THE GOSPELS
In this section:
MATTHEW 5:20-30
MATTHEW 6:14-15, LUKE 11:2-4, MARK 11:22-25, MATTHEW 18:32-35
MATTHEW 5:20-30
It is necessary that we get the contextual flow of the gospel of Matthew before we go into analyzing chapter 5. Starting in chapter one, we see that Matthew gives us the genealogy of the generations of Joseph, (Jesus' earthly father), all the way back to Abraham. Next, we read of the virgin Mary's miraculous conception by the Holy Spirit. As we go into chapter 2, we read of Jesus' birth as the King of the Jews. These facts reveal that God is Jesus' real Father. We read of how king Herod tried to kill Jesus, and failed and that Jesus was raised in Nazareth according to the prophecies concerning Him. In chapter 3, we read of John the baptist announcing that Messiah is here and about to be made manifest. John in prophetic duty, urges Israelite people to turn (to repent), because the kingdom (rule and reign) of heaven is at hand, (Matthew 3:2). John announces the soon coming wrath prophesied by Malachi that will take place against the rejecting Jews who will not be able to escape by claiming that Abraham is their father (Matthew 3:1-12). In fact, John says that, the ax of God is already laid at the root of the trees, which are certain people of Israel. Therefore, John says that every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire, (Matthew 3:10). It is the warning to the Jews who are not elect to eternal spiritual salvation. Many of them will be made manifest early on in their rejection of Messiah and His reign. Then we see that Jesus arrives and is baptized by John to fulfill all righteousness that necessarily must be fulfilled according to the outworking of God's plan. Coming into chapter 4, we read that Jesus went into the desert to specifically be tested by the devil, and of course triumph over the devil. Shortly after this, Jesus begins his preaching ministry, and He preaches the same thing that John preached concerning Messiah. The exception is that Jesus preaches it concerning Himself. Jesus begins announcing to Israel to,
"Repent, [meaning turn], for the kingdom [rule and reign] of heaven is at hand." Matthew 4:17
Jesus went throughout Galilee preaching this good news of the kingdom according to Messiah's appointed promise in the Davidic covenant. Large crowds followed Jesus from Galilee; from the province of the ten regional cities of the Roman Decapolis, from Jerusalem, from Judea, and from beyond the Jordan (4:25). When Jesus saw the large crowds, He went up on a mountain. His students came to Him, and He began to preach a sermon, (which goes on from chapter 5 to chapter 7). We anachronistically know it as His Sermon on the Mount. In Luke 6:13, concerning the same event, we see that there were many students there, but that Jesus elected 12 of them on the mountain, which He also named as apostles. We read next in Luke,
"17 Jesus came down with them and stood on a level place; and there was a large crowd of His students, and a great throng of people from all Judea and Jerusalem and the coastal region of Tyre and Sidon, 18 who had come to hear Him ..." (Luke 6:17-18)
It was at that point that we see that Jesus began to preach after,
"20 ... turning His gaze toward His students," (Luke 6:20)
Jesus was preaching directly to His students, and yet, as we see in Luke 7:1, He preached,
"His discourse in the hearing of the people," (Luke 7:1)
Though directed at the students in particular, the teaching was also directed at the gathered crowds, as we read in Matthew 7,
"28 When Jesus had finished these words, the crowds were amazed at His teaching; 29 for He was teaching them [them being the crowds plural] as one having authority, and not as their scribes." (Matthew 7:28-29)
Jesus preached the principles of His kingdom (rule and reign) of heaven. Jesus taught,
"3 Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is <the kingdom [rule and reign] of heaven.>" (Matthew 5:3 emph. mine)
"10 Blessed are those who have been persecuted for the sake of righteousness, for theirs is the <kingdom of heaven.>" (Matthew 5:10 emph. mine)
"19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments [of the Law and the prophets, v. 18], and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in <the kingdom of heaven;> but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in <the kingdom of heaven.> 20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter <the kingdom of heaven.>" (Matthew 5:19-20 emph. mine)
Jesus teaches them to pray in this way,
"'Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10 <'Your kingdom come Your will be done, On earth as it is in heaven.>" (Matthew 6:9-10 emph. mine)
The Gentiles eagerly seek clothing food, and drink, but Jesus says to the Israelites,
"33 But seek first <His [God's] kingdom> and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you." (Matthew 6:33 emph. mine)
We read that Messiah says,
"21 Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter <the kingdom of heaven,> but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven will enter." (Matthew 7:21 emph. mine)
Seeking the kingdom is what all these Israelites are exhorted to do. Messiah is the King sent from Heaven. Ultimately, as we will see, the eternal spiritual aspect of Messiah's kingdom, which will come later on, can not be entered into unless one is perfectly sinless. Such a revelation demonstrates to Israel, and to us, how necessary the imputed sinlessness of Christ through His crucifixion and resurrection by grace through faith, actually is. The Old Covenant Israelites that were there that day, listening to their Messiah's sermon that He preached on the mount, do not know about the imputed righteousness through Messiah's future New Covenant yet.
