Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of Matthew 6:12
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
12. debts ] Sins are debts, shortcomings in the service due to God.
forgive ] The aorist should be read in the Greek text. The force would then be that an act of forgiveness on man’s part is past before he prays to receive forgiveness. Cp. ch. Mat 5:23-24, also the parable of the unforgiving servant, ch. Mat 18:23 seqq.
Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges
Mat 6:12
Forgive us our debts.
Forgive us our debts
There is a twofold debt which man oweth to God.
I. A debt of duty, worship, and obedience;
II. A debt of punishment. (Thomas Manton, D. D.)
Our Debts
1. By this prayer we are reminded of our constant liability to sin.
2. We are led to separate between the fact and theory of forgiveness.
3. We are led to regard forgiveness as a favour, and not as a claim.
4. We are reminded of the only condition upon which forgiveness can be extended to us.
5. We are taught to comply with the condition which is required. (F. Edwards, B. A.)
Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive them that trespass against us
I. We must here take notice that we are obliged to go to our devotions with charity and good-will towards others.
(1) To depose all enmity before we bring our oblation to the altar of God.
(2) Reserving no spite or grudge toward any man, but having a heart
(3) clear of ill-will;
(4) being in affection of mind towards others, as we do wish, hope, and pray that God would be toward us.
II. It is implied on Gods part, that He vouchsafes pardon only upon these terms; yea, more, that He doth truly promise pardon upon our performing this condition.
(1) It also implies a consent on our part, and
(2) submission to this condition, as most equal and reasonable.
(3) If we break it, if we retain any uncharitable inclinations, we deal falsely with God; we forfeit all pretence to mercy and favour from Him; we are neither qualified for mercy, nor shall obtain it from God. (Isaac Barrow, D. D.)
The fifth petition
I. Observe how it begins-and forgive, etc. It follows prayer for daily bread. Life without forgiveness would not be worth having.
II. It is a prayer for the forgiving of our sins As the children of God.
III. Sin is described as a debt.
IV. This is a prayer for grace.
V. In this prayer for forgiveness we must fall in with the divine plan for its bestowment.
VI. The declaration connected with the prayer. (Dr. Stanford.)
The fifth petition
I. Sin considered as a debt to God.
1. A debt is what we owe.
2. We have failed to discharge it.
3. Let us glance at some items in the account.
(1) Wrong to the property of our neighbour;
(2) To his reputation;
(3) To his person.
4. Sins as debts
(1) are entered in Gods books.
(2) They increase.
(3) Can never be discharged.
(4) They cannot be transferred to any fellow creature.
(5) They cannot be escaped by lapse of years or change of residence.
(6) Payment will be claimed.
II. The debts of Gods pardoned children.
III. Our fathers forgiveness.
1. Absolute.
2. Immediate.
3. Complete.
IV. Prayer for pardon. Includes-
1. Conviction of guilt.
2. Contrition.
3. Confession.
4. Purpose of reformation.
V. Forgiveness of one another.
1. Human forgiveness.
2. Human forgiveness a condition of the Divine.
There can be no genuine prayer for pardon unless we cultivate a forgiving spirit:-
1. Pardon is always linked with repentance of sins, and these include an unforgiving spirit.
2. Faith in Gods mercy is incompatible with unmercifulness in ourselves.
3. Gratitude to God for pardon received or expected prompts forgiveness of others.
4. This prayer includes those who wrong us.
5. It is the prayer of a child of God. (Newman Hall, LL. B.)
Mercy in heaven and on earth
1. He who has not received the spirit of forgiveness has not truly received the gift of pardon.
2. Without this loving spirit we cannot truly worship God.
3. He who does not for give forsakes the spirit of the gospel, and returns to the spirit of legalism.
4. He who does not forgive will soon lose the sense and enjoyment of Gods pardon.
5. He who does not forgive lacks one of the great evidences and confirmations of faith. (Dr. Saphir.)
The penitential spirit of the Lords prayer
What is mere bread to a man under sentence of death?-forgiveness necessary.
I. Man is Gods debtor.
1. As regards his being.
2. His moral debtor.
3. Christ the real paymaster of His people.
II. The import of the petition.
1. It at once confronts us with the sin forgiving God.
2. There is unselfishness in the petition-us. (Dr. O. Winslow.)
The forgiving spirit of the Lords prayer
Forgiven, I am to forgive.
I. There exists a great necessity for the exercise of this godlike precept of forgiveness.
1. In the family circle.
2. Gods forgiveness of us the rule and measure of our forgiveness of others.
(1) God forgives immediately.
(2) God forgives fully.
(3) God forgives heartily.
(4) God forgets as well as forgives. I will remember them no more for ever. (Dr. O. Winslow.)
The fifth petition
I. Consider man as a sinner in need of Divine forgiveness. How could guilt be remitted? Through death of Christ. How can a righteous lawgiver who insists upon a righteous equivalent be said to forgive? Forgiveness and payment of price often combined by sacred writers-In whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins.
II. A reference to our own moral condition and circumstances.
1. These words presuppose in us some failure of moral obligation.
2. That sin unremitred has an indelible place in the Divine remembrance. Debts are registered.
3. The need of an individual interest in the provided atonement for transgression.
III. The scriptural connection between the forgiveness we seek of God, and the forgiveness we may show to our fellow man.
1. The words suppose us to have sacred or relative rights which, as appertaining to our station, every other person is under obligation to acknowledge. This prayer implies that in the case of invaded rights we seek only such restitutions as are necessary to social security; not resentment.
2. The exact force of the connecting particle as in this petition. The word has various meanings, ground or reason-this would attribute to man the meritorious initiative in obtaining his own pardon. Sometimes the word is used in the sense of similitude-God infinitely above man in the way and measure of His forgiveness. It is used both as an ordained condition and as a ground of hope. This connection between our mercy and what we expect is one of unalterable necessity.
IV. The motives which concur to enforce the duty.
1. What kindness is it to ourselves to forgive.
2. What a victory is it over our enemy to forgive. (D. Moore, M. A.)
As we forgive our debts
The debtfulness of sin should be remembered. It implies the wrongful possession of what belongs to another. Say that sin occupied a moment: that moment was Gods. Sin has diminished the glory of God: therefore we owe God glory. Trespass implies the same thought; it is when you go on ground where you have no right to go. Forgiveness follows our request for daily bread, and is quite as necessary. Only they who show mercy can expect mercy. We must be careful to draw no parallel of degree between Gods forgiveness and ours, though there is a resemblance in kind. What is the nature of the forgiveness you expect from God?
1. Absolute in character.
2. Immediate in time.
3. Universal in extent.
4. It is an easy thing to use a result, while we are totally unobservant of the great processes by which that result has been produced.
If God had forgiven without this process He would not have manifested any great abhorrence of sin. (J. Vaughan, M. A.)
