The Difference Between Being a Citizen of the Kingdom of God and Inheriting the Kingdom of God

Jesus answered and said to him, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God... he cannot enter the kingdom of God... For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life" (John 3:3, 5, 16)

Birth into God's Family and Becoming a Citizen of the Kingdom of God

These verses in John 3 teach that a man must be born again, granting him eternal life (God's life) - through faith in Jesus - in order to "enter" and "see" the kingdom of God. This is the actual process and blessing of being birthed into the royal family of God. This is becoming, at the very moment of faith in Jesus, a real child of God, born into the kingdom and granted citizenship there.


The Purpose of Royal Birth

Birth into the family of God is not an end but a means to an end. Birth into a royal family has as an end to assume the purpose of royalty: to ascend a throne and inherit a kingdom.

But for this to happen, the royal child - who has a prospect of ruling and inheriting - must submit to his parents discipline in order to cultivate the character and qualities necessary to reign with justice and righteousness. And in the absence of submitting to that training and/or in the event of lapsing into prolonged immorality, there is the danger of forfeiting that conditional privilege of ascending the family throne and inheriting the kingdom.

Just think of Prince Andrew whose moral lapses had him removed from his royal privilege and titles. Due to his failures, he forfeited much. But something we should keep in mind in all this is that he still is a citizen of Great Britain, though he lost the privileges of his royal status.


Entering and Inheriting the Kingdom, Contrasted

Here is the thing. We become a child of our King and God, and citizens of the kingdom of God, by grace through faith in Jesus, at the instant of believing in Him for His free gift of eternal life. This citizenship is eternal and irrevocable. But our royal privileges are not. We will only inherit the kingdom of God and co-rule with the Lord Jesus should we submit to His character training in this life and develop the necessary qualities of royalty, while at the same time keeping from the moral lapses listed here:

Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. (1 Corinthians 6:10-11)

Jesus Invites You to Assume Your Royal Identity and Share in the Administration of His Kingdom

Christian, you were born into the family of God for a purpose: to realize God's original plan and design for man - dominion over creation.

Jesus Christ has qualified you, by His death and through your redemption, to be reinstated to the place of privilege and to be restored fully to God's image. Jesus Christ won His place as Supreme Ruler and Inheritor of all things through His humility, obedience, and suffering (Philippians 2:5-11), and desires to lead you into the same experience (Hebrews 2:9-11, 18). He is inviting you to share His inheritance and throne with Him:

To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne as I overcame and was granted to sit with My Father on His throne. (Revelation 3:21)

Encouragement

Submit to discipleship of the Lord Jesus Christ and learn from Him all the lessons of life on the pathway of suffering that leads to sharing a throne with Him.

And by so doing, you will safeguard yourself from forfeiting the royal privilege you were born to, and you will be granted to share in Christ's reign and share in His kingdom inheritance.

Amen.

The Term “Salvation” – A Fuller Concept Explored

Introduction

As we in Free Grace Theology circles understand, “salvation” is a word that can have a great range of contextual usages. It can denote salvation from things temporal and things eternal; and exhibits wide employment in each of those areas to boot. Lamentably, many in our churches have a knee-jerk reaction when this term crosses their paths in their biblical reading – they wrongfully assume that the word always signifies the rescuing of the lost from the destiny of hell. Those in our ranks are aware of this erroneous tendency and understand the undesirable practical theological ramifications of misinterpreting this word in our scriptural studies.

Nevertheless, have we too fallen into an insufficient conception of this subject that robs us of spiritual benefits and advantages? Is there more than meets the eye that could enrich our appreciation and worship of God and aid our spiritual walk? I believe so. Let me make a case.

When it comes to the different forms of spiritual salvation, they are usually expressed with the following categorization:


The Three Tenses of Salvation [1]

Many of us are familiar with the idea that salvation has three tenses: past, present, and future. A usual articulation of this concept is as follows:

Past: Salvation from the penalty of sin. This is taught as being saved from the punishment of hell due to sins. This is often called justification salvation.

Present: Salvation from the power of sin. The idea here is breaking free of the bondage of sin in one’s daily experience. This is designated as sanctification salvation.

Future: Salvation from the presence of sin. Due to the new glorified body, the regenerate person is now free forever from any taint of sin. Also known as glorification salvation.


