Salvation: Delivered *From* Something *To* Something By Grace

I think the greatest tragedy for Christians who are so law-minded and obsess with thoughts that they are sinners and must "contain the beast" within themselves, is that they never truly understand the mystery and the glory of Christ within them; that God Himself has been and is working in them still to reveal their own salvation to them with all of its benefits. Focusing on their failures and negative tendencies, they can never freely and fully rejoice in their new creation self, and their union with Christ, which was the work of God Himself.

The great tragedy is that they remain focused on themselves, and never truly understand (and thereby neglect) God's glory and grace upon their life. By choosing to remain in this condition, they reject grace and its free gift: a change of mind about their true nature and about God's goodness. Thus, they are robbed of the enjoyment of that which is already theirs by the work of Christ: righteousness, peace, and joy, all which belong to salvation (Yeshua). You have not only been delivered from something, but also to something.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Grace in the Maze

Life is like a maze:

You enter into the maze and find that there are twists and turns that you can't predict and can't completely understand in the grand scheme of where you are and where you're going. Because of your limited view, what you really need is someone above you who has a bird's eye view of the maze. Such a person can direct you step by step and turn by turn. And while you still won't know the complete journey from your perspective, you'll learn to trust the one above you to guide you and direct you to the best outcome: a successful journey through the maze without needless delay ending in the best possible result.

Can you imagine yourself in this maze? Can you imagine the one who sees you from above? I bet you can.

Call out. Listen. Trust. Follow.

That's how real faith works.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Neither the Older Son nor the Younger Son Knew Their Father's Love and Generosity

In the biblical story of the prodigal son, the older brother complains that his father never gave him even a young goat for a feast with his friends. This statement reveals several important things:

1. The young goat (ériphos) requested by the older son was used for ordinary meals, not celebrations. In fact, it would have been skinny and meager compared to a celebration meal.

2. In contrast, the fattened calf that the father sacrificed on the spot for the younger returned son was reserved for occasions of great joy and celebration.

3. As is apparent in his demand, the older brother was looking for joy and a cause for happiness in his life, and was tragically unaware of his father's love both for him and his brother.

4. The father declares that the fattened calf had always belonged also to the older son. Unfortunately it was the son's servant mentality--his idea that his father was harsh and demanding--that kept him from the truth: if he had had the mentality of a son, he could have been celebrating the whole time because of his father's love for him.

This is why experiencing the love of the Father and the grace of God is the most important thing of all. Sadly, the older son had experienced only a meager life of servitude, because his mentality lowered his aspirations for real joy and love, which he could have enjoyed from the start.

How appropriate, then, is the fact that the story begins with "A certain man had two sons...." The story was always about the father's love and lavish blessing, not the sons' obedience or disobedience.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

You Are Not a Sinner Saved By Grace; Instead, Grace Changed Your Entire Identity

I know many Christians who recognize God to be good and gracious; benevolent and loving; generous and forgiving. However, do they acknowledge this merely intellectually, or is it their personal experience? Moreover--and more importantly--I get the sense that many, if not most, relate to God from a false understanding of their true identity. It sounds right and pious to view oneself as a sinner whom God continually forgives and loves, and there is some sort of strange pleasure they indulge in when they make statements such as "I'm a sinner saved by grace" and the like. It sounds humble to identify oneself first as a worm and second as an object of God's affection and forgiveness. But I believe this view falls horribly short of the reality of who they are. It ignores the fact of their true nature, a new creation, and as Paul and Peter would add, that the believer is "united with Christ" and a "partaker of the divine nature."

The believer is united and one spirit with Christ, Paul states further, and I am convinced that most Christians never accept this truth as their reality. Christians, and people in general, have been taught to gain their identity from what they do. Therefore, the Christian who struggles to obey God sees their sin and failure primarily, and God in all his good attributes secondarily. How can one be both a sinner by nature (i.e., your perceived nature based on your actions) and a "partaker of the divine nature" at the same time? And even if the Christian denies that they are still a sinner by nature, their perception of who they are is still based on their actions. The cause for this confusion comes from at least two sources: 1. a traditional view of ourselves placed on us by others, and; 2. a misreading of Paul in several key scripture passages.

What I am asserting will be rejected by those steeped in a confused identity of themselves, and they will continue to view God through their sin, their sins, and their failures. But if they reject the original lie of the accuser and accept that they have been made complete in Christ and are like God, the benefits of union with Christ will open up to them a world of possibilities they never imagined. In other words, without this mind of Christ (a view of God and themselves not through a false nature), they will never fully know all that is in store for them.