Concomitants of debts
1. A sense of burden.
2. A sense of fear.
3. A sense of perplexity.
4. A feeling of hatred. (F. C. Blyth, M. A.)
The condition of forgiveness
1. Let us think whose children we are (Mat 5:44-45).
2. Whose disciples we are (1Pe 2:23).
3. How often our Lord has forgiven us.
4. How small is the debt our fellow servants owe to us compared to the stun we owe to our Lord.
5. An unforgiving spirit towards others disqualifies us for forgiveness.
6. If we forgive our brethren their wrongs we turn those wrongs into blessings.
As we
1. As a plea with God.
2. As an argument.
3. As an example. (F. C. Blyth, M. A.)
The prayer of the penitent
I. The general petition.
1. An humble confession of sin.
2. True penitence.
3. Filial confidence in God.
II. The added clause.
1. This language as preceptive. It has the force of a precept.
2. It is solemnly admonitory. God will not forgive us unless we forgive.
3. It is promissory. I have forgiven, do Thou, Lord, forgive, as Thou hast promised.
4. It is abundantly consolatory. (J. Morgan)
Sin a debt
I. How is sin a debt?
1. It supposes obligation.
2. It supposes obligation undischarged.
3. It is an obligation that cannot be denied.
4. It is an obligation that cannot be ignored.
5. It is an obligation that cannot be transferred.
6. It is an obligation that cannot be run away from.
II. How this debt may be cancelled.
1. Not by repentance.
2. Not by good works.
3. Not by any amount of seeking and striving.
4. But solely by the grace of God forgiving the debt for the sake of Jesus Christ. (Amer. Hom. Rev.)
A secret record kept of all our sin-debts
A record is being kept unobserved by us. As a traveller calls for what he needs at his hotel and no demand is made at the time for payment, though every item is carefully recorded, so it is with our daily incurred debts against God. Sins record themselves. As a multitude entering some place of resort pass individually through the turnstile, and a record is unerringly made out of sight of the visitor, and as mechanical contrivances in factories register every beat of the piston and every fraction of the result produced, so, by the law of God impressed on our own nature, all our actions are registered, all our debts recorded. (Newman Hall, LL. B.)
Forgiveness of injuries a self-improving act
When thou forgivest, the man who has pierced thy heart stands to thee in the relation of the sea-worm that perforates the shell of the mussel, which straightway closes the wound with a pearl. Bishop Andrewes observes, David compares his enemies, not to wasps, but to bees (Psa 118:12), inasmuch as, if they have a sting, yet they have honey also, as ministering to his comfort before God.
Fuente: Biblical Illustrator Edited by Joseph S. Exell
Verse 12. And forgive us our debts] Sin is represented here under the notion of a debt, and as our sins are many, they are called here debts. God made man that he might live to his glory, and gave him a law to walk by; and if, when he does any thing that tends not to glorify God, he contracts a debt with Divine Justice, how much more is he debtor when he breaks the law by actual transgression! It has been justly observed, “All the attributes of God are reasons of obedience to man; those attributes are infinite; every sin is an act of ingratitude or rebellion against all these attributes; therefore sin is infinitely sinful.”
Forgive us.-Man has nothing to pay: if his debts are not forgiven, they must stand charged against him for ever, as he is absolutely insolvent. Forgiveness, therefore, must come from the free mercy of God in Christ: and how strange is it we cannot have the old debt cancelled, without (by that very means) contracting a new one, as great as the old! but the credit is transferred from Justice to Mercy. While sinners we are in debt to infinite Justice; when pardoned, in debt to endless Mercy: and as a continuance in a state of grace necessarily implies a continual communication of mercy, so the debt goes on increasing ad infinitum. Strange economy in the Divine procedure, which by rendering a man an infinite debtor, keeps him eternally dependent on his Creator! How good is God! And what does this state of dependence imply? A union with, and participation of, the fountain of eternal goodness and felicity!
As we forgive our debtors.] It was a maxim among the ancient Jews, that no man should lie down in his bed, without forgiving those who had offended him. That man condemns himself to suffer eternal punishment, who makes use of this prayer with revenge and hatred in his heart. He who will not attend to a condition so advantageous to himself (remitting a hundred pence to his debtor, that his own creditor may remit him 10,000 talents) is a madman, who, to oblige his neighbour to suffer an hour, is himself determined to suffer everlastingly! This condition of forgiving our neighbour, though it cannot possibly merit any thing, yet it is that condition without which God will pardon no man. See Mt 6:14; Mt 6:15.
Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible
Our Saviour here doth not teach us the order in which we should pray for good things for ourselves, only in three petitions comprehends whatsoever we should ask of God. For doubtless we are obliged, according to Mat 6:32, first to seek the kingdom of God, and the righteousness thereof. That by our debts are here meant our sins is plain from Luk 11:4, as also from Mat 6:14 of this chapter, where they are called trespasses. The sense is, then, Discharge us from that obligation to death which our sins have laid us under; give us a pardon for our sins past and present; for who liveth, and sinneth not against thee?
As we forgive our debtors; not as perfectly, but in like manner as we, according to the imperfect state of our natures, forgive those who have done us injury, not seeking any revenge upon them, nor bearing them any malice: so as indeed those who, retaining their malice in their hearts, put up this prayer unto God, do in effect pray down Divine vengeance upon their souls: well therefore doth the apostle command, that we should lift up pure hands unto God, without wrath or doubting, 1Ti 2:8. So that not only faith but charity also, is necessary to our praying acceptably.
Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole
And forgive us our debts,…. Nothing is more frequent in the Jewish writings than to call sins , “debts”; and the phrase, of forgiving, is used both of God and men. Thus the prayer of Solomon is paraphrased y by the Targumist:
“and hear thou the petition of thy servant, and of thy people Israel, which they shall make before this place; and do thou receive it from the place of the house of thy Shekinah, from heaven; and do thou accept their prayer
, “and forgive their debts”.”
So Joseph’s brethren signify to him, that it was their father’s orders to say unto him, “forgive, I pray thee now, the trespass of thy brethren, and their sin”; which is rendered by the Chaldee paraphrasts z , “forgive the debts” of thy brethren, and their sins. Accordingly, by “debts” are meant sins here, as appears from Lu 11:4 where it is read, “and forgive us our sin”. These are called “debts”; not because they are so in themselves, for then it would be right to do them; debts should be paid; they are not debts we owe to God, but are so called, because on account of them we owe satisfaction to the law and justice of God: the proper debts we owe to God are love, obedience, and gratitude; and in default of these, we owe the debt of punishment. Now these debts are numerous, and we are incapable of paying, nor can any mere creature pay them for us; wherefore, we are directed to pray, that God would forgive them, or remit the obligation to punishment we lie under, on account of sin. This petition supposes a sense, acknowledgment, and confession of sin, and of inability to make satisfaction for it; and that God only can forgive it, who does, for Christ’s sake, and on account of his blood, sacrifice, and satisfaction: what is here requested is a manifestation and application of pardon to the conscience of a sensible sinner; which, as it is daily needed, is daily to be asked for. The argument, or reason used, is,
as we forgive our debtors; which is to be understood not so much of pecuniary debtors, though they are to be forgiven, when poor and unable to pay; but of such who have offended, or done real injuries to others, either by word or deed: the injuries of enemies, the unkindness of friends, all sorts of offences, are to be forgiven by us; and not only so, but we are to pray to God to forgive them also. Now this is mentioned, not as if our forgiving others is the cause of God’s forgiving us, or the model of it, or as setting him an example, or as if his and our forgiving were to be compared together, since these will admit of no comparison; but this is an argument founded upon God’s own promise and grace, to forgive such who have compassion on their fellow creatures.
y Targum in 2 Chron. vi. 21. z Targum Onkelos & Jon. ben Uzziel in Gen. l. 17. Vid. Targum in 1 Chron. iv. 18. & in Cant. i. 1. & in Gen. iv. 13. & passim.
Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible
Our debts ( ). Luke (Lu 11:4) has “sins” (). In the ancient Greek is common for actual legal debts as in Ro 4:4, but here it is used of moral and spiritual debts to God. “Trespasses” is a mistranslation made common by the Church of England Prayer Book. It is correct in verse 14 in Christ’s argument about prayer, but it is not in the Model Prayer itself. See Matt 18:28; Matt 18:30 for sin pictured again by Christ “as debt and the sinner as a debtor” (Vincent). We are thus described as having wronged God. The word for moral obligation was once supposed to be peculiar to the New Testament. But it is common in that sense in the papyri (Deismann, Bible Studies, p. 221; Light from the Ancient East, New ed., p. 331). We ask forgiveness “in proportion as” () we also have forgiven those in debt to us, a most solemn reflection. is one of the three k aorists (, , ). It means to send away, to dismiss, to wipe off.
Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament
Debts [] . So rightly, A. V., and Rev. (compare Luk 11:4). Sin is pictured as a debt, and the sinner as a debtor (compare Mt 18:28, 30). Accordingly the word represents sin both as a wrong and as requiring satisfaction. In contrast with the prayer, “Forgive us our debts,” Tholuck (” Sermon on the Mount “) quotes the prayer of Apollonius of Tyana, “O ye gods, give me the things which are owing to me.”
Forgive [] . Lit., to send away, or dismiss. The Rev. rightly gives the force of the past tense, we have forgiven; since Christ assumes that he who prays for the remission of his own debts has already forgiven those indebted to him. 4
Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament
1) “And forgive us our debts,” (kai aphes hemin ta opheilemata hemon) “and forgive or bear away from us our debts;” Mark through the ledger, the charge account now held against us. Those sins held or charged against us, Lord, forgive, remit or pardon our sins,” Eph 1:7; Isa 55:7.
2) “As we forgive our debtors,” (hos kai hemeis aphekamen tols opheitetals hemon) “As also we forgave our debtors,” those who have done us unjustly or done us injury, as well as those who hold unjust attitudes toward us, 1Jn 1:9; “as far as the east is from the west,” Psa 103:12 and even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you, Eph 4:32.
Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary
12. And forgive us our debts Here it may be proper that we should be reminded of what I said a little before, that Christ, in arranging the prayers of his people, did not consider which was first or second in order. It is written, that our prayers are as it were a wall which hinders our approach to God, (Isa 59:2,) or a cloud which prevents him from beholding us, (Isa 44:22,) and that
“
he hath covered himself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through,” (Lam 3:44.)
We ought always, therefore, to begin with the forgiveness of sins: for the first hope of being heard by God beams upon us, when we obtain his favor; and there is no way in which he is “ pacified toward us,” (Eze 16:63,) but by freely pardoning our sins. Christ has included in two petitions all that related to the eternal salvation of the soul, and to the spiritual life: for these are the two leading points of the divine covenant, in which all our salvation consists. He offers to us a free reconciliation by “ not imputing our sins,” (2Co 5:19,) and promises the Spirit, to engrave the righteousness of the law on our hearts. We are commanded to ask both, and the prayer for obtaining the forgiveness of sins is placed first.
In Matthew, sins are called debts, because they expose us to condemnation at the tribunal of God, and make us debtors; nay more, they alienate us entirely from God, so that there is no hope of obtaining peace and favor except by pardon. And so is fulfilled what Paul tells us, that “ all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God,” (Rom 3:23,)
“
that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God,” (Rom 3:19.)
For, though the righteousness of God shines, to some extent, in the saints, yet, so long as they are surrounded by the flesh, they lie under the burden of sins. None will be found so pure as not to need the mercy of God, and if we wish to partake of it, we must feel our wretchedness. Those who dream of attaining such perfection in this world, as to be free from every spot and blemish, not only renounce their sins, but renounce Christ himself, from whose Church they banish themselves. For, when he commands all his disciples to betake themselves to him daily for the forgiveness of sins, every one, who thinks that he has no need of such a remedy, is struck out of the number of the disciples.
Now, the forgiveness, which we here ask to be bestowed on us, is inconsistent with satisfaction, by which the world endeavors to purchase its own deliverance. For that creditor is not said to forgive, who has received payment and asks nothing more,—but he who willingly and generously departs from his just claim, and frees the debtor The ordinary distinction between crime and punishment has no place here: for debts unquestionably mean liability to punishment. If they are freely forgiven us, all compensations must disappear. And there is no other meaning than this in the passage of Luke, though he calls them sins: for in no other way does God grant the pardon of them, than by removing the condemnation which they deserve.
As we forgive our debtors This condition is added, that no one may presume to approach God and ask forgiveness, who is not pure and free from all resentment. And yet the forgiveness, which we ask that God would give us, does not depend on the forgiveness which we grant to others: but the design of Christ was, to exhort us, in this manner, to forgive the offenses which have been committed against us, and at the same time, to give, as it were, the impression of his seal, to ratify the confidence in our own forgiveness. Nor is any thing inconsistent with this in the phrase used by Luke, καὶ γὰρ, for we also Christ did not intend to point out the cause, but only to remind us of the feelings which we ought to cherish towards brethren, when we desire to be reconciled to God. And certainly, if the Spirit of God reigns in our hearts, every description of ill-will and revenge ought to be banished. The Spirit is the witness of our adoption, (Rom 8:16,) and therefore this is put down simply as a mark, to distinguish the children of God from strangers. The name debtors is here given, not to those who owe us money, or any other service, but to those who are indebted to us on account of offenses which they have committed.
Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary
(12) Forgive us our debts.Dutyi.e., that which we owe, or ought to doand debts are, it may be noted, only different forms of the same word. A duty unfulfilled is a debt unpaid. Primarily, therefore, the words our debts represent sins of omission, and trespasses the transgression of a law, sins of commission. The distinction, however, though convenient, is more or less technical. Every transgression implies the non-fulfilment of duty in a more aggravated form, and the memory of both presents itself to the awakened conscience under the character of an ever-accumulating debt. Even the sins against our neighbour are, in this sense, debts which we have incurred to God; and as the past cannot be undone, they are debts which we can never pay. For us, therefore, the one helpful prayer is, Forgive the debt, and the gospel which our Lord proclaimed was, that the Father was ready to forgive. The confession of the debt was enough to ensure its remission, and then there was to come the willing service of a grateful love instead of the vain attempt, which Pharisaism encouraged, to score up an account of good works, as part payment, and therefore as a set-off, reducing the amount of debt. The parables of the Two Debtors (Luk. 7:41) and of the Unforgiving Creditor whose own debt had been forgiven (Mat. 18:23-35) were but expansions of the thought which we find in its germ in this clause of the Lords Prayer.
In striking contrast with that clause is the claim of merit which insinuates itself so readily into the hearts of those who worship without the consciousness that they need forgiveness, and which uttered itself in the daring prayer attributed to Apollonius of Tyana, Give me that which is my duepay me, ye gods, the debts ye owe to me.