This famous sermon of Messiah brings us to the first passage out of Matthew that those who believe in the Not Eternally Saved Theory, (NEST) interpret to mean that people under the New Covenant can lose their eternal spiritual salvation. It is 5:20, where Jesus said,
"20 For I say to you that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven." Matthew 5:19-20
According to the typical NEST interpretation, this passage means that saved people exist in a state of danger because they may sin to a point where their own self righteousness falls short of the righteousness level of the Pharisees. Accordingly, if the saved person sins too much, or does not apply enough effort to be more righteous than a Pharisee, then the Christian is said to be unable to enter heaven. Therefore, the saved person is said to lose their prior state of salvation, and are damned forever. The NEST is wrong, so we will consider some important facts in understanding why the NEST philosophy is wrong.
Starting out, it is imperative that we recognize that there must be spotless perfection in the kingdom of heaven. Jesus says directly going into 5:20, concerning the Old Covenant Law,
"17 Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17-19)
Jesus is stating that instead of abolishing either the Prophets, or the Law that requires perfection, He, Messiah, is going to fulfill both, (v. 17). Additionally, no minutia will pass from the Law until a certain event takes place, and that event is that all will be accomplished within the New Covenant period before heaven and earth pass away. In the meantime, keeping, and living by, the Law, is necessary for those Israelites, because those who are under the Old Covenant Law, who keep and teach the commandments, shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Nevertheless, keeping, and teaching, the Law, is still not enough for eternal spiritual salvation. The reason is because an Old Covenant Israelite's Law-righteousness must still surpass that of the Pharisees to please God. The problem is that nobody can surpass the Pharisees' righteousness enough to actually be pleasing to God. The main point is that the Pharisees' righteousness is deficient to please God, even though it is based upon strict adherence to the codes of the Law. Paul describes that deficient Pharisee righteousness this way,
"5 as to the Law, a Pharisee; ... as to the righteousness which is in the Law, found blameless." (Philippians 3:5-6)
So, even though the Pharisees were able to keep the law in an apparent kind of "found" blamelessness, as Paul says he previously bragged that he did, such kind of righteousness and blamelessness is not enough for the eternal kingdom of heaven. This is what Jesus was talking about. Early in Jesus' ministry, (during His three year pre-cross ministry) Jesus was already touching on the need, and blessing, of the New Covenant that was going to be established in Him. Jesus was preaching on the inadequacy of works based righteousness by illustrating the impossibility of being able to be found more blameless than a Pharisee. Jesus illustrated His point further in the next sentence after the verse the NEST misinterprets, (v. 20), by quoting the Law He wrote in His Old Covenant, (cf. Exodus 20:13 and Deuteronomy 5:17). Jesus said,
"You have heard that the ancients were told, 'You shall not commit Murder.'" (Matthew 5:21)
Of course, all of those Israelites had heard this statement. The statement is from the first ten commandments of the Law of Moses, of which the Scribes and Pharisees taught out of daily. It is a statute in the Law of Moses that every family was well acquainted with. But Jesus is explaining that the righteousness that enters eternally into the kingdom of heaven must surpass this law statute, and so Jesus goes on explaining the righteousness that is impossible to keep, because even in something that seems as innocent as name calling, or being angry, the taint of not being perfect makes one guilty enough to go into the fiery hell. Notice what Jesus says in His next words as He teaches that in addition to abstaining from murder, according to the Old Covenant Law, He continues with what apparently seems like a dooming proposition for any Israelite, including anyone else for that matter. He says,
"22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court; and whoever says to his brother, 'You good-for-nothing,' shall be guilty before the supreme court; and whoever says, 'You fool,' shall be guilty enough to go into the fiery hell." (Matthew 5:22)
This teaching is disturbing for anyone who thinks they are good enough to earn, or even keep, salvation by personal self effort. Clearly, Jesus is teaching points of righteousness that go to greater heights, and surpass the Law. A question presses itself to the forefront at this point; namely, "Who can do it?" This is probably the same question those Israelite crowds were wondering about when they heard Jesus teaching this lesson.
This particular section of Matthew 5:22, is another passage extracted out of Matthew to build the philosophy of the NEST. What the NEST says about this illustration that Jesus is giving about righteousness that is required by God that surpasses that of the Mosaic Law Covenant, is that Jesus means that if someone, who is eternally spiritually saved, calls someone a fool, then that saved person will experience eternal damnation, because, in being "guilty enough" to go to hell, they must go there, in that after all, God requires perfect righteousness to not go there.
