Matthew 6:14 - Not Able To Forgive?
Mat. 6:14: Not Able To Forgive?
Mat. 6:14 (KJV) For if you forgive men their trespasses, your
heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Mark 11:25 (KJV) And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have
ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may
forgive you your trespasses.
This is the only point in the Lord's Prayer that Jesus
emphasized i.e. the necessity for forgiving one another. [Ryrie SB]
Here a principle of divine law is given, which is the unchanging
rule by which God dispenses forgiveness. Simply stated, the law is
that the measure by which we may expect forgiveness from God is that
measure of forgiveness we extend to others. If we are unwilling to
forgive, we cannot expect God to extend pardon to us either. The
"anything against anyone" probably refers to injuries of character or
person. These, like our sins, cannot be repaid with money or material
things. A person who harbors dark, vengeful thoughts in regard to others
is out of fellowship with man and cannot be right with God. If we
cannot from the heart forgive others, the principle of the divine law
assures us that we cannot be forgiven. Unforgiveness is a condition of
the heart that shows the injured person to be unfit for divine
fellowship. Awareness of our forgiveness in Christ makes us forgiving
people. Be tolerant with one another and forgive one another whenever
any of you has a complaint against someone else. You must forgive
one another just as the Lord has forgiven you. Colossians 3.13
[Daily Devotional Bible re Mar.11:25]
When Jesus told us to pray for forgiveness of our debts as we
forgive our own debtors, he knew who would be the one to pay the debt.
As he would hang on the cross he would say, "It is finished"..... the
debt is paid! There are some facts that will never change. One fact
is that you are forgiven. If you are in Christ, when he sees you,
your sins are covered -- he doesn't see them. He sees you better than
you see yourself. And that is a glorious fact of your life. Our
forgiveness of others is a signal of our awareness of how much God has given
us. Isn't it presumptuous to come to the throne of grace if we
haven't been gracious to the people in our life? How can we approach a
God of mercy if we ourselves have hearts full of bitterness or
anger? We must take care of relationship problems -- make up with a
spouse, get along with fellow church members, love our neighbors -- then
we will be fully united in prayer with the Father. [Inspirational
SB re Philemon 1]
|
|