As we forgive our debtors.The better reading gives, We have forgiven, as a completed act before we begin to pray. In the very act of prayer we are taught to remind ourselves of the conditions of forgiveness. Even here, in the region of the free grace of God, there is a law of retribution. The temper that does not forgive cannot be forgiven, because it is ipso facto a proof that we do not realise the amount of the debt we owe. We forget the ten thousand talents as we exact the hundred pence, and in the act of exacting we bring back that burden of the greater debt upon ourselves.
Up to this point, in the petitions of the Lords Prayer, we may think of the Man Christ Jesus as having not only taught the Prayer, but Himself used it. During the years of youth and manhood it may well have been thus far the embodiment of the outpourings of His soul in communion with His Father. Even the prayer, Give us this day our daily bread, whether we take it in its higher or its lower meaning, would be the fit utterance of His sense of dependence as the Son of Man. Can we think the same of the prayer, Forgive us our debts? It is, of course, opposed to the whole teaching of Scripture to believe that there dwelt on His human spirit the memory of a single transgression. In the fullest sense of the word He was without sin, the Just One, needing no repentance. And yet the analogy of those of His saints and servants who have followed most closely in the footsteps of His holiness may lead us to think it possible that even these words also may have had a meaning in which He could use them. In proportion as men attain holiness and cease to transgress, they gain a clearer perception of the infinite holiness of God, and seek to be made partakers of it. They would fain pray and praise and work for Him evermore, but though the spirit is willing, the flesh is weak. They are weary and faint, and they become more intensely conscious of the limits of their human powers as contrasted with the limitless range of their desires. In this sense, therefore, and strictly in reference to the limitations of the true, yet absolutely sinless, humanity which He vouchsafed to assume, it is just conceivable that He too Himself may have used this prayer. And we must remember also that He prayed as the Brother of mankind, as the representative of the race. The intensity of His sympathy with sinners, which was the condition of His atoning work (Heb. 4:15), would make Him, though He knew no sin, to identify Himself with sinners. He would feel as if their transgressions were His transgressions, their debts His debts.
Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)
12. Debts As by our offences we owe satisfaction, so they are all debts.
In business we incur debts of money; in morals we incur debts of reparation. In the former debts we pay coin; in the latter we pay in suffered penalty or atonement. So due penalty is often treated in Scripture as a debt. Forgive us our debts Remit the penalty of our offences, and hold us as if we had not sinned.
Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
‘And forgive us our debts,
As we also have forgiven our debtors’.
‘Forgive us our debts.’ The meaning of this petition, as Luke specifically brings out, is that we are to pray for the forgiveness of our sins (Luk 11:4). The Jews saw sin as being a debt owed to God. They rightly saw it as a failure to give Him His due. Thus the Aramaic word for debts came also to mean sins, and this idea is regularly found in the Targums (Aramaic translations or paraphrases of the Hebrew text for the benefit of Aramaic-speaking worshippers who lacked a knowledge of Hebrew). That is why Luke translates whatever the Aramaic word was as ‘sins’ (Luk 11:4).
Luke, however, then goes on to speak of ‘every one who is indebted to us’. This last fact would seem to demonstrate that either he or his source knew that the original Aramaic in the first phrase was also ‘debts’ but saw ‘debts’ as signifying ‘sins’, and wanted this to be clear to those who received their words. Possibly he left the second part as ‘indebted to us’ in order to bring out that any way in which others have sinned against us cannot be compared with the awfulness of our having sinned against God and His laws. Jesus Himself used the same idea of sin being like a debt in certain of His parables (Mat 18:23-35; Luk 7:40-43), where He specifically linked it to the forgiveness of sins (Mat 18:21-22; Mat 18:35).
The idea here is of day by day sins, not the initial forgiveness required in order to make men right with God. It can be illustrated by Jesus’ words to Peter in Joh 13:8, ‘He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet’. It is a reminder that daily we do come short, and therefore daily need forgiveness. Compare here 1Jn 1:7-10.
In the Old Testament God is revealed as a God Who is very willing to forgive the truly repentant (Exo 34:7; Num 14:18; Dan 9:9), and such forgiveness was regularly receivable through the offering of sacrifices (Lev 4:20 and often; Numbers 15, 25, 26, 28). Thus the Psalmists constantly rejoiced in His forgiveness (Psa 32:1; Psa 85:2; Psa 86:5; Psa 103:3; Psa 130:4). But the coming Messianic age was to especially be a time of forgiveness when God would blot out their transgressions and not remember their sins (Isa 43:25; Isa 44:22; Isa 55:7; Jer 31:34; Eze 37:23). Thus His disciples can now approach their Father for forgiveness without doubt in their hearts.
‘As we also have forgiven our debtors.’ This is not a bargaining counter as though we have deserved forgiveness because we have forgiven others. It is a declaration that every disciple is expected to be able to make, precisely because he is observing Jesus’ teaching in Mat 5:43-48. For one sign that they are truly His will be found in this readiness to forgive others. It is one of the badges by which we are identified as the light of the world. Note that it is ‘those who sin against us’ that we forgive. We cannot forgive their sins, but we can forgive the fact that they have sinned against us, and love them for His sake. It should also be noted that the assumption here is of people who seek our forgiveness, not of inveterate enemies. Thus when Peter says ‘How often shall we forgive?’, it is of those who come and say ‘I repent’ (Mat 18:21-23). The same principle is also brought out in the parable (Mat 18:23-35). This must be so because such forgiveness involves treating the people who have sinned against us as though they have never done so, in the same way as we know that God will treat us. But we cannot expect to take up such a position with someone who has not revealed, at least outwardly, a change of heart. We may refrain from feeling bitter against them, and be prepared to act in love towards them, but that is not full forgiveness. Forgiveness involves putting them back in a position of trust, in the position that they were in before they sinned. So while people are unrepentant we can love them, and act in love towards them, but we cannot treat them as though they were repentant. We cannot restore them to full trust, because their attitude is unchanged.
Such forgiveness is a sign that God’s Kingly Rule has broken forth on the earth in His people, so that His disciples have become forgiving like He is. And the point is that it is because they are His people as revealed in this way that they can come to Him confidently expecting daily forgiveness. It will be because they are walking in His light.
Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett
One of the greatest spiritual and temporal needs:
v. 12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. We daily contract an enormous, an unbelievable amount of debts before God. And the more we desire the fulfillment of the first petitions, the more conscious we shall be of our shortcomings. This debt, in its nature, being an account of God against us, whether the sin is committed directly against Him, or whether it harms the neighbor and thus transgresses His Law, must stand charged against us forever, rendering us subject to the debtor’s damnation, Mat 18:24-25, unless we receive forgiveness, a full and free pardon from the free mercy of God in Jesus, which we here plead for. revenge and hatred can, of course, not be in any man’s heart when he prays this petition. The more conscious a person is of his own mistakes and shortcomings, the more indulgent his heart will be toward the faults of others, even when committed against himself. It would condemn him to everlasting damnation if his forgiveness would not be patterned after that of his heavenly Father, vv. 14, 15.
