Q. 64. What do we pray for in the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, “forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us”?

We pray that, because of Christ’s blood, God would freely pardon all our sins, just as we are fully determined to forgive our neighbors from the heart as evidence of God’s grace within us.

Psalm 25:11; Psalm 51:1–2, 7, 9; 86:5; 103:10–12; 130:3–14; Isaiah 55:7; Daniel 9:17–19; Matthew 6:14–15; 18:32–35; Mark 11:25; Ephesians 1:7; 4:32; Colossians 3:13; 1 John 1:9.

  • WSC 105
  • Heidelberg Catechism 126

Christ’s atoning work. Forgiveness is only found through Jesus Christ, who endured the cursed and shameful death of the cross to fully pay for all our sins (see Q. 31). It is as if we pray, “Give us, O Lord, redemption in your blood, even the forgiveness of sins: as you enable us freely and fully to forgive every man, so do you forgive all our trespasses” (Notes, Matthew 6:12).

Freely pardon. Forgiveness is a gift of God’s free grace (see Q. 50). When we ask for forgiveness, we put ourselves at God’s mercy, claiming no merit of our own. When David committed adultery with Bathsheeba and arranged for her husband Uriah’s death, he had nothing left to do except hope in God’s unchanging love: “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!” (Psalm 51:1–2). “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). See “Prayers of Confession and Prayers for Sanctification” (p. 264).

Our sins. “The best of men need Christ as their Priest, their Atonement, their Advocate with the Father; not only as the continuance of their every blessing depends on his death and intercession, but on account of their coming short of the law of love. For every man living does so” (John Wesley, A Plain Account 13:169).

Forgive our neighbors. Jesus warned, “If you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:15). In the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, Jesus teaches that we should not place a limit on what we will forgive others, since God has forgiven us of an incalculable debt (Matthew 18:21–35). When we forgive others by God’s grace, it gives us greater confidence to turn to God for forgiveness of our own sins.

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