Question
Please comment on Matthew 6:14?
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:”
Response
First off we need to acknowledge that Matthew 6:14-15 is part of what is commonly called ‘The Sermon on the Mount.’ And of course this means that it is part of the fundamental doctrines for the edification of the remnant of Israel, which the Lord was giving to His called out remnant during the opening part of the climactic stage of Israel’s program. By having believed “the gospel of the kingdom,” the members of the remnant received justification unto eternal life, and they thereby became members of ‘the called out seed of Jacob,’ the “Israel of God” to whom God would give the kingdom. But by having believed “the gospel of the kingdom” they also received sanctification in God’s sight, in accordance with the prescription for Israel’s cleansing that God began administering through John the Baptist. And as such they were expected to live their lives in accordance with being set apart unto God and set apart from any more identification with, or collaboration with, apostate and rebellious Israel. Wherefore the whole ‘Sermon on the Mount’ is composed of fundamental teachings that the remnant of Israel needs for their establishment, so that they can live sanctified lives during the course of the climactic stage of God’s program with Israel as the true “Israel of God” that they are, and no longer be living their lives in accordance with apostate Israel’s vain religious system, and after the pattern and example of apostate Israel’s rebellious and hypocritical leadership.
Now in connection with this, Matthew 6:14-15 is part of what the Lord said to the remnant when He specifically instructed them in Matthew 6:5-15 on what their intelligent praying should be like in contrast to that of apostate Israel, and what their intelligent prayers should be composed of in view of all of the corrective doctrine that He is teaching them, and in view of what God has set forth in the law and the prophets concerning what He will be doing during the climactic stage in the program. Wherefore as is particularly set forth in verses 9-13, when the Lord taught the remnant to pray “after this manner” He taught them to pray intelligently by teaching them to pray in accordance with six things that specifically pertain to the outworking of the climactic stage in the program. For according to what God set forth in the prophets these six things are major matters that God wants the remnant occupied with for their own good during the remainder of the program. And as such these things naturally should be the big matters of concern to the remnant in their daily lives during the outworking of the climactic stage in the program.
In accordance with this, (and as verse 12 relates), the Lord instructed the remnant to pray, “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” For in view of what is set forth back in the prophets the issue of them ‘being forgiven their debts, as they forgive their debtors’ should be a major matter of concern for the remnant. And the Lord specifically underscores the reality of this to them in verses 14 and 15 when He says, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
Now as just stated, this issue of ‘conditional and reciprocal forgiveness,’ (i.e. the issue of God their Father forgiving or not forgiving the ‘debts/trespasses’ that they commit in their lives as the remnant of Israel, based upon whether or not they themselves forgive other men the debts/trespasses that they commit against them), is directly connected with what God has set forth in the prophets regarding how He wants His remnant to live during the climactic stage in the program, and also with how He said that He would respond to them in accordance with how they live.
Very simply put, as God sets forth throughout the prophets He wants His remnant to live in stark contrast to the way that those of apostate Israel live. And this is exactly what the Lord Himself stresses to them over and over again, and teaches them to do, in His ‘Sermon on the Mount.’ For as the true “Israel of God” that they are, (who are also provided with the ability to be ‘doers of the law in truth’ by means of all of the Lord’s corrective doctrines to them, and who thereby are ones with whom the law has been ‘sealed’ as per Isaiah 8), God their Father wants them to live like the “Israel of God” that they are, and not like apostate Israel. And in accordance with providing for them to be
‘doers of the law in truth’ He wants them to do this very thing in the midst of apostate Israel. Thereby manifesting that they are the true “Israel of God,” and that they are the ones who have genuine fellowship with God, and are also the ones who are the friends of God just like Abraham was.
