"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors..."

       God wants us to pray for forgiveness. It is one of the most vital prerequisites to successful prayer; when we are repentant over our personal shortcomings, calling out to our heavenly Father for forgiveness, He is eager to listen. David said, "The Eternal is gracious and full of compassion" (Psalms 111: 4). One of God's great qualities is that of mercy.

        What response do we want from our children when they have committed some grievous error? Isn't it deep contrition; genuine remorse? The attitude of broken-hearted repentance is something God almighty loves to see in His children. He says "…to this man will I look, even to him that is poor [Hebrew: "lowly, humble"] and of a contrite spirit, and trembleth at my word" (Isaiah 66:2).

        When Christ said we should pray for forgiveness, He specifically said "debts," or "trespasses," which mean, in a generic sense, sins." And what is sin? "...sin is the transgression of the law" (I John 3:4). Christ magnified the Ten Commandments by His famous "Sermon on the Mount," and by all His teaching, and life's example. He said though murder was a capital crime, carrying the penalty of death by stoning under the letter of the law; hatred in one's heart toward any fellow human being was an equal sin; God counts it murder, and the penalty is death. Christ made the Ten Commandments much more binding, lifting the law to a spiritual plane.

        It is a sin to break even what Christ called the "least" of His teachings. Sin is not a vague something that is "displeasing to God," nor is it a list of taboos concerning personal tastes and life styles, any more than righteousness is turning around three times a second, sprinkling salt over one's left shoulder, and mumbling a mantra while balancing on one leg. "Debts," or "trespasses," are infractions of God's law as magnified by Christ. They are human actions stemming from human attitudes that are disrespectful toward God and harmful to fellow man. Some kinds of sins hurt in three ways: They hurt our relationship with God; they hurt our fellow man, and they hurt us as a natural consequence.

        God's laws are established for the good of mankind. They are not negative; rather, they are the formula for everything we really want; physical well-being, happiness, success, a long life!

        When we break God's laws, we incur a double penalty. "The wages of sin is death" (Romans 6:23). The death which is the penalty for sin is not the event which happens to us all, good or bad. God says, "And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment" (Hebrews 9:27). Death is natural. It is the one great event common to all human beings, but this first death is not the penalty for sin. Yet, the Bible says the wages of sin is death. What is the answer?

        Christ said, "Verily, verily I say unto you, he that heareth my word, and believeth on Him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life ... the hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live.

        "For as the Father hath life in Himself; so hath He given to the Son to have life in Himself; and hath given Him authority to execute judgment also, because He is the Son of man. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear His voice, and shall come forth: they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation" (John 5:24-29). The Greek word for "damnation" is better rendered "judgment."

        The resurrection from the dead is one of the most clearly and oftstated doctrines of God's Word. The entire 15th chapter of I Corinthians deals with this important subject. Notice only a few excerpts: "Now if Christ be preached that He rose from the dead, how say some among you that there is no resurrection of the dead? But if there be no resurrection of the dead, then is Christ not risen: and if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: Whom He raised not up if so be that the dead rise not ... but now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept ... even so in Christ shall all be made alive.

        "But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at His coming (I Corinthians 15:12-23). Toward the end of this chapter, Paul says, "Now this I say brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; we shall not all sleep [die the first death], but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed" (I Corinthians 15:50-52).

        The Bible says those who are the "dead in Christ" will rise to meet Christ at His coming, and shall reign with Him in His glorious Kingdom for 1,000 years. Notice: "And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgement was given unto them; ... and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. "

        But what about those who are non-Christian when they die? What about the third world countries: the billions of human beings in the Soviet Union, China, Southeast Asia, Africa, who have never heard the name of Jesus Christ? God's Word says, "But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished" (Revelation 20:4-5).

        The wages of sin is not the "first death" which happens naturally to every human being, including the finest people who have ever lived. No, the final payout for sin is described in the latter part of Revelation 20: "And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God: and the books were opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life, and the dead were judged out of those things written in the books, according to their works.

        "And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell [Greek: hades, meaning the grave] delivered up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to their works. And death and hell [hades] were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death" (Revelation 20:12-15).

