The Disciples' Prayer, Part 5

Man's greatest need is for forgiveness. It is his greatest need in eternity, and it may be argued, it is his greatest need in this life. Our first priority is judicial forgiveness---to be declared righteous by our ultimate judge, to be justified. But there is another sort of forgiveness. Jesus is not speaking of judicial forgiveness when He urges us to pray 'forgive us our debts.' He is addressing those who have already been judicially forgiven---those who can approach God as 'Our Father.' He is speaking of forgiveness in relationships. This message considers questions such as: 'Am I obligated to forgive everyone who asks for forgiveness? Should I forgive those who have not repented? Should I forgive those whose continuing patterns of sin suggest they are not sincere in their repentance? If someone has sinned against me, whose responsibility is it to seek reconciliation? How am I to treat someone who has sinned against me who has not repented? One of our members described this message as 'searching, balanced and clear.' I pray you will find it so.