The Problem

In our articulations of salvation, we spend a substantial amount of time and effort highlighting, in the various senses of salvation, what we've been saved from. Indeed, this often becomes the singular focus when articulating the various concepts of spiritual salvation we encounter in the Bible. I believe that this is a myopic and insufficient treatment of this important scriptural subject. Although this aspect is a legitimate component of salvation, it doesn’t express the full scope of its usage.


Thesis

In the opinion of this writer, the chief idea of salvation isn't being delivered from something undesirable, bad, or evil – although I’d of course admit that is part of it.

The main idea is that of victory. At the core of salvation is victory. Salvation is victory. [2]

And victory brings benefits. These benefits, too, are part of the full-orbed sense of salvation as well. The benefits of salvation are: rest from enemies, inheritance, and the enjoyment that this inheritance provides.


Proposed Definition

Salvation is victory over an enemy or enemies, the inheritance won by that victory, and the rest and enjoyment of the inheritance that the victory afforded.

Take for instance the quintessential concept of temporal salvation in the Old Testament: acquisition of the Promised Land. It contains all these components:

Victory over enemies: the dispossessing and removing of Israel’s enemies from the land of Canaan.

Inheritance: the lush and beautiful land of Canaan that contained streams, rain, and hills full of useful minerals; with wells that the victors didn’t dig, houses that they didn’t build, full of items that they didn’t provide, orchards and fruit tree groves that they didn’t plant, and crops that they didn’t cultivate.

Rest and Enjoyment: This victory, this salvation, includes rest from enemies along with the attendant peace; and enjoyment of all the aforementioned inherited things this victory provided.

Let’s briefly now consider its parallel in spiritual salvations.


A Broader Look at the Three Spiritual Salvations

Regeneration (unconditional – received by faith alone in Christ alone)

Victory: over death, sin, and the lost state, provided for us by Jesus Christ alone

Inheritance: possession of eternal life, new birth into God’s forever family, guaranteed kingdom entrance and participation, justification that proceeds from regeneration, and future resurrection of the just

Rest and Enjoyment: each of these inheritances come with arrays of benefits to be enjoyed along with the peace and rest these situations provide


Sanctification (conditional – a cooperation between God and man)

For the next category, it is usually called sanctification, but I have been toying around with these other designations: family participation, training regimentation, transformation, education, or royal preparation. I believe this salvation contains all of these ideas.

Description: Series of victories over the variegated challenges in life, enacted through the believer appropriating all divine resources by employing faith, will, and resolve; along with the attendant increasing ability to master and intuitively navigate all situations and circumstances of life; greater usefulness to the Lord, increased favor and intimacy with the Lord – and many other such inheritances! – with the rest and enjoyment of the manifold privileges thereby gained… All of which prepare one to be worthy of the glories and honors of ascending a family throne and enjoyment of firstborn status in the kingdom of God.


Glorification (both unconditional and conditional) [3]

Description: The ultimate victory over the world and sin, with co-heirship as the inheritance, the realization and restoration of God’s original design and purpose for man – dominion – and the subsequent enjoyment of all these and many more superlative, yet conditional, privileges in eternity. [4]


Conclusion

Salvation includes the three ideas:

1. Victory over enemies
2. Inheritance won
3. Enjoyment of the inheritance

I believe that each instance of salvation in the Bible has these connotations.

When presenting and contemplating these aspects of spiritual salvation, let us not relegate the consideration of them merely to the negative, to what salvation is from. In the gospel of John, Jesus often presented the positive natures of regeneration, presenting it as a gift that is to be desired (cf. Revelation 22:17).

Too, we cannot discount the inheritance and benefits of the other two spiritual salvations. A consideration of them ought to induce us to give great effort to win those salvations.


––––––––––––––––––––
[1] I have some issues with some of these articulations, by the way. For another time: (A) the basic idea of eternal salvation isn’t justification, but eternal life, and (B) relegation to hell isn’t due to sins, but not possessing eternal life.

[2] The first time I came across this concept, that salvation = victory, was on my first trip to India in 1999 for a missions trip. I brought along the Reign of the Servant Kings as my reading material. Jody Dillow used the term victory as a description of “salvation.” It actually wasn’t though until two years ago that God started to show me in His word that salvation is more than being delivered, but that it is victory and all its attendant beneficial results. It has opened up my reading of the Scriptures greatly.