We focus obsessively on our sins, trying to stop them, but that only causes us to sin more. Our confused identity as sinners keeps us in sin, and thus honoring ourselves and others becomes a constant battle in which we quickly compromise, since we can't "live holy." We were meant for so much more, and our failed view of ourselves and our compromised behaviors inaccurately reflects the love of Christ to all men and women.

God is indeed good, loving, and gracious, but our reality goes much deeper and truer than that. Stop viewing yourself and God through your sinning; stop accepting a false identity based on what you do rather than who you are in God. A life you have yet to imagine exists. A life free from sin and struggle. You've actually already been carried through the Door in the arms of Christ. Relax and enjoy the union.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Two Passages on the Robe of Righteousness...It's a Free Gift!

"I will go home to my father and say, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired servant.'"

So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son."

But his father said to the servants, "Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found."

So the party began. (Luke‬ ‭15:18-24‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

"I am overwhelmed with joy in the Lord my God! For he has dressed me with the clothing of salvation and draped me in a robe of righteousness. I am like a bridegroom dressed for his wedding or a bride with her jewels."
‭‭
(Isaiah‬ ‭61:10‬ ‭NLT‬‬)

It's About God's Love For You

Old Covenant:

"You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself." (Luke 10:27)


New Covenant:

"...not that we loved God, but that He loved us..." (1 John 4:10)


Take your eyes off your attempts to love the Lord, and keep them on His love for you.

Any Questions?

God's Love For Us Is Insane

It has been said that the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again while expecting different results.

If that's true, then God's love for us is certainly insane. For, "God loves us over and over (doing the same thing), with the hopeful expectation that our hearts will grow or change (expecting a different result)."

Philip Jornales, His Love is Like _____: Illustrations on the Insanity of God's Desire, p. 29.

The Wrong Definition of Faith Leads People Away From God

I think some (if not most) people's idea of faith is that God will somehow magically solve all their problems. That definition of faith leads to disillusion, confusion, and ultimately causes one to turn away from God. True faith, however, is not looking to God to solve your problems and answer your questions. He is God; you are not, and you cannot dictate to God on how to be God. True faith, rather, is this: a persuasion that no matter what you experience, God is on your side and is working to bring about the best possible results for you so that He gets all the credit. There is no guarantee you will understand fully all the details in this life; to demand so is not an attitude of faith. So, instead of going to God so He will solve your problems, live a lifestyle with Him in which you have become persuaded He has called you to simply trust Him, and at the end of it all, you will understand He never left you; He never held out on you; and, He worked it all out for the best possible good for the most number of people.

God's Grace Offends Belief in the Law

If your concept of Christianity is that a Christian should always be on the alert for sin in their life and hold fast to the idea that the struggle against sin is a constant battle against both sin and oneself, then the message of God's grace will offend you beyond belief. And belief is exactly the point. My heart aches for those who refuse to listen to revelation after revelation of God's grace, His goodness, and depth and extent of what Christ accomplished for all in His death, burial, and resurrection.

How To Shipwreck Your Faith

I wonder if some people's concept of God and of faith must, according to them, include no challenges, no trials, no difficulties, and no uncertainties. This concept is false and causes a multitude to shipwreck their faith. Within a few weeks to a few months or years after a crisis, that shipwrecked faith may be very well disguised as a new pursuit in life, a new friend or relationship, or even an amalgamation of seemingly similar, yet truthfully very contrasting faiths. Those who cope with crises in this manner do not find Christ lacking, rather it is their box in which they are unable to make Him fit that is the problem. In other words, they do not reject Christ; it is their concept that is inadequate to meet their needs. They have failed to truly understand Him and only know Him from a far.

However, the Apostle Paul clearly states that God is close to each one of us (Acts 17:27-28) and, as Steve McVey writes, "The deep, settled conviction that God is Love changes everything. It fits our pain in this natural world into the greater context of the supernatural, eternal world. As we see our problems in that context, we find an internal peace in the midst of external turmoil. Always filter the external through the eternal before allowing it to become internal. [We have] an anchor in the storms of life that supports us by providing a deep sense of peace that everything will be okay—even when we don't know how and when everything we feel suggests just the opposite. Until you irrevocably embrace the unequivocal and unchanging love of God, you will find yourself voting on His love every time your circumstances change for the worse."

Daily Renew Your Thoughts Toward Grace

"The life of grace is not an effort on our part to achieve a goal we set ourselves. It is a continually renewed attempt simply to believe that someone else has done all the achieving that is needed and to live in relationship with that person, whether we achieve or not. If that doesn't seem like much to you, you're right: it isn't. And, as a matter of fact, the life of grace is even less than that. It's not even our life at all, but the life of that Someone Else rising like a tide in the ruins of our death."