The interpretation of the NEST completely misses Christ's point here in His sermon, so let us continue analyzing this great illustration of our Lord that forces us to rely on the real gospel (good news), which is the gospel of eternal salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Messiah alone, as our Lord, Savior, and righteousness alone. As we continue, we notice that Jesus places even more demands in His teaching. He quotes the Law concerning the righteousness that is based upon the very same Law He is quoting. He quotes Exodus 20:14, and Deuteronomy 5:18, saying,
"27 You have heard that it was said, 'You shall not commit adultery';" (Matthew 5:27)
Of course these Israelites "have heard that it was said." After all, this is part of God's covenant Law with Israel. But we must notice that Jesus goes on with His own extreme requirement of His people in surpassing the righteousness of the Pharisees,
"28 but I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart. 29 If your right eye makes you stumble, tear it out and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to be thrown into hell. 30 If your right hand makes you stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; for it is better for you to lose one of the parts of your body, than for your whole body to go into hell." (Matthew 5:28-30)
This is teaching that surpasses the Levitical Law! No Israelite has ever heard such a thing before. What is even more amazing is that these are requirements for righteousness that no person can, or will, keep, (no person that is, except Jesus Messiah Himself). The necessary fulfillment of this righteousness is the essence of Messiah's New Covenant that will come in a few years when He is rejected by some of these same people. He will be executed by them, which will not merely be an execution, but rather it will be the great and final sacrifice that takes away sins, and imputes the very righteousness that God requires as a newer, "better covenant" (cf. Hebrews 7:22) through faith.
Today, in the New Covenant, we who are saved understand that it is only through Messiah, as the fulfiller of the Law, and the fulfiller of these additional rules that He is teaching, that this surpassing righteousness would be found for the lost sheep of the house of Israel. Such righteousness is only found through His crucifixion and resurrection, the replacement of the Old Covenant, and the ministry of the Spirit, (cf. 2 Corinthians 3, Hebrews 8). Today, we realize in retrospection, with revelation, that the New Covenant would be established in Israel in a couple of years after the sermon on the mount was preached. It is only then that these high standards were met in Messiah Himself in the stead of Israelites who put their trust in Him (Such righteousness, and its imputation, is not referred to here as the philosophical terms of active or passive, but rather simply to the Biblically defined, "the righteousness of God in Him." cf. 2 Corinthians 5:21). Christ met the high standards of righteousness that He requires for all of His elect people when He was rejected and delivered up as the great sacrifice--the great atonement and propitiation for sins, which imputes His very righteousness to people. It is only in the New Covenant that the righteousness of Messiah would be appropriated to all those who are elect for eternal spiritual salvation in history past, for those now, and for those in the future, (who will be made manifest as those who are saved by God's grace through the cross, through faith in Christ). This is why we read Paul preaching later at Pisidian Antioch, in Acts 13,
"38 Therefore let it be known to you, [Jewish] brothers, that through Him [Messiah Jesus] forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, 39 and through Him [righteous Jesus] everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses." (Acts 13:38-39)
It is the righteousness of Messiah which God requires. It is the righteousness of Messiah that frees everyone from the righteousness that the Law of Moses can not impart in its insufficiency to save. We also see Paul giving the details in Romans, where we read Paul saying,
"9 ... we have already charged that both Jews and Greeks are all under sin; 10 as it is written, 'There is none righteous, not even one; ... 12 There is none who does good, there is not even one ..." (Romans 3:9 & 12)
No Israelite of the past, and nobody today, can possibly, by our own self generated effort, surpass the righteousness of Pharisees and enter the kingdom of heaven, because "there is none righteous," and that means you, me, and everyone else. No one does good (at least not any mere Israelite or Gentile mortal). But Messiah does good because Messiah, Who is God, is pure righteous in His very essence, and so Paul, writing in the New Covenant period after Messiah's crucifixion and resurrection, continues explaining these things in more detail,
"19 Now we know that whatever the Law says, it speaks to those who are under the Law, so that every mouth may be closed and all the world may become accountable to God; 20 because by the works of the Law no flesh will be made righteous in His sight; for through the Law comes the knowledge of sin. 21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, 22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Messiah for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24 being made righteous as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Messiah Jesus; 25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation [which is a word that means that Messiah absorbed God's wrath in the stead of sinners] in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; 26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the righteousness maker of the one who has faith in Jesus. 27 Where then is boasting? It is excluded By what kind of law? Of works? No, but by a law of faith. 28 For we maintain that a man is made righteous by faith apart from works of the Law. 29 Or is God the God of Jews only? Is He not the God of Gentiles also? Yes, of Gentiles also, 30 since indeed God who will justify the circumcised by faith and the uncircumcised through faith is one. 31 Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law." (Romans 3:19-31)