Fuente: The Popular Commentary on the Bible by Kretzmann
Mat 6:12. And forgive us our debts, &c. 5. We may observe, that this is the only petition in this prayer upon which our Lord enlarges, and indeed it is a petition of the greater consequence, and the more to be attended to by us, as we ourselves ask that which is the greatest of all things from God, even the pardon of our sins, upon a conditionvoluntarilyurged.It is hardly possible to imagine a more effectual expedient to promote the forgiveness of injuries, than thisof making it a part of our daily prayer, to ask such pardon of God, as we give to our offending brother; for in this circumstance every malicious purpose against him would turn the petition into an imprecation, by which we should as it were bind down the wrath and vengeance of God upon ourselves. (See on Mat 6:14-15.) The earth and the fulness thereof being the Lord’s, he has a right to govern the world, and to support his government by punishing all who presume to transgress his laws. The suffering of punishment therefore is a debt which sinners owe to the divine justice. So that when we ask God in prayer to forgive our debts, we beg that he would, through the infinite merit of Christ, mercifully be pleased to remit the punishment of our sins, particularly the pains of hell; and that, laying aside his displeasure, he would graciously receive us into favour, and bless us with eternal life. In this petition, therefore, we confess our sins,and testify the sense we have of our demerit, than which nothing can be more proper in our address to God. The reason is, humility and a sense of our own unworthiness, when we ask favours of God, whether spiritual or temporal, tend to make the goodness of God in bestowing them on us appear the greater; not to mention that these dispositions are absolutely necessary to make us capable of being pardoned. The expression used in this petition is very remarkable,forgive us, as we forgive: we are allowed to ask from God only such forgiveness as we grant to others. In the mean time, when we beg forgiveness of God, like that which we grant to men, we must beware of setting our forgiveness on an equality with God’s: the most perfect forgiveness which men are capable of exercising towards men falls infinitely short of the divine forgiveness necessary to repenting sinners. Besides, God himself has taken notice of the difference, Hos 11:8-9.: because I am God, and not man, &c. We only beg that the Divine forgiveness may resemble ours in its reality. See the note on ch. Mat 5:44., Macknight, and Olearius.
Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke
Mat 6:12 . , . . .] does not indicate the extent (Chrysostom, Baumgarten-Crusius) to which forgiveness is asked from God, which is not in harmony with the tone of the prayer; rather is the as which assigns the reason as well as makes the comparison , doubtless not as being directly equivalent to nam (Fritzsche), but it expresses the existence of a frame of mind on the part of the petitioner corresponding to the divine forgiveness: as then , we also, and so on. See on Joh 13:34 ; Schaeffer, ad Dem . V. p. 108; Hartung, Partikell . I. p. 460; Klotz, ad Devar . p. 766; comp. Luk 11:4 . Yet not as though human forgiveness can be supposed to merit the divine pardon, but the former is the necessary moral “ requisitum subjecti ” (Calovius) in him who seeks forgiveness from God. Comp. Mat 18:21 ff.; Apol. Conf. A. p. 115 f.; Cat. maj . p. 528; Kamphausen, p. 113.
] see the critical remarks. Jesus justly presupposes that the believer who asks from God the remission of his own debts has already forgiven ( Sir 28:2 ; Mar 11:25 ) those who are indebted to him that, according to Luke, he does it at the same time .
Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary
DISCOURSE: 1316
THE LORDS PRAYER
Mat 6:12. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
THE petitions of men to the Supreme Being will be presented in a different order, according to the general state of their minds, or according to the particular circumstances in which they are placed. A person just awakened to a sense of his guilt and danger, would most probably assign the first place in his petitions to that which, at such a season, would press most forcibly upon his mindthe obtaining of reconciliation with an offended God. But when he has obtained peace with God, and is enabled to come to him as a child unto his father, his slavish fear gives way to an ingenuous concern for his fathers honour, and his own personal safety occupies a less prominent situation in his prayers. Not that he is less interested in the welfare of his soul than before; but he is more interested in other concerns, which, at the first, had no place in his thoughts. Accordingly we find, in that form of prayer which our Lord himself has prescribed as the most perfect, this order is observed. The devout soul is first led to express its concern for the universal establishment of the Redeemers kingdom; and then, after one petition for the preservation of its existence in the body, it is taught to implore the pardon of all its multiplied transgressions. This is the portion of that prayer which we are at this time to consider: and in it we shall notice,
I.
The petition itself
To pray for the forgiveness of our sins is,
1.
Universally necessary
[Sins are here spoken of under the notion of debts: for as by the preceptive part of the law we are bound to obedience, so by the sanctions of the law there is laid upon us an obligation to suffer punishment in case of disobedience. Our sins therefore are debts which we owe to divine justice for our violations of the laws of God. And who is there among the children of men that has not many debts to be forgiven? That there is a great difference between different persons in respect to the guilt they have contracted, we readily acknowledge; but there is no man that liveth and sinneth not: in many things we all offend: if any say that they have not sinned, they make God a liar, and his word is not in them: for his testimony respecting the whole race of mankind is, that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God; and, consequently, that every mouth must be stopped, and all the world become guilty before him.
What then must be done? Can any one discharge his own debt? If any will attempt it, what method will he pursue? If he will obey the law in future, that will no more satisfy its demands for past disobedience than the ceasing to increase a debt will discharge a debt that is already contracted. If he will endeavour to atone for his sins by tears of penitence, rivers of tears will never suffice to wash away one sin. There is but one possible remedy remaining for him; and that is, to cast himself upon the mercy of God, and to implore forgiveness for the Redeemers sake. In this respect all are upon a level: whether our sins have been greater or less, this is the only way in which we can return to God with any hope of acceptance. The proud self-justifying Pharisee will be dismissed with abhorrence; and those only who come in the spirit of the self-abasing publican will obtain mercy at his hands.
There are two sorts of persons indeed, who are apt to indulge very erroneous conceptions on this subject: some suppose that they are so completely justified as not to need any renewed applications for pardon: and others, that they are so perfectly sanctified as not to have any fresh occasion for pardon. But as David, after God by Nathan had sealed his pardon, still implored mercy at the hands of God [Note: Compare 2Sa 12:13. with Psalms 51.], so must we; and they who fancy themselves living in a sinless state, are proud deceivers of their own souls [Note: 1Jn 1:8. Jam 3:2.]. There is not a day or an hour in which any human being has not just occasion to offer the petition in our text; the corruption of his nature, the transgressions of his former life, and the imperfections of his very best services, all require it of him [Note: See Joh 13:10. As they who have walked in a bath yet need to wash their feet on account of the defilement contracted in coming from it, so, &c.].]
2.
Infinitely important
[Consider the state of a man whose iniquities are not forgiven; God, the Almighty God, is his enemy [Note: Psa 7:11-13.] He is every moment in danger of dropping into hell [Note: Luk 12:20.] He neither has, nor can have, any solid peace in his mind [Note: Isa 57:20-21.] He lives but to aggravate his guilt, and augment his condemnation [Note: Rom 2:5.] Can any one reflect on this, and not see the importance of urging the petition in our text? The only wonder is, that any person in an unforgiven state can close his eyes in sleep, or give attention to any of the concerns of time or sense, till he has implored mercy at the hands of his offended God.]
But whilst the general importance of this petition is obvious, there certainly is some obscurity in,
II.
The limitation or condition annexed to it
To understand this part of the Lords Prayer aright, we must compare the expressions as recorded by St. Luke, with those which are used in the text. St. Luke says, Forgive us, for we forgive others [Note: Luk 11:4.]: but in the text we pray, Forgive us, as we forgive others. Now we cannot doubt but that both the Evangelists have given the prayer with accuracy, so far at least as not to comprehend in it any thing which was not intended by our Lord. We, therefore, shall take the petition in both views, and consider it as importing,
1.
