be a sinner any more than he ceases to be a human being. Scripture speaks of our being born again and of being a new creation with the old passing away to make way for the new (John 3:3; 2 Corinthians 5:17). This does not mean that our confidence is in our own goodness, but in God who has begun this good work in us. And we may be sure that the One who began this good work in us will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6). Every believer has a new nature planted within him by God, but the sinful, fallen nature will never be completely eradicated in this life.

According to 2 Corinthians 1:10, by turning to Christ in repentance and faith the believer…

1. Has been saved from the penalty of sin.
2. Is being saved from the power of sin.
3. Will be saved from the presence of sin.

The relationship to the Father will always be intact, but sin mars our fellowship, the enjoyment of that relationship, with the Father. As the apostle John wrote, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8-9)

Principle #2 – The forgiven person is to be a forgiving person.

We are taught to pray, “Forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.” That has the potential to be a scary petition. Do you want God’s forgiveness of you based on your forgiveness of others? That is the reality, whether you want it or not.

• Matthew 6:14-15 – “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
• Mark 11:25 – “And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”

Do not misunderstand. Forgiveness is not earned, but is a result of God’s grace. Our forgiveness of others does not earn us the right to be forgiven by God. The point here is that God only forgives the broken and contrite heart (Psalm 51:17), and one of the chief evidences of true repentance is a forgiving spirit. Alan Redpath powerfully wrote:

“Have you understood that the cross of Jesus Christ proclaims something more than atonement – it proclaims example. Not either atonement or example, but both atonement and example. And the Lord Jesus who cried on Calvary, ‘Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do!’ expects to hear that prayer echoed in the heart of every one of His blood-bought children.”[1]

Once we fathom the enormity of our indebtedness to God the debts that others owe us are insignificant in comparison. If that is not the case, then it just reveals an exaggerated view of the offences of others, and proves that we have a minimized view of our own. This is illustrated in the parable of the unforgiving servant of Matthew 18:21-35. The main point of that parable is stated when the king said to his servant, “I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me: Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?” (vv. 32-33)

Is it not inconceivable that we who have been forgiven a debt we could never repay should ever refuse to forgive a small debt to another? Yet that happens on a regular basis. Refuse to practice forgiveness and you will erect major hindrances to God’s blessings in your relationships at home and at church. The best way to grieve the Holy Spirit of God is to refuse to forgive others (Ephesians 4:30-32).

I am challenged by the words of D.L. Moody when he said, “Those who say they will forgive but never forget, simply bury the hatchet but leave the handle out for immediate use.”[2]

How may handles are sticking out of the ground of your heart?

Principle #3 – Forgiveness is not a feeling but a promise from God.

This is the principle that provides assurance. When we come to God through Jesus Christ, confessing our sin and seeking forgiveness, the outcome is certain. We will be forgiven! God promises to forgive our sins. The omniscient God, who cannot forget, chooses not to remember the confessed sins of the broken and contrite heart. Isaiah 43:25, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.”

How can we be sure that God will forgive our sins? The same way that we may be sure of any spiritual matter; our assurance is solely based on the authority of God’s Word.

• How can we be sure that the death of Christ is the one sufficient sacrifice for our sins? Because God says so! “For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14)
• How can we be sure that once we have believed we will never be lost? Because God says so! “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.” (John 10:27-28)
• How can we be certain that God will forgive our sins when we confess our sins? Because God says so! “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)

Forgiveness of sins, like any other spiritual matter, is not based on feelings or an emotional experience or walking the aisle or signing a decision card or anything like that. Praise God! We can be absolutely assured of forgiveness of sins because that forgiveness is based upon the faithfulness of God.

Principle #4 – Forgiveness does not cancel consequences.

Again, it is imperative that we do not confuse the forgiveness being discussed in this lesson with the forgiveness that God provides at salvation. That initial forgiveness does cancel the consequences of our sins based upon the propitiatory sacrifice of Jesus on the cross (Colossians 2:13-14; 2 Corinthians 5:21).

Confessed sins will be forgiven. We have God’s word on that, but they still carry consequences. When God forgives us, he pulls the nails out of the board but he does not remove the holes. God’s children must reap what they sow.[3] David committed adultery with Uriah the Hittite’s wife. A child was conceived in that affair. Instead of confessing the sin, David attempted to cover up his sin, and he went as far as murdering Uriah in that vain attempt. The one who conceals a transgression will not prosper, but the one who confesses and forsakes the sin will receive mercy (Proverbs 28:13). David experienced this. The baby died. Through it all, God never abandoned David. He never revoked His covenant with David, but there were severe consequences. When we don’t permit God to rule, he will overrule us and accomplish his great purposes anyway, but there will be a greater price for us to pay.[4]

There is one remedy for our past. That is forgiveness. There is one ground for confidence in the future. That is God’s promises. There is one basis for enjoyment in the present. Trust and obey, and when you pray, say, “Our Father which art in heaven…forgive us our sins; for we forgive every one that is indebted to us.”