Mark 11:25
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive if you have anything against anyone; so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your transgressions.”
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A face value, it looks like Jesus is saying God’s forgiveness is conditioned upon our forgiveness of others. I mean that’s what it sort of says, doesn’t it? Well, first SPACEPETS…
S – is there a sin to confess? Is there any unforgiveness in my heart toward someone? If so, that is sin!
P – is there a promise to claim? Not really.
A – is there an attitude to change? Need to have an attitude of forgiveness largely because He has forgiven me (despite the conditional nature of the verse).
C – is there a command to obey? Forgive anything against anyone.
E – is there an example to follow? Not explicitly stated here, but Jesus is our perfect example.
P – is there a prayer to pray? Lord, help me forgive even the most serious offenses against me. And help me see an unforgiving spirit within me.
E – is there an error to avoid? Don’t hold grudges!
T – is there a truth to believe? God forgives as we forgive others.
S – is there something to praise God for? Not explicitly. I do praise Him, though, that He has given me a reason to forgive others.
The idea of conditional forgiveness here has to be understood in light of the rest of Scripture. Scripture is clear that true followers of Christ are forgiven completely – past, present, future – of their sins because Jesus Christ was the perfect sacrifice for us. To say our sins are not completely forgiven would be an insult to God because we would be saying His sacrifice was incomplete and insufficient. So how does this verse fit into this truth? We have to understand it in terms of relationship. We are forgiven by the blood of Jesus on legal terms. We are aquitted of sin. But at the same time there is a relational barrier to overcome. Relationally, when we hold a grudge or when we have an unforgiving heart toward someone, then we are damaging our relationship with God. Yes, He has forgiven me, but my relationship with Him is as hurt as my relationship with an offender against me. So really, what Jesus is saying is that our relationships here in this world are inseparably tied to our relationship with our heavenly Father. When there is unforgiveness in our relationships here, it affects the relational side of forgiveness in our relationship with God. We may have salvation and an eternal relationship with God, but the quality of that relationship is influenced by our relationships with people here. Sooo, all that to say, I need to make sure my relationships here are healthy and full of grace and forgiveness.
I mentioned it earlier, and I will pray it again: Lord, help me forgive even the most serious offenses against me. And help me see an unforgiving spirit within me.