In Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus made a very strong statement: "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Over the years I've heard this quoted quite often in the church and used as a principle that Christians are to live by. After all, Jesus said it, so of course it applies to us... right?
Back up just a minute. Do people really consider what Jesus is actually saying here? As I said, these are strong words. Very strong words! Jesus is telling His listeners that GOD WILL NOT FORGIVE THEM if they don't forgive others!
So is it true that if we don't forgive others, God won't forgive us? If that's the case, then how many believers are actually forgiven? And if they aren't forgiven, are they actually saved? What if a person dies, unforgiven? I'm just making the point that I don't think Christians really think about all of this stuff when they go around using scriptures like this.
But anyway, fortunately there's good news here. Very good news!
Let's remember that these words of Jesus (and so many of His other words) were spoken for a particular reason at a particular time under a particular covenant to a particular group of people! Without getting into all of that right now (although I'm certainly willing to go there, and I've written about it plenty in the past, such as here and here), in short I'll just say that these words of Jesus were spoken before the Cross, to the Jews who were under the Old Covenant. They do not pertain to Christianity (in our co-resurrected lives with Christ), and in fact they go against New Covenant life. Old Covenant principles (such as "if you do this, God will bless you," and "if you do that, God will punish you") were always against us and contrary to us! (see Col 2:14).
But now, with the post-Cross resurrected life of Christ, we have a new reality - a New Covenant reality - with teachings that say we are already forgiven of all sins, not based upon what we do or don't do, but rather upon the Blood of Jesus! We're now encouraged and exhorted to forgive others, not commanded to forgive others with the threat of not being forgiven if we don't. Why are we encouraged to forgive others? Because God has already forgiven us completely. Since we've been the recipients of such wonderful mercy and grace, let's turn around and show the same to others.
We can now stop worrying about whether or not we're forgiven, based upon whether or not we've forgiven others. Instead, we can fully experience and enjoy the fullness of God's grace and mercy, and our redemption and forgiveness that's not based at all upon what we do, but that's based solely upon the finished work of Jesus!
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you." Eph 4:32
(Note: We discuss all of this on this week's "Growing in Grace" podcast with me and Mike Kapler.)
Great stuff, Joel. Right on the mark!
ReplyDeleteToo often people are left with the false impression that Scripture can't be FULLY reconciled. Yet under a new covenant economy, there is no conflict.
Thanks for slicing the truth thinly, Brother!
ridiculously graced...
-mike.
Yep indeed, Mike. I formerly did a lot of head-scratching when I came across verses that didn't seem to make sense together, such as the words of Jesus here and the words of Paul elsewhere. But in light of two completely different covenants, and different reasons for each, it all makes a lot of sense now.
ReplyDeleteSorry for the multi-posts.
ReplyDeleteWhat about the parable of the unmerciful servant, and when Peter asked the Lord how many times should he forgive his brother?
We are still capable of offending the Lord. Why would 1 Thess 5:19 warn us about quenching the Holy Spirit? Why would God say "do not" if we're already forgiven? Ultimately, why would we even read the bible about sins if we're already forgiven?
This strange doctrine is ultimately teaching that we can commit sin and not worry about a thing. This is insane.
I want to make clear that what I'm not saying here is that we shouldn't forgive others. I'm simply saying that before the Cross, Jesus said to his hearers that God would not forgive them if they did not forgive others, and that is a very, very strong statement! But now, after the Cross, the Blood of Jesus has been shed for the remission of sin, and we stand forgiven because of that. God's forgiveness of us is not based upon our forgiveness of others, nor on any of our other actions, but is based upon His grace and the finished work of Jesus.
ReplyDeleteAnd so now, we don't forgive others in order for God to forgive us, but rather we forgive others because we've received such great forgiveness from God, through the once-for-all sacrifice of Jesus.
We are now "the righteousness of God." (2 Cor 5:21). The gospel reveals the righteousness of God (Rom 1:17) that has been given to us as a gift, apart from our works. Now, of course we don't always walk according to who we truly are. Again, we are the righteousness of God. That is who we are. That is our new identity, not based upon our actions but based upon the gift of God. And so when we don't "behave" according to this new nature of ours, it's not that we're no longer the righteousness of God, and it's not that we're no longer completely forgiven. It's just that we've not fully appropriated the truth of who God says we are and has in fact made us to be.
The New Testament exhortations to do good and to not to evil, are not based upon whether or not we remain righteous (again, a gift, not something we do) or forgiven, but rather are based upon the fact that we are righteous and forgiven. Because we are new creations (2 Cor 5:17), joined as one spirit with the Lord (1 Cor 6:17), partaking in the very nature of God (2 Peter 1:4), then lets live like it! If we don't, we're still righteous and forgiven, because it's not based upon what we do, but it's based upon the gift of God.
This isn't a license to sin. This is a license to live according to our righteous identity!
