Forgive Us Our Debts

[Read Matthew 6:9-13]

There’s a lot of talk about debt these days, isn’t there? There’s been a ton of conversation for the past decade about the amount of debt we’re going into as a nation—I think we’re around 24 trillion dollars right now. People are wondering how in the world we’ll ever get out from under that debt. But we’re also hearing about how debt is affecting the average person in our country. I’m regularly hearing stories about how debt is crushing many in our country. People are trying to figure out how to get themselves out from under massive amounts of debt. It’s been accumulated over the years, then inflation hits and things get really difficult and they’re trying to figure out how to make ends meet while also paying off their debt. People feel trapped, don’t they? They’ve accumulated debt, they know the debt needs to be paid, but they have absolutely no idea how they are going to pay off that debt. So, they feel trapped, crushed, and often hopeless. 

There’s this parable that Jesus tells about a similar situation. He says, “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.” (Matthew 18:23–25, ESV). In order to understand this picture, it’s important to understand these numbers a little bit, because I assume that a “talent” means nothing to many of you. However, if you look in your bible, you will probably find a little note that tells you that a talent is worth about twenty years’ wages for a laborer. That’s a lot of money. We’re talking about two hundred thousand years’ worth of wages. That’s how much this man owed the king. It’s a completely unpayable debt. There’s no way anyone could ever pay off a 200,000-year debt in a lifetime. That’s over 2000 lifetimes. So, this guy was trapped. He had really gotten himself in a difficult spot and had no way to get out of it. And, as a result, he was going to lose everything he had—including his wife and children. I’m sure he felt trapped, crushed, and most likely hopeless. 

Now, we don’t like to admit this or think about it very often, but this is a picture of every single one of us. We’re this servant who had put himself in a difficult spot and racked up debt beyond anything we could ever pay in over 2000 lifetimes. Yet, I’m not talking about financial debt, I’m talking about spiritual and moral debt. We were born in this spiritual and moral debt and we have continued to rack up that debt every, single day of our lives. It builds up to the point where we can feel trapped, crushed, and hopeless. 

The Apostle Paul teaches us this understanding when he says, “For the wages of sin is death…” (Romans 6:23, ESV). It’s important to clearly understand this passage. It says that every time we sin, we earn death. We have to make sure that is clearly implanted in our minds. When we sin, we earn death. It’s not just “kinda bad” when we sin—or something a little naughty. Every sin earns us death.

Yet, we’re still here, aren’t we? All of us have sinned and yet none of us are dead, why? How can that be if sin earns us death? It’s because of God’s grace and mercy. In God’s grace, he is lending you mercy—he’s not giving you what you deserve. Yet, every time you sin and don’t die, that sin is credited to your account. It’s like swiping a credit card over and over and over and over again—death, death, death, death. That balance keeps getting higher and higher until it will take over 2000 lifetimes to pay it off. It’s impossible to pay it off. Yet, that debt will eventually need to be paid. There’s no getting out of it. Eventually, the king will call that debt and you will have to stand before him. That’s why people feel trapped, crushed, and hopeless. 

Yet, people can’t actually continually live like this. So, we typically respond to this situation in one of two ways. We either try to ignore the debt and pretend it doesn’t exist OR we try to pay it off ourselves. 

I see a lot of people trying to ignore the debt, pretending it doesn’t exist. They will say things like, “I’m not that bad. I’m just as good or better than most people. Sure, I do a few bad things, every once in a while, but it’s not like I’ve murdered anybody. I’m a good person.” So, we try to downplay the sin in our lives, pretending like it’s not a big deal, and we pretend like none of these things bother us because “it’s not that bad” or “it’s not that big of a deal.” Yet, eventually, it hits us. You can’t ignore it forever. Eventually, you will have to come face to face with the sin in your life, and the debt you’ve racked up over a lifetime and you will realize the situation you’re in, and it’ll hit you like a Mac truck.

The other problem with ignoring it and pretending like it’s not there is that God has told you that you are a sinner AND that every sin deserves death. That’s why we read in 1 John, “If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10, ESV). So, to pretend like we’re not that bad, or that we’re good people, is to call God who created us a liar.

The other response isn’t any better. Once people come face to face with their sinfulness and the massive debt they’ve piled up over the years—when they can’t ignore it anymore—then they try to pay the debt themselves. Even if they know they can’t possibly pay off this massive debt, they think to themselves, “Well, I have to pay some of it off…” So, they go into the world trying to “do good things.” They try to do more good things than bad things, hoping that they are making more money than they are taking on debt. So, they work and work and work and work, trying with all of their heart, soul, mind, and strength to pay off some of that debt and make themselves feel good. 

