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Forgive Us Our Debts
“And forgive us our debts, even as we forgive our debtors.”
(Matthew 6:12)
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”
(Matthew 6:12, KJV)
Though the language of this petition is financial language, in the context, Jesus is using this language to reflect that which we owe to others as a result of sin (which is why some people say “transgressions” here—though I have yet to find a translation of the Bible that reads “transgressions” and not debits). This is the only petition of the prayer that our Lord actually goes back to and explains (see Matthew 6:14-15) and when he explains the petition, he does so in terms of our sins.
This, indeed, is our great spiritual need—to be forgiven. Christ begins the list of petitions for our needs by addressing our physical needs and now he moves to the spiritual—the mental will come next. But also note, that while this is our great need, this is also the only petition of this prayer that is qualified by something that we must do—that is to forgive.
This is heavy stuff. What we are praying to God is that he should forgive us in the same way we forgive others. If we withhold forgiveness, we are telling him that he should withhold it from us as well. This is a terribly high standard to have before us if we are entirely honest. Certainly, there are some people who it is relatively easy to forgive, but then again, there are others who have hurt us so badly and so deeply that forgiveness seems impossible—yet loved ones, with God, all things, all things are possible.
You who have been forgiven so much in the eyes of God, how can you fail to forgive others? We owe a debit to God for our sin that we could never even begin to repay, yet Christ chose to pay it on our behalf—and pay it he did, in his own blood. No wickedness that another man can do to you, no matter how hurtful and severe, can come close to the wickedness of your sin in the eyes of a Holy God. Even the angels shield their eyes in God’s presence. Yet for you, believer, God has not withheld his forgiveness—how is it that you can withhold forgiveness from others?
Jesus never ceases to stretch us as we grow in faith, and to take seriously the words of this prayer, we are forced to grow beyond ourselves. The reality is that it is impossible for us to forgive some people on our own strength—the hurt is just too deep and it is not in our heart to do so. That is why we ask God to change our hearts and conform them to his will—that we may forgive even where it seems impossible to do so. Beloved, will you pray that God will enable you to forgive others as he has forgiven you?
Reverencing God’s Name
“Thus you shall pray in this way: Our Father, who is in the heavens, let your name be reverenced.” (Matthew 6:9)
“After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9, KJV)
I wonder whether we spend enough time in our own lives reflecting on the nature an attributes of our God. God is to be reverenced; his name is hallowed; God is the very definition of holiness and righteousness and purity and power. God is glorious above all things that we think of as glorious. And he is wonderful and just. He is light and truth. He is the beginning of all things and the end of all things. He is God and God alone.
We should adore God for who he is. All too often, when we speak of why we worship, we only speak of worship in relationship to what God has done for us. Indeed, we should be eternally grateful for what he has done for us and worship him as a result. But don’t let yourself fall into the trap of worshiping him wholly based on what he has done, because that will lead you to a self-centered relationship with him. When things are good you will worship with gusto. When things are bad, you will be lead to question. Worship God first for who he is and then for what he has done.
Think about things in this manner. When you go to a fine restaurant and dine on a fine meal, you naturally praise the chef. You don’t praise him because he has done you any special favors. You paid a fair price for the meal and it can be assumed that the chef prepares equally fine dishes for each and every patron of the establishment. You praise the chef for two reasons. First, because the chef has demonstrated his skills by creating a meal that was remarkable in every way. It would be rude not to compliment him on his skills in the kitchen. And secondly, you praise the chef because it brings a sense of satisfaction to you and it is pleasing to do so. Given that we are assuming that none of us are world-renown food critics, writing for a prestigious culinary magazine and given that the chef has already secured for himself a good job at a respected restaurant, it would seem that the chef neither needs your compliments nor would be heartbroken without them, never-the-less, they are pleasing to him as well.
Now, let us turn our eyes toward God’s work. Certainly, God is infinitely more remarkable than a fine chef. He demonstrates his glory in his works of creation. And just as God is infinitely more praiseworthy than a fine chef, it is infinitely more appropriate that he be praised. He neither needs our praise nor is his existence based upon it—he is God—yet he gracefully accepts our praises and is pleased by them. Just as it would have been rude to deny the chef praise for his fine meal, it is infinitely more rude—in fact, downright damnable—to deny God praise for his being who he is and for his revelation of his glory in the universe. And, just as it is satisfying and pleasurable to praise the chef for his fine creation—it is infinitely more satisfying and pleasurable to praise God for his being. In fact, since God is the most infinitely fine and good thing that we might praise, I would suggest that the praising of God brings the highest and most infinite pleasure and satisfaction.
Friends, it is a joyous thing to worship the great King of the Universe not just for what he has done, but simply for who he is, and that is why unbelievers who refuse to praise God stand guilty—because their offence, is infinitely condemnable. We don’t often think in these terms, but we must. One of the things that the Baptist preacher, John Piper regularly points out is that God desires us to worship him not because he is needy, but because we are needy and God understands that the worship of him is the highest pleasure that we can experience and he wants us to experience that pleasure.
Hallowed be Thy Name
“Thus you shall pray in this way: Our Father, who is in the heavens, let your name be reverenced.” (Matthew 6:9)
“After this manner, therefore, pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.” (Matthew 6:9, KJV)
In the opening statement of this prayer, we also make a statement that calls for God’s name to be hallowed or reverenced. The term that is used here is the Greek word a�gia¿zw (hagiazo), which is a verb that means “to make sanctified, consecrated, or reverenced. It is related to the noun a‚gioß (hagios), which refers to something that has been dedicated toward holy use, and is the word we translate as “saint” when it comes to dealing with believers in Jesus Christ. When we call someone a saint, we are not commending their Godliness as the Catholic church would suggest, but we are recognizing that God has set them apart for service—something that God does with every believer. Thus, when we speak of God’s name in such terms, we are not speaking of making God’s name holy—for holy it is without our help—but we speak of recognizing the holiness of God’s name. In fact, this verb is an imperative, which emphasizes all the more the urgency of recognizing the holiness of God and reflecting that in our lives.
Believers live with a sense of dichotomy. On one hand, we say “Our Father…” yet on the other hand, we are to express the deepest reverence when we come into his presence. Though you should adore the intimacy which God extends to us, when you come to him, it ought to make you tremble as well. As one of my professors often says, we should come into God’s presence with goose-bumps. It is he who spun the stars into space, who ordered the cosmos and everything in it, and who has written the history book of all creation who you are coming to and calling, “Daddy.” Treasure that privilege; it came at a terrible price.
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