Yeah it is a very strong statement. People didn't want to hear these kind of statements. Jesus and the Apostles died (except John) for statements that people didn't want to hear. Jesus IS the new covenant and He would not have said this or told the parable ot the two servants if this didn't also pertain to those under the new covenant. It would have been redundant!
DeleteWell, the prophets also died for making statements - statements that strongly supported the Old Covenant but didn't apply to the New Covenant.
DeleteJesus came as one who was "born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law." A lot of what Jesus said was spoken to those who were under the Old Covenant (the Jews). The Old Covenant had a very big purpose in the grand scheme of God's larger plan, but its purpose was not for Gentiles.
And so we can look at the things that Jesus spoke to the Jews as things that He meant for the Jews, under that covenant, and not as applying to the New Covenant.
Along with what I said in my earlier comment, in the New Covenant we are already forgiven of all sin. Jesus' blood has provided for complete forgiveness of all sins. It's not through us having forgiven others that we've been forgiven, but rather through us trusting in the finished work of Christ.
If we are forgiven only if we forgive others, then the blood of Christ did not accomplish what it was supposed to accomplish! Thank God that the Blood of Jesus accomplished for us the remission of sins - something that could not be accomplished through the condition of us having to first forgive others, as Jesus told the Jews under the Old Covenant.
wow maybe we should do away with the 4 gospels because as you say everything he taught was under the law This is ridiculous Grace & Truth came by Jesus He is the last Adam Firstborn from the Dead Hebrews tells he's the Author and The Finisher of out faith in other words he's our example of born again Child of God is supposed to live by the way what happens if I choose not to Forgive???
DeleteI most definitely did not say that everything Jesus taught was law-based. We need to read each thing that He said in context.
Delete- To whom are the words spoken?
- Which Covenant is represented in the teaching?
- What is the overall point being made?
In our modern day Christianity we take all the words that we read at face value, without taking into consideration the context. There were no Christians around when Jesus taught. He very often really was speaking to Jews who were under the Old Covenant. He really was "born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law" (Galatians 4:4). All of this needs to be considered when reading each particular happening in His earthly ministry.
No doubt Jesus had New Covenant talk in the things He said at times. But remember, the people were still under the Old Covenant when He walked the earth. Much of His ministry was as a Jew, under the Old Covenant.
The Cross, of course, changed everything. But the purpose and intent of the Law/Old Covenant had to be magnified and understood by people in order to show just how much the New Covenant changed all of it.
Anonymous, in addition to what I said above, I'll say that you asked a great question: "What happens if I choose not to forgive?"
DeleteSo indeed, what happens? According to this teaching from Jesus, you then not forgiven by God, and therefore you cannot be justified and made righteous. So salvation is not only by faith, but it is by what you do. It is not by grace, but it is by your works.
So is it really not the blood of Jesus and His resurrection that saves us? Is it really a matter of something that we have to do, in addition to the finished work of Jesus?
Thankfully we find that that is not the case! :)
"And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise work is no longer work." Rom 11:6
There is nothing that our works can add to the blood of Jesus. If so, then we are saying that the blood of Jesus was not enough.
Regarding forgiveness, and the New Covenant view of it (after the Cross), here's what Paul wrote:
Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. (Ephesians 4:32)
Bear with each other and forgive whatever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Colossians 3:13)
In the above two verses we see that we are exhorted to forgive others just as the Lord has forgiven us. We see that forgiveness of others is not a requirement for God's forgiveness of us. Rather, it's just the opposite. We forgive others because God has forgiven us. We forgive and show grace to others in response to what God has already provided us with.
The gospel is good news! It's not good news if it's based on how well we can muster up forgiveness or perfection or cutting of our hand or cutting out our eye if they cause us to sin. :D
Hi Joel…
ReplyDeleteAs usual you make the point where it should be met. The idea of the “principles” of the Christian life is interesting. It sort of strikes me as “if you follow this morality” which to me diminishes the fact that a genuine follower of Jesus should be in the process of transformation by Jesus not by self help or “principles”. It is more me saying to Jesus “please make me the person you want me to be” than “how many angels are dancing on the head of a needle?”
By the way…I am finding it a bit tough to read your words with the translucent backdrop…not complaining, just a tip.
Hey there LS... great to hear from you, as always! Spot on with your comments. Indeed, it's not about self-help or principles or morality, but rather about the very life of Christ being "formed" ("fashioned") in us (Gal 4:19). Even "values" misses the point of the life of Christ in us.
ReplyDeleteThanks for the comment about reading the page. About a month ago I had done some experimenting with the new Blogger templates, and left it like this, meaning to get back to it because I know there are several issues with it. Gotta get to that soon. :D
Hi Joel…
ReplyDeleteDo you think that the “formation” and “fashioning” seems to “mystical” to some people that have a felt need for a check list?
I have also been using some of the new templates; I like quite a few of them, this one turned out pretty well:
http://brillianceandbrokensky.blogspot.com/
(Shameless plug :)
Thank you so much Joel! Since delving into trying to understand the difference between the covenants, I often wondered about this verse. You are the first person who has explained it the way that I suspected it might be!