[3] For purposes of length, I have only considered conditional glorification in this category. Unconditional glorification would be guaranteed kingdom entrance, glorified body, full joy, etc.

[4] May I suggest that this is the salvation of Hebrews, and the “rest” of Hebrews 3 and 4?

Death and Resurrection Excluded as Content of Saving Faith

The Death and Resurrection are Not Required Content of Saving Faith

The following is a logical syllogism dealing with the content of saving faith, submitted for your approval.


Premise #1: The gospel and epistle writer, the Apostle John, described for us who is regenerate, who is a child of God, and therefore saved, when he wrote: “Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God” (1 John 5:1). He also claimed that the one who “believes that Jesus is the Christ” has “life in His name” (John 20:31). Both of these were written well after the events of Jesus’s life.


Premise #2: Many people believed (including the disciples) that Jesus was the Christ without knowing, understanding, or believing that Jesus Christ had to die on the cross for sins and rise from the dead. They believed that Jesus was the Christ during the Judean ministry of John 1-5, which is in the first months of His ministry. They didn’t become aware of His coming death until the third year of His ministry, and even then, denied it (Matthew 16:21-22). As a matter of fact, there were those who believed that Jesus was the Christ and denied and did not believe that He rose from the dead (Mark 16:10-15; John 20:9).


Conclusion: Therefore, the soteriological import of the term “the Christ” does not contain the implicit idea of the Christ’s death for sins and bodily resurrection from the dead. Consequently, the death and resurrection of Christ are not required contents for saving faith.


Summary: The death and resurrection are not the soteriological import of the term “the Christ” for the reason that the disciples and others believed that Jesus was the Christ, and were therefore born of God and possessed eternal life (as per 1 John 5:1; John 20:31), while concomitantly (1) not knowing about His death on the cross, and when finding out, denying it, and (2) denying and disbelieving that He rose from the dead. The death and resurrection are not required soteric content.


If the first two premises are correct, then the conclusion seems to necessarily follow.


What is your analysis? There really are only a few options:

• The syllogism is completely accurate
• One (or both) of the premises is inaccurate
• Or the conclusion does not necessarily follow the premises

The Will of the Father

ONLY THOSE WHO DO THE WILL OF THE FATHER WILL ENTER THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN – Jesus Christ, Matthew 7:21

God has a variety of desires and diverse wills for different people. He has a will for married people, for single, and for children. He has intents for various situations and circumstances. Which ordinance is Jesus talking about here in Matthew 7:21? If God has so many different wills, what are we to make of this? Are we to assume that He means His entire body of decrees that are found in the Bible?

Some people assume and assert, rather than demonstrate, that Jesus is talking about all of God’s moral law and commandments. They reckon that the reason Jesus is relegating a man to hell, when He says "depart from Me" in Matthew 7:23, is because this man didn't obey, he wasn't obedient... he didn’t perform all God’s will.

But why should they assume in this manner?


No One Could Be Saved

The Bible is clear that salvation is "the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:9). If Jesus is talking about obedience, then we are all lost. There would be no hope at all, for the only objective standard with a holy God – if obedience was the condition of heaven – would be perfection. The last time I checked, no one even comes close. To be honest, that would not be a gospel… That's not good news. That's very bad news. That's why salvation has to be a gift received apart from works. That’s why if we are to be saved, it must only be apart from our effort. Our efforts don’t measure up to a holy God (Romans 3:23).


The Bible Would Contradict Itself

Too, if Jesus is talking about obedience as the will of God to be saved, then the Bible contradicts itself. The Bible is very clear that salvation is by grace (Romans 4:16; Ephesians 2:8). And further, it makes clear: "And if by grace, then it is no longer of works; otherwise grace is no longer grace" (Romans 11:6). Jesus can't be talking about obedience if we believe the Bible is the word of God. God doesn't contradict Himself. If salvation is by grace, it could not be by obedience. These are mutually exclusive terms.


The Will of the Father Concerns Kingdom Entrance

What will is Jesus then talking about if it’s not obedience He is addressing?

