by R.C. Sproul

Forgive Us Our Debts As We Also Have Forgiven Our Debtors
This is an extremely dangerous prayer to pray, but it contains a principle that the New Testament takes very seriously. The supreme warning from Jesus is that God will judge us according to how we have judged other people. Since man is saved by grace, what better evidence could there be of a man's salvation than that he offers to others the grace he himself has so generously received? If that grace is not conspicuous in our lives, we may validly question the genuineness of our own alleged conversion.

We must take God seriously on this point. In Matthew 18:23-35, Jesus tells the story of two men who owed money. One owed roughly $10 million, and the other owed about $18. The one who owed the large sum had his debt forgiven by the man to whom he owed that debt. But he, in turn, would not forgive the man who owed him the paltry sum of $18. Interestingly enough, both men asked for the same thing--more time--not a total release from the debt.

It was comical for the man with the exorbitantly large debt to ask for more time, since even by today's wage standards, the amount owed was an astronomical figure. The daily wage at that time was approximately eighteen cents per day. The man with the small debt could have paid his debt in three months. His request for more time was not unreasonable, but his creditor, rather than expressing the forgiveness he had received, began to harass him. The point should be clear. Our offenses to each other and the offenses people do to us are like an $18 debt, while the innumerable offenses we have committed against the Lord God Omnipotent are like the $10 million debt.

Jonathan Edwards, in his famous sermon "The Justice of God in the Damnation of Sinners," said that any sin is more or less heinous, depending upon the honor and majesty of the one whom we had offended. Since God is of infinite honor, infinite majesty, and infinite holiness, the slightest sin is of infinite consequence. Such seemingly trivial sins are nothing less than "cosmic treason" when viewed in light of the great King against whom we have sinned. We are debtors who cannot pay, yet we have been released from the threat of debtors' prison. It is an insult to God for us to withhold forgiveness and grace from those who ask us, while claiming to be forgiven and saved by grace ourselves.

There is another important point to consider here. Even in our act of forgiveness there is no merit. We cannot commend ourselves to God and claim forgiveness merely because we have shown forgiveness to someone else. Our forgiveness in no way obligates God toward us. Luke 17:10 clearly points out that there is no merit even in the best of our good works: "When you have done all that is commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done what was our duty.' "

We deserve nothing for our obedience because obedience--even to the point of perfection--is the minimal requirement of a citizen of God's kingdom. Obedience is his duty. The only thing we could claim would be a lack of punishment, but certainly no reward, because we have done only what is expected. Obedience never qualifies as service "above and beyond the call of duty." We are merely in a position to prostrate ourselves before God and beg his forgiveness. But, if we do, we must be prepared to show that forgiveness ourselves; otherwise our position in Christ dangles precariously. The bottom line of what Jesus is saying is this: "Forgiven people forgive other people." We dare not claim to be possessors of his life and nature and at the same time fail to exhibit that life and nature.

To carry the thought further, if God has forgiven someone, can we do any less? It would be incredible to think that we, who are so guilty, would refuse to forgive someone who has been forgiven by God, who is completely guiltless. We are to be mirrors of grace to others, reflecting what we have received ourselves. This implements the Golden Rule in practical terms.

Forgiveness is not a private matter but a corporate one. The body of Christ is a group of people who live daily in the context of forgiveness. What distinguishes us is the fact that we are forgiven sinners. Jesus calls attention, not only to the horizontal elements in the petition, but also to the vertical. We are to pray every day for the forgiveness of our sins.

Some may ask at this point, "If God has already forgiven us, why should we ask for forgiveness? Isn't it wrong to ask for something he's already given us?" The ultimate answer to questions like this is always the same. We do it because God commands it. First John 1:9 points out that one mark of a Christian is his continual asking for forgiveness. The verb tense in the Greek indicates an ongoing process. Forgiveness sets the Christian apart. The unbeliever represses his sinfulness, but the Christian is sensitive to his unworthiness. Confession takes up a significant portion of his prayer time.

Personally I find it a bit frightening to ask God to forgive us to the extent we forgive others. It's almost like asking God for justice. I warn my students, "Don't ask God for justice. You just might get it." If God, in fact, forgave me in exact proportion to my willingness to forgive others, I am afraid I would be in deep trouble.

The mandate to forgive others as we have been forgiven applies also to the matter of self-forgiveness. When we confess our sins to God, we have his promise that he will forgive us. Unfortunately, we don't always believe that promise. Confession requires humility on two levels. The first level is the actual admission of guilt; the second level is the humble acceptance of pardon.

A man distraught about a guilt problem once came to me, saying, "I've asked God to forgive me of this sin over and over, but I still feel guilty. What can I do?" The situation did not involve the multiple repetition of the same sin, but the multiple confession of a sin committed once.

"You must pray again and ask God to forgive you," I replied. A look of frustrated impatience came into his eyes. "But, I've done that!" he exclaimed. "I've asked God over and over again to forgive me. What good will it do to ask him again?"

In my reply I applied the proverbial firm force of the board to the head of the mule: "I'm not suggesting that you ask God to forgive you for that sin. I'm asking you to seek forgiveness for your arrogance."

The man was incredulous. "Arrogance? What arrogance?" The man was assuming that his repeated entreaties for pardon were proof positive of his humility. He was so contrite over his sin that he felt he had to repent for it forever. His sin was too great to be pardoned by one dose of repentance. Let others get by on grace. He was going to suffer for his sin no matter how gracious God was. Pride had fixed a barrier to this man's acceptance of forgiveness. When God promises us that he will forgive us, we insult his integrity when we refuse to accept it. To forgive ourselves after God has forgiven us is a duty as well as a privilege.

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This is part six of R.C. Sproul's small book Does Prayer Change Things?. Over the coming weeks we will be posting the complete text of this short but profound and practical book right here at the Ligonier Ministries blog. We have already posted Chapter 1.