Dec 23
17
Baptist Catechism 112
Q. 112. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
A. In the fifth petition, which is, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” we pray that God, for Christ’s sake, would freely pardon all our sins; which we are rather encouraged to ask, because by His grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others. (Matt. 6:12; Ps. 51:1,3,7; Mark 11:25; Matt. 18:35)
Scripture Reading: Matthew 18:21–35
“Then Peter came up and said to him, ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times. Therefore the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his servants. When he began to settle, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents. And since he could not pay, his master ordered him to be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and payment to be made. So the servant fell on his knees, imploring him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the master of that servant released him and forgave him the debt. But when that same servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii, and seizing him, he began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay what you owe.’ So his fellow servant fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ He refused and went and put him in prison until he should pay the debt. When his fellow servants saw what had taken place, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their master all that had taken place. Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his master delivered him to the jailers, until he should pay all his debt. So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.’” (Matthew 18:21–35, ESV)
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Catechetical Sermon
The Lord’s prayer is to be prayed daily. This is made clear by the fourth petition which is, “Give us this day our daily bread”. So daily we are to be concerned with giving thanks to God, praying that his name be glorified, for the furtherance of his kingdom, and for the strength to obey his commandments. We are also invited to pray for his provision concerning our earthly needs. And here is another thing that we are to pray for daily: the forgiveness of sins.
Some have wondered, if we are forgiven of all our sins the moment we believe in Jesus, then why must we pray for the forgiveness of sins repeatedly? That is a good question, and there is a good answer. When we believe in Christ our sins are forgiven. We are justified, which means that we are declared not guilty by God. That can never change. If faith is true, then justification is real and permanent. We did nothing to earn our justification, and we cannot do anything to lose it. Furthermore, we were adopted the moment we believed. That does not change either. Christians are not perpetually justified and then unjustified, adopted and then unadopted every time they sin. No, these gifts are freely given by God and received by faith alone. When we believe in Christ a great exchange takes place. He bore our sins when he died on the cross, and we come to have his righteousness as our own. This cannot change or be diminished in any way, for the work is finished.
But Christians do continue to struggle with sin even after they are saved. Temptations come through the Evil One and the world. Weakness and corruption remain in us. And so we do not always obey the Lord. And even when we do, our obedience to God is less than perfect. These sins are real sins and they do really grieve the Spirit of God. And you should know that the Father disciplines those he loves. Notice, I did not say, he pours his wrath on those he loves, but disciplines. And so it is a very important part of the Christian life to confess sin to the Lord, to turn from sin, and to ask the Lord for cleansing. This is not a cleansing unto salvation, but it is cleansing that renews a right relationship with the Lord.
This is what John was talking about when he wrote to Christians saying, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:8–9, ESV)
I believe this is what Jesus was illustrating in that exchange he had with Peter regarding the washing of his feet. Do you remember it? Jesus was washing the feet of his disciples when “Peter said to him, ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus answered him, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said to him, ‘Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!’ Jesus said to him, ‘The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.’ For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, ‘Not all of you are clean’” (John 13:8–11, ESV).
In this illustration, those who have true faith in Christ have been bathed. They’ve been cleansed from their sins, justified, adopted, and sanctified positionally. They need not be bathed over and over again. But as these justified ones walk in this world, their feet get dirty with sin. You know this to be true, just as I do. This is why we must come to the Lord daily, and even momentarily, to confess our sins to the Lord. To use the language of John 13, we are not saying, Lord, bathe me, but rather, Lord, wash my feet, for I have sinned against you in thought, word, and deed. Again, “If we [Christians] say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we [Christians] confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness”, thanks be to God.
Notice this about the fifth petition: not only does it lead us to confess our sins to God daily, it also leads us to freely forgive the wrongs that others have done to us daily. The fifth petition is “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” The two things – forgiveness from God and the forgiveness of others – are tied together. In fact, it is assumed and expected that if we are going to ask God for forgiveness, we have already forgiven our fellow man from the heart.
The parable of Christ that we read a moment ago regarding the unforgiving servant is powerful, isn’t it? What a terrible thought that a servant who was forgiven so much by his master would be so unwilling to forgive his fellow servant just a little bit in comparison. We are to forgive as we have been forgiven. We are to forgive from the heart.
Please allow me to make just a few clarifying remarks about forgiveness before concluding.
One, Christians must forgive from the heart even when there is no repentance on the part of the one who offended. In other words, we must not hold on to bitterness or resentment. We must prepare ourselves to extend forgiveness should forgiveness be sought by the one who has wronged us.
Two, forgiveness can only be extended or transacted when there is repentance on the part of the one who sinned against you. This is how it works with God, and this is how it works with man. Forgiveness cannot be transacted unless the offender says, I have wronged you, please forgive me. If repentance is true and sincere, forgiveness must be extended.
Three, in Christ we should be willing to forgive one another over and over again. In Matthew 18:21 we read, “Then Peter came up and said to [Jesus], ‘Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?’ Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.’” Some translations say, “seventy times seven.” Either way, the point is clear. If repentance is true, forgiveness should be extended over and over again.
Four, this does not require Christians to subject themselves to manipulators or abusers. Clearly, this is not what Christ was referring to. If your brother sins against you, and if your brother repents truly, then forgive him truly from the heart. Move on. Do not hold the sin against him. But you and I both know that there are people in this world who abuse and manipulate. These will pretend to be repentant but prove by their way of life that they are not. The Scriptures do not require Christians to subject themselves to their abuse. Forgive them from the heart? Yes! But if forgiveness is going to be transacted leading to a restored relationship there must be true repentance.
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Conclusion
Q. 112. What do we pray for in the fifth petition?
A. In the fifth petition, which is, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors,” we pray that God, for Christ’s sake, would freely pardon all our sins; which we are rather encouraged to ask, because by His grace we are enabled from the heart to forgive others. (Matt. 6:12; Ps. 51:1,3,7; Mark 11:25; Matt. 18:35)