        The answer is, God Almighty has decreed there is coming a resurrection from the dead, both for the just and the unjust. The first resurrection we have seen described takes place at the second coming of Christ, and is the resurrection of the "dead in Christ." Christ said, "Ye shall see Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the Kingdom of God, and ye yourselves cast out" to those who plotted His murder. The second resurrection takes place at the end of the millennial reign of Christ, and is a great, general resurrection of all who have never heard the name of Christ; who have never had opportunity for salvation.

        The metaphor, "death and the grave are cast into the lake of fire, is grim warning of the final fate awaiting those who will not to repent; who remain incorrigibly contrary to God's will, His purpose in their lives, His holy laws.

        It is given to all men once to die, but this is not the penalty for sin, per se. Though one may die as a direct result of sin (as murder, or suicide), the penalty for the perpetrator is not this first, physical death. The penalty for sins not repented of is death for all eternity, a most horrible death, final destruction in a lake of fire.

        Notice the dead are said to be judged out of things "written in the books." The Greek word for "books" is biblos and, transliterated, means "Bible." How are we, this living generation, judged? God says, "The time is come that judgement must begin at the house of God: and if it first begin with us, what shall be the end of them that obey not the gospel of God?" (I Peter 4:17). We are judged today according to the standard of God's written Word. God will not change His method of judgment. He says He is the "same yesterday, and today, and forever" (Hebrews 13:8) and "I change not... " (Malachi 3:6).

        Remember, judgment is not synonymous with "sentencing." The childhood picture we were given was as if there is some mysterious book, probably kept by angels, which contains every evil deed we have done; that, when we face "St. Peter at the pearly gates," angels consult this terrible record of all our personal sins, and it is decided whether we "go up, or go down" to heaven or to hell. Not so. The Bible says Christians are judged over the period of their entire lives by those things written in the Biblos, meaning the Bible, the written standard of God. God does not change His method of judgment. Those coming up in the great, general resurrection will also be judged from the Bible, just as we are being judged today.

        Furthermore, since Christ tells us to pray for forgiveness on a daily basis, that means we can have a daily "clean sheet" so far as any record of evil deeds is concerned! What is that worth to us? Of what value is it to know that Jesus Christ, as our Intercessor, sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven to make daily intercession on our behalf, turning to His Father and saying words to this effect: "Father, I understand that person; I understand those temptations, those sins—I ask you to forgive that person. " God says, "For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true [as the tabernacle in the wilderness], but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us" (Hebrews 9:24).

        If you have little confidence in your own prayers, how much confidence can you place in the prayers of Christ Himself.? He said, "Neither pray I for these alone [His disciples], but them also which shall believe on me through their word" (John 17:20). Jesus Christ is our personal Emissary in heaven; our own personal High Priest. He is there to make daily intercession on our behalf, if we will only call out to God the Father in His name. No wonder Christ wants us to repent of sin! Can any man, no matter now impassioned, no matter how eloquent, accurately portray for us the awful consequences of unrepentance, or portray for us the breathtaking splendor of God's Kingdom as an opposite reward? our personal shortcomings and sins are the most important obstacle to successful prayer! God says, "Behold, the Eternal's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither His ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities [sins] have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear. For your hands are defiled with blood, and your fingers with iniquity; your lips have spoken lies, your tongue hath muttered perverseness. None calleth for justice, nor any. pleadeth for truth: they trust in vanity, and speak lies; they conceive mischief, and bring forth iniquity (Isaiah 59:1-4).

        God wants us to come to Him in a continual attitude of contrition for our human failings, always cognizant of our sins. John, writing to Christians, said, "If we [we, who are Christians] say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us" (I John 1:8-10).

        When we pray…. "and forgive us our debts [sins], as we forgive our debtors,' we are automatically acknowledging the conditions God has imposed on our own forgiveness.' What are those conditions?

        Peter asked, " 'Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Till seven times?' Jesus saith unto him, 'I say not unto thee until seven times: but, until seventy times seven! ' " (Matthew 18:21-22). Christ immediately followed this rejoinder with a parable about forgiveness; how a king forgave a huge debt to a man, who, now relieved of his debt, discovered a friend who owed him money, and promptly had him jailed because he couldn't pay. The result was that the king discovered the matter, and threw the first debtor into the dungeon. Christ concluded, "So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother's trespasses" (Matthew 18:23-35).

