“But I say to you who hear, Love your enemies, do good to
those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who abuse you”
(Luke 6:27).
These words of Jesus tell us how we are to treat those who
reject and oppose us. Nobody would argue that this instruction only applies if
our enemies first ask us to forgive them. No, we are to act this way even while
they are behaving with contempt toward us. That’s what Jesus taught. The clear teaching on the subject
confirms, “by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head” (Romans 12:20).
So we are to love, and bless
people whether they accept it or not. We aren’t to wait for people to ask for forgiveness before we extend
it. We forgive because it’s who we
are as those joined in union with Christ. Forgiveness is an expression of grace.
It is an undeserved and unilateral experience.
If you accept that
the Bible teaches we are to forgive people even before they ask, consider this
question: Has Jesus already forgiven those who reject Him even though they
haven’t asked? Or has He given us instructions to do something that He won’t
even do? Of course, the answer is that He has forgiven everybody. God was in Christ reconciling the
world to Himself, not counting their sins against them.
Does that suggest
that everybody enjoys that forgiveness and walks in harmony with Him? To answer
that question, consider this one: If you forgive somebody who has done wrong to
you but they still reject you, does that mean you haven’t really forgiven them?
No, of course not. You have forgiven that person regardless of his response to
it. However, unless he receives your forgiveness, that does prevent him from experiencing the benefits of your
forgiveness. The same is true with mankind and God. We have all been forgiven
but unless we receive it we won’t experientially know its benefits.
“But doesn’t
suggesting that all are forgiven mean that everybody is going to heaven? No, it
doesn’t. People don’t’ go to heaven because their sins are forgiven. They go to
heaven because they trust Jesus Christ.
Sin doesn’t keep people out of heaven. Sin has been dealt with in
totality by the cross. Only rejecting Jesus Christ and His work on the cross
can do that.
The proclamation of
the gospel is the proclamation of the forgiveness of sin, not a promise of the potential
for forgiveness based on us and what we do.
One thing is
certain: Jesus didn’t tell us to love our enemies while He won’t love His own.
He has loved and so we love. He has forgiven and so we forgive. Thank God,
grace doesn’t require an invitation. Instead, it rushes right into the place
where it is needed simply because of love.
quote : "They go to heaven because they trust Jesus Christ. Sin doesn’t keep people out of heaven. Sin has been dealt with in totality by the cross. Only rejecting Jesus Christ and His work on the cross can do that. "
ReplyDeleteIsn't sin summed up in rejecting Jesus?
why would Jesus die for trillions of sins but not die for the important sin - not trusting in Him?
See Martin Zender's book "The Really Bad Thing about Free Will".
I can never be sure i'm 'trusting' Jesus. He'll have to save me in my mixed up state of sometimes believing....most of the time having no faith...
Rejecting Jesus is not a sin it is a condition of ones heart. Just like having faith in the Gospel of Grace is a condition of heart and not a work.
DeleteTrusting Jesus isn't a muscle we use, it simply means that I put my faith in what He has done to save me. I confess...agree that, yup, I'm in need of that forgiveness He offered by His blood 2 thousand years ago, and nope, there's zip I can do in and of myself to save me and make me ready to stand before God on that day. I look at what Jesus has done: A) cancelled my debt with His blood-payment and B) offered me everything I need to be fit for God (new heart, new spirit, His Spirit in me as a downpayment, righteousness, and so on). I can't do anything to receive forgiveness because it was done already - for everyone. But I can recognize my need for the Saviour (come to my senses, change my mind and head toward Him...repent in other words) and receive the gift of all that He offers to make me fit for Him. And the brilliance of the whole thing is THERE IS NO SELF EFFORT INVOLVED. He is the One who does it from start to finish! I now live by faith in the Son of God. I now live in holiness and righteousness by trusting in He who lives in me.
DeleteAnd yes, He can save you even in your mixed up state because it is simply not about YOU getting your theology perfect. He will teach you. It's all about Him and not about your efforts...even to think it all "right". Blessings and peace, bro.
Is there any special meaning or significance when Jesus told the paralytic “Your sins are forgiven?” (Matt 9:2) or when Jesus told the women “who was a sinner” that her sins, which are many, are forgiven? (Luke 7:36-50)
ReplyDeleteAnother great article Steve! See if you can tell if I've been paying attention in class...
ReplyDeleteAre we forgiven before we ask is like asking is Jesus already in my heart before I invite him?
John Donne's great poem "The Cross" asks this question,
"It bore all other sins, but is it fit
That it should bear the sin of scorning it ?"
Indeed... and those who eventually "damn themselves to hell" as Thomas Torrance put's it (and I don't mean Dante's image of that place) are not outside God's presence or his love... that would be impossible. That kind of thinking, that we can be separated from Him is pure dualism... from the Greek philosophical understanding of the universe.
John 1 and Colossians 1 destroy dualism... everything made is held together by Him, for Him, in Him and through Him; it's in Him that we live and move and have our being... Jesus is the LIGHT that shines THROUGH the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. BUT the light has indeed enlightened EVERY MAN.
