When Jesus was explaining to His Jewish disciples how they should pray at that time—before the cross—one of the things within the prayer was that they should ask the Father to forgive them based upon how they forgive others. Immediately after this, Jesus told them if they didn't (perfectly) forgive others, God would not forgive them. What a monstrous statement! Does it apply to believers in Christ? This was how it was before the cross. We're taking a look at the context of what Jesus was sharing with His listeners who were still stuck in a hopeless situation under the law when it came to attaining righteousness, forgiveness, and eternal life. If what Jesus stated at that time was true for all future believers after the cross, then His blood was shed needlessly.
On the subject of forgiveness, one of the biggest differences between the Old Covenant compared to the New ... is that forgiveness came through the finished work of Jesus and His blood, which was shed once. As Paul explained, we don't forgive others in order to receive forgiveness from God, but we now have the grace to forgive others because God has already forgiven us.
A Bible verse often quoted is when Jesus told His Jewish disciples that if they did not forgive others for their sins, neither would God forgive them for their sins. In context, we see that Jesus wasn’t speaking to all future believers, but rather to people who were trapped within an old (obsolete) covenant which had certain requirements related to works rather than grace. The gospel within a new and better covenant is not based on a quid pro quo — “you do this, and God will do the same for you.” This would be the opposite of the great exchange and would not be good news to the hearers.
The Apostle Paul said something very different to believers in Christ compared to what Jesus stated. Once we realize and understand the magnitude of God already freely forgiving us through the blood of Jesus … we can now forgive others in a way that people under the law would have been unable to do. The difference between what Jesus said compared to Paul is found within two covenants that are not alike. The Old was still in place before the cross, but everything changed after that.
Under the law from the Old Covenant, a temporary covering of forgiveness was provided to the Jews based upon certain conditions. In the New Covenant, we now have the revelation that forgiveness from God came unconditionally through the blood of Jesus Christ. God took away the sins of the world and declared He would remember them no more. We recommend resting in Christ’s finished work, rather than going back to an Old Covenant mindset that will put the responsibility upon you instead of Jesus. The Lord was showing His disciples they needed to pray for God’s Kingdom to come and His will to be done (the cross), because they were in a hopeless situation in having to depend on their ability instead of God’s. In the New Covenant, we forgive because we’re forgiven, not to get forgiveness. Finally, it’s important to recognize that not a single apostle from the New Testament instructed or encouraged believers to pray this prayer… Because Jesus already fulfilled what the prayer was seeking. It was given to His disciples to pray prior to the cross.
In part 10 of our series, we take a look at something Jesus stated about forgiveness. He said people should pray they will be forgiven as they forgive others. After the prayer, Jesus said they would be forgiven for sins based upon the condition that they forgive others for their sins. This was not good news to the Jews who were listening because it was based upon their ability instead of the gift of righteousness that would come through Christ. Jesus went on to tell them about something they were ignorant about — God's righteousness. They should begin to seek this instead of trying to establish their own righteousness through the works of the law. As believers, we no longer seek this gift because we have already become His righteousness.
Doing something a little off the beaten path this week, Mike throws Joel some spontaneous questions or statements about common thoughts, assumptions or beliefs found in most Christian circles or church doctrine. Discussions include falling from grace and forgiving others in order to be forgiven.