Well... What is the context of this passage in Matthew 7? What is the subject matter being discussed?

Is it not, "Kingdom Entrance"?

Yes, Jesus is talking about kingdom entrance. Only those who do the will of God concerning kingdom entrance will enter the kingdom of heaven.

Ok, we can work with this. This can be our starting point. Let’s run with it.

Does God have a specific will with regard to kingdom entrance? Why yes, yes, He does, as a matter of fact.

According to Jesus, the will of God for man to enter the kingdom of heaven is to be born again (John 3:3, 5). "Unless one is born again" he shall not enter the kingdom of God, He says. In this passage of John 3 where Jesus’s command is found, how is one born again? According to Jesus: Anyone who simply by believes in Him is born again, possessing eternal life that can never be lost (John 3:16).

Christ gives eternal life as an act of grace. It is a free gift. Everything and anyone born anywhere is always given life for free. There are no exceptions to this. Being born, receiving life, is always a gift… It is always free.

Oh. So God has a will for mankind with respect to entering His kingdom, and that is to be born again by grace through faith in Jesus, receiving the life of the age to come as a free gift? Yes! God’s will for lost humanity it to be born into His family by believing in Jesus.

Jesus said: "And this is the will of Him who sent Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day" (John 6:40).

Invitation

Reader: are you attempting to work for something God already paid the price for with the death of His precious Son? Are you laboring for something God wants to give you as a free gift of His grace?

Receive now the gift of God, eternal life, by simply believing the testimony of Jesus, the Son of God:

"Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever believes in Me has eternal life." (John 6:47)

Let him who thirsts come! Whoever desires, let him take the water of life for free! (Revelation 22:17).

And go tell the world about the will of your Father in heaven!

Matthew 7:13-14 Enter Through the Narrow Gate

Matthew 7:13-14

ENTER THROUGH THE NARROW GATE:

For wide is the gate and broad is the way leading to destruction, and many are those entering through it;

For narrow is the gate and restricted is the way leading to life, and few are those finding it. (Matthew 7:13-14, Author’s translation)

Introduction

Although Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount message was primarily directed toward His disciples (Matthew 5:1-2), there were “multitudes” there as well present who Jesus also kept in mind as He spoke. Taking note of the unsaved in His audience, Jesus exhorts them to start their journey with Him in the proper place and manner. Thus, Jesus commanded them with these words.

The imperative is to “ENTER.” The object of that entrance is a “GATE.” And the intended relation of that entrance to the gate is “THROUGH” it.

Jesus’s command was to enter through the narrow gate.

This and this alone is the main and governing clause of this passage. This is the desire of Jesus: that the lost enter through the narrow gate. The two clauses following this one are subordinate clauses describing the REASONS to enter through the narrow gate rather than the broad one. If we are to understand this passage, it is necessary we recognize this main clause for what it is saying and what it is not saying.


What Jesus is Actually Saying

Notice: The command is not to travel, journey, trek on, walk down, or endure through a road, or anything of this sort. The command simply is to “enter.” And this entrance is to be through a gate, not through a path... – “Enter through the narrow gate.”

Many people believe and teach that this passage is actually commanding the lost to relentlessly march down a difficult and cumbersome road of obedience and faithfulness; one that waiting for them at its end and completion is an award: the meriting and the winning of eternal life. They do this despite the clear governing command of the passage.

But it absolutely CAN’T be talking about that, grammatically and contextually.

Jesus is desiring for those whom He is addressing to pass through a portal: “Enter through the narrow gate.” This, and this alone, is the imperative, the command of this passage. The command isn’t “Travel down the hard road of obedience” or “Be engaged in laborious commandment keeping” or anything similar. Jesus is exhorting His audience to find and enter the narrow gate. The rest of this passage is concerned with the reasons why to enter through this gate and none other. We cannot emphasize this enough! This passage has been made to bear the weight of works-salvation theology without so much as a critical thought toward its wording and grammar wherein its legitimate interpretation lies.

What we have here is a narrow, constrained, in other words EXCLUSIVE entryway. It leads directly into life. Jesus commands those whom He is addressing to simply enter through it.

It is not talking about a long, arduous and laborious road, that if successfully traversed wins one life. It is a door connecting two areas that once passed through brings one immediately into life.