        When Christ gave His outline for prayer we call "The Lord's Prayer," He said, "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will forgive your trespasses" (Matthew 6:14).

        That's pretty plain. When we forgive, God hears our prayers for forgiveness. If we harbor resentments, grudges, spites, petty hatreds, remembrances of carnal human hostilities between ourselves and any other fellow human being, it cancels out our prayers as surely as pulling the plug to our lamp. God simply does not hear us if we have the slightest resentment in our hearts, the slightest lack of forgiveness toward fellow man. The bulk of the lesson of the Sermon on the Mount, in which we find Christ's outline for prayer, is taken up with the same subject.

        Christ said, "Judge not [condemn not] that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, 'Let me pull out the mote of thine eye:' and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote of thy brother's eye" (Matthew 7:1-5).

        "Mote-casting" is a favorite pastime of many Christians. Somehow, we delight in gossiping about the frailties, mistakes, inadequacies, faults, poor taste, or lack of social graces we see in our own friends and neighbors. We tend to see with the sharpness of an eagle's piercing vision the tiniest infractions committed by others. Yet, we tend to be blind to the same things in ourselves. It is this peculiarly carnal, human tendency to criticize our neighbor that God wants rooted out of our character. What if God were spiteful, petty, vindictive? None of us would be alive! But no, He is generous, kind, good, longsuffering, patient, tolerant, eager to forgive. If we are to be inducted into God's own family, He wants us to be like He is!

        Jesus Christ wants above all things for us to repent of our sins. He tells us to pray for forgiveness on a daily basis, for He knows we can only live life "one day at a time." Even as He tells us to ask for our physical sustenance; protection from sickness, accident and disease on a daily basis, so He encourages us to remain in a daily state of contrition toward God.

        We all know the biggest little word in the English language: "if. Christ tells us we will be forgiven IF we are willing to forgive others. The key is in the phrase, "And forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors!"

        Peter said the three-fold key to salvation is, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). Jesus said, "Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand," and, "Repent ye, and believe the gospel."

        David was a man after God's own heart because He was repentant when he had sinned. Motion pictures have depicted David's affair with Bathsheba; his calloused decision to send her husband, Uriah, to the front lines in an impending battle, sure to result in his death. A child was engendered as a result of his adultery, and God allowed the child to die. When God caused David to see clearly his great sins, adultery compounded by murder, David cried out in anguish of soul.

        The 51st Psalm has come down to us as an example of repentance. David cried, "Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Thy loving kindness: ... wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned and done this evil in thy sight: ... purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow ... hide thy face from my sins, and blot out mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me" (Psalm 51:1-10).

        This entire Psalm should be read by any of us who seek God's forgiveness, for it is a moving example of a truly repentant man, who had to come face to face with his own monstrous guilt, whose sins had so sickened him he felt self revulsion, anguish of heart over them, who cried out to God for forgiveness. No wonder God said David was a "man after God's own heart. " God shows us He loves to see contrition in His children, even as we want repentance in our own child. We don't punish to exact vengeance. We don't punish, or take away privileges from children to "get even. " No, we are so solicitous of their welfare, we want the most salubrious possible result of necessary constraints—heartfelt contrition!

        The apostle Paul was a man of great hatreds prior to his conversion. Armed with letters of authority from the chief priests, he was on a mission of hate, compelling Christians to blaspheme the name of God under torture. He was seeking to stamp out the new Christian religion through force of arms. Yet, when on the road to Damascus, he was suddenly stricken by a heavenly light; heard a thunderous voice saying, "Saul! Saul! Why are you persecuting me?" Blinded, he could only grope for someone to assist him. God sent one of His servants, Ananias, to lay hands on him and say, "Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus that appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. And immediately there fell from his eyes as it had been scales: and he received sight forthwith, and arose, and was baptized ... and straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that He is the Son of God. But all that heard him were amazed, and said; is not this he that destroyed them which called on His name in Jerusalem, and came hither for the intent, that he might bring them bound unto the chief priests? But Saul increased the more in strength, and confounded the Jews which dwelt at Damascus, proving that this is very Christ" (Acts 9:17-21).

        Paul, as he came to be named, became one of the most dedicated, humble, hard-working Christians of whom we have record. He was used to write fourteen books of the Bible. But never once during his ministry did Paul forget who he had been, what he had done; he said, "And I punished them oft in every synagogue, and compelled them to blaspheme" (Acts 26: 11), and cried out, "For I am the least of the apostles, that I am not meet to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God" (I Corinthians 15:9).