ReplyDeleteFor years, I never thought to question the words of Jesus and if they apply to me as a Christian or not; I was taught they all apply. I agree with you now... we must always look to who the audience is when we read scriptures. (And I'm not trying to be rebellious).
Unfortunately (fortunately?), this changes many things. So... what is your take on the Beatitudes?
BTW - I have a friend named J Slick and you were really confusing me for awhile. I wondered if it was him - until I watched a video!
Howdy folks, just getting caught up here today. :)
ReplyDeleteLS, I think you're onto something there. A checklist is so much easier for some people to follow, rather than having the ongoing experience of the actual living life of Christ at work in them, being formed/shaped/fashioned in them on an ongoing basis.
Cathy, I think you are so very right... this changes many things! And indeed, this look at things is not out of rebellion, but out of a real desire to understand Christ and His ministry while He was on the earth, compared to His different ministry to us as He lives in and through us, and as He in fact has become our very life.
I just recently was part of a conversation on Facebook with someone who believes we are only to follow the words of Paul. (And not Peter, John, James, etc). I don't fully agree with him about all of that, but his main point was that Jesus had a pre-Cross ministry to the Jews, and that much of what He said was indeed His ministry to the Jews and not to anyone else.
So many of His words were spoken to them alone and for them alone, as part of God's overall ministry to them. Now, I do think that Jesus did also speak New Covenant things at times, as He looked ahead to what would ultimately be accomplished through the Cross and His resurrection from the dead, and we can glean so much out of all of that.
I'm still in an ongoing process of working a lot of this stuff out, so I don't have a specific answer about the Beatitudes. But I will say that my podcast host and I had some things to say about the teachings of Jesus that will perhaps not sit well with many in the church today. :) Again, as you say, this is not to be rebellious, but it's an honest look at what we truly think Jesus' earthly ministry was about, as compared to the post-Cross reality of life in Him.
The podcast is entitled "The Unattainable, Insurmountable, Unachievable Teachings of Jesus." :) (You can click on the link if you want to hear it. It will take you to our podcast page).
phew!!!! I thought I was a goner for a while there. Just been watching Joseph Prince and he's saying the same thing. This statement was made under :Law: But under grace He HAS forgiven us...
ReplyDeleteThat's right, Anonymous, we have been forgiven (past tense) of all sins - past, present and future! Through one sacrifice, 2,000 years ago, all our sin was taken away.
ReplyDeleteSo you're saying that Jesus taught the Lord's Prayer as sort of a temporary prayer? I think there's a much more sound explanation. If forgiveness is once for all, then to withhold forgiveness is to choose to not live under forgiveness. We either accept or reject forgiveness, for all.
ReplyDeleteHi Alden,
ReplyDeleteWhat I'm saying is that what is known as "the Lord's Prayer" is an Old Covenant prayer.
The New Covenant didn't begin until the death of Jesus. As I said earlier, Jesus was "born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law." (Gal 4:4-5). He first had a ministry that was specifically to the Jews (those who were under the law), and much of what He said was directed to them, and was part of that Old Covenant ministry.
In order to see more of a foundation of what I'm saying, pay attention to the audience Jesus is speaking to each time you read the accounts of His life in Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Put yourself in the shoes of those He is speaking to in each given situation. Most of the time, He was speaking to Jews, and they understood His words as words that were exclusively to them. There wasn't yet a thing called Christianity, nor was there a New Covenant. There was still a reason for Jesus ministering under the Old Covenant.
The Old Covenant led to the New Covenant, but the Old Covenant is not the New Covenant. The New Covenant is an entirely different covenant. While there were specific reasons for the Old Covenant, everything changed with the New Covenant.
Where did you get the idea that The Lords prayer was the old covenant prayer? In context The disciples asked Jesus how to pray because they witnessed how effective his prayer life was If its an old covenant prayer show me where in the old testament people prayed like that The jews where God's chosen people born again people are God's Sons & daughters That's why he refer's God as our Heavenly Father Guys be careful of false doctrine!
DeleteWhere in the Old Covenant were they told to cut off their right hand if it caused them to sin, or pluck out their right eye if it caused them to sin? But yet I don't see any New Covenant Christians living that way. :) Is your righteousness greater than that of the Pharisees and scribes? Are you perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect?
DeleteThese are questions that everyone needs to answer before calling the Sermon on the Mount (which includes what is known as the Lord's Prayer) a teaching for Christians.
Good word again Joel!! Now in the New Covenant in the Blood of Jesus (this side of the cross)we forgive BECAUSE we have BEEN forgiven!Eph 4:32....& Sin no longer has DOMINION over us Because of Our New nature (the nature of God).
ReplyDeleteRight on, Big Al. :)
DeleteHi Joel,
ReplyDeleteCame across your blog while doing a search on this topic. Really appreciate your thoughts on this...Hallelujah! Very well written and explained...Thank you!
Thank you, Kathy. I'm glad this was meaningful to you. :)
ReplyDelete