"And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." Matthew 6:12
"For if you forgive men when they sin
against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not
forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins." Matthew 6:14-15
Augustine called this text “a terrible
petition.” He pointed out that if you pray these words while harboring an
unforgiving spirit, you are actually asking God not to forgive you. Ponder that
for a moment. If you pray “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”
while refusing to forgive those who have wronged you, this prayer which is
meant to be a blessing becomes a self-inflicted curse. In that case you are
really saying, “O God, since I have not forgiven my brother, please do not
forgive me.” That is why Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the great English preacher,
said that if you pray the Lord’s Prayer with an unforgiving spirit, you have
virtually signed your own “death-warrant.”
During one period of his life, John Wesley
was a missionary in the American colonies—primarily in the area that would
become the state of Georgia. There was a general by the name of Oglethorpe with
whom Wesley had some dealings. General Oglethorpe was a great military leader,
but he had a reputation as a harsh and brutal man. One day he said to John
Wesley, “I never forgive.” To which Wesley replied, “Then, sir, I hope you
never sin.”
When we pray, “Forgive us our debts as we
forgive our debtors,” we are asking God to forgive our sins according to the
same standard we have used in forgiving the sins of others. There are 11 words
in the text, but only one of them is important for our purposes. It’s the
little word “as.” Everything hangs on the meaning of that word. “As” is the
conjunction that joins the first half of the petition with the second half.
When Jesus says “as,” he is setting up a comparison between the way we forgive
and the way God forgives us. This text says that we set the standard and then
God follows the standard. We establish the pattern and then God follows that pattern
in the way he deals with us. When you pray this prayer you are really saying,
“O God, deal with me as I deal with other people. Deal with me as I have dealt
with others.” We are virtually saying, “O God, I’ve got a neighbor and I did
some favors for my neighbor and my neighbor is ungrateful to me for all I have
done. I am angry with my neighbor and I will not forgive him for his
ingratitude. Now deal with me as I have dealt with my neighbor.” It’s as if
we’re praying, “O God, that man hurt me. I am so angry I can’t wait to get
even. Deal with me as I have dealt with him.” We set the standard and God
follows our lead.
Unless you forgive you will not be
forgiven. To refuse to forgive someone else and then to ask God for forgiveness
is a kind of spiritual schizophrenia. You are asking God to give you what you
are unwilling to give to someone else. The fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer
tells us you cannot have it both ways. Do you want to be forgiven? You must
forgive others.
