The Lord is gracious and forgives our sins. As believers we are called to do the same for others!
Christian Living
Grace
Forgiveness
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In Matthew chapter 6 verse 12, Jesus says forgive our debts as we forgive our debtors. Sometimes people will translate that word debts into sin. Forgive us our sin as we forgive those who have sinned against us. The idea is is closed, but that word debt specifically means something owed to somebody else and Jesus is laying out a profound theological understanding of our relationship with him and then our relationship with others. That when we pray and ask the Lord for forgiveness, we pray and ask him to forgive us our debts, forgive us the things that we owe him for our sins, the things that we have done in this life that are, that miss the mark, that are contrary to his holiness, that creates a debt that we owe him. Jesus took all our debts on the cross and gave us forgiveness and grace and purpose and meaning. It's called the great exchange. Now here's the thing that I tell my people all the time. It is the height of hypocrisy for us to accept the debt, accept the forgiveness to give God our debts and not be willing to extend that same forgiveness to others. And that's what Jesus is telling us that if we accept the grace and mercy and forgiveness of God, we are obligated to give it to others. We can't accept it and not give it. It's not the way grace works. It's really not an understanding of the depths of our own sin and the greatness of his grace to not be willing to give it to others. So I want to encourage you this morning is is there unforgiveness in your heart? Is there somebody that owes you a debt? I'm not talking about money. I'm talking about they've hurt you in some way. They've sinned against you in some way. Well for your relationship with God, you need to forgive. Even if they don't want to hear it, even if they don't admit to it, even if they get offended by you even saying I need to forgive you because most people's first reaction is to defend themselves. It's really not about them. It's about your relationship with Christ that you have accepted his forgiveness. Therefore you need to extend it to others even if they don't accept it. You need to forgive for your spiritual health, for your emotional health, for your mental health. So I want to encourage you today. Let's just follow the example that Jesus laid out for us in the Lord's Prayer that he didn't need to ask the Father for forgiveness. He was teaching us how to do that, how to ask the Father for forgiveness so we can now extend it to others. If there's any way that I can help you and pray for you, if you are harboring some unforgiveness towards somebody and you don't have to give me the details. I don't need to know the details. You and the Lord know it. If you just need prayer for that, shoot me a message. Let me know. I'd love to be able to serve you any way I can. God bless. Have a great day.
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