How the Lost Enter the Gate for Life

What is the life that Jesus is talking about? It sounds like this passage is talking about kingdom age life, also known as eternal life. Does it not? And as a matter of fact, that is what it is talking about: Entrance into the kingdom age... See Matthew 7:21 – “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father in heaven.” This passage is talking about obtaining eternal life.

The will of the Father with regard to kingdom entrance – God’s instruction for obtaining the life of the age to come – is to find and enter the right gate.

This idea is certainly starting to sound familiar, is it not? For in John 14:6 we read:

Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.”

Now this should start making sense. Jesus is the door between death and life. One must pass through Him for salvation. Does He not actually say this in John 10? Yes, He does: “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved” (John 10:9).

Jesus is the portal. He is the gate and He is the door. He is the EXCLUSIVE way to life. There is no “salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

But how is one to enter through this door that leads to life and the Father? Answer? What we have been saying all along: faith alone in Christ alone… believing in Jesus… trusting in Jesus alone according to His promise. This alone is the manner in which one must enter the door into life. There are no other means which enter into life.

Let us examine one of His promises that concerns this means of entry into life. Jesus swears that the very moment someone, anyone, believes in Him, “he has everlasting life, and shall not come into judgment, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24). By believing in Jesus one enters the door, passes from death into life, now possesses eternal life, and shall never come into final judgment. All the bases are covered – past, present, and future. This person is saved!

To summarize: The narrow gate = Jesus. Entering this gate = believing in Jesus. The result of entering this gate = eternal life. The command is “enter through the narrow gate” which essentially means “believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).


Do Not Enter through the Broad Gate

Jesus commands: “Enter through the narrow gate!”… But why?

“Because wide is the gate and broad is the way leading to destruction, and many are those entering through it.”

Jewish speakers and writers were fond of using something that has been termed “Hebrew Poetic Parallelism.” It is found throughout the Bible. One of the categories of this parallelism is called “Synonymous Parallelism,” which we find in this clause and in the following one. Synonymous parallelism involves the repetition in the second part of what has already been expressed in the first, while simply varying the words. “It is intended to achieve a result reminiscent of binocular vision, the superimposition of two syntactical images in order to endow them with solidity and depth” (David Toshida Tsumura, Journal of Biblical Literature, 128, no. 1 (2009): 167-181).

Here we have two sets of synonyms:

Wide / Broad
Gate / Way

Taken together, we have a set of synonymous expressions:

A wide gate
A broad way

These are synonymous with each other. They refer to a portal with which one may enter through. This way is distinguished from the narrow gate.

Can the word “way” be used, which can also mean path and road, as a synonym for gate or door? Absolutely. We talk that way all the time. Pulling up to a new friend’s house for a get together, he meets you in the front yard and says, “The way to the party is through that gate.” It is not uncommon to actually call the “way” between one room and another a “doorway.” Often we refer to portals from one place to another as “gateways.” Doors and gates are “ways” leading from one area into another. “Way” is a legitimate synonymous word for a portal, for a door and a gate.

This is not talking about a gate that leads to a path that leads to destruction. “Gate” and “way” are synonymous in this expression. They are both referring to the same thing using poetic parallelism. And to confirm that Jesus is talking about one thing and not two, Jesus says, “and many are those entering through IT.” Jesus uses the singular, neuter pronoun, “it,” not the plural, “them.” He is making reference to a single idea – the entering into an inclusive, and deadly, gateway – by describing it using Hebrew Synonymous Parallelism. Jesus is talking about a singular portal, described in two ways, which enters into destruction.

What can we say about this doorway? It is wide and broad. It is inclusive.

This is the way of worldliness. This is the domain of the doctrines of men. Every false gospel, every human made religion, every abhorrent philosophy, all humanistic worldviews are included in this “gate.” Yet these views all share something in common: they include the idea of self-justification by deeds, they entail a works-salvation mindset. This is the way that seems right unto a man, but the ends thereof are the ways of death (Proverbs 14:12).

