Matthew 6:12 “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.”

As Christians, are sins are completely and eternally forgiven at the Cross of Christ,….

….yet,…..we are to ask forgiveness for our daily sins….that the fellowship between us and the Lord will be open and full.

Isaiah 59:2 “But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.”

1 John 1:7, 9 “But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Our sins are the great obstacle to the blessings we might receive from the Lord.

Our sins narrow the channel of blessing, so that the things the Lord wants to give us…..can not pass on to us.

Therefore, as we pray…”give us this day our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11)….

….we also need to pray….”forgive us our debts”.

The Lord wants to encourage all who pray, to go from strength to strength….

…first dealing with us about our sins, as debts.

“Debts”, as we all know are “something owed”.

We owe God our all…..as Creator, for He has given us life,….and we were made to glorify God….not to please ourselves…

….and as our Lord and Savior, for He has given us Eternal life….a life of purpose and power.

We owe God….perfect worship……..for He alone is the One worthy of our praise.

Hebrews 13:15 “By Him therefore let us offer the sacrifice of praise to God continually, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.”

But we daily fail in this…..we sin, we get short tempered, we get frustrated, we say words we should not, we covet.

All these, are the sins we should bring to Christ Jesus and confess….thereby learning from them….and be saved from them.

Are we letting our debts pile up?

Full atonement for all our sins was made by Christ Jesus at the Cross. There, our guilt was canceled….the penalty of sin washed away.

But, there is a very real sense in which the sins we do not confess to God….(when we find we have failed, and commit them)…

…..are still with us, in their influence and darkness….

…..because the Lord wants us to come to the light of the truth….and tell Him about them…

…to seek pardon from them.

The wrath of God cannot abide on a Christian, but it can on the sin in a Christian’s life.

Revelation 3:19 “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent.”

God is ready to forgive….but He requires us to turn toward our Lord and Savior,…. and confess our sins against Him.

Like when we ask for our daily bread,…..we need to ask forgiveness for our daily sins….

….that our conscience will know the cleansing of His forgiveness for those sins.

The effects of this kind of forgiveness is peace…..and confident access to God.

When we pray for forgiveness…..it should not be a mumbling…..but a humble acknowledgement that we have sinned.

(So many go along with the world’s estimation of sin…..little sins and big sins….when every sin is a manifestation of “I will rule myself, in this”.)

We should seek God’s mercy….for Christ’s sake….realizing that only He can righteously pardon us….and make us free from this sin.

But there is more to this petition:

“…forgive us our debts,…..as we forgive our debtors.”

If we are born again, and He is our Lord….then the character of mercy found in the Lord Jesus……

….has been planted in us by His Holy Spirit…..

…in other words….we can be merciful.

If we have a drop of God’s mercy….we can forgive those who offend and hurt us…..because we can readily remember how He has forgiven us.

(And the Lord has already told us that there will always be offenses [Matthew 18:7]……and those who seek to hurt, or slander, or exclude us….for His sake.)

We need to pray for God to remove all bitterness and the desire for revenge [so prevalent in our times]….from our hearts and tongues!

Hebrews 12:14–15 “Follow peace with all men and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;”

To fail of the grace of God, is to not use it at the time….to let the hurt, anger, or other thoughts….take hold on our heart.

Holiness is to be set aside to God…..imagine having every thought set aside to God….every spark of anger…..every wound of spirit, soul and body….set aside to God.

Well….by the Holy Spirit’s working, it can happen. Usually it happens little by little….dealing with this hurt, or anger [and the reason behind it].

But, as we stay with this….God will indeed remove all bitterness….we no longer bear any malice toward those who have wronged us.

And bitterness here means “piercing”…..it is like a horrible taste in your mouth….only it is in your heart….turning everything sweet into acid.

That is what bitterness does…..

….let us, by the Holy Spirit’s help….remove it!

And be free in the mercy God gives us….and we give others.