In what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to pray the following:

…forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.*

So what keeps us from being forgiving?

There are two core reasons why we struggle to forgive.

1. Pride.

2. Amnesia

Pride often looks like superiority over others but it can also show up in the belief that you are too bad to be saved. If we consider ourselves better than others, we don’t have to forgive others – they don’t deserve it.  Believing we are unforgivable is also pride. What the person is saying is that they can’t simply accept freely given forgiveness; they have to earn it through their own efforts.  A prideful heart tends to hold back forgiveness towards others until they show the appropriate level of remorse, repentance, guilt, etc.

The other reason is amnesia: We simply forget what Christ has done for us.

Maybe you have pride. Maybe you have amnesia. Maybe you have both. Please hear this: the answer is not for you to get your act together, pull up your socks and start being a good person.

The answer is not in ourselves.

*Matthew 6:9-13 on BibleGateway

In what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to pray the following:

…forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.*

Here’s a thought about forgiveness from a good friend of mine.

“Forgiveness is the central issue in any relationship; especially in the divine-human relationship. Without forgiveness on God’s part there is no love relationship possible between any human and God since the fear of rejection and punishment must first be cast out (1John). This is what forgiveness does.

Jesus changed our thinking and understanding about forgiveness. When he says to the paralytic, “your sins are forgiven” he is discounting the whole God given process of going to the temple, buying an animal, finding a priest, confessing the sin, cutting its throat, having the priest take the blood and do something with it and then being pronounced forgiven. No wonder Jesus was accused of blasphemy. How could he defy the whole God-given system that had been in operation for at least a thousand years?

Most Christians do not get this as they think forgiveness is earned by confession which is the same “temple” ritual in another guise. It is tragic and terrible since the Lamb of God is thus devalued; this one sacrifice that covered or forgave all sin.

The central part of the gospel is that God has forgiven our sins and we are thus to forgive all others who sin against us.”

That took me a while to digest so let me sum it up in a simple statement:

A forgiven heart is a forgiving heart.

*Matthew 6:9-13 on BibleGateway

In what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to pray the following:

…forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.*

There is a way in which God’s forgiveness is conditional.

Let’s say we’re friends. One day you accidentally smash into my car. I saw it happen and you know I saw it. You freak out, maybe you don’t have very good insurance, so you take off. For me, our friendship is more important than my smashed up car. I decide to forgive you completely. I try to tell you that I’ve forgiven you and that I don’t want the accident to get in the way of our friendship. The problem is, you won’t take my calls and if you see me on the street you avoid me. You feel scared, ashamed, and, strangely over time, even angry.

Even though I freely forgave you, your shame has created a barrier between us and because you continuously choose to reject forgiveness our relationship is destroyed.

This is the way God’s forgiveness is conditional.

*Matthew 6:9-13 on BibleGateway

In what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to pray the following:

…forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.*

Is God’s forgiveness conditional or unconditional? Absolutely!

Whenever one suggests that God’s forgiveness is unconditional, there’s always somebody who will bring up 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 is between verse 8 and 10 – duh, I know but hear me out.

These three verses are saying the same thing. Verse 8 and 10 are from a negative position: Verse 8: If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. Verse 10: If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives. Verse 9 is the positive: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

This is not referring to specific sin but that we acknowledge that we are sinners through and through and we need a Saviour who can do for us what we cannot do for ourselves.

This seemingly conditional text actually affirms God’s unconditional forgiveness, love and salvation. It is out of understanding that I am already forgiven that I obtain the courage to face my failures. God’s grace empowers me to confess because I know he accepts me as I am and confession has been given to us as a blessing; a reality check on my need for God in my life.

*Matthew 6:9-13 on BibleGateway

In what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to pray the following:

…forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.*

Is God’s forgiveness conditional or unconditional? Yes.

The Bible is overwhelming in it’s revelation that God’s forgiveness is unconditional. So how can we understand this part of the prayer that Jesus taught us?

Simply put, a forgiven heart is a forgiving heart. As you are able to receive God’s freely given acceptance, grace, and forgiveness and let it be a part of your life you will be a truly forgiving person.

The opposite is also true: An unforgiven heart is an unforgiving heart.

If you are not a truly forgiving person, the reason is because you have not received God’s acceptance, grace, and forgiveness and let it be a part of your life. This can be so even if you know about God, go to church, read your Bible, etc.

As our hearts our deceitful above all things, we need to regularly pray for this connection between God’s forgiveness and our forgiveness of others.

*Matthew 6:9-13 on BibleGateway

In what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer, Jesus told us to pray the following:

…forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.*

Is God’s forgiveness conditional or unconditional? Yes.

Jesus who was showing us what God is really like was always unconditionally forgiving people. Paul’s letters in the Bible reinforce Jesus’ work by telling us that while we were hopeless, powerless, totally incapable of doing anything good or right on our own God forgave us all our sins, every one of them, completely.  God’s forgiveness is unconditional.

This is critical because we need to know that God is safe for us to bring all our past, pain, dreams, hopes, and fears to. That’s the only way he can heal us and remake his image in us.

And yet, God’s forgiveness is conditional.

*Matthew 6:9-13 on BibleGateway

Have you ever considered what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer? In the Good News recorded by Matthew, Jesus says this is how we should 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. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.*

Forgiveness and salvation are intimately connected and one of the greatest teachings of the Bible is that salvation is freely given by God’s grace alone. So why are we told to ask to be forgiven as we forgive?  That doesn’t sound like the foundation of a grace-based salvation.

The good news is, this isn’t saying that God’s forgiveness is conditional. What it’s saying is, God’s forgiveness is conditional.

Say what?

*Matthew 6:9-13 on BibleGateway

Have you ever considered what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer? In the Good News recorded by Matthew, Jesus says this is how we should 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. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.*

For most people in the western world, getting our bread is convenient; certainly not mystical or super-natural – unless you consider standing in line at the grocery store a deeply spiritual experience. It would seem that in our modern age, we spend more time praying about bread than for bread. In other words, we tend to focus on the thing rather than the one who provided the thing. What’s the big deal about that?

In the Good News of Jesus according to John, chapter 6, Jesus is healing people, a crowd gathers and starts to follow him because of the healing he is doing. Then Jesus feeds the whole crowd with just a bit of bread. Later, the crowd meets up with Jesus again and they’re looking for more bread. In verse 26 Jesus says to the crowd, “I tell you the truth, you are looking for me, not because you saw miraculous signs but because you ate the loaves and had your fill.”

The issue was they wanted the bread but not the one who provided it.

Do you find yourself wanting the things that your Dad in heaven provides without much interest in having a relationship with him?

*Matthew 6:9-13 on BibleGateway

Have you ever considered what is commonly called the Lord’s Prayer? In the Good News recorded by Matthew, Jesus says this is how we should 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. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.*

When we used to live in Edmonton, we used to go the Old Spaghetti Factory. With each meal they serve little loaves of warm bread with butter. After talking with one of the servers, we discovered the bakery where they got their bread from. We cut out the middle man. We went to the bakery and bought a several dozen loaves and then put them in the freezer. Bread was right at our fingers.

In ancient times, in order to eat bread one would have to clear land, plant seeds, hope for rain, protect the field, harvest the grain, thresh it, grind it and also have the oil necessary to bake it into bread. And who provided the field, the seeds, the rain, the harvest and the oil?

God. Every aspect of the process would be God ordained and supplied.

I have a tendency to think all I have comes from my brains, strength, and talents. I am poorer for it. How about you?

*Matthew 6:9-13 on BibleGateway