Forgive Us Our Sins
As I’ve been working on this series on The Lord’s Prayer one of the things I’ve found very interesting is how closely related the Lord’s Prayer is to the Ten Commandments. Have you ever thought about that? Throughout the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew chapters 5-7, Jesus keeps referring back to the teaching of Moses and the Prophets. “You have heard that it was said to those of ancient times, but I say…” Listen to some similarities between The Ten Commandments which can be found in Exodus 20:1-17 and The Lord’s Prayer.
May 18, 2014
Luke 11:2-4, Matt 6:14-15, Forgive Us Our Sins
Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church
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The first four commandments have to do with our relationship with God, in the Lord’s Prayer the address and first two requests have to do with our relationship with God. The first commandment is, “You shall have no other Gods before me.” The Lord’s Prayer begins “Our Father…” Commandment # 2 is “You shall not make for yourself an idol, whether in the form of anything that is in heaven above, or that is on earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth.” We pray “Our Father, who art in heaven…”
Commandment # 3 states, “You shall not make wrongful use of the name of the Lord your God, for the Lord will not acquit anyone who misuses his name.” In the Lord’s Prayer we say, “Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…”
Commandment # 4, “Remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy…for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but rested on the seventh day. “Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.”
The next 6 commandments have to do with our relationships with other people. The next 3 requests in the Lord’s Prayer are relational and deal with people. The next phrase in each mentions giving. “Honor your father and your mother, so that your days may be long in the land that the Lord your God is giving you.” In the Lord’s Prayer we say, “Give us this day our daily bread…” that our needs for today would be met today so we can live. The rest of the Ten Commandments deal with relationships gone wrong because of temptation, sin, faith that failed, or evil: “You shall not murder, commit adultery, steal, give false testimony against your neighbor nor covet anything that belongs to your neighbor.” The rest of the Lord’s Prayer deals with forgiveness – asking God to forgive us as we’re willing to extend forgiveness to others who have hurt or wronged us and closes with a plea that we not be put to the test, that temptation, bad things, or trials would not try our faith
There is one commandment with a promise (God is giving you land, if you want to live long and healthy in it; honor your parents) and one petition with a promise – you will be forgiven to the extent that you are forgiving. Both the Ten Commandments and the Lord’s Prayer begin by glorifying God and end by acknowledging the weakness of human beings. In teaching us how to pray, Jesus is drawing on the core teaching of the Ten Commandments. Isn’t that cool? Listen to these verses from Luke 11:2-4, Matt 6:14-15: 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 indebted to us. And do not bring us to the time of trial.” For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Today we’re discussing the fourth part of the Lord’s Prayer which is that our sins be forgiven, and not held against us. This is very challenging for most of us to think about or to practice. When we’re hurt, there is a part of us that wants to get even, to “pay someone back for what they did to me!” (If you don’t think this is true of you, just picture yourself driving in certain situations and see if anything comes to mind.) Jesus says that is not His way, it is not the wise, healthy, or mature path to take. Jesus would rather lead us down the path of forgiveness and mercy than the path of revenge or getting even.
The fourth request of the Lord’s Prayer is that our sins be forgiven, and not held against us. We ask God not to punish us for things we’ve done wrong. We’re asking God to deal with us on the basis of mercy or pity (see Psalm 103:10-14; James 5:11). If we truly know God’s mercy and pity for us, we won’t be hardhearted toward others. We forgive as God forgives us and we’re praying for help to forgive. I try not to use the words “must, ought, and should” in my sermons, but this is a time when I have to – we must forgive others if we wish to be forgiven, we must have mercy, if we want to receive mercy. One of the scriptures that has always significantly impacted my approach to ministry is James 2:13, “For judgment will be without mercy to anyone who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”
Have you ever gone into a store that had very pretty but very delicate merchandise; the kind of store that frowns at little children; the kind of store that has a sign on the door thanking you for enjoying your food and drink before entering? All these stores also have the same sign on the inside, don’t they? “If you break it, you pay for it.” That’s the sign the world puts up. That’s the sign that human beings so often put up in the stores of our lives. “I’m fragile, I’m delicate, I’m sensitive, I’m proud, I’m stubborn. I’m wounded. I’m hurt. If you break a part of me – you’re going to pay for it.” The sign of the world says, “If you break it, you pay for it.”
What does the sign say in God’s store? Susan Williams tells how she tiptoed through a gift shop filled with hundreds of extremely fragile items displayed on glass shelves. Pausing to admire a one-of-a-kind sculpture of an English village, she strained to see as much detail as possible without actually touching the piece. Suddenly a female voice behind her said, “Please, pick it up if you like. Don’t worry,” she said with a smile. “You can rely on our store policy.” She pointed to a small sign on the display case: “If you break it, please tell us so we can forgive you.” Susan laughed and said; “Now that’s what I call a novel idea in the business world!” The woman nodded, “Since we put up the sign, breakage hasn’t really changed, but it’s wonderful how much more comfortable everybody feels. In fact, it’s made such a difference in my own attitude that I took one of the signs home, and my kids love it! I guess it’s human nature – there’s something about knowing you’ll be forgiven for a mistake that frees you to relax and enjoy.”
That is the story of the forgiveness and love of God. God has put up a huge sign. It is Jesus on the cross, and that sign says unmistakably, If you break it, please tell me so I can forgive you. That’s why when Jesus teaches us how to pray, he includes asking for forgiveness for our sins as well as extending forgiveness to others. When we’ve broken God’s laws, when we’ve shattered a relationship, when delicate feelings are damaged, when peace has cracked into divisiveness, when unity is split into discord, when families are fractured, when our faith is crumbling – that is the time to turn to God in prayer, asking for forgiveness.