        Paul never became forgetful of his old sins, even though he knew he had God's forgiveness. He was a beautiful example of one who, though forgiven, never became intolerant of other men's sins. He wrote, "For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. For that which I do I allow not: for what I would, that do I not; but what I hate, that I do ... now it is no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. For I know that in me, that is, in my flesh, dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good, I find not. O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from the body of this death?" (Romans 7:14-24).

        Paul wrote, "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, Who hath enabled me, for that He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry; who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.

        "This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief. Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting" (I Timothy 1: 12-16).

        Jesus Christ of Nazareth died to save each one of us. Paul knew his own life's work was set forth as an example of Christ's love and mercy; that we, today, can come to understand the depths of God's forgiveness. We, you and I, are among those "which should hereafter believe on Him to life everlasting."

        We know, then, that God only forgives us as we forgive others. We also know He won't hear us if we have a spirit of lack of forgiveness, or if our own sins have canceled out all communication with God.

        How to receive an answer to prayer? First, repent of our sins; call out to God for forgiveness. Do as Peter said, to those who had been so stricken by what He said about Christ on the Day of Pentecost, "Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38). When you repent, go to God feeling deeply, with the clearest possible introspection, a genuine emotion of self-disgust, self-revulsion over what you have done, what you have become! A part of what we have been, as carnal human beings, is vindictive, spiteful, short-tempered; desiring vengeance! These motives are prominent among those of which we must repent. Once we have repented, then forgive! Forgive others from the heart, even as you want God to forgive you! Forgive!

        Think of a few people you know—family members, business associates. Do you know anyone against whom you have certain hard feelings; old grudges, resentments, hostility? If so, get on your knees and ask God to help you come to an attitude of love and forgiveness toward them. Are you easily irritated? Do people make you angry in crowds, in restaurants, lanes of traffic, the check-out line in the supermarket? Are you easily tempted to sneer at the foibles of others.

        Take a few moments to think introspectively about the kind of person you are. Do you tend to overlook the faults of others? Are you tolerant, not easily angered? Do you encourage those who make mistakes, such as your own children, or do you tend to criticize, saying, "You stupid child! Look what you have done! What am I going to do with you?" When you should have said, "That's all right darling, I'll help you clean it up, and then I'll show you how not to make the same mistake next time!"

        Can you honestly say you don't hold anything against anyone? If so, you can go to your private place of prayer and pray in confidence, asking God to forgive you this day for your daily infractions against His perfect will; "as I am willing to forgive others," and really mean it!

        Remember, prayer is a time for secrets! You can confess things to God that cause the most bitter anguish of soul. He will keep your secrets. After all, He saw you when you committed that particular sin anyway—God, Christ, and several million angels—and they've never told anyone about them yet, have they? God knows our every act, hears our words, knows the thoughts of our hearts. So when you pray for forgiveness, get specific! At the same time, get specific about your forgiveness toward others. When you think about Mary, George, Helen, or John, think of specific things that might have irritated you; realize they are people made in God's image just like you are; think of them as God does. Remember, Christ said He came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. Paul wrote, "But God commendeth His love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us" (Romans 5:8).

        If God has loved us at our worst; allowed His own Son to die for our sins, what right have we to harbor feelings of anger toward any other human being?

        When Jesus spoke of forgiving one's brother, He likened it to bringing a gift to the temple. He said, "Therefore if thou bring thy gift before the altar, and there rememberest that thy brother hath ought against thee; leave there thy gift before the altar, and go thy way; first be reconciled to thy brother, and then come and offer thy gift" (Matthew 5:23-24).

        Do you sincerely want to receive an answer to prayer? Then do as Jesus Christ says, "Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven" (Luke 6:37).

        Want to make a new start, a new beginning? Then get in touch by letter, telephone, or in person with someone you love, but against whom you have had some bad feelings. Tell them you want to apologize. Tell them you've been wrong to be unforgiving. Ask them to forgive you; you'll be surprised how quickly old wounds will heal! Then, go to God on your knees and ask Him for forgiveness as part of your prayer requests. God can't turn away from His own children when they come in that attitude. He says so!