Friday, July 18, 2008
Luke 11:4 Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us.
THE FORGIVEN FORGIVE
While Jesus called God "Father" when He prayed on Calvary, He asked for forgiveness for His enemies in His own name. And in the name of Jesus we come to the Father, for only in Jesus is there a basis for our forgiveness.
To pray in Jesus' name is to pray trusting for access to God through the blood-bought forgiveness of Christ. Apart from Jesus we couldn't pray "Our Father" and expect to be heard.
That we come to God trusting in Jesus is also evident when we pray, "Forgive us . . as we forgive." We have been forgiven before and know it. Faith says "I have been forgiven" by forgiving others. That's the mark of the believer. God is holy love, therefore He acts in holy love. We are forgiven sinners, therefore we forgive. Through Christ's forgiveness we are restored to God's own family and we then do as our heavenly Father has done for us. We forgive.
Is it hard to forgive those who wrong us? Depends on what we look at first: Their actions against us or Jesus' actions on our behalf. Forgiveness becomes natural for our new nature when we consider what Christ was willing to pay to be able to say: "Be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you" (Matthew 9:2).
Forgiveness is costly, but remember Christ paid for the forgiveness we give to others. If we refuse to forgive those who sin against us, our actions amount to a denial that God is our Father in Christ. For what has God done for us in Christ? Did He wait until we asked for forgiveness -- or until we vowed not to do it again?
No. "God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. . . . when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son" (Romans 5:8 ff).
