I want to move into a realm of real-life germane to every believer.  A heart issue that will consume you if left undealt with.  This is temptation not to forgive.  In view of an increasingly progressive culture, the sin of unforgiveness must be understood in the context of coming persecution where someone’s livelihood can be threatened.  Realize that “our daily bread” (cf. Matt. 6:11) could quite possibly be withheld by simply standing for Christ, being unwilling to compromise your testimony and conscience.  Standing on biblical principle may be required of you putting your livelihood at risk.  It is here where prayer for pardon comes into play.  

I have been preaching through Matthew 6 on The Lord’s Prayer and talking through Jesus’ path for us to pray.  So, just as we need to pray for our daily provision of bread, we likewise need a daily provision of grace.  In some ways, this request moves from the physical to the spiritual.  The prayer request I want to specifically address is, “…and forgive us out debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (v. 12).  Some translate this word “debt” [otheilnmata] as “trespass” but I believe “debt” is better.  A word used to describe something owed or being under obligation.  Sin, labeled as a “debt” is what makes someone labeled a “debter”; the same term used at the end of Matthew 6:12.  

“Debt” describes the nature of a sin, in what sinning does.  When we sin against God there has now become a deficit or discrepancy or shortfall between us and God.  As if you have stolen something away from God’s holiness.  On a far lesser scale, when we sin against others, we likewise steal from them, making things what they ought not be.  Reconciliation is required.  Something deeper than monetary payment is owed back make things right again.  It is here that Jesus speaks to more of a moral debt.  So, what is the difference between a monetary debt and a moral debt?  

We usually think of debt in monetary terms so how does this translate into a moral debt?  Imagine a little boy who walks into an ice cream parlor and orders an ice cream cone with two scoops.  The waitress dutifully prepares his ice cream cone, then says, “That will be two dollars.”  When he hears this, the little boy begins to cry.  He looks helplessly at the waitress and says, “But my Mommy only gave me one dollar.”  What would you do; you would say, “Let me satisfy the young man’s debt,” then you would reach into your pocket, take out some money, and pay the waitress the extra dollar.  Since the money you are offering is legal tender, the waitress would have to accept that payment, and the little boy could then go home and enjoy his ice cream cone.  

But suppose that when the little boy was told his ice cream cone would cost $2 he turned and ran from the store without paying-right into the arms of a police officer on his beat while the waitress is crying out, “Stop, thief.”  The officer would bring the boy back into the store and ask the waitress what happened, and she would explain that the boy had just stolen the ice cream cone.  Once again, you see all this happen, so you say, “Wait a minute, officer, please don’t put this by in jail, I’ll pay for his cone.”  In this scenario, the waitress does not have to accept your money because now the boy has a moral debt, not just a monetary debt.  The distinction between a monetary debt and a moral debt is important because it can give us a deeper understanding of what took place on the cross.  When we sinned, we fell into a moral debt to God.  Jesus paid our debt at the cross, but because it was a moral debt, the Father was not required to accept the Son’s payment.  However, in His mercy and His grace, He allowed Jesus to pay our moral debt. [R.C. Sproul] 

It is important to see that Jesus is not teaching conditional forgiveness.  This is canceling forgiveness.  The word “forgive” [Aphns] is the beautiful word meaning to let something go.  You are not holding an obligation against them.  You simply cancel the debt.  This is exactly what Jesus did for you when he saved you.  

^ESV  Colossians 2:13-14 And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses,  by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.