THE REALITY IS THAT CHRISTIANS ARE TOTALLY FORGIVEN PEOPLE
, whether we fully understand it or not. Realizing it simply allows us to cease our restless activity of trying to “get right” with God. Realizing it frees us to enjoy life free from guilt, as God intends—something that those under the Old could never
do: “The worshipers would have been cleansed once for all, and would no longer have felt guilty for their sins” (Hebrews 10:2).
Within the last century, the term fellowship
has evolved into a construct that Christians use to talk about feelings of closeness to God at a given time. It’s a framework for relating to God that, unfortunately, we tend to develop from our interpersonal relationships. If we’ve sinned against a friend, family member, or coworker, we feel that our relationship with them is strained or broken until we apologize, are forgiven, and then restored to previous communication.
In the Scriptures, fellowship with God is not
described in this way. Instead, a person is either in fellowship with God and therefore saved, or out of fellowship and therefore lost. In the ten instances of the word fellowship
in the epistles, not once is there a moving “in and out of fellowship” with God based on recent performance.
Of course, we still mature spiritually. And when we sin,
consequences hit us. We can’t escape the laws of the land. We also can’t escape the reactions of others. If we sin against someone, we may experience difficult circumstances and our own disappointment with our choice. But we shouldn’t mistake these earthly consequences for moving out of fellowship with God.
Our fellowship is stable and certain. God’s face is always toward us. When we sin, he’s there every step of the way to help us learn from our mistake. How arrogant it is to assume that we could escape sin alone, while out of fellowship, in order to get back in!
Jesus was out
of fellowship
with his Father so
we would never be.
If we buy the lie that God sits in a swivel chair, ready to rotate his face away from us when we sin, then we proclaim a God of conditional love and conditional fellowship. But this is to ignore the work of Jesus, who on the cross cried out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46). Jesus was out of fellowship with his Father so we would never be.
However, sorrow over a wrongdoing is normal and expected in the Christian life. In fact, I’d be concerned about any person who was not
sorry for their sins! There’s a godly sorrow or regret over sins that leads a person to desire change (2 Corinthians 7:10). This regret occurs because believers are designed for good works, not sins. When we sin, we’re not living out our destiny. When we sin, we won’t be content with our choice.
We’re meant for something greater.
We’re meant to display the life of Jesus Christ.
Nothing less.
THE
LORD’S
PRAYER
Let’s talk about the Lord’s Prayer, in which Jesus taught his disciples to say, “Forgive us our sins” (Luke 11:4). This is a request—an
asking for forgiveness. It is not a claiming of what one already has. So how does the Lord’s Prayer fit in with once-for-all forgiveness?
We can’t disregard the words of Jesus! But how do we understand
his words, given that neither Paul nor Peter nor John—nor any other apostle—advocates asking for forgiveness as a daily routine for believers? The answer lies in examining the context of this prayer, its content, and its intended audience.
Jesus warns his followers to avoid meaningless repetition of lengthy prayers. He says babblers are not heard because of their many words (Matthew 6:7). So the disciples naturally want a model for “good” prayer. What we see today in many churches is the repetition of the same prayer Jesus offered the disciples. Yet do we even realize what we’re praying?
Jesus tells his audience
to ask God to forgive
them
only to the same
degree
that they’ve
forgiven others.
Most Christians know that the Lord’s Prayer contains an appeal for forgiveness. But Jesus tells his audience to ask God to forgive them only to the same degree
that they’ve forgiven others.
The prayer isn’t merely, “Forgive us our debts.” It’s more specific than that. Jesus prays “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven
our debtors” (Matthew 6:12, italics added). This prayer might be paraphrased like this: “God, take a survey of my life and my track record as a forgiver. Then give me the same type and amount of forgiveness I’ve given to others.”
What was the reaction of those who heard Jesus praying in this way? Did it excite them? Did it free them from guilt? Probably not. Jesus was deliberately showing his Jewish listeners the futility of seeking total forgiveness under the Old. If a person operates under a conditional religious system, they can only receive what they earn
or give to others
.
As with other harsh teachings of Jesus, some have tried to explain away the stringency of the Lord’s Prayer. Some suggest that we Christians are
forgiving people and therefore we tend
to forgive others just like God does. So some claim there’s no conflict between this prayer and passages in the epistles. But Jesus makes his intended meaning clear as he concludes the prayer, “For if you forgive others when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins”
(Matthew 6:14-15, italics added).
Jesus is certainly not saying, “Since you are such a forgiving person…” On the contrary, he’s setting up a black-and-white condition for his listeners to be forgiven. They’ll be forgiven if they forgive others. They won’t be forgiven if they don’t forgive others. In fact, they’ll be forgiven to the same degree
to which they forgive others.
Now compare these words with Paul’s statement in Colossians 3:13. The apostle writes, “Forgive as the Lord forgave
you” (italics added). The Lord’s Prayer and Paul’s exhortation are incompatible. Jesus is calling us to forgive so that
we can be forgiven, while Paul calls us to forgive because
we’ve already been forgiven.
According to Jesus’ teaching, everything rests on our shoulders. We must forgive so that God will forgive us. According to Paul, God has already taken the initiative. We’ve already been forgiven, and we’re called to pass it on.
So how can Jesus’ teachings and Paul’s teachings be in opposition to each other? Weren’t they both
teaching under the same New Covenant?
AN
OLD
PRAYER
As we’ve already discussed, blood initiates a covenant. When Jesus taught Jews how to pray, his blood had not been shed yet. Therefore, the New had not begun. The Lord’s Prayer is an Old Covenant prayer taught to Jews before once-for-all forgiveness was accomplished.
The Lord’s Prayer
is an Old
Covenant
prayer taught to Jews
before once-for-all
forgiveness was
accomplished.
But why would Jesus prescribe a formula for earning forgiveness through forgiving others? Perhaps for the same reason he told the rich man to sell all his possessions (Mark 10:21). Maybe for the same reason he told his Jewish hearers to gouge out their eyes and cut off their hands in their fight against sin (Matthew 5:29-30). Possibly for the same reason he implored Jews to be perfect just as their heavenly Father is perfect (Matthew 5:48).
He said these things to bring despair, not hope.
What reaction would you have if you heard this teaching and sincerely wanted to follow it? Like the rich man, all who were honest about their chances at achieving that
level of righteousness, dedication, and forgiveness went away disheartened. The rich man who earnestly sought truth confronted a painful reality. And the result was despondency.
Jesus spoke truth to every audience he encountered. Not all of Jesus’ statements were intended to show the hopelessness of the Old. Jesus also prophesied about the beauty of the New: the kingdom of God, the role of the Holy Spirit, and his return, to name a few. But this prayer was meant to prepare those under the Old for the New. He illuminated the futility of their efforts to get right with God. The best method to redeem those who think they’re on a good road is to bury them with standards that are just too great.
When people realize that the system they are under demands more than they can give, they’re ready for something New.