When most people think of the Gospel of Jesus Christ, they think of being born again and passages such as John 3:3 “Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” or John 3:5-6 “Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” Another important passage from John is John 1:12 “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” We are told that if we believe in our hearts and confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, died on the cross, and was resurrected, our sins are forgiven and we are born again into eternal life.
That is true because the shed blood of Jesus Christ is the only thing in all of creation that can pay the debt of our sins and free us from the demands of the law of God that we be punished for those transgressions. There is no other way because, as Jesus said to his disciples, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6). For most Christians, this is the end-all and be-all of the Gospel.
However, the Lord has been calling me to look at something else. When Jesus’ disciples asked him to teach them how to pray, he gave us what is commonly known as “The Lord’s Prayer.” Matthew 6:9:13
In this manner, therefore, pray:
Our Father in heaven,
Hallowed be Your name.
Your kingdom come.
Your will be done
On earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
As we forgive our debtors.
And do not lead us into temptation,
But deliver us from the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Most people stop there and never read the emphasis given in verses 14-15 that follows. “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.“
There is a condition to that forgiveness from our heavenly Father, which, while mentioned in prayer, is often glossed over, but Jesus wanted to ensure we understood the significance of forgiveness, so he added that additional condition broken out as a separate truth…our forgiveness of our sin is conditional on our forgiveness of those who sin against us. So, what happens if you have done the “salvation thing” of believing and confessing but harbor unforgiveness in your heart? Are those sins of ours forgiven, or is that forgiveness held hostage by the unforgiveness in your own heart? I am not judging, just asking because I have recently been convicted of that dichotomy and have been seeking with all my heart to forgive anyone I might harbor unforgiveness towards.
I pray that you consider this requirement of Jesus with all the seriousness it deserves and do not allow any unforgiveness to take root in your heart. If it has already done so, rip it out, root and branch.