And here is the thing, according to the context. Many false prophets have come out into the world and are pointing to this gate. All works-salvation preachers lead their congregations to this portal. All self-justifying false prophets steer their flocks to this doorway. That is why in the following verses of this passage that Jesus actually warns of false prophets (Matthew 7:15-23). They are those who do not do the will of the Father with regards to kingdom entrance, nor do they allow those who are trying to get into the kingdom to actually get there (Matthew 23:13). False prophets block the way to the narrow gate and highlight the broad one.

Jesus’s forceful implication: Do NOT enter in through the wide gate and the broad way! It is sure destruction. This way teaches that anything BUT faith alone in Jesus Christ alone (sola fide, solus Christus) will enter into life. This way excludes and bars people from the kingdom of God. This is the way of anything goes. It is not the way of by grace through faith (sola gratia).


Enter through the Narrow Gate

Jesus teaches that the lost must find the narrow gate and enter it! Why?

“Because narrow is the gate and restricted is the way leading to life, and few are those finding it.”

We get messed up here because some translations use the word “hard” or “difficult” for the way leading to life. But the Greek word used here is “thlibo,” meaning, “press together, compress, make narrow, become restricted” (according to the standard Greek Lexicon, BDAG) and creates a fitting synonym for “narrow.”

The standard Greek lexicon for this word doesn’t even have an entry for it meaning “hard” or “difficult.” There is no evidence in existence (in the papyri or Koine Greek works of the time) that employs this word with these meanings. Not one time is this word used with these senses. Nor is it used with those meanings in the other 9 instances of this word in the Bible.

“Hard” or “difficult” is not a translation but an interpretation disguised as a translation. Most translations use “compressed” or “constricted” in this passage. Jesus used synonymous parallelism in the previous clause, and for symmetry, He used it also in this clause. “Restricted” is probably the best translation of this word. It is synonymous with “narrow.”

Here again we are met with 2 sets of synonyms:

Narrow / Restricted
Gate / Way

And here again we have a set of synonymous expressions:

A narrow gate
A restricted way

All of the false prophets are steering people to the wide gate of destruction, they are not preaching this narrow gate. This is the sad state in which we live in this country and in the world. It is difficult for people to find the narrow gate. This is why Jesus commands in another place, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate, for many, I say to you, will seek to enter and will not be able” (Luke 13:24).

With so many people saying the same exact thing in different ways, pointing people to their own good works, obedience, and faithfulness, and not to the good work, obedience, and faithfulness of Jesus Christ, it is no wonder that Jesus says to strive to find and enter that narrow gate. In a world inundated with works salvation theology, the narrow gate can be hard to find.

Many people are living religious lives in this world, claiming Jesus to be their Lord. They impose upon themselves the law and commandments, thinking this is the way which will lead to paradise. They think by this that they will one day stand before God justified. But we know that it is a foregone conclusion that anyone who tries to justify themselves in any way will be told to depart: “I never knew you! Depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!” … At least we should’ve known… for the Scriptures are clear: “By the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight” (Romans 3:20).

Jesus doesn’t know these people. They have not done the will of the Father. They have not entered in through the Narrow Gate, they haven’t found the Door. They do not possess eternal life (John 17:3).

They are actually conmen: “He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber” (John 10:1). They are the blind leading the blind, who both fall into the pit.


Conclusion

Men, women, and children: Jesus is the Narrow Gate, entrance through Him is by believing His testimony of John 3:16, and the result is eternal life. It is a free gift of grace. Find and enter the correct gate before it’s too late!

Forgive. Give Place to Wrath. Save Yourself From Guilt!

Introduction

We have all heard it from our moms: “Two wrongs don’t make a right!”

While you were playing with your Legos or your building blocks, your brother comes in and wrecks your amazing structure. In a fit of rage, you jump on him and begin giving him a wallop. He starts crying and screams out, “Mom!”

… and then in walks your mother.


You’re Busted!

Your brother was the one who “started it.” He was the one who offended, but you are the one who’s in hot water! You get busted for taking the matter into your own hands. And in so doing, you transgress and misbehave.

You may now be able to think this through as a parent yourself. Looked at objectively, your response to the offense was excessive. It was greater than the wrong-doing warranted. And rightfully so, you got in trouble. Giving your brother a fat lip and a bloody nose was not an appropriate response to him ruining your play castle.


