After this manner therefore pray ye:
Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be Thy name.
Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil:
For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen. Matthew 6:9-13
And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Some versions say trespasses and others say debtors.
The meaning is similar, when someone has wronged you or taken something from you, forgive them.
I believe a lot of unsuspecting people will end up in Hell for this instruction.
Do they think Jesus does not mean what He says?
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Matthew 6:14-15
There are no reasons good enough to not trust the Lord to deal with people who have wronged us.
He not only wants us to forgive them but to forgive them from the bottom of our hearts.
Then his lord, after that he had called him, said unto him,
O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desiredst me:
Shouldest not thou also have had compassion on thy fellowservant, even as I had pity on thee?
And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors,
till he should pay all that was due unto him.
So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you,
if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses. Matthew 18:32-35
That means no residual. No trace of unforgiveness.
Sometimes it takes some time. Keep committing it to the Lord, keep striving to forgive,
keep honoring God’s word above your feelings and laying the offense at God’s altar.
Some people are very mean and cruel. God knows. God doesn’t excuse them.
What He does promise is that He will deal with them.
To Me belongeth vengeance, and recompence; their foot shall slide in due time:
for the day of their calamity is at hand, and the things that shall come upon them make haste.
Deuteronomy 32:35
I had a friend do something terrible to me.
I told Jesus all about it, as if He needed to be told.
He said to me, Love her anyway.
He did not excuse her. He did not scold me for my feelings.
I knew what I had to do according to His word.
Funny thing is, she is still my friend and I have no idea what the offense was.
That was God’s work, not my own.
He also says that if we are happy when they suffer, He will turn His anger away from them.
Because that means you haven’t truly forgiven them.
God is very clear about this. There is no getting around not forgiving others.
Rejoice not when thine enemy falleth, and let not thine heart be glad when he stumbleth:
Lest the Lord see it, and it displease Him, and He turn away his wrath from him. Proverbs 24:17-18
Lord Jesus, help us to forgive our debtors.