Do you know another way that people try to pay off this debt—one that isn’t talked about often enough? People try to pay this debt by beating themselves up. I mean, why else would you continually beat yourself up after making a poor decision? Does it make the poor decision go away? Does it help make things right? Not really. But we beat ourselves up because, in some way, we think we’re paying off the debt we just created. We think to ourselves, “If I can make myself feel as bad as I made that person feel, maybe I can make up for that bad thing I just did.” You’re trying to pay off that debt by beating yourself up. 

Here’s what’s crazy about both these methods. First, even if these things were beginning to “pay off your debt”—even if good works and beating yourself up helped to pay off your debt—you would only be able to earn back about maybe .5% of that debt. That’s assuming that you did everything perfectly over an entire lifetime, only adding up the best things, and never sinning and taking on any additional debt. Even if you did that over an entire lifetime, you could maybe earn back about .5% of that debt. It’s impossible. 

But, here’s the part that makes things worse. Neither of those methods actually helps you pay off that debt. They actually take you further into debt. Trying to pay off your debt in your own strength apart from faith is a sin—which means it is taking you further into debt. Trying to atone for your sins by beating yourself up and making yourself feel bad is the opposite of faith and trust, which means it is a sin—which means it’s taking you further into debt. You can’t get yourself out of this mess. It’s piling up every day—death, death, death, death—and there’s nothing you can do about it. 

Except to pray this prayer: “Forgive us our debts…” (Matthew 6:12, ESV). That’s the only way because the debt needs to be paid and there’s absolutely no way that you’re going to pay the debt. The only one who can pay the debt for you is Jesus Christ—and he can pay it through his life, death, and resurrection. So, you need to turn to him and seek his forgiveness of your debt. Don’t come to him and say, “I’m a pretty good person and I’ve done a lot of good things, I think I deserve to have my debt forgiven.” No. You come to him and say, “I’ve messed up big time. I’ve sinned over and over and over again. I’ve racked up so much debt that I could never pay it off and it’s crushing me. You’re the only one who can do anything about it. You’re the only one who can pay my debt and set me free. Please, forgive me my debt.” And then we read this beautiful passage, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9, ESV). If we come to him and confess our sins and seek forgiveness in true faith, he will do it. 

Part of confession and true faith is also repentance. There’s this passage in 1 Chronicles that says, “if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14, ESV). When we come to God and confess our sins, we also have to come with a heart of repentance—a heart that is turning away from our wicked ways. That is when he will forgive our sins and cancel our debts. 

This is important because we do not come to Jesus with an attitude that says, “Jesus, I’ve piled up this large load of debt and it’s crushing me. I need you to forgive it so that I can keep on piling up debt that is going to crush me even more.” We don’t come to Jesus seeking forgiveness so that we can keep on sinning. That’s foolishness and it’s not true faith. True faith wants to be set free from our sin and debt. True faith is turning away from the things that put us in debt in the first place. Now, of course, we know that we will continue to fall short and sin—that’s not the point I’m making here. The point is that we seek forgiveness to be set free from our sin and debt NOT so that we can continue to sin and put ourselves in debt—that’s not true faith and it won’t save you. True faith is seeking to be forgiven by Jesus so that you can be freed from your sin and debt and continually freed as you live your life following him. 

That’s why we’re told to pray this every, single day. There’s a lot of confusion about this. Some people think we have to pray this every day because if we don’t ask for a sin to be forgiven, it’s not forgiven. That’s not right. Jesus paid it all. The debt’s been paid in full—past, present, and future. So, that makes other people wonder why we need to pray this every day if Jesus has already paid the debt. Shouldn’t we only have to pray this once, and then we’re good after that? The quick answer to that question is that Jesus told us to pray this every day, so we should pray it every day—not just once. However, many people wonder why.

There are a bunch of ways to answer this question. I could answer it in a similar way to my last sermon: it helps keep us in communion/relationship without God. That’s true and I think that’s a good reason. But I also think it’s a natural overflow of a true faith that longs to be free from sin. If you truly want to be free from sin, and then you mess up and sin, what is your natural response, “Sorry. I did it again. I didn’t want to do it. Forgive me and help me, please.” Now, you’re not doing that to have that particular sin paid for again, but you’re bummed because you messed up again and you want to acknowledge that to the one who paid your debt and forgave you. It’s just the natural overflow from a true faith to continue presenting your sin before Jesus, seeking forgiveness. 

It also forms and shapes our lives in powerful ways. When you take the time every single day—or multiple times throughout the day—to stop and acknowledge that you’re a sinner who needs to be forgiven, it takes away any opportunity for self-righteousness and self-justifying, and self-deception. You can’t be continually confessing your sin and still think that you’re the best of all people. You can’t be continually confessing your sin and pretend like you are still a pretty good person who doesn’t sin very often. It’s impossible. So, by continually coming to God in prayer—at least daily—saying, “Forgive us our debts…” we are being shaped and molded to see ourselves accurately—as sinners in need of a Savior. We’re also combating the sin of pride and self-righteousness. I think much of the self-righteousness that has crept into the church over the years may be a result of people not actually confessing and repenting of their sins regularly. It’s a continual reminder that we haven’t arrived and have a long way to go. 

