Matthew 6: Daily Bread and Daily Forgiveness

Introduction

"When our heart is right, our prayers are right." William Philip, senior pastor of The Tron Church in Glasgow, continues his series on the Lord's Prayer. The first half of the prayer taught us to speak to God as a Father and to ask that his kingdom come and his will be done.

But Christians remain earthly creatures until the Lord Jesus returns. They need to be provided for. The second half of the prayer speaks of this: "Give us today our daily bread. Forgive us our debts, as we also forgive our debtors" (Matthew 6:11-12).

The preacher sees in these verses two requests that acknowledge what God gives: food for each day and forgiveness for each day. He sheds light on them through the story of the manna in the wilderness and the parable of the unforgiving servant (Matthew 18:21-35).

Sermon Outline

1. A Prayer Aimed at the Kingdom

The Lord's Prayer must not be pulled out of its context. All the teaching in these chapters turns on one priority: seeking God's kingdom first, before all the things of earth.
From verse 25 on, Jesus describes the typical worries of those who do not know God as Father. The pagans seek after all these things, but "your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things" (verse 32).
Because we know him, we can trust him and seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, knowing that everything else will be added to us as well (verse 33).
Our master is not the "filthy lucre" of this world that enslaves so many people, but a loving Father in heaven. So our thoughts can turn toward treasures in heaven (verses 19 to 24).

2. Acknowledging That God Provides Our Daily Bread

Scholars debate whether this means the bread of today or the bread of tomorrow. The pastor smiles: "Any normal person who isn't afflicted with a doctorate" can see what Jesus means. It is about depending constantly on God.
Daily bread is a shorthand for all the necessities of life: eating, drinking, being clothed. God provides "food, clothing, housing and the money for the gas bill."
He suggests adding a "you" at the start of the verse: "You, give us today our daily bread." It is asking, and at the same time acknowledging that God is the one who gives.
The New Testament tells us again and again to give thanks in all things. "There must be a reason. I'm not sure we are naturally thankful. In fact, I know we're not. I am certainly not naturally thankful toward God."
To pray this way is to say: "Lord, we trust you to provide for our needs, not necessarily our wants, and to do it your way, not mine."

3. God's Bread, God's Way

The essence of sin is refusing this. In the Garden of Eden, God offers an abundance of good things to be received with gratitude, with a single exception: a path that runs against God. And that is exactly the one humanity wants to take.
From Eden to twenty-first-century Europe, God's gifts are perverted by wanting them our own way. The pastor takes the example of sexuality, a magnificent gift of God within marriage: "Thanks for the gift, but marriage, no, we'll do it our way."
In Exodus 16, God gives the manna, which tasted like honey cake. The preacher remembers a Sunday school leader who had brought wafers and a honeycomb: "I've never forgotten it."
God tells the people to gather only enough for one day. The people keep some for the next day, and in the morning it is full of worms. Then God tells them to gather double on the day before the Sabbath so they can rest. The people do not do it and find nothing on the Sabbath. "How long do you refuse to keep my commandments and my laws?" (Exodus 16:28).
The lesson is given in Deuteronomy 8:3: man does not live by bread alone, but by everything that comes out of the mouth of the Lord. What we need is not just bread, it is "God's bread, God's way."
This is Jesus' prayer in the wilderness (Matthew 4:3-4). The devil offers him bread his own way: turn these stones into loaves. Jesus answers with the words of Deuteronomy.
This applies to food, clothing, work and even the desire for a spouse: it is not wrong to pray for these things, but we must wait for them God's way and in his time.

4. Receiving Gifts Without Worshiping Them

The Bible does not make us ascetics who despise God's good gifts. Paul writes to Timothy that this kind of teaching comes from doctrines of demons, and that everything God created is to be received with thanksgiving (1 Timothy 4:1-4).
But we must never worship these things or live for them. Paul speaks of those "whose god is their belly" (Philippians 3:19). The manna was to be enjoyed, but it was passing.
Earthly bread should remind us of heavenly bread, the bread of life: whoever comes to Jesus will never be hungry, and whoever believes in him will never be thirsty (John 6:35).
That is why Christians give thanks before a meal. "We don't bless the food, you can't bless the food. We give thanks." Every thank-you for today's bread recalls the bread from heaven that came down to give us eternal life.

