What does forgive us your trespasses as you forgive those who trespass against us mean?

Answer 1

"Trespasses" represents more than just trespasssing. In some translations it is "debts". Trespasses is meant to represent all of our sins. "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us." This is God's way: that we may love our brothers here on earth and be able to forgive them. All men are imperfect and are expected to sin; we just have to have the heart to forgive others just as we know that God will forgive us.

Answer 2

What is commonly called 'the Lord's prayer'(Matthew 6:9-13) asks God to "forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors."(KJV) And Matthew 6:14&15 tells us : "For if YOU forgive men their trespasses, YOUR heavenly Father will also forgive YOU; whereas if YOU do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will YOUR Father forgive YOUR trespasses."(NEV)

Answer 3

The "MIS-quote" in question is commonly thought of as being part of what men call "The Lord's Prayer."

It's actually a "prayer outline" that Jesus gives to those His Father is calling, that they might understand the basics of "how to pray"... and "what to pray for."

In His outline, the closest Jesus comes to quoting the above question is:

"And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." (Matt.6:12)

The popular and oft-quoted version that men recite en mass [to which the question seems to refer] goes:

"...forgive us OUR trespasses as WE forgive those who trespass against US...".

While this version isn't in the body of Jesus' prayer outline... He does elaborate on it after its conclusion; 'Amen' [verse 13].

"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." (verses 14-15)

What this means [to those who understand this part of what God is doing] is that "man is going to die because of his trespasses" [his SINS; the penalty of which is death].

"For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is Eternal Life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Rom.6:23)

Through the [FREE GIFT] of God's Grace and Mercy... the shed blood of Jesus Christ "forgives the past trespasses" of those who "believe" in Him and what He says.

And in the course of this "forgiveness" of our sins [our trespasses against God]... God expects His Children [whom the forgiven are] to "learn to pass God's Grace and Mercy on to others: AS GOD HAS DONE UNTO THEM!"

God is making of Himself [through man, created in His image] A DIVINE IMMORTAL FAMILY! And all of God's Children need to learn to be as Merciful and Gracious to one another as the Father is to them.

He will NOT forgive any who do not forgive others.

His forgiveness of our trespasses blots out our past transgressions... and gives His called Children a New Start... a New Life in Christ.

"So from now on we regard NO ONE from a worldly point of view. Though we once regarded Christ in this way, WE DO SO NO LONGER. Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a New Creation; the old has gone, the New has come!" (II Cor.5:17 NIV)

And its the mission of God's Children to see that that message is passed on to the world, that's deceived, blinded and ignorant of it by its present god.

"...God was reconciling the world to Himself in Christ, not counting men's sins [trangressions] against them. And He has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God." (II Cor.5:19-20 NIV)

That's why we need to [ALLOW] God to forgive us our trespasses against Him, by willingly turning to Him in Trust and Faith for His "Free Gift"... Eternal Life through Jesus Christ -- WHO FORGAVE US, FIRST.

This is what's missing from the world. This world HATES and is MERCILESS... caught up in death and destruction. It's caring for and about one another -- forgiving one another, that the world is missing. It's lost in its transgressions... and is perishing.

Ezra prayed: "O Lord God of Israel, thou art Righteous: for we remain yet escaped, as it is this day: behold, we are before thee IN OUR TRESPASSES: for we cannot stand before thee because of this." (Ez.9:15)

[same verse, NIV]: "O LORD, God of Israel, you are Righteous! We are left this day as a remnant. Here we are before you in our Guilt, though because of it not one of us can stand in your presence."

Jesus Christ changed all that. And it's He who teaches us how to pray to His Father for His Mercy and Forgiveness [for our release from death and for His Gift of Eternal Life]. It begins by "forgiving one another." For if we don't do that, "we all remain before God still in our trespasses."

Answer 4

In the prayer that Jesus taught His disciples to pray, the words "forgive us our debts" simply means forgive us what we owe.... There is a price that is supposed to be paid for sins we commit/for the wrongs we have done. We run up quite a 'tab' on a regular basis. Our request is that we get that 'tab' paid, our slate wiped clean and we can start over again. It also means we are unable to pay the tab or wipe our slates clean ourselves. It's not like in real life when you can pay your own "tab" or clean a physical chalkboard. Someone else has to do it for us--and that would be God.

Other translations say "Forgive us our trespasses".