Forgiveness or Not

DEVOTION

THE GOSPEL OF MATTHEW

For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory forever, amen.

No chapter and verse here due to the fact these words do not appear in the original Greek text from the earliest copies of the codex. They were added by the translators of several versions including the King James and the New American Standard. The others have left them out because they do not exist. It appears Jesus did not add a doxology to his example of prayer. However it is understood the Jews were in the habit of such endings and thus these words did make it into some of the later manuscripts which were circulated. There is no question the kingdom is Gods. There is no question he has all the power to maintain the kingdom. There is no question he and his kingdom are full of glory, the shekinah glory that never ever ends. So then let us move on to the next words Jesus did actually speak.

FORGIVENESS OR NOT

Matt 6:14-15

14 For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.

NIV

Harsh words these are, it would seem. Did Jesus actually say if we are in the least vindictive toward any other person, we have sealed our doom, for we do not have the forgiveness of our sins and thus salvation has escaped us? If we do not have the forgiveness of God, then it surely would mean, we have no such place in his kingdom.

Rom 5:6-11

6 You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners , Christ died for us. 9 Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! 10 For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! 11 Not only is this so, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

NIV

Once again it would be best to read the entire teaching here in the letter to the Romans, but the point is the while we were still sinners Christ died for us. We cannot ever be perfect enough to qualify for salvation, however once we have made this commitment to follow Jesus, once we have decided to accept him as our Lord and Savior, we have certain attitudes and behaviors which are not acceptable in his sight. As we have learned before repenting does not mean asking for forgiveness or admitting we are sinners, but it is the changing of our thinking. We no longer think as we once did and now we think differently or according to the truth that has been revealed to us through the power of the Holy Spirit. Therefor as we also learned in the example of prayer Jesus gave us, that we are to ask for the forgiveness of our trespasses and we forgive those who trespass against us. That we are to live in the constant state of forgiving other people. Here Jesus doubles down on the concept. If we have not changed our thinking regarding forgiving others on a constant basis then we have no right to expect God to forgive us, for truly we have not repented of our sin, and we have not made Jesus the Lord and Master of our lives. If we just give God lip service then are we any better than the Pharisees, or for that matter the many of so called religious people, who say they believe in God, but never express any born again experience, nor live in any attempt to adhere to the scriptures. They are just good people who believe being a good person is sufficient to get to heaven. We know better than that, for the truth of the scripture has been revealed to us by the Holy Spirit, first in his conviction of our sin, then in his leading us into all truth. So we have experienced being born again, this new birth, this becoming a new creation in Christ, this putting off of the old and putting on of the new. The changing of our thinking, repenting, having a new mind, the mind of Christ. Therefor we have no other way to think then to constantly forgive all others for whatever they do, whether that be against us or God. We cannot have the slightest of any other thinking which would be seen as being vindictive or not forgiving.

Luke 6:37

37 "Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.

NIV

We will also see that Matthew records this also, which Jesus in not just doubling down, but tripling down on this same concept. If we expect to be  forgiven by God and not judged by him or condemned then we have no other alternative then to not judge, not condemn, not carry any unforgiveness in any manner at all, ever. If we do, then could we say that we have not put off the old and put on the new? Could we say then we have not become a new creation in Christ? Could we say then we have not been born again, living a new life in Christ and therefore we never repented, we never changed the way we think about God, about Jesus, about the truth and consequently we are not true believers and are still living in sin, condemned by our own sin, not having the forgiveness of God? If we do not forgive, God will not forgive us, it seems it is that simple, so then, we better never ever harbor any unforgiveness in our heart.