Paul puts the righteousness attainment that comes from being in the sphere of Messiah by faith, in easy to understand terms in 2 Corinthians;
"17 Therefore if anyone [Jew of Gentile] is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come. 18 Now all these things are from God, who reconciled us to Himself through Messiah and gave us the ministry of reconciliation, 19 namely, that God was in Messiah reconciling the world to Himself, not counting their trespasses [their unrighteousness] against them, and He has committed to us the word of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making an appeal through us; we implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we would become the righteousness of God in Him." (2 Corinthians 5:21)
This righteousness was something that was promised to God's set apart ones (saints) of the Old Testament according to Romans 15:8. All of the remnant people of God will be judged according to perfectly righteous Messiah according to His perfectly righteous work, as Paul says,
"16 on the day when, according to my gospel, God will judge the secrets of men through Messiah Jesus." (Romans 2:16)
Messiah was the promise of righteousness that the ancient prophets looked forward to. Isaiah proclaimed, that under the Old Covenant;
"all our righteous deeds are like filthy rags" (Isaiah 64:6)
Jesus was preaching the same basic thing in His sermon on the mount, but demonstrating that all of those Israelite's righteous deeds must be more than their deficient filthy rags righteousness for them to be saved. God speaks to Isaiah with more revelation by prophetically revealing the future blessing to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, and so Isaiah prophecies,
"13 I bring near My righteousness, it is not far off; And My salvation will not delay. And I will grant salvation in Zion, And My glory for Israel." (Isaiah 46:13 cf. 61:11)
Messiah will bring near His righteousness, and so there He is--700 years later after God reveals this prophecy. The ancient prophet Jeremiah also prophesied the coming righteousness through Messiah, saying,
"5 'Behold, the days are coming,' declares Jehovah, 'When I will raise up for David a righteous Branch [Jehovah is talking about Jesus]; And He will reign as king and act wisely And do justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In His days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely; and this is His name by which He will be called, 'Jehovah our righteousness.'" (Jeremiah 23:5-6)
For any Israelite, and for anyone anywhere to be the perfect righteousness that God requires, which surpasses that of the Pharisees, then we must recognize that Messiah is indeed,
"Jehovah our righteousness." (Jeremiah 23:6)
It is not us our righteousness, or our works of righteousness, or abstaining from adultery and murder, that makes us righteous, or maiming our bodies by ripping out our eyes, and cutting off our limbs. The righteousness is all in Messiah the perfectly righteous One, in His grace work alone, and we receive it by faith. All the ancient prophecies were fulfilled in perfectly righteous Messiah Jesus, Who is called, the "Righteous One," in Acts 3:14, Acts 22:14, and the "righteousness of God," in Romans 3:21. Hebrews 11 records how God's people of ancient times must receive this perfect righteousness of Christ, and so we read of those ancient people of God,
"39 And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised, 40 because God had provided something better for us, so that apart from us they would not be made perfect." (Hebrews 11:39-40)
The bottom line is that Messiah did not preach that anyone could attain the perfect righteousness He requires to enter into His eternal rule and reign of heaven by mustering it up on their own. Jesus explained in hyperbolic terms, the absurd futility in attempting to be perfectly righteous. As the following years passed, Messiah's plan in His gospel became more revealed concerning the fact that it is only through Messiah that anyone is made perfect, and the perfection would only be realized at the establishment of the New Covenant.
So, we see that Jesus is not teaching in Matthew 5:20-30, that we can lose our eternal spiritual salvation, gain it through humanistic self effort, or keep it secure by anything we do.
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MATTHEW 6:14-15, LUKE 11:2-4, MARK 11:22-25, MATTHEW 18:32-35
This Matthew 6:14-15 passage, (and parallel passages as shown above), is also found in Messiah's sermon He preached on the mount. Jesus teaches the students how to pray, saying;
"9 Pray, then, in this way: 'Our Father who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. 10 'Your kingdom come Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.' ... 14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." (Matthew 6:14-15)
We find the same teaching in Luke, where Jesus said to His students;
"2 ... When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. 3 Give us each day our daily bread. 4 And forgive us our sins, because we ourselves also forgive everyone who is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation.'" (Luke 11:2-4)
In Mark 11, Jesus puts it this way;
"25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions." (Mark 11:25)
According to the typical NEST assertion concerning these prayer instruction passages, if anyone who is spiritually saved, fails to forgive another person, then God will not forgive such saved people from sins in the salvific sense of forgiveness. Consequently, if a saved person gets angry with someone because the saved person has something against that someone, and the saved person dies before forgiving that someone, then the saved person is said to lose spiritual salvation, and is damned forever.
