Thursday, March 7, 2013

The Lord's Prayer Part II - Talking to the Father about the Family, Part 47 of 61

TEXT: "In this manner, therefore, pray: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:9-12).

IDEA: We need to apply sharp words with skill.

PURPOSE: To help listeners do good and not harm.

Do you ever get uneasy that in trying to do good, we might do harm? How?

We have been discussing the fifth request in the Lord’s Prayer: Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors.

I. What have we said this request involves?

We want to deal with others as God has dealt with us, and we ask our Father to enable us to do for those who have hurt us what we are asking Him to do for us.

If someone who claims to be a Christian refuses to forgive others, what might that say about that individual?

II. What did we intend to do with our discussion?

We want to warn religious people who attend services at church, who know all the answers, and who live an outwardly upright life, the danger of holding grudges against those they believe have sinned against them. They may not be genuine Christians.

Whom do we have in mind?

We’re not talking to listeners who struggle with forgiveness. We’re talking about professing Christians who have no desire to forgive. They are on dangerous ground.

We’re not talking to people who wrestle with recurring memories of painful things that have happened to them, even when they have forgiven those who caused the hurt.

III. What are the benefits that come from extending forgiveness?

We are never more like God than when we forgive. “To err is human, but to forgive, divine.” To refuse to forgive is demonic.

To really pray this prayer, healthy Christians constantly realize they are debtors to God.

Forgiveness brings health to the entire person.

Think of how confession of our sin works: If I honestly pray for forgiveness, then I revise my estimate of myself downward and I admit my own guilt. If I see the pollution of my own life, then I see the sins of others in a different light. If I regard myself as so important, so dignified that it would be unthinkable to forgive anyone who dared offend anyone as righteous as I am, that is self-righteousness. To squeeze pardon from a self-righteous person is harder than squeezing apple juice from a stone slab. It’s simply not in such a person to forgive.

Conclusion:

We are never more aware of God’s grace than when we admit our own sin. We are never more like our heavenly Father than when, for Christ’s sake, we extend forgiveness fully and freely to those who have sinned against us.