Our study this week will focus on the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer from Matthew 6:12, "Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." One of our greatest physical needs is for daily bread, and one of our greatest spiritual needs is for forgiveness of sins. As we work our way through the week’s assigned New Testament passages, we will see that our horizontal relationships with each other affect our vertical relationship with God.
There are 2 aspects of the issue of our own personal forgiveness:
1) the initial cleansing of the alien sinner when he comes to Christ and is baptized
2) the need of the believer for daily forgiveness
In this fifth petition, Jesus is teaching His disciples (and believers on the other side of the cross) to ask for the daily forgiveness we all need.
ASSIGNMENT:
1. Read Matthew 6:12 and Luke 11:4 and compare the language. How are they similar/different? What are the two words that appear to be interchangeable?
2. Read Matthew 6:14-15. What does Jesus teach in this passage?
3. The fifth petition is the only one that comes with “extra instructions” (in 6:14-15). Why do you think this is necessary?
- We are called upon to forgive others in simple ways every day; such as: forgiving the driver of the car who pulled out in front of us on the freeway; or forgiving our husbands when they forget to take out the trash. When we are unable to forgive simple offenses such as these, we are opening ourselves up to unnecessary stress in our lives.
- Then there are the more difficult offenses that some must deal with - offenses that leave life-time scars and are not easily forgiven and never forgotten.
- Another difficult aspect of forgiveness may be our own inability to accept God’s forgiveness of our personal sins. We will address that particular issue in our Friday study.
Jesus taught His disciples in Matt 6:14-15 that their own forgiveness by God was related to their forgiveness of others; He did not provide for exclusions. He didn’t tell us to “forgive when you can.”
Read Paul’s prayers for the Ephesians in Eph. 1:15-23 and notice what he writes about the incomparably great power for us who believe. He goes on to say that this power is similar to the power God exerted in Christ when He raised Him from the dead. Whenever you feel inadequate – in any situation – whether in forgiving another or in accepting God’s forgiveness for yourself, spend some time in this passage and call upon our Father in heaven to empower and equip you for that task.
Lord, teach us to pray…and teach us to forgive.