Robert Capon, Between Noon and Three (Grand Rapids: Eerdmanns, 1997), p. 291.

How to Test Your Faith

Amazing things happen when you read the Bible through the lens of grace.

In Scripture, Paul teaches the Christian to "test (examine) yourselves to see if you are in the faith" or "if your faith is genuine." Institutional Christianity infers a meaning here that one should look for sin and sinful behavior and get rid of it, but that meaning is not in the context of the passage. In other words, true faith, according to the Church, is tested by behavior. Well, that's not what Paul says. He says that the true faith that passes the examination he prescribes is actually the belief that Christ is in oneself and is the life and power by which a believer lives...not the will, determination, or effort of the believer.

See for yourself:

"Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves. Surely you know that Jesus Christ is in you; if not, you have failed the test of genuine faith" (2 Cor. 13:5).

Wow.

Watchman Nee on Inclusion in Christ

"It is the inclusive death of the Lord which puts me in a position to identify myself, not that I identify myself in order to be included. It is God's inclusion of me in Christ that matters."

Watchman Nee, The Normal Christian Life (Wheaton: Tyndale, 1997), p. 38.

You Are Innocent in Christ

The word righteous (Greek: dikaios) includes the meaning "innocent." However, Scripture affirms that the Law never makes a person righteous (see. Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16; 3:11). Why? Because the Law can only condemn and bring death (see 2 Corinthians 3:7, 9). It cannot declare a person innocent. Therefore, those who seek to feel at peace with God based on their behavior according to the Law can never experience peace, because they are under a ministry that condemns and does not declare a person innocent. If you did bad, well, then, you know you messed up. But if you did right, well, then, you could have done better. Both of these directions place the weight on you, and that appeals to your pride. Instead, those who know Christ and their union with Him do know peace. In Him they are innocent. To know this feeling of peace and innocence, one must explore and rely upon the fact that one is united with Christ.

Are You Afraid of Grace?

"You would think, given the routinely low level of our performances at the higher reaches of our being, that we would, in our fantasies at least, welcome a respite from these inexorable audits—that we would imagine for ourselves romances in which the celestial bookkeeping department was given a long and well-deserved vacation. But no, we put it on overtime instead: however much we hate the law, we are more afraid of grace."

Robert Capon, Between Noon and Three (San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1982), p. 5.

Repentance and the Law

But do you suppose this, O man, when you pass judgment on those who practice such things and do the same yourself, that you will escape the judgment of God?  Or do you think lightly of the riches of His kindness and tolerance and patience, not knowing that the kindness of God leads you to repentance?  Romans 2:3-4 (NASB)

Teachers of the Bible usually teach this passage to mean that God is kind to us so that we will turn from our sinning and accept Christ as our Savior.  That's what I was always taught in church.  But I believe the context of this passage is entirely different than that teaching.  The sinful acts of the person are not the main point.  The main point in context, rather, is the person's conception of judgment and the projection of that judgment onto others, including God, and their futile attempt to justify themselves while ignoring their own failings.

Remember, the new covenant biblical word translated as "repentance" is metánoia.  It means to change the way one thinks.  Our sin-focused and sin-tainted minds have given the word metánoia a non-biblical definition: primarily, stop sinning.  When we hear the word "repent," we automatically think "stop sinning."  But this is not what the word means in the original, ancient language.  The difference in what we think it means and what it actually means is a tragedy of epic proportions.  How then, are we able to truly change the way we think?  And what are we supposed to think differently about?

It is not sorrow for our sins.  It is not a commitment to live better by the aid of the law.  It is not even that we should no longer give in to a sin.  Metánoia finds its source in the riches of God's kindness and tolerance and patience.  And more specifically, it is a revealed gift from God where we finally understand that God does not relate to us based on the law, but rather on the basis of His nature.  In other words, God intends to turn the person from living according to the system of the Law, where good deeds are rewarded and bad deeds punished, by showing His kindness, tolerance, and patience.  The kindness of God is intended to convince us that our effort to live by a knowledge of right and wrong (do good; avoid sin) is nothing more than dung to God--we cannot earn favor and blessing, ever.  He wants us to clearly see that we are only and will only ever be the objects of His rich kindness, tolerance, and patience.  He wants us to receive His grace and live in the power of this good news.

