Requirement to Forgive: Writings

Ben Pasley has written an article at Churchthink.com that is called Kingdom Forgiveness: The Basics which actually focuses a good deal on the “why?” questions that we ask about forgiving others. It continues on into some very practical action steps. Here is an excerpt from the heart of the article which points to forgiveness as the key tool for receiving the kingdom of God:

“Coming Together is the Goal

We know that the Kingdom is not driven by–nor contained by–the basic principles of this world. Romans 14:17 says, “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit…” so we would not jump to the conclusion that the results of binding and loosing is us getting richer in material things. Sons become rich in many ways, and it is the heart of the Father to bless us, but that is not the principle behind this promise–not in this passage. It’s true: this passage in Matthew 18 where Jesus says, “Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven. For where two or three come together in my name, there am I with them.” is often embraced by the “ask anything in my name” crowd who want to live in bigger houses. They say to poverty, “be bound,” and to riches, “be loosed.” I don’t see that promise here. I most certainly do have the promise of provision, however, and I am not afraid to claim it. Dad blesses me because I am His son and He needs no other reason. I do not need to appeal to any special formula to be blessed by God. I have an eternal inheritance with Christ and I am enjoying some of it right now. In this passage in Matthew, however, we are to receive the emphasis on the joy of coming together…”  Read all of the article here.

Here is the article in a well organized PDF with chapter markers and title pages:  Kingdom Forgiveness: The Basics