The NEST interpretation is wrong. We shall examine why the NEST is wrong. At the outset, it is important that we recognize that all eternally saved people should forgive others. Forgiveness of others is something we Christians should continuously seek to do. In our analyzation of what Jesus is saying to the pre-cross Old Covenant Israelites, we need to consider some important details--all of which need to be taken together as a whole.
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Our first consideration is that, if, granted for the sake of argument, these passages mean that one who is elect for eternal spiritual salvation, and then is saved (thus fulfilling the election), must forgive those who sin against him to demonstrate that he remains saved on through and after death, then we conclude, based upon the whole corpus of Scripture, that no truly saved person would die with such unforgiveness in his heart, as all who are truly spiritually saved, are eternally spiritually saved (Please reference chapter on salvation). So, if no truly saved person can die in a state of unforgiveness, then, in dying, the saved person has logically demonstrated that they always were, are, and will be, eternally secure in that they have died in forgiveness. This is simply a fact that would be granted for the sake of argument, but there is more, so let us proceed to some more important considerations.
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Secondly, concerning the teaching of Jesus here in Matthew 6, reflected in Mark and Luke, is that under the New Covenant of Christ's crucifixion and resurrection, we today are forgiven in eternal spiritual salvation based upon Christ, and not based upon us. The Holy Spirit enlightens us concerning this vital truth through Paul the apostle's revelation from Him;
"13 When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him [Christ], having forgiven us all our transgressions, [past tense action] 14 having canceled out [past tense action] the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." (Colossians 2:13-14)
Paul says, in Colossians 1:12-14, that God,
"12 ... has qualified us [past tense action] to share in the inheritance of the set apart ones in Light. 13 For He rescued [past tense] us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us [in the past] to the kingdom of His beloved Son, 14 in whom we have redemption [right now], the forgiveness of sins."
Under the New Covenant, all who are saved have been forgiven through Christ's work on the cross. It is a new and better covenant than the Old Covenant, and so now we have a different mandate to forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us in His new Covenant. Under the New Covenant, forgiveness is encouraged in this way, as we continue to read in Colossians;
"12 So, as those who have been elected of God, set apart and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience; 13 bearing with one another, and <forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so also should you.>" (Colossians 3:12-13 emph. mine)
Here, the teaching is in the form of an urging in the comparison of how the Lord forgives in His New Covenant work. Notice that it is not a comparison of how we forgive others first? In other words, in our New Covenant teaching, we do not attempt to do something like forgive others in the same way that we have forgiven others! Keeping this in mind, we remember that Old covenant Israelites, forgiving, or not forgiving, is what Jesus at that pre-cross teaching said will signify how exactly God is going to deal with them in prayers. New Covenant Christians are urged in their salvation walk, to be forgiving because Christ forgave us already in the greatest work of forgiveness to ever be expressed. According to Colossians, the elect, set apart, and beloved, evidently need to be urged to forgive. The main point is that both teachings are two different teachings under two different covenants concerning two different points altogether. We read, the same thing in Ephesians,
"31 Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. 32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, <forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.>" (Ephesians 4:31 emph. mine)
This New Covenant urging in Ephesians is not the mandate to ask to be forgiven based upon how we forgive. No, rather it is the instruction to follow the example of Christ in His New Covenant work of forgiveness that saved people already have by grace through faith. Again, our New Covenant instruction is to follow the example of Christ in His New Covenant forgiveness that we, as His redeemed, already have from Him. Spiritually saved people are in a New and better Covenant which is "enacted on much better promises" (cf. Hebrews 8:6) than the Old Covenant of Matthew 5:20, 22, 6:14-15, Luke 11:2-4, Mark 11:22-25, and Matthew 18:32-35.
Wrapping up this point with one last verse, according to the New Covenant epistle of Hebrews, we learn,
"But now He [Christ] has obtained a more excellent ministry, by as much as He is also the mediator of a better covenant, which has been enacted on better promises." (Hebrews 8:6)
In the forward to this section on the Gospel chronicles, the important consideration is given there that we all must heed when approaching the Gospels. We must approach them according to the Old Covenant contextual relevance of when and why certain teachings and events are recorded. We must recognize and interpret the Gospels as historical chronicles of the coming of the promised Messianic king to the lost sheep of the house of Israel, His rejection by Israel, and then the subsequent inauguration of His New Covenant. With this in mind we see that there is no contingency warning for us in respect to our forgiving others when it comes to our salvation. We should forgive others through the love of Christ that we have in our hearts as saved people. We love, while resting in God's grace, knowing that any contingency for salvation was placed upon Christ in His mediating, propitiating, and atoning work on the cross.
