I.
What Does Christ Mean by Debts?
Christ comprises under the term
debts all our sins, original as well as actual, including sins of ignorance, of
omission and commission, as he himself explains it in Luke 11:4, where he says,
“Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. They are
called debts, because they make us debtors to God both in respect to the obedience
which we have failed to render, and also to the punishment which we are bound to
pay in consequence therefore; for when we si we neither give, nor perform to
God, what we owe him; and as long as we do not yield this to him, so long do we
remain debtors to God, and are bound to make satisfaction by punishment. “Cursed
be he that confirmeth not all the words of this law to do them.” (Deut. 27:26.)
From this state of condemnation we could never be delivered, if God did not
remit unto us our sins.
II.
What Is It to Remit Debts, or to Forgive Sins?
A creditor is said to forgive a
debtor when he does not demand from him that which he owes him, but blots his
account from his books, without exacting any punishment, as though it had been
paid, as we may learn from the parable of the king who in view of the
entreaties of the servant that owed him ten thousand talents, forgave him the
debt. (Matt. 18:27.) So God forgives our debts, when he does not lay them to
our account, nor punish us on account of them, and that because he has punished
them in his Son, our Mediator, This, therefore, is that we are to understand by
the forgiveness of sins. That God does not impute any sin to us, but graciously
receives us into his favor, declares us righteous and regards us as his
children out of his mere grace and mercy for the sake of the satisfaction which
Christ made in our behalf, imputed unto us and apprehended of us by faith; and
that he will, therefore, not punish us on account of our sins, but grants unto
us righteousness and eternal life, since the remission of sins does away with
the punishment of sin; for sin and punishment are correlatives. When sin is introduced
or committed, punishment follows; but when it is taken away, punishment is at
the same time removed. . . .
III.
Why Should We Desire the Forgiveness of Sins?
We should desire and pray for the forgiveness
of sins, 1. On account of our salvation, that we may be saved: for without
the forgiveness of sins, we cannot be saved. Neither does God confer this Benefit
upon any, but such as desire it. 2. That we may be admonished and
reminded of the remains of sin which still cleave even to the most holy in this
life, and that our repentance may thus become more earnest and deep. 3. That
we may desire and receive the former blessings; because, with the remission of
sins, these blessings are either not given, or else they are given to their
destruction. So the wicked often receive these gifts; but not to their
salvation; for they rather contribute to their condemnation. . . . .
IV.
How Are Sins Remitted unto Us, or Why Is It Added, As We Forgive Our Debtors?
Our sins are so remitted unto us,
as we also forgive our debtors, which clause is added by Christ, 1. That we may
rightly desire and pray for the forgiveness of our sins, and may, therefore,
come before God in true faith and penitence, the sign of which is love to our
neighbor. 2. On account of our comfort; that we may be assured of the
forgiveness of our sins, when we extend forgiveness to others for the sins
which they may have committed against us,; and may have the assurance that we
are acceptable to God, although there are many remains of sin still within us. (The
Commentary of Zacharias Ursinus: On the Heidelberg Catechism—The Protestant
Christian Doctrines, Dating to 1563 [trans. G. W. Williard; Pantianos
Classics, 1888], 656-57, 658)