Perhaps one of the greatest benefits of Christian is the reconciliation with God that comes as a result of the forgiveness of sin. This forgiveness is made available through Jesus Christ, the perfect, sinless Son of God, who willingly gave his life to redeem mankind for the glory of God. Although he was innocent, he became the substitute for guilty humanity, taking upon himself the retribution for the sins of the whole world to satisfy God’s righteous judgment.
Agape
What, might we ask, is the central motivating force behind the Just dying for the unjust? Was there some redeemable quality in man that God thought was worth saving? The answer is found in John 3:16.
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.
The primary motivation for God sending Jesus was love. This divine love is the supreme character by which God is defined, the very substance of his being. God, who is love, sent Jesus to die for us while we were still in open rebellion to him (Romans 5:8). In fact, Jesus being driven by God’s love, asked for the forgiveness of those who were crucifying him (Luke 23:33, 34).
More than Forgiven
Notwithstanding the fact that forgiveness is provided to all who receive Christ, believers are more than just forgiven. Although believers in the Old Testament were able to receive forgiveness, their spiritual nature was not changed. They were only forgiven sinners who had to meet the legal requirement of continual sacrifices to be forgiven again. This is in sharp contrast to the New Covenant – a better covenant based on better promises – in which believers are made new creations in Christ, who by one final sacrifice did not merely cover (atone for) sins, but took them away forever (2 Corinthians 5:17; Hebrews 8:6). Much of the tenth chapter of Hebrews is devoted to the explanation of this. It is recommended that the reader take time to read the entire chapter, but for now, here is an excerpt:
9then He said, “BEHOLD, I HAVE COME TO DO YOUR WILL.” He takes away the first in order to establish the second. 10By this will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
11Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; 12but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, SAT DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF GOD, 13waiting from that time onward UNTIL HIS ENEMIES BE MADE A FOOTSTOOL FOR HIS FEET.
14For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.
15And the Holy Spirit also testifies to us; for after saying,16″THIS IS THE COVENANT THAT I WILL MAKE WITH THEM
AFTER THOSE DAYS, SAYS THE LORD:
I WILL PUT MY LAWS UPON THEIR HEART,
AND ON THEIR MIND I WILL WRITE THEM,”
He then says,
17″AND THEIR SINS AND THEIR LAWLESS DEEDS
I WILL REMEMBER NO MORE.”18Now where there is forgiveness of these things, there is no longer any offering for sin.
The establishment of the New Covenant carries the added benefit of being born of God’s Spirit, which involves receiving God’s love nature. This signifies the death of the old sin nature and the passage from spiritual death to spiritual life.
3Or do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus have been baptized into His death? 4Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. 5For if we have become united with Him in the likeness of His death, certainly we shall also be in the likeness of His resurrection,
6knowing this, that our old self was crucified with Him, in order that our body of sin might be done away with, so that we would no longer be slaves to sin; 7for he who has died is freed from sin. 8Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, 9knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, is never to die again; death no longer is master over Him.
10For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God.
11Even so consider yourselves to be dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.
Are Christians Just Sinners Saved by Grace?
Before we answer this question let us define the word “sinner”. The American Heritage Dictionary defines a sinner as one that sins or does wrong; a transgressor. In the sense that a Christian does have the ability to sin, he could choose to sin, and therefore would be a sinner. However, a Christian is not a sinner in the same sense that an unredeemed person is a sinner. They are transgressors by nature rather than choice. Christians only sin when they allow themselves to sin.
12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts,
13and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.
14For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law but under grace.
(Romans 5:12-14)
Evidence of the New Nature
The fruit of the spirit mentioned in Galatians 5:22, 23:
22But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
The highest quality of spiritual fruit, and the first one mentioned here, is love – that is, love of the God-kind. Because this kind of love comes from God, people without Christ have neither the capacity nor the motivation to exhibit this love. This love is poured into the heart of the believing Christian (Romans 5:5). The expression of this kind of love is the supreme evidence that a person has, in fact, been born again.
We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death” (1 John 3:14).
To Love as He Loves
Christians both can and should love just as Christ does. This may be contrary to common logic, but it is nevertheless true and biblical. For the Christian, love is a debt that is owed to every brother (Romans 13:8). Payment is not optional. The only sure way to know whether we are keeping this commandment is to measure our actions against the biblical description of God’s love. First Corinthians 13 communicates the qualities of God’s love. To clarify the meaning of the following passage, I have elected to use the Amplified Bible.
