Sermon: Introduction Forgive us our Debts, As We forgive our Debtors Matt 6; Luke 11:1-4 INTRO If you could lick my heart, it would poison you snarled a Jewish holocaust survivor in Claude Lanzmann s film Shoah.1 By nature we are just like him. Forgiveness is not the normal human inclination, revenge is. In the Broadway hit musical Hamilton, Eliza and Alexander sing about betrayal and deep loss in the context of forgiveness and song uses a very important word which describes how many feel about forgiveness UNIMAGINABLE. Kris Song http://www.thetwocities.com/theology/hamilton-and-reflections-on-forgiveness/ Eliza is confronted with the unimaginable decision to forgive her philandering husband s acts of betrayal. Unimaginable because the audience still feels the heat of the incendiary curse she pronounced on her husband only moments prior: You forfeit all rights to my heart / you forfeit the place in our bed I hope that you burn. And yet by the emotional climax of the musical, we find this moment of profound release and beauty: There are moments that the words don t reach There is a grace too powerful to name We push away what we can never understand We push away the unimaginable They are standing in the garden Alexander by Eliza s side She takes his hand [ELIZA] It s quiet uptown [COMPANY (EXCEPT HAMILTON AND ELIZA)] Forgiveness. Can you imagine? Forgiveness. Can you imagine? Have you ever felt that way? Maybe today It could be something small or huge that brings out the poison in your heart. Maybe there is something that you can t imagine forgiving; or you can t imagine being forgiven for. Forgiveness runs counter to the inclination of our hearts. True gospel forgiveness is something that can only be explained by the Holy Spirit. Now Jesus was praying in a certain place, and when he finished, one of his disciples said to him, Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples. And he said to them, When you pray, say: Father, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins, for we ourselves forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation. (Luke 11:1-4 ESV) As you might guess, prayer is a vital part of our growth so it is essential in our image of the ROOTS, BRANCHES, FRUIT 1 11-13-16 FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS Lord s Prayer wk#6 Luke 11/ Matt 6
This prayer shows us that we need. Roots in God and his kingdom Branches praying our daily bread (you may be an answer to someone s prayer; forgive our debts, as we forgive our debtors. There is an OURness to prayer and the Christian life. Unforgiveness in one member of the body impacts other people- that person becomes bitter and poisons relationships; the person engages in gossip with others. FRUIT- forgiveness and the fruit of it toward others; preserved in the battle against temptation; living for the kingdom of God, etc. With that in mind we need to take notice that Jesus teaches about forgiveness in the Lord s Prayer. In this prayer we see two crucial truths: 1) If is proper for the believer to acknowledge his or her sin and experience forgiveness 2) There is a connection between the forgiveness we get from God and the forgiveness we grant to others. It is proper for the believer to acknowledge his or her sin and experience forgiveness The Christian is one who lives on the basis of forgiveness. You ve probably all heard the expression, Christians aren t perfect, they re just forgiven. I can understand why some might be turned off by that saying. It could come across as glib and trite, or as something a person would say to excuse his sin. But the simple profound truth of it is life-changing. As believers, we aren t perfect in this life, in terms of our own record or behavior, BUT WE ARE FORGIVEN, and that makes all the difference. It may rub us the wrong way because it is.unimaginable. IT SEEMS like a scandal, because in a sense, IT IS. Guilty sinners are forgiven because an innocent righteous man was counted guilty. HE PAID OUR DEBT. Sin is viewed as a debt that had to be paid in order for us to be forgiven. Forgiveness means that God ate the debt. He didn t overlook it or do some creative accounting, or write it off in some way. THE DEBT WAS PAID for us. UNIMAGINABLE. This is so central to Christianity that if you re here today and aren t sure about all this Jesus stuff, then this is what ought to grab your attention. If you re going to reject Jesus or Christianity here s a reason why NOT because you ve met mean people in church or because you can t figure out the stories of Noah, Moses, or the miracles of Jesus. Here s where the rub and the offense comes in. The bible tells us that our sin, our faults are so serious that the only way we can be forgiven is for him to send his only son to die for us, and that if you embrace that into your heart then you should also forgive others in the same way. This is so radical that THAT S WORTH WONDERING whether or not you want to embrace Jesus. Don t get sidetracked by side issues FORGIVENESS Tripp - War of Words The forgiveness that we are to give is to be of a similar nature and quality as that which we have experienced from God. What does that look like? 2 11-13-16 FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS Lord s Prayer wk#6 Luke 11/ Matt 6
1) God's forgiveness takes sin seriously and so should ours. Forgiveness is not flippancy toward sin. It sees it and names it -- and then covers it. God forgives what he hates. 2) God's forgiveness reckons with a real settling of accounts and so should ours. 3) God's forgiveness was costly and so is ours. It cost God his Son. And it will cost us the sweet taste of revenge and the pleasure of savoring a grudge and the pride of superiority. Forgiveness means that we eat the debt that is owed, because that is what God did for us. 4) God's forgiveness is real and ours should be too. There is no sham in it. When he forgives, we are really restored. Nothing is held over our heads for later blackmail. It is gone: "As far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). And so we fall short of our divine pattern if we forgive a wrong, but secretly plan to keep it in the back of our minds for a later look. When we forgive, let us truly forgive one another, as God in Christ forgave us. When we understand the gospel, we know that our sins, past, present, and future are forgiven. That s what we celebrate when we come to the Table. This