More of God by R.T. Kendall

Author:R.T. Kendall
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Charisma House
Published: 2019-01-13T16:00:00+00:00

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

—EPHESIANS 4:31–32

With this there is good news and bad news. First, the good news: when we grieve the Holy Spirit, it does not mean we lose our salvation. After all, said Paul, we are “sealed for the day of redemption” (Eph. 4:30)! That is good news.

It is equally true that forgiveness is not a prerequisite to being a Christian. If it were, no one would be saved. Jesus, in the Lord’s Prayer, inserted the petition “Forgive us our debts” (Matt. 6:12; see also Luke 11:4) because He knew that we all sin every day. He put this most gracious provision in His pattern prayer for us. This sin, debt, or trespass almost always implies our weakness in the area of forgiving one another, so Jesus added that we forgive those who sin against us.

That said, the Lord’s Prayer has probably made more liars out of people than any document in history. (Because they’ve prayed that they forgive others when they haven’t.) But we cannot blame the Lord; we must blame ourselves—or not pray the Lord’s Prayer. And yet not praying puts us in disobedience because Jesus commanded us to pray this prayer (Matt. 6:9; Luke 11:2).

You might say that Jesus said, “If you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matt. 6:15), which is absolutely true. But this warning is not in reference to salvation. The Lord’s Prayer is not a prayer for how to become a Christian. It addresses those already in the family. But some will say, “This shows you can lose your salvation if you don’t forgive people their sins.” I reply, “If that is the case, nobody would be saved. Can you say that you never have a problem forgiving others?”

Jesus gave the Lord’s Prayer to those already in the family of God. It is a prayer that we might inherit the kingdom of heaven. All Christians are called to come into their inheritance. Some do; some don’t. Those who do come into their inheritance practice forgiving others; those who don’t refuse to forgive others—and hold a grudge. This concept is so important that I will return to it later in this book. But for now I am compelled to say if you want more of God, you must prove it by totally forgiving those who have sinned against you. It is possibly the toughest challenge of all.

Grumbling

Grumbling is the polar opposite of gratitude. If you want an idea of how much God hates ingratitude, read these verses that described the previously mentioned generation of the children of Israel who forfeited their inheritance:

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