5. Asking for Daily Forgiveness

The second request is even more important. It has two inseparable parts: experiencing forgiveness ("forgive us our debts") and expressing forgiveness ("as we also forgive our debtors").
"You don't ask for something you don't need." Asking for forgiveness means admitting that we need it and that this forgiveness can only come from God, not from ourselves.
It is also asking for precisely what God has promised. Jesus came to save his people from their sins, and he says: ask, and it will be given to you (Matthew 7:7). "God loves us to ask him for the very things he has promised to give us." That is what faith is.
Every sacrifice of the Old Testament said: "Lord, remember your promised mercy." At the dedication of the temple, Solomon prays: hear from your dwelling place, from heaven, hear and forgive (1 Kings 8:30).
Asking this way also shows true repentance: acknowledging our helplessness, coming humbly, and asking the Spirit to change our heart so that we walk in Jesus' footsteps again.

6. Forgiveness Received Is Passed On

"I must be very clear." Jesus is not saying that repentance is a precondition for forgiveness. It was while we were enemies that God reconciled us to himself (Romans 5:10), by a sovereign act of mercy.
But repentance is its necessary consequence. The pastor compares it to smiling: smiling is not a condition of happiness, but a happy person is bound to smile. In the same way, there is no such thing as a person who is generous in theory and stingy in practice.
"God's forgiveness is not a commodity we receive, it is a transforming power we experience." Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matthew 6:21).
In the parable of Matthew 18, a servant owes ten thousand talents, "two hundred thousand years of wages" according to the preacher, a sum that begins to come close to the British national debt. It is canceled. Then he chokes a fellow servant who owes him a hundred denarii, a few months of wages, and has him thrown into prison.
His merciless heart shows that he was not changed by the extraordinary mercy he received. "He didn't really know his master." Verse 34 is solemn: he is handed over to the jailers. This is what Matthew 6:14-15 underlines.

7. A Diagnosis of the Heart

An unforgiving spirit is not a trait of heaven but of hell, of the devil, the father of lies. For the world, revenge is often sweet: "the tastiest morsel ever cooked in hell," as Walter Scott put it. That is why lawyers who handle disputes and divorces never run out of work.
Through the forgiveness we receive, we tell the world about God's heart. Through the forgiveness we grant, we tell the world the truth about our own heart.
William Philip used to be a cardiologist. He could often recognize a sick heart as soon as the patient walked through the door: complexion, breathing, neck, ankles. Heart failure is an easy diagnosis to make at a glance.
Verses 14 and 15 are a diagnosis of this kind. Verse 14 describes a healthy heart, ready to forgive, "longing to forgive." Verse 15 describes a hardened heart, which can call itself Christian, say "Lord, Lord" and do miracles in his name, but to whom Jesus will have to say: I never knew you (Matthew 7:21-23).
Forgiveness has to be received: you cannot forgive someone who refuses to be forgiven. But we must be ready to forgive.
Some want God's forgiveness without wanting the God of forgiveness in their lives. Often they only want to be rid of a guilty conscience. "It's both, or it's neither."

Key Takeaways

Asking for daily bread means depending on God every day and gratefully acknowledging that everything comes from him.
God provides for our needs in his way and in his time. Sin consists in wanting his gifts our way.
God's gifts are to be received with thanksgiving, never worshiped. Today's bread reminds us of the bread of life.
God's forgiveness is not a commodity but a transforming power: whoever has received it forgives in turn.
A heart that refuses to forgive reveals a heart that has not been changed by God's mercy.

Personal Application

When did you last consciously thank God for your food, your home or your work?
In which area (money, work, the desire for a spouse) are you tempted to want God's gift your way rather than his?
Is there a good thing you have started to pursue for its own sake, to the point that it takes God's place?
Whom do you find it hard to forgive today? What does the immense debt that was canceled for you tell you about this?
Do you only want to be rid of a guilty conscience, or do you truly want the God of forgiveness in your life?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What does "Give us today our daily bread" mean?

For William Philip, daily bread means everything you need to live: food, clothing, housing, money for the bills. Asking for it every day means depending constantly on God and gratefully acknowledging that he is the one who provides, in his way and in his time.

Do I have to forgive others to be forgiven by God?

The preacher makes clear that repentance is not a precondition for forgiveness: God reconciled us to himself while we were still his enemies. But repentance and forgiveness granted to others are its necessary consequence, just as a smile always goes with joy. A heart that refuses to forgive shows that it has not been changed.

What does the parable of the unforgiving servant teach us?

In Matthew 18:21-35, a servant is freed from a debt he could never repay, then has a fellow servant who owes him a hundred denarii thrown into prison. According to William Philip, his merciless heart shows that he was never transformed by the mercy he received and that he didn't really know his master.