Covenanter Witness Vol. 55 - Rparchives.org

us."COMMENTSOur last study in this series on Prayerwas about our daily necessities, "Giveus this day our daily bread." But evidently that isn't enough. There is something else needed, and even more important, "And forgiveWhy did Christ teach us to pray thisfifth petition? The reason is not hard tofind. We are sinners (Rom. 3:2). Thatfact is written large in the Bible, andall through human history. Sin is bothoriginal and actual with all of us, andthe wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23a).Sin is an ugly word, but it stands forthe most terrible fact in God's universe.That is the word that Luke uses,give us our (Luke 11:4).sins""ForThere are many different wordsthroughout the Bible used to define Sin,such as transgression, trespass, evil, iniquity, guile, etc., and this is because nosingle word is sufficiently broad. Someof sin's many manifestations are recorded in Rom. 1:28-32 and in Gal. 5:19-21.Matthew properly uses the word^'debts,""Forgive us our debts." Andwe are in debt both to God and to men.Many of our debts to men are a commercial nature, and can often be settledwith money. But our debts to God arepenal, involving punishment accordingto the justice of God because of want ofconformity unto or transgression of thelaw of God.In a very real sense we owe God everything, but to be more specific, weowe God our undivided Love. "Thoushalt love the Lord thy God with all thyheart, and with all thy soul, and withall thy strength, and with all thymind."(Luke 10:27). We owe God Reverence(Psalm 89:7). We owe God Obedience(Deut. 11:27, 28; I Sam. 15:22; Jer. 7:23; Acts 5:29). We owe Him Service(Luke 16:13; Deut. 10:12; Matt. 4:10).We owe Him First Place in our lives(Ex. 20:3; Matt. 10:37).And not one of us has lived up toour obligations. Verily, we are all indebt, and therefore guilty before God.We are subjects for the wages of sin."Neither we, nor any other creature,can make the least satisfaction for thatdebt."(See Larger Catechism, Q 194).We are totally bankrupt. Our guilt (ourdebts) before God can be taken awayonly by the redemption purchased by Jesus Christ on Calvary. That is what forgiveness is. It is the cancelation of ourdebts. It is the blotting out of the handwriting against us.By Christ fulfilling our broken obligations and atoning for our sins, GodAugust 24, 1955can now reckon us as having no sin.Because of Him who knew no sin butbecame sin for us, our debt is canceled.We are free, and, "If the son shall setyou free, ye shall be free indeed" (John8:36).But this petition differs from all theothers in that it alone has a qualifyingclause: "Forgive us our debts, as weforgive our debtors." And Christ commenting on this, uttered these most significant words: "For if you forgive mentheir trespasses, your Heavenly Fatherwill also forgive you. But if ye forgivenot men their trespasses, neither willyour Father forgive your trespasses."Those are solemn words, and we needto consider them carefully and often.I am reminded of the cartoon by thelate E. J. Pace of two men reaching outtheir right hands to shake with eachother, but each carrying a hatchet intheir left hand concealed behind theirbacks. Between the two men are thewords, "Yes, brother, I can forgive allright, but I can't forget." In the uppercorner of the cartoon is the suggestionthat we read in Eph. 4:32. Better dothat and, especially the last part.But we need to be careful about thisphrase "as we forgive our debtors," lestwe fall into the error of Modern Dispensationalism as it is reflected in theinterpretative Scofield Reference Bible.On page 1002 of this Bible it is statedthat "Under Law (Matt. 6:12) forgiveness is conditioned upon a like spiritwithin us; under Grace (Eph. 4:32) weare forgiven for Christ's sake, and exhorted to forgive because we have beenforgiven."But the error is plainly visible whenwe remember that God's forgiveness ofmen has always been by Grace, on thebasis of Christ's atoning work, and forChrist's sake. It is not dependent on us.Forgiving our debtors, then, is not theground of God's forgiving us, but ratherthe evidence that God has forgiven us.We are to manifest that forgiving spirittoward our debtors that God, in Christ,has so generously shown toward us. Ifwe don't, then it is exceedingly dangerous for us to pray this fifth petitionof the Lord's Prayer. In this connection,study Matt. 18:23-35, which is the parable of "The Unforgiving Servant."Suggestions:1. Make use of both the Shorter andLarger Catechism questions on this subject.2. See Comments on this petition inB.B.F. and L., pp. 104-108, Vol. 4.3. Pray earnestly "Lord, helpforgive, as Thou dost forgive."us toW. M. S. DepartmentMrs. Ross Latimer. Editor.Prayer Hour. 1:00 P.M. MondayW. M. S. TOPICFor SeptemberLuke 14:28Mrs. Paul D. WhiteIn Luke 14:25-30great multitudeswere following our blessed Saviour. Suddenly Jesus challenged them with thesolemn warning that before they couldbecome kingdom builders, indeed beforethey could build their lives according todivine specifications they would have toconsider the cost, lest haply, after, hehath laid the foundation, and is not ableto finish it, all that behold it begin tomock him, saying, "This man began tobuild, and was not able to finish." Why?"This man started out to be a Christian; he joined the church; he taught aSabbath School class for a while; etc."The mockers will scoff, "This man began to build, and was not able to finish."Jesus warned His would-be followersto count the cost. They must be willingto give up all fleshly lusts and sensuousdesires (Gal. 5.). The Rev. F. D. Meyerin his early Christian life tried to keepthe key to one treasure chest in hisheart where he tried to hide a secret sin.But finally God rebuked him and demanded that he surrender this key andcast out this sin. Then F. B. Meyer wasfilled with the Holy Ghost and withpower.Some years ago during a meeting conducted by the Winchester Gospel team,Mr. O. H. Curry told the story of a carpenter who had built many houses for acertain contractor. Once again the contractor gave his employee the blue printsfor another beautiful house,and explained that he and his wife were goingabroad, and he expressed his desire thatthe new house might be finished upontheir return. The carpenter seemed tobe siezed with an evil spirit. His bosscould go abroad, but he felt that he hadto stayat home and work year afteryear. He built the house, but he wascareless and didn't build it according tothe exact specifications.He skimpedhere and there and used inferior materials, which didn't show from the outside. When the contractor came home,he asked the carpenter and his family tomeet him at the new house. "As a reward for the faithful service you haverendered through the years, I want topresent to you and your wife a deed123