1 John 1:8-10 that we heard to begin the service teaches that every human being has a need for God’s forgiveness. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us ours sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
Let’s face it, “To err is human, to forgive…is really difficult.” Charles Stanley defined forgiveness as “giving up both resentment toward someone else and the right to get even, no matter what the person has done. Unforgiveness, then, describes a deliberate refusal to let go of ill will or your right to repay the offender in some fashion; it is based on the unChristlike attitude that somebody has to pay for the hurt.”
C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive. And then, to mention the subject at all is to be greeted with howls of anger.” Perhaps that is why today’s scripture from Matthew is the only petition in the Lord’s Prayer that is a conditional request. “We are forgiven as we forgive. Why is this? It’s simply by the very nature of the created order we must give in order to receive. We can receive nothing with our hands balled up into fists. Saint Augustine said, “God gives where he finds empty hands.” If our hearts are so narrow that we only see how others have hurt and offended us, without seeing how we have offended God, we will find no need to seek God’s forgiveness. If we’re always calculating in our hearts how much this person or that person has violated our rights, by the very nature of things we won’t be able to pray this part of the Lord’s Prayer with integrity or conviction. The giving of forgiveness is essential because it breaks the cycle of retribution. We’re offended, and instead of offending in return, we forgive.”
In his book, Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Richard Foster states there is a great deal of confusion about what forgiveness is and what it is not. “Forgiveness does not mean that we will cease to hurt. The wounds are deep, and we may hurt for a very long time. Just because we experience emotional pain does not mean that we have failed to forgive.” “Forgiveness does not mean that we will forget. A German pastor (Helmut Thielicke) who endured the darkest days of the Nazi Third Reich, said, ‘One should never mention the words ‘forgive’ and ‘forget’ in the same breath.’ We remember, but in forgiving we no longer use the memory against others. Forgiveness is not pretending that the offense did not really matter to us. It did matter, and it does matter, and there is no use pretending otherwise. The offense is real, but when we forgive, the offense no longer controls our behavior.”
“What then is forgiveness? It is a miracle of grace whereby the offense no longer separates.” I can’t encourage you enough to remember that. Forgiveness is a miracle of grace whereby the offense no longer separates. Forgiveness means that this real and horrible offense shall not separate us. Forgiveness means that we will no longer use the offense to drive a wedge between us, hurting and injuring one another.” It means we will not use the offense as a weapon against someone else. “Forgiveness means that the power of love that holds us together is greater than the power of the offense that separates us. That is forgiveness. In forgiveness we are releasing our offenders so that they are no longer bound to us. In a very real sense we are freeing them to receive God’s grace. We are also inviting our offenders back into the circle of fellowship.[1]
One thing I still miss about living in Pennsylvania was that our trash would get picked up twice a week on Tuesdays and Fridays. Can you imagine that? Some Fridays the truck would come earlier than usual and I didn’t get our garbage out in time. Then I’d look forward to Tuesday when I could get rid of a whole week of garbage. None of us would intentionally think of letting our trash get crammed full and backed up when we knew we could get rid of it. Can you imagine having smelly garbage piled up behind your house or in your garage and when the sanitation truck pulled up out front and deciding, “That’s okay, I think I’ll keep it all for another week.” Ridiculous, right? Yet how many of us nurse and hold onto hurts, anger, grudges, resentment, bitterness, and other things that stink up our life and foul up our relationships even though Jesus told us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.” We do with our memories, emotions and relationships what we wouldn’t do with dirty diapers and used food packaging. We hold on to the garbage. Some of it is very painful and has piled up over many years. Nothing but the cleansing forgiveness and grace of Jesus can pull up the bitterness that can take root.
As a practical step, perhaps you can try the following exercise. On days when you go to the transfer station or have your garbage picked up; offer the debris of your sins to God. Put out your spiritual and emotional trash for God to haul away so that you can be forgiven and cleansed and freed. Acts 10:43 says, “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in Jesus receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Usually when I have a memorial or funeral service, I ask the family members what three words they would use to describe their loved one. I can’t envision many legacies more valuable or life giving than for those who knew us best to say, “He was a forgiving man. She was the most forgiving person I ever met.”
How many of us would want people to remember us by thinking, if not saying, “She really knew how to nurse a hurt. He really knew how to hold grudge.” God has put up a huge sign. It is Jesus on the cross, and that sign says, If you break it, please tell me so I can forgive you. God has bound himself to forgive us when we forgive others. Perhaps you have felt deeply the load of guilt at your offense against heaven. You may be unsure if God will truly forgive and pardon you. You long for some assurance that will give you peace. Our assurance comes from the mouth of Jesus and he promises our acquittal (Matthew 6:14-15). “If you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” The choice is ours alone.
Prayer: Forgiving God, I thank you for your merciful and gracious nature and that you make it possible for me to be forgiven through Jesus your Son, my Savior. Help me to confess my sins freely and frequently, may I be quicker to judge or condemn myself rather than others. Enable me by your Holy Spirit to be a forgiving person, who extends forgiveness freely and genuinely. May our hands be used not for holding grudges or striking blows of revenge but for embracing you and serving others in Jesus’ name.
[1] Richard Foster, Prayer, 186-188.