Category: Casual Commentary

March 17, 2021

Alms, Prayer, & Fasting 6:1-18

Forgiveness v. 12 (see also vv. 14 & 15) – Part 2

“As we forgive” is more accurately translated “as we have forgiven”. The assumption is that in invoking the forgiveness of God we’ve already swept our house clean in terms of any dustup we may have had our injustice suffered with our neighbour. Jesus won’t countenance any prayer for divine forgiveness on any other terms. Indeed in vv. 14&15 he says, “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” Unlike our Father in Heaven, we cannot forget sins agains us (see Is. 38:17; Mi. 7:19), but we can forgive. To forgive is an act of the will. So even while the memory of an injustice and/or a hurt remains, we can choose to forgive and move on. This is why Jesus, in 5:43, calls us to love our enemies. We can do so because love is volitional. If he had insisted that we “like” our enemies we’d all he miserable failures.

Essentially “forgive” means “to send away”. We ask the Lord to send away our missing the target, our step across the line, our slip, our lawlessness, our failure to pay the debt. He forgives because of his grace, our renewal is the product of undeserved favour. And he expects us in a “quid-pro-quo” manner to be graceful with our neighbours. This way our souls are healed.

March 10, 2021

Alms, Prayer, & Fasting 6:1-18

Forgiveness v. 12 (see also vv. 14 & 15) – Part 1

Our sinfulness is assumed in scripture, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Ro. 3:23). And as the apostle John put it, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us” (1 Jo. 1:18). But our sinfulness is not assumed in our twenty-first century secular culture. Indeed the word “sin” is rarely if ever used. “Mistake” maybe. But “sin”?

The thing about the word “sin” is that it implies (requires) accountability. This grates in our new millennial culture. We’re highly individualistic and independent. We “do our thing” — they “do theirs”. We stay out of each other’s hair, connect via social media, and get on with life. In our world accountability is tantamount to judgement. “Judge not that ye be not judged,” once a biblical value, has now become secularized.

So here is a short lesson on sin as it is defined by five exotic Greek words:

1. “Hamartia” means “missing the target” (at least you took aim!)
2. “Parabasis” means “stepping across the line” (on purpose or by accident)
3. “Paraptoma” means “slipping across” or “swept away”
4. “Anomia” means “lawlessness, breaking the law”
5. “Opheilema” means “failure to pay what is due, failure of duty” — This is the word used in Jesus’ prayer

The use of “opheilema” suggests that the translation “debts” is fairly accurate. And unpaid debt is seen as a “sin of omission”. Whereas “trespass” is seen as a “sin of commission”. In either case the sins are against God or neighbor, and we are accountable to both for our inaction or action. Our behavior always has a domino effect. As the old adage says, “No man is an island.”

March 3, 2021

Alms, Prayer, & Fasting 6:1-18

Our daily bread v.11

We’ve briefly looked at the first three of six petitions referencing God’s name, kingdom, and will. Now we’re going to look at our need for bread, forgiveness, and victory over evil. Daily bread comes first. If there is no bread there is no life.

I’m no Greek scholar (nor are you, probably), but with a little digging in a Greek lexicon or two one can come up with a pretty good idea of what “daily bread” referred to. First of all, bread and “physical provision” are relatively synonymous. Daily is a bit more elusive in that it could mean “sufficient bread” or “bread for sustenance”, but likely means “bread for this day and next”, enabling Christians to “be not anxious” about tomorrow. The Lord wants us to live free from worry when it comes to our physical needs.

This petition is a recognition of our vulnerability and dependency. It is not a passive request. Daily bread means daily labor — we’ve got to bend our backs. But we bend them dependent on God’s provision of life in the seed, fertility in the soil, and the faithful cycles of sun and rain. Without these we are food insecure, indeed we are in danger of death. So, as the lord incrementally metes out his provision, we declare “to God be the glory!”, and we seize the day.

February 24, 2021

Alms, Prayer, & Fasting 6:1-18

“Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done” v. 10 (Part 2)

The Kingdom is where God’s “will” is done — “Thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven”. The omniscient Father who sees all, factors what he sees into his sovereign rule. This is why “God willing” (Deus Vult) has always been the heavenly qualifier for Christian choice. If we’re out of synch with heaven we’re out of synch with everlasting life.

It should be said the “Thy will be done” is a great safeguard against getting our own way. Why? Because we are self-absorbed. We want wealth, ease, recognition, and flawless health. One theologian suggests that, “if God were a devil, perhaps the most devilish torment he would plan for us would be to give us our own wish.” Often our prayers are an exercise in manipulation, “finessing” God to our will, which of course is tantamount to making God in our own image. Jesus, himself, in his most trying moment, prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “Not my will, but thine be done.” That sentence captures the essence of prayer. Our personal agenda must yield to that of our Maker. And whit is his agenda? “The Kingdom of God is…righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Ro. 14:17).