The Better Response

But what else could you have done in the face of being mistreated? Moms often say, “If this happens again, next time come get me. I will take care of it.” A capable mom has many options at her disposal to proportionately execute justice in these types of matters. By appealing to your mother and committing this crisis into her hands you would save yourself from your own misconduct and guilt, and allow your good mom, who is skilled in these types of situations, to handle it and deal out the fitting consequences.


The Story of David, Nabal, and Abigail (1 Samuel 25)

David and his men (some 600 in number), were on the run from King Saul. In their efforts to escape detection, they journeyed through the wilderness. For a while, this motley band dwelt among a group of shepherds tending three thousand sheep owned by a very rich man called Nabal. During this time, David and his party were very good to the shepherds, protecting them and the sheep so that none were lost – which was no small task. They performed a huge service for Nabal. It then became the season to shear the sheep, which was a time of rejoicing and feasting in this culture.

Reasonably desiring to share in a bit of the festivities, David sent men to Nabal in order to humbly request items, in reciprocation for his labors, with which he and his men could make merry. But Nabal, being harsh and evil in his doings, reviled them, and sent them away empty handed.

David then said, “Surely in vain I have protected all that this fellow has in the wilderness, so that nothing was missed of all that belongs to him. And he has repaid me evil for good” (1 Samuel 25:21). David and his men were insulted and angered. Nabal had greatly offended them, repaying evil for their good.


David’s Response

What becomes David’s reaction? He told his men to gird on their swords and then swears to not leave a single male alive in all the house of Nabal by the next morning. This is excessively vindictive and evil. As we know from the story, the male servants of Nabal thought he was a scoundrel and were not complicit with his wickedness. David’s resolutions were NOT an appropriate response. David intended to repay evil for evil… and thus fall into sin and guilt. The men he was intending to kill were innocent.


Abigail: The Voice of God and Conscience

Enter into the story the wife of Nabal: Abigail – a woman of good understanding. She catches wind of David’s intentions and initiates a wise plan. She made haste and whipped up enough pleasant and tasty food to feed an army, loaded it onto donkeys, and appeared before David with it.

Abigail then declares her personal knowledge that Nabal was a scoundrel, but offers that his offense occurred unbeknownst to her. She follows this up with the request: “On me, my lord, on me let this iniquity be!” (1 Samuel 25:24). She essentially is saying that this travesty was her fault because she should have been babysitting her foolish husband who is constantly getting himself into trouble like this. “Please forgive the trespass of your maidservant” (1 Samuel 25:25). She was in humility attributing Nabal’s sin to herself.

Abigail continues her dialogue with David: “… the Lord has held you back from coming to bloodshed… And it shall come to pass, when the Lord has done for my lord according to all the good that He has spoken concerning you, and has appointed you ruler over Israel, that this will be no grief to you, nor offense of heart to my lord… that you have shed blood without cause” (1 Samuel 25:30-31).

Abigail recognizes that what David was intending to do was sinful and without warrant. Further, being quite the woman of understanding, she knows that with a man who has a tender heart like David (see 1 Samuel 24:5) such sin would later trouble and grieve him. Not to mention that it would also lay guilt on him to which he would then be subject to God and His displeasure.


The End of the Story

At these words, David forsook his intentions; and in respect of Abigail, heeded her voice. He let go of his anger, abandoned his revenge, forgave the whole situation, and received from her hand the gifts she had brought him. He forgave and gave place to wrath, for as godly Israelites knew, vengeance is the Lord’s and He will repay (Deuteronomy 32:35).

1 Samuel 25:38-39
Then it happened, after about ten days, that the Lord struck Nabal, and he died. So when David heard that Nabal was dead, he said, “Blessed be the Lord, who has pleaded the cause of my reproach from the hand of Nabal, and has kept His servant from evil! For the Lord has returned the wickedness of Nabal on his own head.”

Conclusion

We all have to deal in one way or another with the sins and offenses of people in our lives. Our initial reactions are often to payback those who hurt us, and in the prosecution of our retribution we often fall into sin by returning evil for evil.

Listen to the teaching of this story: forgive your offenders, release them from retribution, and give place to God’s wrath. Deliver yourself from falling into sin, and commit the situations into the hands of the Lord who will repay.

Proverbs 20:22
Do not say, “I will recompense evil.” Wait for the Lord, and He will save you.

