THE LORD'S PRAYER (TWO VERSIONS)
When I was a child I heard the church’s Pastor say the Lord’s Prayer at the beginning, and at the end of his sermon. This is what I heard - based on what I know and remember: (Version I)
“Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom comes. Thy will be done in Heaven, as it is on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen” (traditional version). The Newborn Christians’ version sounds something like this, based on what they believe: (Version II) “Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom comes. Thy will be done in heaven, and our will be done on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. We do not ask you to forgive our sins since we can no longer sin after your death, and by your “grace”. And since we can no longer sin, we believe that we do not owe anyone or anybody any apology. Our faith is strong, and we can overcome any temptation that comes our way. For Thine is the Kingdom, ours is the power to change Your will on earth, forever and ever. Amen.” (the newborn Christian’s version II).
If I have misquoted Version II, please correct me, and accept my apology. Today's Christians believe that we can no longer sin since Jesus has died on the cross to redeem our sins. They said that according to John 1:29, Jesus took away the sin of the world, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'" I think the Apostle John was confused and did not know what Jesus said that we should ask God to forgive us of our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us when we pray. This means that we are still sinners even after Jesus' death. In Matthew 5:23-24 Jesus told us to redeem our own sins. "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." I now begin to see that the Biblical scholars are more confused than the Apostle John. The fact that Jesus asked His Father to forgive the sins of those who crucified Him tells me that NO ONE will automatically take the sins of the world, NO ONE! Why does Jesus have to ask God the Father to forgive the sins of His executioners if His death will automatically take away the sin of the world when the Apostle John said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'" And if the Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world, why does Jesus say, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15. I suspect that the Bible Scholars do not understand when they read the Bible. They just memorize them. And we all know that Jesus was crucified by the Jews not to pay for our sins. Please read Can I Ask? Do we believe that Jesus has taken away the sins of billions of sinners whom He had intentionally drowned and killed during Noah’s time - the big flood? Come on Bro, quit smoking and stop dreaming all that nonsense. Quit smoking because smoking is bad for the lungs and brain. Please read Pastor-Attorney for study aid.
That's why He asked the Father to forgive them of their sin! Also, in the Lord's Prayer Jesus taught us to pray daily, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Matthew 6:12. Why would Jesus teach us to pray daily for the forgiveness of our sins if our sins have been forgiven according to John 1:29? See also Matthew 5:23-24. It simply doesn’t make sense that God the Father has automatically forgiven the sin of the world! And, Jesus said to His disciples, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the [sins] of any, they are retained." John 20:23. This, I believe, was the basis of the Catholic sacrament of penance called absolution. Catholic priests believe that they have the authority to forgive our sin. Christian Protestants, however, do not believe in John 20:23. They believe in John 1:29 instead, that Jesus has died to pay for our sin. Readers, are you not confused yet? To avoid all this confusion I have written an article entitled Pastor-Attorney. The Bible is a law textbook. We must read and understand the Bible as a whole. We read and analyze the Bible as a WHOLE. What is the whole picture of the texts that we are reading, from the beginning to the end?
Brothers, why did Jesus tell us to say, “Thy will be done in heaven, as it is on earth” when we pray? Because I believe that when we truly do the will of God we cannot go wrong. Things can go wrong only when we do our will. When we do our will, I guarantee you that things will go wrong. Why is that? Because God’s will doesn’t allow us to do wrong to God the Father and to other human beings. We cannot even have bad intentions. A lawyer asked Jesus, "Teacher, which [is] the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "`You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is [the] first and great commandment. "And [the] second [is] like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:36-40. What can go wrong if we follow God’s will in Matthew 22:36-40? What could go wrong if the world follows Matthew 22:36-40? Nothing that I can see.The problem is that the majority of Christians don’t want to follow Matthew 22:34-40. Why? Because they can make no money by following Matthew 22:34-40. Christians want to do their own will. How do they do that? They follow Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” They tickle each other’s itching ears. Here’s where they can make money, tickle each other's ears. Consequently, they started with one or two Christian denominations, and now there are over 45,000 Christian denominations globally, and there is only one Jesus. I foresee that after a couple more decades we’ll see the number growing to 80,000 groups. Mark my words.
Brothers and Sisters, ask God to help us do His will. That is the ONLY way that we can be saved!
How can we know what the will of the Father is? Read what Jesus says. Read what Jesus says! But do not read what the Biblical scholars write. Do not read what leaders of various churches write. If you read what they say I guarantee that you will become members of the more than 45,000 Christian denominations. Read what Jesus says what the will of God is. But, we must love Him before we can attempt to do His will. Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.” John 14:15,21-24.
Did I hear someone say that it is hard to follow Jesus? No problem, because salvation is not for everyone. Eternal life from Jesus is only available for those who are obedient to Him. Are we following YHWH’s will, or are we following Satan’s will?
“Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Thy Name. Thy Kingdom comes. Thy will be done in Heaven, as it is on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom, The power, and the glory, forever and ever. Amen” (traditional version). The Newborn Christians’ version sounds something like this, based on what they believe: (Version II) “Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be thy Name. Thy Kingdom comes. Thy will be done in heaven, and our will be done on earth. Give us this day our daily bread. We do not ask you to forgive our sins since we can no longer sin after your death, and by your “grace”. And since we can no longer sin, we believe that we do not owe anyone or anybody any apology. Our faith is strong, and we can overcome any temptation that comes our way. For Thine is the Kingdom, ours is the power to change Your will on earth, forever and ever. Amen.” (the newborn Christian’s version II).
If I have misquoted Version II, please correct me, and accept my apology. Today's Christians believe that we can no longer sin since Jesus has died on the cross to redeem our sins. They said that according to John 1:29, Jesus took away the sin of the world, "The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, 'Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'" I think the Apostle John was confused and did not know what Jesus said that we should ask God to forgive us of our trespasses, as we forgive those that trespass against us when we pray. This means that we are still sinners even after Jesus' death. In Matthew 5:23-24 Jesus told us to redeem our own sins. "Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First, be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift." I now begin to see that the Biblical scholars are more confused than the Apostle John. The fact that Jesus asked His Father to forgive the sins of those who crucified Him tells me that NO ONE will automatically take the sins of the world, NO ONE! Why does Jesus have to ask God the Father to forgive the sins of His executioners if His death will automatically take away the sin of the world when the Apostle John said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!'" And if the Lamb of God has taken away the sin of the world, why does Jesus say, "For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. "But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14-15. I suspect that the Bible Scholars do not understand when they read the Bible. They just memorize them. And we all know that Jesus was crucified by the Jews not to pay for our sins. Please read Can I Ask? Do we believe that Jesus has taken away the sins of billions of sinners whom He had intentionally drowned and killed during Noah’s time - the big flood? Come on Bro, quit smoking and stop dreaming all that nonsense. Quit smoking because smoking is bad for the lungs and brain. Please read Pastor-Attorney for study aid.
That's why He asked the Father to forgive them of their sin! Also, in the Lord's Prayer Jesus taught us to pray daily, "And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors." Matthew 6:12. Why would Jesus teach us to pray daily for the forgiveness of our sins if our sins have been forgiven according to John 1:29? See also Matthew 5:23-24. It simply doesn’t make sense that God the Father has automatically forgiven the sin of the world! And, Jesus said to His disciples, "If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the [sins] of any, they are retained." John 20:23. This, I believe, was the basis of the Catholic sacrament of penance called absolution. Catholic priests believe that they have the authority to forgive our sin. Christian Protestants, however, do not believe in John 20:23. They believe in John 1:29 instead, that Jesus has died to pay for our sin. Readers, are you not confused yet? To avoid all this confusion I have written an article entitled Pastor-Attorney. The Bible is a law textbook. We must read and understand the Bible as a whole. We read and analyze the Bible as a WHOLE. What is the whole picture of the texts that we are reading, from the beginning to the end?
Brothers, why did Jesus tell us to say, “Thy will be done in heaven, as it is on earth” when we pray? Because I believe that when we truly do the will of God we cannot go wrong. Things can go wrong only when we do our will. When we do our will, I guarantee you that things will go wrong. Why is that? Because God’s will doesn’t allow us to do wrong to God the Father and to other human beings. We cannot even have bad intentions. A lawyer asked Jesus, "Teacher, which [is] the great commandment in the law?" Jesus said to him, "`You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.' "This is [the] first and great commandment. "And [the] second [is] like it: `You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' "On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets." Matthew 22:36-40. What can go wrong if we follow God’s will in Matthew 22:36-40? What could go wrong if the world follows Matthew 22:36-40? Nothing that I can see.The problem is that the majority of Christians don’t want to follow Matthew 22:34-40. Why? Because they can make no money by following Matthew 22:34-40. Christians want to do their own will. How do they do that? They follow Ephesians 2:8-9, “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; [it is] the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” They tickle each other’s itching ears. Here’s where they can make money, tickle each other's ears. Consequently, they started with one or two Christian denominations, and now there are over 45,000 Christian denominations globally, and there is only one Jesus. I foresee that after a couple more decades we’ll see the number growing to 80,000 groups. Mark my words.
Brothers and Sisters, ask God to help us do His will. That is the ONLY way that we can be saved!
How can we know what the will of the Father is? Read what Jesus says. Read what Jesus says! But do not read what the Biblical scholars write. Do not read what leaders of various churches write. If you read what they say I guarantee that you will become members of the more than 45,000 Christian denominations. Read what Jesus says what the will of God is. But, we must love Him before we can attempt to do His will. Jesus said, "If you love Me, keep My commandments. "He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him." Judas (not Iscariot) said to Him, "Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?" Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. "He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father's who sent Me.” John 14:15,21-24.
Did I hear someone say that it is hard to follow Jesus? No problem, because salvation is not for everyone. Eternal life from Jesus is only available for those who are obedient to Him. Are we following YHWH’s will, or are we following Satan’s will?
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