We must throw away our scales and weights which we use to measure how well we and others are doing, and instead receive the undeserved and unconditional love and acceptance of an unobligated, unrestrained, giving Lover.  His message to the entire world is that each person would receive His gift (fulfilled by Him on the cross) and think differently about Him, living in the richness of His grace toward them.  Any change in behavior a person would make outside of this message is a self-attempt to reform.  It falls eternally short of the power He has to transform us.  Accept His grace and let it transform you and the way you think.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

The Message Of Grace On Reacting Versus Acting

I recently came across something called the "Model of Life."   It is a diagram designed to help one understand and diagnose the differences in a person's responses to various life events.  Specifically, whether someone is reacting according to the flesh (one's own wisdom and abilities) or acting in the Spirit (reliance upon God's wisdom and ability).  It has been said that life is 10% of what happens to you and 90% how you react.  If this is so, then understanding why one responds certain ways to events in life will certainly help create an objective viewpoint, an aid to choosing to act according to the Spirit, versus not.

The components of the model form a flow chart and progress as follows:  Event; Thoughts; Emotions; Words; Reactions; and Consequences (positive or negative).  Thus, an event occurs progressively leading to thoughts that affect one's emotions.  From the external stimulus of the event to the internal effect, the person consequently begins to speak words and finally take action.  It's interesting that of all the elements in the above sequences, the event itself can be something very minor, yet as the person progresses through the following parts, the issue can be inflated to extreme proportion.  In other words, a minor situation may lead to someone exploding with a disproportionate response, thereby producing even greater (and usually negative) results.  In his book, Lifetime Guarantee, Bill Gilham states that the stress meter of most people is already at a high level, e.g., seven out of ten, and only a minor event is needed to push the person emotionally to a ten, which might be, for example, where they explode or take unpremeditated action.  Indeed, I have observed many people who are already operating out of a fleshly mind react negatively to unfortunate circumstances, even though the situation itself is minor.  This type of person always views life in terms of the negative—they are seemingly perpetually pessimistic and "life" is always against them.

Galatians 3:12 provides much insight into the life of such a person we have been discussing:  "But the Law does not rest on or require faith [it has nothing to do with faith], but [instead, the Law] says, 'He who practices them [the things prescribed by the Law] shall live by them [instead of faith]'" (AMP).  This verse reveals, I believe, why many individuals "give up" on traditional Christianity, some of them deciding to live without reference to God and instead relying on their own wisdom and principles, and some of them eventually hearing grace for the first time and discovering true faith.  And here is the core issue:  what is true, biblical faith?  The understanding of this question affects how we respond to situations around us.  Do we react to the events we encounter?  Or is our response in truth an action based not upon what happens in any given circumstance, but rather upon what we know to be true?  Faith might then be compared to an authentic monetary bill against which any negative circumstance (counterfeit) can be measured.  One dismisses the worthlessness of the false in favor of the value of the real.

Faith, as commonly understood and taught in most churches is this:  it is the strength of one's belief.  Listen to any news report or testimony and one is likely to hear how well a person believed (or tried to believe) in God during duress.  This is not to discount the end result that many people do indeed come out on top of very negative situations, but listen very closely to their words:  does God's goodness and trustworthiness receive credit, or does the person add the strength of their own faith to their testimony?  Scripture never intended us to focus on our testimony, as Acts 4:33 reveals:  "And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all."  A similar word search of "Jesus" and "testimony" reveals multiple occurrences in Revelation.  Every event in one's life must be measured by and made to bow to the testimony of Jesus.  The testimony of Jesus, then, is the foundation of our faith.

I have seen individuals struggle over and over with the same issues simply because their faith is in their faith.  Or, their faith might lie in someone else's faith.  This kind of person must constantly confess sin and ask for prayer.  They usually need someone else to tell them what to do.  The other person and/or their prayers may even well be the source of motivation for the recipient.  All of this occurs because there is no real faith life in them.  They have a law mentality that disqualifies them from receiving blessing freely from their heavenly Father.  True, biblical faith rests in God's goodness alone.  It always has reason to rejoice and give thanks.  True biblical faith can sit in a dark and unsanitary jail cell, praise God, and impact every person overhearing the individuals who should be complaining, mourning, and spewing bitter phrases instead of exuding peace, confidence, and joy.