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This leads us to consider a third and final consideration; namely, the passages where Jesus taught on forgiveness in prayer strongly indicate that eternal spiritual salvation as loss, that occurs in this particular unforgiveness/forgiveness, is not the issue. Actually, salvation is not mentioned as an issue anywhere within this Old Covenant prayer lesson. Herein lies the foundation of this consideration in respect to understanding the contextual meaning.
To further explore this consideration, we must look at the Matthew and Luke passages, as well as the Mark passage, to see that what Jesus is contextually teaching about is getting rewards from God. Then, at the prayer instruction point, Jesus is talking about getting rewards from God in prayer requests. With these passages as our aids in interpretation, the issue can strongly be identified as getting rewards from God as something different than eternal spiritual salvation, with forgiveness having to do with Christ's teaching on the subject of rewards. All of this can be pointed out by going first to Matthew 5 and reading through Jesus' immediate point in His sermon, (in which we have already covered the perfect righteousness requirement verses for entering the eternal rule and reign of heaven). In addition to being required to be perfectly spotless to enter the kingdom, Jesus also touches on the various rewards that eternally spiritually saved people receive in the eternal kingdom of heaven. Christ says,
"11 Blessed are you when people insult you and persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me. 12 Rejoice and be glad, for your <reward> in heaven is great; ..." (Matthew 5:11-12 emph. mine)
Jesus is speaking of more than eternal spiritual salvation. Jesus is speaking of great reward in heaven that is added to eternal spiritual salvation. Instead of not forgiving people who insult and persecute His students, His students need to rejoice and be glad; rewards await. Jesus touches on the rewards again by saying that He did not come to abolish the Law or the Prophets, (meaning either the Law aspect, or the Prophets aspects of what the Jews called the Law and the Prophets, also called the Torah; the word "or" is significant to explain the focus) but fulfills both the prophecies concerning Himself in the Torah, and the Law itself. Until every aspect of the New Covenant is "accomplished," all Israelites need to understand that not one little punctuation mark will pass from the very Law Covenant of theirs which Messiah fulfills; and so Jesus says;
"17 Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill. 18 For truly I say to you, until heaven and earth pass away, not the smallest letter or stroke shall pass from the Law until all is accomplished. 19 Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called <least> in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called <great> in the kingdom of heaven." (Matthew 5:17-19 emph. mine)
The point is that any, and all, these Old Covenant Israelites that Jesus is speaking to, must live by their Mosaic Law given to Moses 1500 years earlier at Mount Sinai in the desert. This must happen until all is accomplished in the New Covenant period, but in the meantime, for an Old Covenant Israelite to have annulled even the least of the commandments, and teach other Israelites to do the same, would result in his inferior reward of being called least in the kingdom of heaven. On the other hand, for an Israelite to have kept and taught the least of the commandments means that his superior reward will be that he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.
Next, Jesus goes into that prophesied New Covenant righteousness that He requires to enter the kingdom of heaven to begin with, of which we have already looked at in going through previous Matthew passages in this chapter. Then, in verse 46, Jesus explains that if you love those who hate you, then you have a reward. Clearly, Jesus is giving the explanation of meritorious rewards that are above and beyond eternal spiritual salvation, which is given upon the merit of Christ alone. Now, as we enter into chapter six, we see Jesus begin to focus more upon this whole point. In Matthew 6:1, Jesus says;
"Beware of practicing your righteousness before men to be noticed by them; otherwise you have no <reward> with your Father who is in heaven." (Matthew 6:1 emph. mine)
Jesus is setting the tone concerning getting from God. In verse 2, He continues;
"2 So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men. Truly I say to you, they have their <reward> in full." (Matthew 6:2 emph. mine)
In other words, the hypocrites full reward was the miniscule recognition that they received from men. It is not a reward that they get from God. Rather, it is a temporal pride stroking humanistic honor. Jesus goes on;
"3 But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will <reward> you." (Matthew 6:3 emph. mine)
Jesus is on the issue of getting from God. When the Israelite students give in secret, then God will reward them. Next, Jesus immediately goes to teaching on prayer, saying;
"5 When you pray, you are not to be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and on the street corners so that they may be seen by men. Truly I say to you, they have their <reward> in full." (Matthew 6:5 emph. mine)
