In Matthew 6:12, Jesus taught us to pray for forgiveness for our ongoing sins because we practice forgiving those who trespass against us. In verse 11, He taught us to depend on Him for the basic necessities of life — to pray for daily bread. In verse 12, He reminds us to constantly ask God for forgiveness — because we constantly need it! We forgive because we are forgiven by God. An unforgiving person is the testimony of an unforgiven life, someone who is not a believer.
Jesus taught, “If you forgive men for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions” (Matthew 6:14-15). Christ is not suggesting that we will not be forgiven if we do not forgive. Instead, He is saying that we will forgive because we have been forgiven by God.
“Forgive us our debts as we have forgiven our debtors.” The Greek word translated “debts” or “trespasses” is one of five terms used for sin in the New Testament. The context is Christians who sin. Just like Jesus taught us to pray for daily bread, He also teaches us to pray for forgiveness continually and to forgive others. John R.W. Stott wrote, “Once our eyes have been opened to see the enormity of our offense against God, the injuries which others have done to us appear by comparison extremely trifling.”
Born-again people have been forgiven forever. God the Judge forgave us because Jesus died to pay the penalty for our sin (“the wages of sin is death,” Romans 6:23). Romans 8:1 says, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” Through the new birth, we become children of God. The Judge has declared us justified, or righteous, on the basis of Christ’s atoning work on the cross. However, while we have a justified position, our practical living proves that we continue to commit sins. We do not need to “get saved” again and again. One new birth is it. Our sin-debt has been paid in full, and we have full assurance through Christ. What about the acts of sin we still commit? There is no condemnation. There is no loss of salvation. There is disobedience to the teachings of Scripture, and there is sin. Our standing before God is secure, but our relationship with God is not right.
What can we do? Asking forgiveness implies confession. 1 John 1:9 is an essential verse for Christian living: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” When we confess (literally, agree with God that we have sinned), we are given a promise that our faithful Father “will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” The fellowship with God will be restored, and the quality of our relationship will be better. It is not a matter of being saved, but being cleansed. The apostle Peter, at first, did not want Jesus to wash his feet but insisted that he wash Jesus’ feet. When Jesus explained why He must wash Peter’s feet, the apostle then asked Jesus to give him a bath! Jesus explained to Peter that those who are clean only need to have their feet washed. Those of us who are saved do not need to be saved again. Instead, we need continual cleansing from the moral dust and dirt that comes from disobeying our heavenly Father.
Our pray for continual forgiveness (cleansing) is based on the redemptive relationship we have with God. The forgiven (redeemed) will forgive. D.A. Carson wrote, “There is no forgiveness for the one who does not forgive. How could it be otherwise? His unforgiving spirit bears strong witness to the fact that he has never repented.”
Our sin has been forgiven in Christ. The Judge is satisfied. When we confess our acts of disobedience (sins, debts, trespasses), the Father is satisfied.