What does Luke 11:4 mean?
The end of the Lord's prayer contrasts the disciples with those who reject their message. As the disciples spread the news that the kingdom of God has come, many will reject their words, refusing to repent and ask forgiveness for their sins. The disciples are to quietly judge the people by shaking the dust from their feet and leaving (Luke 9:1–6; 10:1–11). They are to forgive these enemies who sin against them (Luke 6:27–36), not call down fire from heaven to destroy them (Luke 9:51–56).The term "indebted" here refers to what someone owes because of a sin. By requesting that God forgive our sins, we acknowledge that we don't deserve His mercy. If we don't deserve His mercy and yet boldly request it, we must be willing to offer that same mercy to others. This is the message of the parable of the unmerciful servant: a man forgiven a debt no human could ever possibly pay off in one lifetime who would not forgive another's debt to him (Matthew 18:23–35).
It's important to know that while this is a part of the Christian life that God expects, it does not have anything to do with salvation. Jesus is not saying that if we do not forgive others, we either aren't saved or could lose our salvation. This forgiveness is related to the spiritual closeness we have with God. We repent of our own actions and ask God's forgiveness for cleansing or for restored intimate fellowship with God (1 John 1:9). Once we are made His child, we remain His child (1 John 3:1–3; Ephesians 1:3–14; Romans 8:1–17). We cannot lose our salvation by sinning, but we may grieve the Holy Spirit and damage our relationship with Him (Ephesians 4:30). The person who cannot—or will not—extend forgiveness to others demonstrates a lack of appreciation for their own sin debt to God.
The last part of the verse seems to contradict James 1:13: "Let no one say when he is tempted, 'I am being tempted by God,' for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one." The Greek word for "temptation" is the same for "testing:" to subject something to stress to determine its strength. Testing is good; it gives God glory and us confidence when we triumph over trials. It is not good if the testing is so difficult that we fail. Considering the two meanings of the word, we do not want God to test us to the point that we would fail and sin against Him, thus requiring more forgiveness. As a group, a church, or a family we do not want to experience so much stress that we dishonor God and hurt each other.
