READ 1 John 1:5-2:2
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. – 1 John 1:8
The fifth petition begins “And forgive us our debts.” We can pray to our Father in Heaven only when we have an eye for His guilt-forgiving grace, in which we may share as God’s children. This requires a sense of guilt, but that awareness is not self-evident. We don’t like to talk about our debts, and if we include it in our prayer, there is the danger that we will do it routinely or assume that they have already been forgiven by Christ’s sacrifice.
Yet God’s law is also meant to discover our sins. HC Q&A 13 says that we daily increase our debt. That is because of our daily sins. It is important that we see what guilt and sin mean, so that we do not think about it too superficially. Sin is in fact revolt and hatred against God; every violation of God’s law shows this. We disobey, lovelessly and rebelliously. The sin of Adam and Eve is evidence, but also the sins in our own lives. Grieving God and inciting Him to wrath is not an innocent, inoffensive thing! Mark. 11:26 speaks of trespasses, Rom. 7:13 of evil.
John clearly shows that sin against God is comparable to darkness versus light (1 John 1: 5, 6). The Lord God cannot tolerate sin or darkness. He is holy, and He wants us to be holy too. That awareness must lead us to true repentance. Instead of justifying sin, we have to confess it (1 John 1:9).
The apostle Paul had to discover in his life as an apostle that his old sinful man is still active. This made him cry out (Rom. 7:24): “O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?” He also knew the answer: “I thank God, through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
Do you see your own sins in everyday life?
Singing: Ps. 51:4