A profession of our readiness to forgive others
[This is a frame of mind which God requires in all who come to him for mercy; and he warns us not to expect mercy at his hands whilst we are indisposed to exercise it towards others [Note: Jam 2:13.]. Such is the explanation which our Lord himself gives of his own words [Note: ver. 14, 15.]: and, taken in this sense, they are a kind of plea with God to grant us our desire, and an encouragement to ourselves to expect it. The duty of forgiving others being imposed upon us as a condition, without the performance of which God will not forgive us, a consciousness of having performed the duty emboldens us to ask forgiveness at his hands. Moreover, whilst we thus appeal to God respecting our endeavours to obey his commandments, we do in effect acknowledge the agency of his Spirit, and the efficacy of his grace; without which we should have neither the ability nor inclination to fulfil his will [Note: Php 2:13.]. In this view then it is also encouraging; for, if God has already bestowed his grace upon us, and we have a clear evidence of it by its operation on our hearts and lives, we may reasonably hope, that he will yet further extend his mercy to us in the pardon of all our sins: we may regard his past favours as a pledge and earnest of others yet to come, and especially of those which our souls most need, and which he himself is most ready to bestow.]
2.
A consent that the mercy we shew to others should be made the pattern of Gods mercy to us
[We cannot with propriety request, that the forgiveness which we exercise towards others may be the measure of that which we would receive from God; (because every thing we do is so extremely imperfect:) but the pattern it may and ought to be. Of course, as in the former case, when we speak of a condition, we are not to be understood as if there were any thing meritorious in forgiving others, or as if God bargained with us, as it were, and bartered away his mercies: so, in the present case, we are not to be understood as if there were, or could be, any thing in us that was worthy of Gods imitation. There is a sense in which we are to be pure, as God is pure, and perfect, as he is perfect: and, in a similar sense, though not with equal strictness, we may beg of God to forgive us our offences, as we forgive our offending fellow-creatures; that is, freely, fully, cordially, and for ever.
True it is that, in offering this petition, we need to speak with fear and trembling; lest there be in our hearts any root of bitterness unperceived by us, and lest, when praying for forgiveness, we do in effect pray, that we be not forgiven. And, that no doubt may exist respecting our sincerity in forgiving others, we ought to be rendering good for evil, and heaping thereby coals of fire on the heads of our enemies, to melt them into love. Then may we use this petition with safety, with confidence, and with comfort.]
From this view of our subject, we learn,
1.
The temper of a Christian
[Knowing that his own debt to God is ten thousand talents, and that his fellow-creature can at the utmost owe to him only a few pence, the Christian dares not take him by the throat unmercifully, lest God should retaliate on him, and require at his hands the debt, which the whole universe could never pay. Freely has he received remission; and freely does he grant it, even to those who may have injured him in the highest degree. All bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, are put away from him, with all malice: and he is kind, tender-hearted, and forgiving towards others, even as God for Christs sake hath forgiven him [Note: Eph 4:31-32.].
Let us examine then whether this be indeed our character: let us search whether our mode of speaking of others, and of acting towards them, accord with it: for, if we bring our gift to the altar with an unforgiving spirit, God bids us to go our way, and not presume to expect any tokens of his favour, till the most perfect reconciliation has been sought with our offending or offended brother [Note: Mat 5:23-24 and especially 18:35.].]
2.
The privilege of a Christian
[Here God permits, encourages, commands us to ask of him the free and full pardon of all our sins. No consideration whatever is had to the number or greatness of them: the command is given to every human being; and the fullest possible assurance, that none shall ask in vain [Note: Mat 7:7-8. Isa 1:18.].
Some however have thought, that, because no mention is here made of Christ and his atonement, we need not to have respect to him in our addresses at the throne of grace. But we must remember, that our Lord had not yet declared the whole of what he was come to reveal. This sermon was delivered quite at the commencement of his ministry, and before the minds of his followers were sufficiently prepared for the clearer manifestation of divine truth. What therefore he afterwards declared respecting the intent of his death and resurrection, must direct us in our use of this prayer. He has told us, that he shed his blood for the remission of sins; and that we must present our petitions to God in his name; consequently we must have respect to the merit of his blood, and to the efficacy of his intercession, whenever we approach our God, whether in the use of this prayer, or of any other, which we may think suited to our state. If the consideration of an atonement seem to detract from the freeness of the pardon, St. Paul saw no ground whatever for such an objection [Note: Rom 3:24.].
Be it known then to all, that a way of access unto the Father is opened to us through the crucifixion of the Son of God; and that, if only we ask forgiveness in the Redeemers name, our iniquities, whatever they may have been, shall be blotted out as a morning cloud, and be irrecoverably cast into the depths of the sea.]
Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)
12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Ver. 12. And forgive us our debts, &c. ] Loose us (saith the original) and let us go free, ( ): for unpardoned sinners are in the bond of iniquity, as Simon Magus, Act 8:23 ; and remission is called a relaxation ( ), Rom 3:25 . The guilt of sin is an obligation, binding us over to condign punishment. God hath against us, Mat 5:23 , even our handwriting which is contrary to us, Col 2:14 . This David confessed against himself, Psa 32:5 , and upon his prayer obtained pardon. He only acknowledged the debt, and God crossed the book. God crossed the black lines of his sins with the red lines of his Son’s blood. Thou forgavest me, saith David, the iniquity of my sin; the malignity of it, the worst thing that was in it. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee, by mine example, and obtain like favour. For our God is a sin pardoning God, Neh 9:17 , none like him, Mic 7:18 . He forgiveth sin naturally, Exo 34:6 ; abundantly, Isa 55:7 ; constantly, Job 1:22 . He doth take away the sins of the world. It is a perpetual act of his, as the sun doth shine, as the spring doth run, Zec 13:1 . The eye is not weary of seeing, nor the ear of hearing, Ecc 1:8 ; no more is God of showing mercy. All sins, yea, and blasphemies, shall be forgiven to the sons of men, saith our Saviour, Mat 12:31 . As the sea covers not only small sands but huge rocks, Christ is the propitiation or covering for our sins, are they how many and how great soever, as was sweetly shadowed of old by the ark covering the law, the mercy seat covering the ark, and the cherubims over them, both covering one another. In allusion whereunto, “Blessed,” saith David, “is the man whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord imputeth not sin.” a A metaphor from merchants, who when they will forgive a debt, do not put it into the reckoning, and so do not impute it. Sin casteth men deep into debt and arrearages with God. It is called a debt of ten thousand talents, Mat 18:24 ; Luk 7:47 . It casteth a man into a comfortless condition, makes him hide his face for shame, as Adam, causeth a continual sound of fear in his ears; so that he thinks every bush a bailiff, every shrub a sergeant, &c. An evil conscience hunts him, follows him up and down so close, like a blood hound, hot foot, that he sometimes serves himself, as that Jesuit in Lancashire, followed by one that