petition implies an awareness of our sin and a desire to know forgiveness for it. Psalm 51 restore to me the joy of my salvation. But the reality of experiencing that forgiveness happens through confession. When we confess, we CALL IT SIN, CALL IT FORGIVEN, AND CALL ON God. That was one of the 10 Basic concepts that I learned as a student in Campus Crusade for Christ. Crusade, now called Cru isn t perfect, but it did a good job of helping new and young believers get grounded in the practice of Experiencing God s Love and Forgiveness. This practice is SO CRUCIAL FOR OUR SPIRITUAL GROWTH. I ve never met a growing believer who is bogged down in guilt and doubt about his/her forgiveness. There are some who would say, Since we are forgiven in Jesus, we don t need to pray and ask God to forgive us. We don t need to cry out to God and plead for mercy and forgiveness. He s already bestowed mercy in Jesus. In a sense, they may be right. BUT, in another sense, the forgiveness that is ours in Christ rarely hits the heart with joy and freedom until we ve confessed our sin. 1 John 1:9 If we don t feel forgiven, it s not God s fault, it is ours. We haven t experienced it by faith through confession. Confession is good for the soul, and it is good for a healthy relationship with God, just as it is good for our human relationships. EX: parent and child- One, the other or both can act in a sinful way and though each knows they are forgiven, the relationship can be tense until one person leads with repentance. It is not a way of earning or meriting forgiveness it is the door to experiencing forgiveness. SO TOO WITH God. 3 11-13-16 FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS Lord s Prayer wk#6 Luke 11/ Matt 6
God is faithful and just to cleanse us from all our sins, but sins we are of aware of need to be confessed. No one will ever confess every sin; that would take 24/7 when we understand the reality of sin action, thought, and attitude. When the Holy Spirit shows us our sin, we need to bring it to God with confidence that we are forgiven in, and because of Christ. This gives us the freedom to be honest about our sin. We should approach God with a sense of joy and confidence that he has forgiven us in Christ, but the experience of it is rarely ours until we come to confess - CALL IT SIN, CALL IT FORGIVEN, AND CALL ON God. We don t have to beg and plead for forgiveness or try to earn it by the depth of feeling or the intensity of tears, but we do need the movement of faith to lay hold of it so that our joy of salvation is restored. AS WE FORGIVE OUR DEBTORS Our Lord teaches us to confirm this petition with an argument: as we forgive our debtors." First, Christ teaches us to argue from a like disposition in ourselves: whatever good there be in us must first be in God, for He is the sum of all excellency; if, then, a kindly disposition has been planted in our hearts by His Holy Spirit, the same must be found There is a connection between the forgiveness we get from God and the forgiveness we grant to others. Big sinners with a Big Savior are Big Forgivers. Packer... ONLY THE FORGIVING ARE FORGIVEN: Those who hope for God s forgiveness, said Jesus, must be able to tell him that they too have forgiven their debtors. This is not a matter of earning forgiveness by works, but is shows that we have experienced it ourselves. If we have been given a new heart of repentance and faith, then it will show by forgiving others. If we claim God s forgiveness, then we can t withhold it from those around us. The unforgiving Christian brands himself a hypocrite. Packer **This applies to politics as well It may be that if we really want to know what we worship, then we should ask ourselves, What can I not forgive? When we answer that question, we ll have a good idea of what we truly have at our core, i.e. what we really worship. If we worship the true holy, righteous, God who forgives rebellious sinners by sending His own Son to die for them, and then adopts them as His own, then how can we withhold forgiveness from those who offend us? One of The Resolutions of Jonathan Edwards speaks so well to Forgiveness Resolved, to act, in all respects, both speaking and doing, as if nobody had been so vile as I, and as if I had committed the same sins, or had the same infirmities or failings as others; and that I will let the knowledge of their failings promote nothing but shame in myself, and prove only an occasion of my confessing my own sins and misery to God APPLICATION??? 4 11-13-16 FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS Lord s Prayer wk#6 Luke 11/ Matt 6
Who are you having a hard time forgiving? Who do you have a hard time considering as more important than yourself? Can we make this plea our own?? Forgive our sins as we forgive, you taught us, Lord, to pray; But you alone can grant us grace To live the words we say. How can your pardon reach and bless The unforgiving heart That broods on wrongs, and will not let Old bitterness depart? In blazing light your Cross reveals The truth we dimly knew, How small the debts men owe to us, How great our debt to you. Lord, cleanse the depths within our souls, And bid resentment cease; Then, reconciled to God and man, Our lives will spread your peace. Rosamond Herklot If you re having conversations with friends who are wound and asking questions, or you are here and don t know how your hungry hearts can be filled, then you must understand that the first step is to come to know the forgiveness, freedom, and power that Jesus brings, then please consider the ABC s of coming to faith A - Admit that you re weak and need grace and strength That means there is GOOD NEWS FOR YOU Our weakness is caused by sin and it affects all of us. But there is a remedy, but you must admit that you can t save yourself. B- Believe that Jesus is the only savior who can heal your heart. He is presented in the Bible as the one who took our place. He lived the life we should have lived and died the death we should have died. C- confess to God that you want to trust Jesus as your savior and Lord CLOSE WITH LORD S PRAYER Our Father, which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom come. Thy will be done on earth, As it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, But deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, For ever and ever. Amen. 5 11-13-16 FORGIVE US OUR DEBTS Lord s Prayer wk#6 Luke 11/ Matt 6