Again, the temporal honor of being seen praying is meaningless. So, the hypocrites already have their meaningless reward in full. On the other hand, what is truly meaningful is that the students are talking to the Creator of the Universe when they pray. So, Jesus continues with his emphasis upon getting rewards from God in prayer, saying, in verse 6;
"6 But you, when you pray, go into your inner room, close your door and pray to your Father who is in secret, and your Father who sees what is done in secret will <reward> you." (Matthew 6:6 emph. mine)
Consistently, we are seeing that getting "rewards" from the Father in prayer is the issue, as Jesus continues;
"7 And when you are praying, do not use meaningless repetition as the Gentiles do, for they suppose that they will be heard for their many words. 8 So do not be like them; for your Father knows what you <need> before you <ask> Him." (Matthew 6:7 emph. mine)
Notice that the point has to do with needs, which has to do with what one gets. Asking, (which has to do with going to God in prayer), is the indicated route to take to get from God. Getting from God through prayer requests is in the category of rewards for the pious students being obedient to Messiah's teaching by asking in prayer. Now, Jesus goes into detail with specific instructions on how His Old Covenant Israelite students should pray,
"9 Pray, then, in this way: Our Father who is in heaven, Hallowed [reverentially respected] be Your name. 10 Your kingdom come Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us this day our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors." (Matthew 6:9-11)
[This aspect of the prayer is a reference to the complete wiping away of debt. The year of Jubilee is the time where every Old Covenant Israelite fully forgives and forgets all outstanding debts from debtors. This year of Jubilee, by the way, is an Old Covenant requirement of God for these Israelites. The students are familiar with this, but Jesus gives more teaching. Continuing with the prayer instruction, He says,]
"13 And do not lead us into testing, but deliver us from evil. 14 For if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." (Matthew 6:9-14)
We must keep in mind that the immediate context of this part of the sermon has been consistently strong in respect to getting rewards from God. Things liked daily bread, forgiveness of debts, forgiveness of transgressions, absence of testing, and deliverance from evil things that can happen to you, are all things that have to do with rewards; and at this contextual point, they come through the contingency of prayer. So, when Jesus teaches to pray for these things, we see that as a first principle, these Israelites are to acknowledge that God is their Father in heaven who is to be reverentially respected. Then, there is the Messianic kingdom focus that they must have. Then Jesus explains what to ask for: It is daily bread, which is generally agreed by scholars as culturally representing the Israelite's overall nourishment and provision in general (cf. 2 Thessalonians 3:12, and James 2:15). Next, the request is to be forgiven of their debts. The next request is that God will not lead them into testing, but rather lead them away from testing, and deliver them away from evil that might come upon them. Such provision and deliverance is considered a reward. All of this teaching is what leads to Jesus explaining, and saying "for" in verse 14. The word "for" means "because," so Jesus says "because," or;
"14 <For> if you forgive others for their transgressions, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others, then your Father will not forgive your transgressions." (Matthew 6:14-15 emph. mine)
In this consideration, we must admit that salvation was never mentioned as a subject in this prayer teaching anywhere. Additionally, we must also admit that how to pray in asking, is the subject. Further, being rewarded, is in fact, also the subject of this section of Jesus' teaching on prayer. More, when it comes to the prescribed Levitical remedy under the Old Covenant Law, these same Old Covenant Israelites already received propitiation, and atonement for sins, through the sacrificial system at the temple. All of these things support the view that having their comprehensive sins covered, to have a right standing in covenant relationship to Jehovah (by forgiving others), as God's Old Covenant people, is not the current issue at all. Jesus is talking about prayer requests, and when these Old Covenant Israelite students pray, they need to forgive others for their transgressions. In this last consideration then, if they do not forgive, as in the year of Jubilee, where all Israelites are to completely forgive those who are indebted to them, then their Father will not forgive their transgressions, and so, as a contingency for reward, their prayer requests are not going to be answered in the positive way they want them to be. They remain in debt to God. In selfish unforgiveness of others, they already have their deficient reward in full, which is based upon their own unforgiveness. Unforgiving Israelites, even those who pray in secret, will not get the rewards they ask for because they harbor the specific sin of unforgiveness.