The astonishingly great news of the Gospel that we should all be bubbling over with is that the whole world is reconciled to God RIGHT NOW, most simply do not know it... yet.
Oh, and by the way... did I mention that we're not even saved through our own faith? We're saved through the faith of Jesus Christ!
Galatians 2:20,21: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
Ephesians 2:8-9 "We are saved by grace (God) through faith and THAT (faith) not of yourselves... it is a gift from God
David Torrance puts it this way, "I'm not justified by my own faith. My faith can go up and down and sometimes be almost nonexistent, sadly. I'm justified by Christ's faith... (the faith of Christ our vicar... the vicarious man). My faith is very important but my faith is really a response to the faith of Christ. The primary thing is Christ's faith"
I think this is what Paul was talking about in Philippians 2:12-13 when he said "work out our own salvation with fear & trembling FOR it is God at work in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Once we get a hold of that, of course our reaction is going to be one of awe and trembling.
None of us knows the final state of a mans heart or mind while he is alive on earth. If all takes is to internally look away from yourself and upon God as Jesus pointed out in Luke 18 with the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector "who wouldn't even lift his eyes towards heaven" and yet went to his house justified... that can happen in a nano second and, as the thief next to Jesus can testify... that's all it takes.
Who are we to know how God comes to a person? Acts 17 emphatically states God is NOT served with human hands AS IF He needed anything... He doesn't need our help, rather it is out of the pure love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that we are blessed to participate with them in their redemptive story. But let's be clear... it's their story and their the only ones who know the beginning from the end. What a thrill it is to be involved in it's telling
Another great article Steve! See if you can tell if I've been paying attention in class...
ReplyDeleteAre we forgiven before we ask is like asking is Jesus already in my heart before I invite him?
John Donne's great poem "The Cross" asks this question,
"It bore all other sins, but is it fit
That it should bear the sin of scorning it ?"
Indeed... and those who eventually "damn themselves to hell" as Thomas Torrance put's it (and I don't mean Dante's image of that place) are not outside God's presence or his love... that would be impossible. That kind of thinking, that we can be separated from Him is pure dualism... from the Greek philosophical understanding of the universe.
John 1 and Colossians 1 destroy dualism... everything made is held together by Him, for Him, in Him and through Him; it's in Him that we live and move and have our being... Jesus is the LIGHT that shines THROUGH the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. BUT the light has indeed enlightened EVERY MAN.
The astonishingly great news of the Gospel that we should all be bubbling over with is that the whole world is reconciled to God RIGHT NOW, most simply do not know it... yet.
Oh, and by the way... did I mention that we're not even saved through our own faith? We're saved through the faith of Jesus Christ!
Galatians 2:20,21: "I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. I do not frustrate the grace of God: for if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in vain."
Ephesians 2:8-9 "We are saved by grace (God) through faith and THAT (faith) not of yourselves... it is a gift from God
David Torrance puts it this way, "I'm not justified by my own faith. My faith can go up and down and sometimes be almost nonexistent, sadly. I'm justified by Christ's faith... (the faith of Christ our vicar... the vicarious man). My faith is very important but my faith is really a response to the faith of Christ. The primary thing is Christ's faith"
I think this is what Paul was talking about in Philippians 2:12-13 when he said "work out our own salvation with fear & trembling FOR it is God at work in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Once we get a hold of that, of course our reaction is going to be one of awe and trembling.
None of us knows the final state of a mans heart or mind while he is alive on earth. If all takes is to internally look away from yourself and upon God as Jesus pointed out in Luke 18 with the story of the Pharisee and the tax collector "who wouldn't even lift his eyes towards heaven" and yet went to his house justified... that can happen in a nano second and, as the thief next to Jesus can testify... that's all it takes.
Who are we to know how God comes to a person? Acts 17 emphatically states God is NOT served with human hands AS IF He needed anything... He doesn't need our help, rather it is out of the pure love of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit that we are blessed to participate with them in their redemptive story. But let's be clear... it's their story and their the only ones who know the beginning from the end.
What a thrill it is to be involved in it's telling
Great post Steve. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteThis is true. Indeed great post Steve. Faith in the Finished work on the Cross and through grace
ReplyDeleteaccording to Eph 2:8,9 it is not through grace but By Grace through Faith.
DeleteWho can tell how God decrees? But if I build on a solid Christ foundation I'm on solid ground. Thanks for a correction.
DeleteThe Word of God tells us how God decrees. You either believe it or you don't.
ReplyDeleteI can tell how God decrees because I have his words in a book I can hold in my hand and apply to my life. It never changes and it is true and pure words of God preserved as he promised Ps 12:6, 7
No one brought a charge against God's elect indeed no one can. But can you tell the order of God's decrees? Is forgiveness first and then justification or is it sanctification next and what about regeneration, mercy, redemption, grace, etc.?
DeleteJames - great post. You've expressed what I believe too.
ReplyDeleteVoice of Truth - who are you? I usually don't respond to anonymous posts and would like to know a little more about you, if that's okay.
ReplyDelete