Matthew 6:12
. . . and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
Tim Keller said, “Forgiveness always comes at a cost to the one doing the forgiving.” Why? Because to forgive is to release someone from a debt. When we sin–that is, anything we do or fail to do that breaks God’s moral law or fails to honor him–and we do this all the time–we owe God a debt because he is worthy of all obedience and all honor. And this is a debt we can never repay because of the sinful inclination of our hearts. That leaves two options–punishment for our inability to pay or forgiveness of the debt. And God has made a way of forgiveness through Jesus paying our debt at the cross. Colossians 2:14 says that he canceled “the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.” We ask our Heavenly Father for forgiveness, the same Father “who so loved the world that he sent his only Son that whoever believes in him might not perish but have eternal life.” (Jn. 3:16) God made forgiveness freely available to all who believe in Jesus and simply ask. It is freely given, but was not free to him. The cost for our forgiveness was immeasurable, and our debt was paid in full.
I originally wrote this post for my church, Immanuel Nashville, in our Daily Pulse email. If you want encouragement from God’s word delivered Monday thru Friday to your inbox, I encourage you to subscribe.