Wherefore as the Lord teaches in the ‘Sermon on the Mount,’ (and also throughout the full course of His corrective doctrines to the remnant), He teaches them to be “perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.” He therefore teaches them to ‘love in truth,’ to be ‘kind in truth,’ to be ‘merciful in truth,’ to be ‘good in truth,’ and the like. In so doing the Lord teaches them to be just like their heavenly Father in His love, and in His kindness, and in His mercy, and in His goodness, etc. In short the Lord teaches the remnant to be ‘the children of their Father which is in heaven,’ just like He says, and no longer to be followers of apostate Israel’s vain religious system with its ungodliness, nor followers of its corrupt apostate leaders like the ungodly Pharisees, scribes, priests, etc.
Now in connection with God providing for His remnant to be ‘doers of the law in truth’; (and especially in direct connection with also fervently wanting them to do so in their walk and thereby to be like Him); God also sets forth in the prophets how that He will respond to His remnant accordingly both during the day of the LORD, and especially when it comes to determining what their rewards will be in the kingdom when it is established at the conclusion of the climactic stage in the program. In other words, the criterion for determining their rewards in the kingdom will be whether they in their walk act like ‘the children of their Father which is in heaven,’ or whether they continue to operate upon the corrupt and erroneous teachings of Israel’s vain religious system, and continue to act like the unjustified and ungodly Pharisees and scribes. For just as David, for example, says in the prophetic 18th Psalm…
20 The LORD rewarded me according to my righteousness; according to the cleanness of my hands hath he recompensed me.
21 For I have kept the ways of the LORD, and have not wickedly departed from my God.
22 For all his judgments *were* before me, and I did not put away his statutes from me.
23 I was also upright before him, and I kept myself from mine iniquity.
24 Thereforehath the LORD recompensed me according to my righteousness, according to the cleanness of my hands in his eyesight.
25 With the merciful thou wilt shew thyself merciful; with an upright man thou wilt shew thyself upright;
26 With the pure thou wilt shew thyself pure; and with the froward thou wilt shew thyself froward. (Psalm 18:20-26)
Therefore just as David says in verses 25 and 26, if the remnant in their walk are “merciful,” then God will be “merciful” to them, etc. But if instead of being “merciful,” or “upright,” or “pure,” they are “froward” in their walk, then God will shew Himself to be “froward” to them.
Now this is exactly what the Lord Himself taught the remnant to understand, just as He said to them, for example, in
Luke 6…
31 And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise.
32 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them.
33 And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.
34 And if ye lend *to them* of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again.
35 But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and *to* the evil.
36 Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful.
37 Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
38 Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again. (Luke 6:31-38)
When at the end of verse 38 the Lord says, “For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again,” He sets forth what I call the ‘conditional and reciprocal response principle’ that God in the prophets said that He will use with His remnant, as was just noted for example in Psalm 18:25-26. And just as the Lord says in verse 37, it includes forgiveness. And just as He says in verse 35, it will be the criterion upon which their reward in the kingdom will be determined.
So then the basic issue is this: Since the members of the remnant of Israel are going to be evaluated for rewards in the kingdom based primarily upon whether they act like ‘the children of their Father which is in heaven,’ or whether they continue to act like those of apostate Israel; and since God says that He is going to respond to them in like kind to the way that they act; this means that if they do not act like their Father by being merciful to others, and by being kind, good, and forgiving others their trespasses against them, then this is going to have a negative impact upon their reward. In particular if they fail to forgive others their trespasses against them, then God will not forgive them their own trespasses which they commit against others. But instead He will justly apply their own trespasses against their reward, with the result that they will not receive the full reward that they could have received.
Therefore in view of the ‘conditional and reciprocal response principle’ that God says He will use as the criterion for determining the remnant’s rewards in the kingdom, this is the reason for the Lord teaching the remnant of Israel about ‘conditional and reciprocal forgiveness’ in Matthew 6:12, Matthew 6:14-15, 18:21-35; Mark 11:25-26; Luke 6:37 and 17:3-10.
This is the gist of my understanding on this matter.
Keith Blades
Enjoy The Bible Ministries
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