A Full Line of Credit Restored
Author: Dave ArnoldIn Tough Minded Faith for Tender Hearted People, the late Robert H. Schuller stated, “Jesus Christ has never failed once to forgive anyone who honestly and sincerely asked for forgiveness.
Jesus Christ has a 100 percent record of keeping His word.
One of the classic translations of the petition of the Lord’s Prayer used the words ‘forgive us our debts’ (Matthew 6:12).
That is what happens when Christ forgave you. He pays the mortgage off. He eliminates the moral and spiritual debt you added up against Him. Your full line of credit is restored in Him.”1
In Matthew 6:12, the word “debts” may be translated “what is due” (NASB), or “an obligation” (NIV).
Here, it obviously has a moral connotation, meaning ‘sin.” ‘Sin’ was conceived of in terms of a debt owed that could not be repaid.2
“God’s forgiveness is not just a casual statement; it is the complete blotting out of all dirt and degradation of our past, present, and future.”3
1. Tough Minded Faith for Tender Hearted People, Robert H. Schuller, Thomas Nelson, Inc., Nashville, TN, Copyright 1983, p. 257.
2. Word Meanings in the New Testament, Ralph Earle, Hendrickson Publishers, Inc., P. O. Box 3473, Peabody, MA, 01961-3473, Copyright 1974, p. 6.
3. Billy Graham in Quotes, Franklin Graham with Donna Lee Toney, Thomas Nelson, Nashville, TN, Copyright 2011, p. 143.