To further demonstrate the overarching point in this last consideration, we also see the reward connection in the parallel contexts of Luke 6 and 11. In Luke 6:20, Jesus says to His students who are poor, that they are blessed, in that theirs is the kingdom of God, meaning that their riches are coming in the eternal kingdom in the New Covenant with Jehovah through Messiah. In Luke 6:21, Jesus says, Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied later on. Blessed are you who weep now, for you shall laugh later on. The blessings and rewards come later, and go on forever in the New Covenant. In Luke 6:22-23, Jesus says;
"22 Blessed are you when men hate you, and ostracize you, and insult you, and scorn your name as evil, for the sake of the Son of Man. 23 Be glad in that day and leap for joy, for behold, your <reward> is great in heaven." (Luke 6:22-23 emph. mine)
Jesus is talking about the reward connection of what is coming. Rather than unforgiveness, they are to be glad and leap for joy! Later, Jesus speaks to His students of being credited for how they treat others,
"32 If you love those who love you, what <credit> is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them. 33 If you do good to those who do good to you, what <credit> is that to you? For even sinners do the same. 34 If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what <credit> is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount." (Luke 6:32-34 emph. mine)
The emphasis is credit, with the pay back being the reward. Then Jesus mentions rewards again in very revealing words;
"35 But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your <reward> will be <great> ..." (Luke 6:35 emph. mine)
The reward here is quantified as being great. Jesus goes on;
"37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; and do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; pardon, and you will be <pardoned> ..." (Luke 6:37 emph. mine)
[There are rewards here, and there is also the forgiveness connection, as in Matthew, but here there is pardon. Continuing,]
"38 Give, and it will be <given> to you. They will pour into your lap a <good measure--pressed down, shaken together, and running over.> For by your standard of measure <it will be measured to you in return.>" (Luke 6:38 emph. mine)
These are rewards given as contingencies; but not eternal spiritual salvation. Jesus goes on through the rest of the chapter explaining about the evil hearted Jews who will soon reject Him and crucify Him. Subsequently, God's wrath comes upon all the wicked apostate Jews who remain in Jerusalem in AD 70. Jesus is teaching on getting, whether it is wrath rewards, or blessing rewards, it is still getting from God. Later in chapter 11, Jesus teaches on prayer and He says for His students to call God their respected, and revered Father, and then, to proclaim their expectation of the hope of the fulness of God's eternal spiritual kingdom, rule, and reign in glory. Then, Jesus says they are to request daily bread, to request forgiveness of sins because they also forgive everyone who is indebted to them, and they are to request that their Father not lead them into testing. Again we see the getting principle here in Luke's account, in the same manner as we do in Matthew's. But Luke has another detail. Luke records that Jesus followed His teaching on prayer with an illustration on getting. It is not in Matthew, but here in Luke Jesus asks His students to suppose that one of them has a friend, and so the student goes to the friend at midnight and says to him, "Friend, lend me three loaves," and Jesus goes on and says that even though the man will not get up as a friend, he will get up because of persistence, and
"8 ... <give him> as much as he needs. 9 So I say to you, <ask,> and it will be <given> to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you." (Luke 11:8 emph. mine)
The whole point is that this Luke passage magnifies that this is instruction about prayer, getting, and forgiving debts. Mark 11 has the same context, as we read the forgiveness mandate in its flow;
"22 And Jesus answered saying to them, 'Have faith in God. 23 Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, 'Be taken up and cast into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be <granted> him. 24 Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be <granted> you. 25 Whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you your transgressions." (Mark 11:22-25 emph. mine)
What this indicates then, is that before these Israelites, that Jesus is teaching, actually get (as a grant), they must first forgive others of their debts and transgressions. If they do not forgive, then God will not forgive, resulting in the consequence that they will not get, (in the manifestations of God's giving). They will be treated with the same loss that they mercilessly apply to those who have debts and sins against them.
Contextually then, we see that provision, and loss of reward, is indeed the plausible understanding of these passages. It is, in fact, more plausible than the more severe works oriented presupposition that is based upon the false doctrine of unsurety in insecurity of the NEST; namely the mistaken notion that Jesus is speaking of loss of eternal spiritual salvation.
There are more examples of this too. The same principles are seen in Matthew 18:21-35, where Peter asks Jesus how much Peter should forgive his Israelite brother. Peter suggests a quantified amount of seven times. Jesus says to forgive 70 times 7 times, and then gives a story. A master shows mercy, and forgives a slave of his debt to the master, but the same slave turns around and does not forgive someone who owes him. At the end of the story, the unforgiving slave is punished. The analogy is that of being chastised by God whenever there is an unforgiving attitude, as we read in the analogy;
"32 Then summoning him, his lord said to him, 'You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 'Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?' 34 And his lord, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he should repay all that was owed him. 35 My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart." (Matthew 18:32-35)
Jesus is telling His own student, Peter, that when it comes to unforgiveness, instead of the reward of getting mercy, the parable teaches a kind of chastising, where the Heavenly Father penalizes the selfish unforgiver toward extracting payment. It is the expectation of a severe spanking for Old Covenant Israelites who do not forgive their Israelite brothers in giving. God will likewise mete out strict extraction to all those who are merciless, who fail to forgive even deeper than ceremonial externals; "from the heart."
Clearly then, this third consideration adds sizable weight to another element of understanding concerning the Lords teaching. Namely, getting rewards being the issue, rather than eternal spiritual salvation.
Therefor, based upon all we have covered, and in conjunction with the rest of New Covenant scriptures, there is enough evidence to prove that these pre-cross teaching passages do not remotely teach that a New Covenant Christian can lose eternal spiritual salvation, gain eternal spiritual salvation through humanistic self effort, or keep eternal spiritual salvation secure through humanistic self effort.
