My Imperfect Forgiving?
24059 - Forgive
Matthew 6:12,14,15 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ... For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ... but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Read the context: Matthew 6
Ponder:
? What is Jesus warning against in 6:1-18
? What is implied that God will not do if our giving, our praying, our fasting, is not genuine?
? What are the differences and similarities between giving, praying, fasting, and forgiving?
jne: While giving, praying and fasting, with pure motives seems difficult, or at least quite easy to do with varying degrees of hypocrisy, forgiving others seems almost impossible. Perhaps you are like me, I have a really good rememberer gene. I can remember offenses from decades ago. And not just remember but feel them, and I can even recall what I assume to be accurate details of the offenses. That seems to be our human nature.
Not giving with pure motives results in God not "rewarding" me. Not praying with God being the only audience results in God not "rewarding" me. And not fasting with God as my only audience also results in God not "rewarding" me. But not "forgiving others their trespasses" results in God "not forgiving me." Somehow this seems more serious. It seems to involve more than "rewards." It sounds like my eternal salvation is at stake.
The reality is that my giving, my praying, my fasting, are rarely perfectly without hypocrisy. But, I am not sure that my forgiving others their offenses ever rises to the level of how God forgives me. It Jesus' warnings about giving, prayer, fasting and forgiveness determines our salvation, I fear I am hopelessly lost. Every list of things people believe they must do in order to be saved is hopeless because of the same hypocrisies that accompany all our "good deeds."
So what must Jesus mean by "if we forgive others we will be forgiven and if we do not forgive others we will not be forgiven?" It must be something very serious.
In this "Sermon on the Mount" Jesus was describing the character, the atmosphere, of the Kingdom of God to which He was beaconing His followers to come. It was the realm, the life over which He, God, ruled and rules. It described the way people who submit to God, seek to live. It is a life of rich rewards, of constant forgiveness. Forgiveness is constantly needed because hypocrisy and offenses are constantly present among God's people who still have the sin nature that will be removed in Heaven.
But there still remains the arresting words: "if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." How are we to reconcile this with the words of 1John "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Simply, and beyond earning or deserving (even by perfectly forgiving others) our forgiveness is complete, sure and effective for our eternal righteousness, because of our "Advocate, Jesus Christ" who bought our forgiveness, our salvation with His own blood.
I cannot, you cannot, give, pray, fast or forgive perfectly while here on earth. But Jesus did, and does. God's "name is hallowed," His will is done," He gives our daily bread," "He forgives our debts," "He delivers us from evil." All in demonstration His coming Kingdom, the rewards of which we know now only in part. But, in seeking to give, pray, fast, forgive, as God does, we have glimpses of the rewards that await His permanent appearing. -615
Matthew 6:12,14,15 and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. ... For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, ... but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Read the context: Matthew 6
Ponder:
? What is Jesus warning against in 6:1-18
? What is implied that God will not do if our giving, our praying, our fasting, is not genuine?
? What are the differences and similarities between giving, praying, fasting, and forgiving?
jne: While giving, praying and fasting, with pure motives seems difficult, or at least quite easy to do with varying degrees of hypocrisy, forgiving others seems almost impossible. Perhaps you are like me, I have a really good rememberer gene. I can remember offenses from decades ago. And not just remember but feel them, and I can even recall what I assume to be accurate details of the offenses. That seems to be our human nature.
Not giving with pure motives results in God not "rewarding" me. Not praying with God being the only audience results in God not "rewarding" me. And not fasting with God as my only audience also results in God not "rewarding" me. But not "forgiving others their trespasses" results in God "not forgiving me." Somehow this seems more serious. It seems to involve more than "rewards." It sounds like my eternal salvation is at stake.
The reality is that my giving, my praying, my fasting, are rarely perfectly without hypocrisy. But, I am not sure that my forgiving others their offenses ever rises to the level of how God forgives me. It Jesus' warnings about giving, prayer, fasting and forgiveness determines our salvation, I fear I am hopelessly lost. Every list of things people believe they must do in order to be saved is hopeless because of the same hypocrisies that accompany all our "good deeds."
So what must Jesus mean by "if we forgive others we will be forgiven and if we do not forgive others we will not be forgiven?" It must be something very serious.
In this "Sermon on the Mount" Jesus was describing the character, the atmosphere, of the Kingdom of God to which He was beaconing His followers to come. It was the realm, the life over which He, God, ruled and rules. It described the way people who submit to God, seek to live. It is a life of rich rewards, of constant forgiveness. Forgiveness is constantly needed because hypocrisy and offenses are constantly present among God's people who still have the sin nature that will be removed in Heaven.
But there still remains the arresting words: "if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses." How are we to reconcile this with the words of 1John "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." Simply, and beyond earning or deserving (even by perfectly forgiving others) our forgiveness is complete, sure and effective for our eternal righteousness, because of our "Advocate, Jesus Christ" who bought our forgiveness, our salvation with His own blood.
I cannot, you cannot, give, pray, fast or forgive perfectly while here on earth. But Jesus did, and does. God's "name is hallowed," His will is done," He gives our daily bread," "He forgives our debts," "He delivers us from evil." All in demonstration His coming Kingdom, the rewards of which we know now only in part. But, in seeking to give, pray, fast, forgive, as God does, we have glimpses of the rewards that await His permanent appearing. -615