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NASB | Matthew 6:15 "But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Matthew 6:15 "But if you do not forgive others [nurturing your hurt and anger with the result that it interferes with your relationship with God], then your Father will not forgive your trespasses. |
Bible Question (short): Are you forgiven? |
Question (full): Dear Debbie, I humbly ask, if the foot-washing episode is about more forgiveness and more cleansing, are you going to ask the King of kings and Lord of lords to strip, don a robe, and wash you again when He said that, "It is finished." Permit me to ask, who initiated the foot-washing? Did Peter ask for it? Did he come to God (Jesus) and say, 'Lord, I need cleansing. Please make a servant of Yourself and wash my feet.' Hardly, Christ initiated it. Peter just responded to what Christ was doing. This passage is not about forgiveness, this passage is about servanthood. This passage is about serving one another in Christian love. As for 1 John 1:9, see my other post. Dear Debbie, where do you see in scripture that "the wages of sin is broken fellowship" or that the wages of not sinning is fellowship. If you believe that your fellowship with God is dependant on what you do or don't do, then you are saying that you are stronger than what Christ has done. The Bible says that we HAVE BEEN reconciled to God. That means that ALL hostilities between us and God have ceased. Do you believe that God was in Christ, not holding our sins against us? Do you believe Heb 10:17,18? Christ has brought us into fellowship with God by His blood. The veil was torn in two. We can now enter into God's presence (indeed, He is IN us) through the blood of Christ. I agree that we should thank Him for His forgiveness. And you yourself said that we WERE forgiven. So, are we or not? Either Christ forgave us ALL our sins, as the scripture references I cited earlier say, or He didn't. ALL your sins (and mine) were future when He died on the cross. His blood covers the mercy seat in heaven and it keeps on cleansing us continually from every sin. Not because we ask, but because He offered. You are not out of fellowship with God when you sin, but you are walking after the flesh. See 1 Cor 1:9; 2 Cor 13:14; Phil 2:1; 1 John 1:3. Even 1 John 1:3 says, "our fellowship IS with the Father, and with His Son, Jesus Christ." John does not say, "our fellowship is with the Father...as long as we don't sin." Or "our fellowship is with the Father...as long as we keep on, day after day, time after time, keeping short accounts with God." 1 John 1:7 says that Christ blood cleanses us from ALL sin. This is something He initiated. Confession of sin doesn't KEEP you reconciled to God, only the blood of Christ KEEPS us in fellowship. Forgiveness, for the believer, is something we HAVE, not something we GET. What do you think? In Him, Bill Mc |