There’s another benefit that comes with praying this daily—one that seems counterintuitive in our current culture. When we are continually confessing and repenting and seeking forgiveness for our sins, we’re continually reminded that we’re sinners who sin a lot. Now, for many people, they think that is a bad thing. Many think we shouldn’t talk like this because it’s going to make people feel bad about themselves. Yet, here’s what Jesus said, “Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little loves little.” And he said to her, “Your sins are forgiven.” (Luke 7:47–48, ESV). If you think you’re a pretty good person, who doesn’t need to be forgiven for much, then you won’t love God very much either. However, if you recognize the fullness of your sin, how deeply sinful you are and continue to be, and you recognize that truth daily—or more than daily—then you will recognize how much debt you’ve piled up AND how much debt has been forgiven for you and then you will love God even more. You’ll be amazed that he forgave someone like you and you’ll love him more and serve him more—not trying to pay off the debt, but because you love the one who paid your debt. 

This is why we Christians need to stop pretending like we’re perfect, pretending like they don’t mess up. We don’t need to do that kinda stuff—and actually, it hurts our love for God. We shouldn’t even try to minimize our mistakes and failures—pretending like they’re “no big deal”—because that will also hurt our love for God. Instead, we should see our mistakes and failures accurately, even share them accurately with the world, and then remember that we have a God so gracious and merciful that he forgave even that tremendous debt—and tell the world that he can forgive their tremendous debt too. There’s a massive lukewarmness that has come across the American church over the last few decades. The vast majority of the church is pretty apathetic and lethargic and doesn’t care much about their faith or their God. I think it’s because we haven’t taken our sin seriously enough to realize how MASSIVE  a debt has been paid for us by Jesus Christ. If we truly realized how large a debt was paid by Jesus Christ, we would give our lives to him—not to pay the debt ourselves—but simply to follow and serve the one we love. 

That leads to the next portion of this verse—a portion that is even harder and more convicting for many of us. Because Jesus didn’t just tell us to pray for forgiveness every day, he told us to pray daily, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12, ESV). This isn’t saying that we are seeking forgiveness from the Father in the same way that we forgive other people—meaning that if we don’t forgive other people, we will not be forgiven OR if we forgive other people poorly, we will be forgiven poorly. That’s not what this is saying. Again, this is talking about true faith—a faith that forgives as they have been forgiven. I think John Stott says it well when he says, “It is rather that God forgives only the penitent and that one of the chief evidences of true penitence is a forgiving spirit.” (Stott, 149). If you are truly seeking to be freed and forgiven of your sin, one of the chief marks of that true faith is that you will also forgive as you have been forgiven. 

That’s the rest of the parable we began with. After the king forgives the 200,000-year debt of the servant, we read this, “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 18:28–35, ESV). This man owed 110 denarii—110 days wages—just under fourth month’s wages. How in the world can someone who has just been forgiven 200,000 years’ wages not forgive someone a few months’ wages? It shows that the man kinda thought he deserved to be forgiven for the debt and he didn’t think the other person deserved that forgiveness. He thought he was better than the other man even though his debt was significantly larger. 

It’s crazy, but we do it all the time. Someone does something so small to us—often even just gives us a nasty look—and we refuse to forgive them for that small thing. Why? What could possibly cause us to think that could not be forgiven? The only possible explanation is that we don’t actually realize the depths of our own sin and the amount we’ve been forgiven. That’s the only way we could hold the ridiculous grudges we do and refuse forgiveness the way we do. Ultimately we think we deserve to have our sins forgiven—our massive debt paid—but that person doesn’t. 

And the reality is if you think you deserve to have your sins forgiven, they’re not forgiven because that’s not a true faith. True faith comes to Jesus Christ saying, “I don’t deserve anything. I’ve messed up over and over and over again. I’ve done nothing but messed everything up since the day I was born. I need you. I need you to forgive me. I need you to cleanse me. I need you to strengthen me to follow you and live the life you’ve called me to live.” That’s true faith. And someone who truly believes that deep down in their heart—someone with that true faith—will naturally forgive the much smaller sins of the people around them.

Now, if you’re here this morning and you’re realizing that you’re the type of person who doesn’t forgive people when they wrong you, and you’re beginning to question whether the faith you thought you had is actually real, don’t sit there and beat yourself up. Don’t sit there and commit yourself to trying harder when you leave here. Neither of those things will take care of your sin. The only proper response is to come before Jesus right now, confess and repent for your sin, and pray, “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12, ESV) and he will do it.