4Love endures long and is patient and kind; love never is envious nor boils over with jealousy, is not boastful or vainglorious, does not display itself haughtily. 5It is not conceited (arrogant and inflated with pride); it is not rude (unmannerly) and does not act unbecomingly. Love (God’s love in us) does not insist on its own rights or its own way, for it is not self-seeking; it is not touchy or fretful or resentful; it takes no account of the evil done to it [it pays no attention to a suffered wrong]. 6It does not rejoice at injustice and unrighteousness, but rejoices when right and truth prevail. 7Love bears up under anything and everything that comes, is ever ready to believe the best of every person, its hopes are fadeless under all circumstances, and it endures everything [without weakening]. 8Love never fails [never fades out or becomes obsolete or comes to an end]. As for prophecy (the gift of interpreting the divine will and purpose), it will be fulfilled and pass away; as for tongues, they will be destroyed and cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away [it will lose its value and be superseded by truth].
To Forgive as He Forgave
Because Christians have received from God the ability to love as God loves, we naturally have the capacity to forgive as God forgives. The exercise of this ability, much like the debt to love our brothers and sisters, is a matter of Christian responsibility.
12So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you” (Colossians 3:12, 13).
Stephen proved that Christians could forgive as Christ forgave by praying on behalf of those that were stoning him the same way Christ prayed for the forgiveness of his murderers (Acts 7:60). Instead of our looking at this situation with exception, we should look at this as something that is expected of us – because it is.
Consequences of Unforgiveness
One cannot continually refuse to forgive and not suffer the consequences. Aside from causing a lot of self-inflicted hardness of heart, the refusal to forgive can actually hinder a person’s prayer life. Jesus alluded to this in Mark 11.
24″Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you. 25″Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 26["But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions."]
Notice that this comment on forgiveness was mentioned in the context of Christ’s teaching on prayer. Without our receiving forgiveness from God, we cannot realistically expect to receive anything from him by petition because there is no basis for confidence. Confidence towards God is predicated on our being cleansed and forgiven by the blood of Jesus. If we willingly fail to reciprocate that forgiveness to others, we violate our conscience and cut ourselves off from the grace of God.
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Excellent posting. I think I agree with every word of it, but I’ll have to read it a couple more times to be sure. This was a great explanation of love, forgiveness, and the rebirth of the believer. Very nicely written.
Chris said, “Because Christians have received from God the ability to love as God loves, we naturally have the capacity to forgive as God forgives.”
Well, I don’t find it all that natural. In fact, I find it hard to forgive and the only thing that makes me “feel” like forgiving is Ephesians 4:32: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake has forgiven you.
I’m clearheaded enough to know that God has forgiven me for a lot, so I should in turn forgive a lot.
I find it hardest to forgive those who have hurt my children.
I really don’t agree with this statement or that this is a good interpretation of Mark 11. This is for two reasons:
- I do not believe we can “cut ourselves off” from grace by any sin, including the sin of not forgiving. We didn’t earn grace by sinlessness and we cannot invalidate it by sinning. Grace is unconditional.
- Being able to forgive others requires that we first understand forgiveness in it’s purest form – that is God forgiving us. We cannot accurately forgive others without understanding the meaning of forgiveness.
When we consider how we have been forgiven – we are much more disposed to forgiving others because we are reminded of the meaning. Their transgressions against us are nothing compared to what we have done to God.
“I really don’t agree with this statement or that this is a good interpretation of Mark 11. This is for two reasons:
- I do not believe we can “cut ourselves off” from grace by any sin, including the sin of not forgiving. We didn’t earn grace by sinlessness and we cannot invalidate it by sinning. Grace is unconditional.”
It is true that grace is unmerited, but the appropriation of the benefits of grace is not without corresponding action on the one receiving it. This is where faith comes into play.
1Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
(Romans 5:1, 2)
How are the benefits of grace accessed? By faith. And faith requires corresponding action, because without it faith is dead (James 2:17, 20). What corresponding action releases faith for salvation?
8But what saith it? The word is nigh thee, even in thy mouth, and in thy heart: that is, the word of faith, which we preach;
9That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
10For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
(Romans 10:8-10)
One cannot maintain faith to receive forgiveness if he is not willing to forgive himself, because it is a violation of conscience that inhibits confidence towards God. Consider 1 John 3:21, 22:
21Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God.
22And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight.
So to paraphrase we could say, “Maintaining a clear conscience cultivates confidence in God and our ability to receive from Him the things we ask in prayer.” If this is true, what would this say of the person whose heart does condemn him for refusing to forgive?
Let’s look at Mark 11:25 and 26 again:
25″Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions. 26[”But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father who is in heaven forgive your transgressions.”]
Can we agree that forgiveness is a benefit of God’s grace? And can agree that Jesus plainly said that we could not partake of this benefit unless we forgive ourselves? It doesn’t seem that there is much room for misinterpretation here. I struggled with whether I should say “cut ourselves off”, but I couldn’t think of a better way to word it at the time. Perhaps I could have said, “we willingly choose not to partake of the grace that is freely made available.”
“- Being able to forgive others requires that we first understand forgiveness in it’s purest form – that is God forgiving us. We cannot accurately forgive others without understanding the meaning of forgiveness.”
What does this have to do with interpreting the scripture? There is a presumption of understanding about forgiveness on the part of the audience in Jesus’ statement.