Matthew 6:12 (NKJV) And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.
Scripture says that when we confess our sins before God, He forgives us and cleanses us from all our unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). God forgives and forgets about our sins and trespasses because of the redemptive blood of Jesus Christ. That’s how liberating it is for a sinner to know that God has forgiven and wiped away the records, and God wants us to do likewise to our fellowmen.
When we say our prayers daily, this portion of the Lord’s Prayer helps us to remember that we are sinners who are imperfect in our ways and who require the forgiveness of God. At the same time, it reminds us to forgive and release our debtors from our hearts, and extend grace, mercy and love toward them just as we have received from the Heavenly Father. In Matthew 18:21-35, the Bible records the story of a servant who was forgiven a debt by his master. Yet, he refused to forgive an insignificant amount owed to him by a fellow countryman. Consequently, this man was delivered to the torturer until he paid his dues because he had refused to forgive his fellow countrymen. Therefore, God expects us to forgive those who have sinned, wronged and offended us daily.
Living a consecrated life means walking in God’s will, holiness, and righteousness. These submissions to Christ’s Lordship would not be possible if we had not genuinely decided to live our lives for Him. We are still imperfect though we are seen as righteous and holy in Christ. Therefore, we need to deal with the flesh daily because our flesh will want to take offence towards what is said and done towards us, hold grudges, and not forgive our debtors. However, the pre-requisite is for us to forgive our debtors so that God will forgive us.
Matthew 6:14-15 (NKJV) “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.“
This portion of the Lord’s Prayer helps us to forgive those who have offended us, regardless of whether they have apologised or not. Consecration has to do with being set apart for holiness and righteousness, so if we don’t consecrate our lives to God, we will find it difficult to forgive those who have offended us. When we consecrate our lives to God, we consider that our “old men” have been crucified with Christ, and we have risen to a new life. Therefore, we can walk in the Spirit and love, and reign in the flesh and control our emotions.
These two verses serve as a daily reminder to declutter what’s in our hearts. They also help us to decide to forgive. Forgiving someone takes a lot of dying to self, but it is possible since we have the nature of God in our hearts.
Sermon Series: Lord, teach us how to pray (part 2)
行在宽恕中
马太福音6:12 免我们的债，如同我们免了人的债。
圣经说，当我们在神面前认罪时，祂就赦免我们，洁净我们一切的不义（约翰一书1:9）。因为耶稣基督救赎的宝血，神赦免并忘记了我们的罪过。这对于罪人来说是何等的释放，因为神已经宽恕并抹去了所有的记录。神也希望我们同样对待我们的同胞。
当我们每天祷告时，主祷文中的这一部分提醒我们，我们是有罪的人，在行为上不完美，时刻需要神的赦免。同时，它也提醒我们要从心底宽恕和释放那些错待我们的人，并像天父对我们一样，向他们施予恩典、怜悯和爱。在马太福音18:21-35中，圣经记载了一个仆人被他的主人赦免了债务，但他却拒绝宽恕一个同胞所欠的微不足道的金额。结果，这个仆人因为拒绝原谅他的同胞，而被交给折磨他的刑罚者，直到还清所欠的债。因此，神期望我们每天都能宽恕那些得罪、冒犯或伤害我们的人。
过分别为圣的生活意味着行在神的旨意中，追求圣洁和公义。如果我们没有真正决心为基督而活，就无法完全顺服基督的主权。虽然在基督里我们被看作是义和圣洁的，但我们仍然是不完美的。因此，我们需要每天对付肉体，因为我们的肉体会对他人说过的话或做过的事感到冒犯，会怀恨在心，不愿原谅那些亏欠我们的人。然而，前提是我们必须先宽恕我们的债务人，神才会赦免我们。
马太福音6:14-15 “你们饶恕人的过犯，你们的天父也必饶恕你们的过犯；你们不饶恕人的过犯，你们的天父也必不饶恕你们的过犯。”
主祷文中的这一部分帮助我们去宽恕那些冒犯我们的人，无论他们是否道歉。分别为圣意味着为圣洁和公义而被分别出来，因此，如果我们不将生命奉献给神，就会发现很难去原谅那些冒犯我们的人。当我们将生命分别为圣地奉献给神时，我们会意识到自己的“旧人”已经与基督同钉十字架，并且我们已经复活，进入了新的生命。因此，我们能够在灵里行走，以爱为行事准则，战胜肉体并控制情绪。
这两节经文每天都提醒我们清理内心的杂乱，并帮助我们做出原谅的决定。宽恕别人需要极大的自我舍弃，但这是可能的，因为神的性情已经在我们的心中。
讲章系列：主啊，教我们如何祷告（第二部分）
Image Source：Pixabay.com