Asking for Forgiveness

Here’s my take on it.

“He saved us” (Titus 3:5) and “forgiven us all trespasses” (Colossians 2:13).  It is in the past tense, Jesus said, “It is finished!” (John 19:30), so it is done and over unless you want to call Him a liar.  So, not only are past sins forgiven, present and future sin as well, we don’t have to do anything else, any more work, and He doesn’t have to die again for us to be really saved.  We can’t do anything anyway, because it is “not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us.” (Titus 3:5)

Why then does the Lord’s prayer do we ask for forgiveness of our debts?  I think it’s not what you should pray and ask for, it a reminder.  First, we are to pray “in this manner” (Matthew 6:9), not pray this exactly, so they’re things we should have in mind when we’re praying.

• “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” (Matthew 6:9) He is our maker, the creator of heaven and earth, blessed is His name.
• “Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10)  We are looking forward to His second coming and always to watch for Him.  We are to decrease and He increase, His will be done, not ours.
• “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)  We are to forgive others who have hurt or offended us, because He has forgiven us and He has forgiven them.
• “And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.  For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.” (Matthew 6:13)  We can not fight evil or our fleshly temptations on our own, we need to ask Him to do it in us and for us.  He is the everlasting almighty God.

To expand on the forgiveness part, He is not saying we have to ask for forgiveness every time we pray.  He is also not saying that we have to forgive others in order for us to be forgiven.  He is saying that we have been forgiven and He has forgiven our debtors, so we should forgive them as well, lest we put ourselves above Jesus.

1 Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. 4 But when the kindness and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, 5 not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, 6 whom He poured out on us abundantly through Jesus Christ our Savior, 7 that having been justified by His grace we should become heirs according to the hope of eternal life. 8 This is a faithful saying, and these things I want you to affirm constantly, that those who have believed in God should be careful to maintain good works. These things are good and profitable to men. (Titus 3)

We have to “affirm constantly” (Titus 3:8) that the Lord by His mercy and His grace has saved us and forgiven us and through Him, by His grace, we should forgive others.