had found his glove, with a desire to restore it to him; but pursued inwardly with a guilty conscience, leaps over a hedge, plunges into a clay pit behind it unseen and unthought of, wherein he was drowned. This and worse is the case of a poor bankrupt sinner, he is caught and clapped up in prison, laid fast in bonds and chains of darkness; and “what can he give in exchange for his soul?” Mat 16:26 . There is no feeing the sergeant, nor shifting off the arrest: sooner or later conscience will serve him with a writ to appear and answer at the great assizes before God’s tribunal. Neither doth ignorance excuse him: for debt is debt, whether a man know of it or not, and will light so much the more heavily, by how much the execution is done upon him more unexpectedly. Now there is no way in the world of discharging this debt, but by the satisfaction of Christ our surety, who hath paid the utmost farthing for his elect. This good Samaritan hath discharged all for us; and God for Christ’s sake accounts of our sins as if they had never been committed. He binds them in a bundle, seals them up as in a bag, Dan 9:24 , and casteth them behind him, as old evidences, into the bottom of the sea, and all because mercy pleaseth him, Mic 7:19 . This he doth at first conversion, when he justifieth a sinner, Rom 3:23 . And whereas in many things we sin all, Jas 3:2 , we have a pardon of courses for those weaknesses that are of daily incursion, included in that general pardon, which we have upon our general repentance. Only he looketh we should sue out our pardon, by daily prayer for it. Entreat we God to remit our debts; and since he must be satisfied, to take it out of his Son’s coffers who is become surety for us: and saith unto his Father, in effect, as Paul to Philemon: If this Onesimus of mine hath “wronged thee, or oweth thee aught, put that on mine account,” Phm 1:18-19 , so long as he prays in my name for daily pardon. But whether shall we think less excusable, those Anabaptists b in Germany that omit this petition, “Forgive us our trespasses” (as conceiving themselves to be pure, and to have no more need of remission of sins); or those Atheists in father Latimer’s days, who being not willing to forgive their enemies, would not say their Pater Noster at all. See Trapp on “ Mat 6:15 “
As we forgive our debtors ] Not as if God should therefore forgive us, because we forgive others; but this is the argument. We do and can, by God’s grace, forgive them, therefore God can and will much more forgive us; since all our goodness is but a spark of his flame, a drop of his ocean. No article of our creed is so much opposed by Satan as that of the forgiveness of sin by Christ’s merits, which is the very soul of a church and the life of a good soul. All the former articles of the creed are perfected in this, and all the following articles are effects of this. Now one main means of settling us in the sound assurance of the pardon of our own debts, is, if we can forgive our debtors. He that can put away all purpose of revenge, and freely forgive his brother, may with boldness ask and expect forgiveness at God’s hands. For mercy rejoiceth against judgment, Jas 2:13 ; and our love to others is but a reflex of God’s love to us. It is a fruit of justifying faith, Luk 17:4-5 . It is also a sweet seal of our election, Col 3:12-13 , and an effectual expression of our thankfulness. For hereby our unrighteousness shall commend the righteousness of God, Rom 3:5 , both in respect of his admirable goodness in pardoning so great sins, and our thankful acknowledging of that grace in walking worthy of it.
Now if any ask, why the petition for pardon of sin is set after that for daily bread? It is answered,
1. In the four former petitions we pray for good things, in the two latter we pray against evil.
2. Our Saviour condescends herein to our infirmity, who can sooner trust God for pardon than provision, for a crown than a crust.
3. That by an argument from the less to the greater we may the more boldly beg spirituals.
a , 1Jn 2:2 . Exo 25:17 . , Sept. Tectorium, operculum, Psa 32:1-2 .
b Bullinger, cont. Anabapt. lib. i. cap. 1.
Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)
12. . ] i.e. sins, short-comings, and therefore ‘debts’ = , Mat 6:14 . Augustine remarks (contra Epist. Parmeniani, l. ii. c. 10 (20), vol. ix.): ‘Quod utique non de illis peccatis dicitur qu in baptismi regeneratione dimissa sunt, sed de iis qu quotidie de seculi amarissimis fructibus human vit infirmitas contrahit.’
] Not ‘ for we also,’ &c. (as in Luke, .) nor ‘ in the same measure as we also,’ &c. but like as ( quippe ; not exactly nam , cf. Klotz ad Devar. p. 766. Hartung, Partikellehre, i. p. 460) we also, &c.; implying similarity in the two actions, of kind, but no comparison of degree. See especially the first ref., where manifestly while the kind of act was the same, the degrees were widely different.
‘Augustine uses the testimony of this prayer against all proud Pelagian notions of an absolutely sinless state in this life’ (Trench); and answers the various excuses and evasions by which that sect escaped from the conclusion.
here implies that (see ch. Mat 5:23-24 ) the act of forgiveness of others is completed before we approach the throne of grace.
Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament
Mat 6:12 . Fifth petition . , in classics literal debts, here moral debts, sins ( in Luk 11:4 ). The more men desire God’s will to be done the more conscious they are of shortcoming. The more conscious of personal shortcoming, the more indulgent towards the faults of others even when committed against themselves. Hence the added words: . , etc. It is natural and comforting to the sincere soul to put the two things together. must be taken very generally. The prayer proceeds from child-like hearts, not from men trained in the distinctions of theology. The comment appended in Mat 6:14-15 introduces an element of reflection difficult to reconcile with the spontaneity of the prayer. It is probably imported from another connection, e.g. , Mat 18:35 (so Weiss-Meyer).
Fuente: The Expositors Greek Testament by Robertson
our debts. Sin is so called because failure in the obligation involves expiation and satisfaction.
we = we also = that is only what we mortals do. “We” is thus emphatic (“also” is ignored by the Authorized Version)
forgive. All editions read “have forgiven”. That prayer and plea was suited for that dispensation of the kingdom, but is reversed in this present dispensation. See Eph 4:32. Then, forgiveness was conditioned; now, we forgive because we have been forgiven on account of Christ’s merits.
Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics
12. .] i.e. sins, short-comings, and therefore debts = , Mat 6:14. Augustine remarks (contra Epist. Parmeniani, l. ii. c. 10 (20), vol. ix.): Quod utique non de illis peccatis dicitur qu in baptismi regeneratione dimissa sunt, sed de iis qu quotidie de seculi amarissimis fructibus human vit infirmitas contrahit.
] Not for we also, &c. (as in Luke, .) nor in the same measure as we also, &c. but like as (quippe; not exactly nam, cf. Klotz ad Devar. p. 766. Hartung, Partikellehre, i. p. 460) we also, &c.; implying similarity in the two actions, of kind, but no comparison of degree. See especially the first ref., where manifestly while the kind of act was the same, the degrees were widely different.
Augustine uses the testimony of this prayer against all proud Pelagian notions of an absolutely sinless state in this life (Trench); and answers the various excuses and evasions by which that sect escaped from the conclusion.
here implies that (see ch. Mat 5:23-24) the act of forgiveness of others is completed before we approach the throne of grace.
Fuente: The Greek Testament
Mat 6:12. , and) The three remaining petitions regard the commencement, progress and conclusion of our spiritual life in this world; and those who utter them confess, not only their own need, but also their guilt, their peril, and their difficulties. When these have been removed, God is all in all to them, by virtue of the three first petitions.-, debts) In Mat 6:14 we find , lapses. In Luk 11:4, we have , sins. Cf. Mat 18:24.[263]-, as) Before it was AS in heaven, SO on earth, now it is SO in heaven AS on earth.
