Terms of Forgiveness

CONSIDER
Millions of people have repeated the Lord’s Prayer, which states, “and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us” (Matt. 6:12 NLT). Since we only mechanically quote the passage, we neglect to recognize the conditions and terms of forgiveness. Do we really want God to forgive us in the same way we are forgiving others? In the verses immediately following the Lord’s Prayer Jesus elaborates further.

BIBLE TRUTH
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins” (Matt. 6:14–15 NLT).

HOW DOES THIS APPLY TO ME?
In the same way you have been forgiven of your outstanding debts that cannot be satisfied except through Christ’s death, He also stands ready to forgive all who come to Him for forgiveness. We are much more eager to accept this forgiveness for ourselves than we are to allow the same justice to be meted out on those who have offended us.

PRAYER
Our Father in heaven, may Your name be kept holy. May Your Kingdom come soon. May Your will be done on earth, as it is in heaven. Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation, but rescue us from the evil one. . . . (Matt. 6:9–13 NLT)


(excerpts from Desperate Dependency by J. Kirk & Melanie D. Lewis)

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