Do we have to forgive to be forgiven? Mark 11:25. Is this for us in the new covenant? Join me on a discussion

We talks about forgiveness in my last blog, just a short description of what it is, and isn’t. See HERE.

You are free! Jump for joy!

I would like to talk about an often-quoted verse on forgiveness, and discuss whether it is for us in the new covenant, or was it in the old? The verse is Mark 11:25. In Berean Standard Bible it reads “And when you stand to pray, if you hold anything against another, forgive it, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your trespasses as well.”  Forgiving so you can be forgiven. In some versions it goes farther, to verse 26, such as New King James Version, that reads “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses." Both verses say essentially the same thing. The question is: is this verse for us today?

            I believe we should forgive, don’t get me wrong, but hear me out when I say, no, I don’t think this verse is for us today. It was written to old covenant believers. Jesus had not risen from the dead. Pentecost had not come. There were no new creations in Christ. I absolutely believe we should forgive, so I am not disagreeing with that premise, but this scripture could make it sound like we are doing something to get God to forgive us. Which was true in the old covenant.

            Now however, in the new and better covenant, we are already forgiven, and it is by grace, not by works. God already sent Jesus, to save us all through Him. We get to believe in Jesus, make Him Lord and Savior of our lives, and be forgiven, because Jesus paid for us all to be forgiven 2,000 years ago. He is not holding back some of the blood on the cross to shed specifically for each sin we commit of unforgiveness. He finished it all. God honors Jesus’ sacrifice, and chooses to remember our sins no more.

            We have already been forgiven, because of God’s goodness and Jesus’ sacrifice. We do have to take hold of that forgiveness. I have been asking God to explain this more, because He revealed this part to me a long time ago, but I knew forgiveness is part of life with Him, and so it is. It’s just not for us as new creations in Christ as it is written in that verse in Mark 11.

            I want to look at Colossians together: “When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses, [14] having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross! [15] And having disarmed the powers and authorities, He made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross. From this we see that God forgave us all our trespasses. That is past tense. It is done. He canceled the debt, or punishment that we had before. He celebrated this triumph!” Colossians 2:13-15 BSB

Then we specifically look at forgiving another person. We are told to “Forgive as the Lord forgave you”. We are to forgive, I agree! But Christ has already forgiven us, so it is not dependent on us making that step first to forgive someone else, but just on that step of making Jesus Lord of our lives. Because of course, if we aren’t forgiven, we are not going to Heaven, we do not have eternal life and relationship with God, nor peace with God. But we are forgiven, praise God!

I don’t want to end there, because I do want us to realize forgiveness is important. But I believe it’s a part of living with Christ, maturing into Christ, and walking as new creations, not a conditional thing we do to earn forgiveness in the new covenant.

            We love because God first loved us. The same is true of forgiveness. We forgive because Christ first forgave us. It’s beautiful. Thank you, Jesus. God showed me in quiet time on a Zoom call I was leading, that if we are really walking in the light as He is in the light, and under the shadow of His wing, walking in love… then forgiveness is in our nature. It is simply how we walk. We get to walk unoffended, and with a heart that is love, and therefore keeps no records of wrong. It is a beautiful place to live from. I am still learning and growing, and being transformed, and have not arrived, but I can say I am in a totally different place I was just a few years ago, and I'm walking forward in the light. The ease of forgiveness is amazing compared to the past. It is more like a natural state than not. I want it to be fully my immediate natural response all the time, so I continue to open my heart to God, and strive to know Him more. I know I haven’t even begun to plumb the depths of His deep love for us.

            But let’s all together, receive God’s love, and walk with a heart of forgiveness. Let’s walk in a heart of love, that isn’t tossed by the words spoken over us. Remember from the last blog on forgiveness that building trust is different. Having reconciliation is different. Neither of those things change. We can still have emotions and memories around a situation, but they do not rule and control our actions. Thank you, Jesus for growing us all to walk in forgiveness more.

            So, while I don’t believe that scripture in Mark 11 on forgiveness is for us in the new covenant as it is written, we definitely want to walk in forgiveness. If someone wants to forgive, but they are renewing their mind, and being transformed, which is being made new from the inside out, their heart is going in the right direction, and God will continue to help them. If someone, on the other hand, truly doesn’t want to forgive, then although God has already paid the price for their sins, I would ask if that person is really seeking God, or has really given their heart to God. It's a question we need to ask ourselves or others. Because we really do want to have a heart change and live for God.

In conclusion, let’s together receive God’s love, and walk in it, and walk with a heart of forgiveness!

I did a word and worship on forgiveness recently, with music HERE and without music HERE

If you ever want to join us for live sessions, subscribe to free live mind renewal sessions HERE. (subscribe for free live mind renewal sessions)

"Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! [2] Yes, what joy for those whose record the LORD has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty!" Psalm 32:1-2 NLT

References

Scripture quotations marked (BSB) are from The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB Copyright 2022 by Bible Hub Used by Permission. All Rights Reserved Worldwide.

Scripture quotations marked (NKJV) are from the New King James Version Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson. Used by permission. All rights reserved. 

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are from New Living Translation, Tyndale House Foundation, 1996, 2004, 2015