But there is a second half to the fifth petition, pertaining not just to God forgiving our debts, but to us forgiving other people their debts. We start on that today. But rather than working directly on our prayer regarding forgiveness of others, we are going to consider the doctrine of forbearance of others. Our Lord teaches us to forbear and to forgive. When one of those two things is left out of our thinking, or when the two are thought of as if they were one, forgiving our debtors, and praying to God about that, can be confusing, and can trouble our conscience unnecessarily. So I speak to you today, from the scriptures not just about forgiveness, but about forbearance and forgiveness. |