This was one story out of many that illustrates for us the training that God put David through in order to be prepared to rule His people. God is training you for glory, and seeking to prepare you to co-rule with the Lord Jesus Christ (Revelation 3:21). Learn this lesson. God will fight your battles. He is able to bring others to justice in a way that will keep you from sinning, and bring Himself the maximum glory.

God’s Forgiveness is Conditional – Our Forgiveness Is to Be Unconditional.

Introduction

There is a difference between God and the Christian in the matter of forgiveness. Let me try to explain my thoughts. Let’s look at a pertinent passage:

Mark 11:25:
And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

Here is God asking us to unconditionally forgive someone their sins against us, in other words, without their repentance, confession, and contrition. Yet at the same time stating that His forgiveness of us is conditional, based on our forgiving others.


How to Work this Problem Out

Here is how we can navigate this subject. Take a look at this passage:

Romans 12:19-20:
Beloved, do not avenge yourselves, but rather give place to wrath; for it is written, "Vengeance is Mine, I will repay," says the Lord. Therefore "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; If he is thirsty, give him a drink; For in so doing you will heap coals of fire on his head."

We are not to avenge ourselves but are to rather forgive and let go of the animosity, desire for retribution, and right to payback. As a matter of fact, we are even to go a step further: if our enemy is hungry and thirsty: feed him and give him drink. For this can be useful in God’s hands in leading our enemy to “come to his senses.” Our acts of mercy and kindness – forgiveness and providing the needs of our enemy – can be used in God’s hands to cause him to think and ponder and consider these merciful acts. And this divine blessedness of “having your conduct honorable among” our enemies may lead them to, “by [our] good works which they observe, glorify God in the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12).

No. We aren’t to avenge ourselves, but rather give place to wrath – God’s wrath – for vengeance is His. NOT OURS. The opposite of forgiveness is paying back our offenders, and requiring them to pay their debt to make everything right for us. You can’t have both. Either vengeance is ours, or it is God’s. If it is God's, it it not ours... we are to forgive and give it to God.

So yes. It is GOD’s prerogative for wrath. It IS NOT OURS.


Why God Requires Us to Forgive and Then Give It to Him

God can do things WAY better than we can.
God can apply His wrath without violating righteous retribution, in other words without inflicting more than is warranted. Are we always able to do that?

His motives are always righteous. Can we always say the same about ourselves?

He has purposes and intentions with His retribution that are always good. Ours could conceivably just be to angrily pay our enemies back without regard for their relationship to God, or their instruction in righteousness.

His methods can bring back the results He desires: repentance and contrition. Our methods can actually exacerbate the situation.


A Scenario to Illustrate

Here is a scenario to illustrate. It is right for a dad to tell his son, “Forgive that offender. Don't take this matter into your own hands. The concern with retribution and the built-up animosity in you can crush you, and poison you, and your anger could ruin you… Let me take care of it. I will take care of this situation and this person. Trust me.”

This isn't a case of God asking us to do something that He's not willing to do, in other words, asking us to unconditionally forgive when He isn’t willing to do so! No, no, no.

It's a case of God saying: “Release and let go of the bitterness and resentment and anger. I will take care of this situation.” And remember: He has MANY options at His disposal. One of the many tools in His hand is the government ruler in authority:

Romans 13:4 But if you do evil, be afraid; for he does not bear the sword in vain; for he is God’s minister, an avenger to execute wrath on him who practices evil.

Conclusion

God can lead an offender to repentance and forgiveness with His incremental imposing of consequences. He is patient! He wishes to lead an offender to contrition and righteousness. He asks us to forgive and then leave in His hands. He will be longsuffering not wanting to inflict full retribution. And will use varieties of ways to accomplish those ends. He will inflict wrath, according to His perfect plan, that has the righteous and beneficial intentions of bringing the offender to a relationship with Himself.

So the charge or claim that God is asking us to do something that He isn't willing to do, on second glance, isn't a fair charge. It doesn’t exhibit some hypocrisy on God’s part. It simply recognizes that God's way of dealing with the personal offense of an offender is way more righteous and able to produce godly results. It simply is a case of God saying this:

Forgive the offender.
Turn it over to Me.
I will handle it.