Luke 11:4

SIN AND ITS FORGIVENESS

‘And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.’

Luke 11:4

Sin is universal. It is everywhere. Nor does it confine itself to any particular age of mankind. It is this sinfulness which runs through all our acts except those which are done by the help of God’s Holy Spirit, which renders our condition so deplorable.

I. Sin hath separated us from God.—Betwixt Him and us there is a great gulf; our wills are not the same; we do not naturally love what He loves, and hate what He hates; we have lost by Adam’s transgression our union with God, we have lost our life in Him.

II. Sin must be punished.—God cannot forgive sin except through our Lord Jesus Christ, Who bore the punishment instead.

III. To get rid of sin there must be on our part:—

(a) Repentance;

(b) Amendment of life;

(c) We must be ready to forgive others.

Illustration

‘Let the expression, “forgive us our sins,” be carefully noted. It provides an answer to those who say that the believer ought never to ask for pardon of sins. One text like this is worth a hundred arguments. The Lord Jesus bids us do it, and therefore it ought to be done. The justification of every believer, no doubt, is a finished and perfect work, and one admitting of no degrees, no increase and no diminution. The moment a man believes on Christ he is as much justified as St. Paul or John, and cannot be more justified if he lives to the age of Methuselah. But all this is no reason why he should not daily confess his sins, and daily seek fresh application of Christ’s blood to his conscience. In fact, it is the life of faith to do so. The words of our Lord, in another place, are very teaching: “He that is washed needeth not save to wash his feet” (John 13:10). Whitby and Hammond both remark that this expression, “Indebted to us,” has a sense much stronger than it appears, at first sight, to bear. Hammond says that in the Syriac language, which our Lord very probably spoke, a sinner is called “a debtor.” Let it not be forgotten that every unforgiving and implacable man, who uses the Lord’s Prayer, is practically praying that his own sin may not be forgiven at all. He is professing a lie.’