[263] We ought not merely in general to pray for deliverance from guilt contracted by our sins; but whoever offends God in this or any other peculiar manner, is bound also specially to acknowledge and pray for deliverance from such offences, and so to give Him the honour due to Him.-V. g.
Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament
we forgive our debtors
This is legal ground. Cf. Eph 4:32 which is grace. Under law forgiveness is conditioned upon a like spirit in us; under grace we are forgiven for Christ’s sake, and exhorted to forgive because we have been forgiven.; Mat 18:32; Mat 26:28. (See Scofield “Mat 26:28”).
For Another Point of View: See Topic 301235
debts sin
(See Scofield “Rom 3:23”).
Fuente: Scofield Reference Bible Notes
forgive: Exo 34:7, 1Ki 8:30, 1Ki 8:34, 1Ki 8:39, 1Ki 8:50, Psa 32:1, Psa 130:4, Isa 1:18, Dan 9:19, Act 13:38, Eph 1:7, 1Jo 1:7-9
debts: Mat 18:21-27, Mat 18:34, Luk 7:40-48, Luk 11:4
as: Mat 6:14, Mat 6:15, Mat 18:21, Mat 18:22, Mat 18:28-35, Neh 5:12, Neh 5:13, Mar 11:25, Mar 11:26, Luk 6:37, Luk 17:3-5, Eph 4:32, Col 3:13
Reciprocal: Gen 50:17 – Forgive Deu 15:2 – exact it 2Ch 6:21 – forgive Neh 10:31 – the exaction Mat 18:29 – Have Mat 18:35 – do Luk 6:30 – and Luk 7:41 – a certain Luk 7:42 – he Luk 13:4 – sinners Luk 17:4 – I repent Joh 13:10 – needeth Phi 4:20 – Amen 1Ti 2:8 – without
Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
FORGIVENESS FOR THE FORGIVING
Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:12
It is with the precious promises of Gods Word before us, and with all the bitter remembrance of our shortcomings behind us, that our Lord bids us bend daily before our gracious Father in heaven, and say in penitence and humility, in love, trust, and hope, Forgive us our debts.
I. We are forgiven.
(a) Not cheaply, because that would encourage other beings and worlds to rebel and ruin themselves; but,
(b) By the infinite and never-failing love of our all-pitying God, and for the sake of that Divine embodiment of love Who died for us, and rose again, and ever liveth to make intercession for us;
(c) For His Divine, omnipotent sacrifice, which took away the sins of the world, in the face of angels, principalities and powers, and distant worlds, and the wide universe, and things present and things to come;
(d) In order that God may be feared and not defied, that He may be loved and not challenged;
(e) That we may ever be renewed, and in every time of need obtain help from Him that sitteth on the Throne in eternal love.
II. We must forgive.Among conditions of our forgiveness there is one of which we have daily to remind ourselves. In the very act of prayer we are taught to remember it. The temper that does not forgive cannot be forgiven, because it is itself a proof that we have no idea of the debt we owe.
Archdeacon Sinclair.
Illustration
O God, my sins are manifold; sins against my life Thy cry,
And all my guilty deeds foregone up to Thy Temple fly.
Wilt Thou release my trembling soul, that to despair is driven?
Forgive! a blessed voice replied, and thou shalt be forgiven.
My foemen, Lord, are fierce and fell; they spurn me in their pride;
They render evil for my good; my patience they deride.
Arise, my King, and be the proud in righteous ruin driven!
Forgive! the awful answer came, as thou wouldst be forgiven.
Seven times, O Lord, Ive pardoned them; seven times theyve sinned again;
They practise still to work my woe and triumph in my pain;
But let them dread my vengeance now, to just resentment given!
Forgive! the voice in thunder spake, or never be forgiven!
(SECOND OUTLINE)
GODS FORGIVENESS AND MANS RESPONSE
I. All forgiveness springs from Gods love.It is in the sacred Passion that we see so wonderfully how the love of God acts. We may notice it in four particulars:
(a) God in His great love determined to place before us the way of recovery. God seeks us; He sent His Son.
(b) And then He pleads with us. The Lord pleaded with Judas, Peter, and Pilate. He pleaded in silence on the Cross.
(c) And then, again, we see in the Passion the love that forgives us, interceding. Father, forgive them!
(d) And then, once more, we see love suffering. There is the wonderful thingthat God in saving us should suffer!
And what we see our Lord did in his Passion He is doing now. He still seeks. He still pleads. He still intercedes.
II. Mans response.If we are to lay hold of this forgiveness, what is our part? We must respond. The Lord seeks us; we have got to seek Him. He pleads with us by His Holy Spirit. And then, if He intercedes for us, we must be very careful to respond to His love.
III. The spirit of forgiveness.But once more, if we are to lay hold upon forgiveness our Lord tells us that there must really be the spirit of forgiveness in us. If you want to return the love of God, St. John tells us very plainly, you must show love to your brethren. If you would respond to this love of God in forgiveness, it means that you must return as well as you can the love of God. And you cannot do that unless you have enough of the spirit of Christ, which is the spirit of love, to all His creatures. The forgiveness of God seeks. We must be ready to seek those who have injured us, to seek them with a view to reconciliation. We must be ready to plead with them, and we must certainly be ready to pray for them; and we cannot have the spirit of Jesus Christ unless we are ready to suffer for them, to take trouble for them. The forgiveness for which we pray in the Lords Prayer is not a matter of mere feeling. It is a matter of willingness to seek reconciliation.
The Rev. James Vaughan.
Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary
6:12
God does not have to be given an example of righteous performances before He will do it. But if a disciple is unwilling to forgive those indebted to him, the
Lord will not regard him as worthy of such a favor. (See Mat 18:23-35.)
Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary
Mat 6:12. And forgive us our debts, etc. (fifth petition). Debts, undoubtedly, moral obligations unfulfilled, i.e., sins. See Mat 6:14, which requires this sense.
As we have forgiven. As i.e., in the same manner as; not, to the same extent as, nor because. The spirit of forgiveness, which God implants, gives a better assurance of His forgiveness.Our debtors, like debts, is to be taken in the moral sense. We are sinners, always needing forgiveness; forgiveness and readiness to forgive cannot be separated, the latter being the evidence of the former.
Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament
Mat 6:12. And forgive us our debts, &c. The suffering of punishment for transgressing Gods laws is a debt which sinners owe to the divine justice; and when we ask God, in prayer, to forgive our debts, we beg that he would be mercifully pleased to remit the punishment of our sins, particularly the pains of hell; and that, laying aside his displeasure, he would graciously receive us into favour, and bless us with eternal life. In this petition, therefore, we confess our sins, and express the sense we have of their demerit, namely, that they deserve condemnation and wrath from God, than which nothing can be more proper in our addresses to him. The condition on which we are to ask forgiveness is remarkable. Forgive us, as we forgive. We must forgive others in order to our being forgiven ourselves, and are allowed to crave from God only such forgiveness as we grant to others; so that if we do not pardon our enemies, we, in this fifth petition, seriously and solemnly beg God to damn us eternally! Macknight.
Fuente: Joseph Bensons Commentary on the Old and New Testaments
Verse 12
Debts; sins, offences. Cherish towards us, in view of our sins, the same feelings that we cherish towards those who offend us–a fearful prayer to be offered by those who indulge in an unforgiving spirit.