Consider several persons in Scripture who reacted to negative situations or acted positively in faith, even to similar negative situations and notice that those who had negative reactions usually caused consequences only upon themselves, whereas acts of faith impacted both the person and many others positively:  Moses and Aaron reacted negatively to the people's stubbornness and were restricted from entering the Promised Land.  Jesus rebuked the disciples who asked to call down fire on the Samaritans.  Conversely, Isaiah (preaching to Israel) and Ananias (praying for Paul) both responded according to faith when confronted with potentially difficult and dangerous circumstances.  As a result, many benefited.  However, even in the negative examples above, grace appears to abound.  Joshua, as a Christ-figure, led the people into the Promised Land.  Moses eventually appeared with Jesus on the Mount of Transfiguration.  Thus, Moses did make it into the Promised Land.  Furthermore, although the disciples wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans, it was Jesus Himself who brought the gospel to a people hated by the Jews.  Jesus seems to work everything out in the end—a statement upon which one should rest.

The consideration of the sequence of an external event to an internal processing and then the outward speech, actions, and consequences should help us to realize the simplicity of faith.  Faith is resting in a persuasion that God is good, reliable, and for us despite any circumstances in life that may be interpreted from a limited perspective.  Faith looks beyond the limitations of the natural "now" and instead sees a better reality of Christ's abiding presence, both past, present, and future.  Faith refuses to trust in self; it rests upon the truth of Jesus' testimony:  the Father only brings good and the Spirit only gives resurrection life.

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Relationship versus "Confessionship"

I think most of us know the story of the "Prodigal Son" from the Bible. That's the one in which a young son leaves his father, taking his inheritance prematurely with him, spends all his money on wild living, and then returns after some time, repentant, but expecting to only be allowed to serve on his father's farm as a servant. He is unaware that his father's love would restore him to full authority and recognition of a sonship that never ceased to be.

What I wonder though, is something I observe in most Christians: they may have had those days of wild living and even returned to their Father. They may even be living in the house again, so to speak. But what I see is that most Christians don't accept the complete and unconditional forgiveness, acceptance, and full restoration with their Father. They are always looking back to those days of wild living with regret and fear, thinking they are destined to mess up again and therefore can never enjoy a true union with their Father.

Not only do they feel as though there is a gap between them and their Father, but also with any siblings in the Church family. "So-and-so is such a better Christian than I am," they might think. "I'll never be able to have the peace and freedom with God they have." "I will always end up messing up again." "I wish I could be like my Christian brother who obeys God so well."

I find this state of affairs tragic, because in reality, they are refusing to believe the greatest of all good news: Union with a Father who doesn't remember sins, Who doesn't record sins, and Who sets free from the effects of sin, INCLUDING its effect of guilt, shame, condemnation, and fear of habitual sin and sinning.

Because they refuse this good news, they settle for relating to God in a "confessionship" as opposed to a real relationship. Such living is inferior and is much like a self-fulfilling condition based on the notion that they deserve punishment and rejection as opposed to qualification and acceptance.

Don't harden your hearts or stiffen your necks. Embrace Grace. Reach out and grab hold of it. Don't reject it. Take it as your own. Lambano!

http://www.biblestudytools.com/lexicons/greek/nas/lambano.html

Grace=Peace,

Jeremy

Are You In Debt To Jesus? ...or... Grace vs. Good Works (the Law)

Have you ever wondered about the logic of the following scenario?

You were in debt because of sin, but Jesus set you free so you would be in debt to Him and feel in debt and obligated forevermore. What? And we even go so far as to call that holiness.

Our mindsets, which have been so affected by guilt, shame, and condemnation, prevent most of us from truly experiencing freedom. Therefore, we continue try to reach the Lord and His blessing through a knowledge of good and evil. In other words, we strive to be good and avoid evil so God will bless us.

LISTEN: A knowledge of good and evil never brings a person to the Lord, but only reveals sin and creates a sense of separation. The Law--which is that knowledge of good and evil--does not bring someone to Jesus. It only causes sin (and sinning) to increase.

Rinse. Wash. Repeat: Insanity.

And remember: the knowledge of good and basing your life on how you're choosing and living out that good is just as poisonous as the fruit of choosing evil. Said differently, the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil contains absolutely zero percent of Christ's life.

(And by the way, it's fruit--singular, not fruits. It was never about choosing good and avoiding evil. Good and evil is one singular fruit in a system of living, and living by that system is deadly. You can't separate living in terms of good and evil, because it is a singular fruit that brings death. Don't believe me? Eve thought the fruit was good, pleasing, and profitable!!!)

Grace is an entirely different and better way. In fact, only faith in it accurately describes the Gospel.

Another Distinction Between the Old and New Covenants

Consider the following:

The commandments of the Old Covenant were to love God perfectly and absolutely.  That's why the command consisted of loving Him with your whole self (mind, body, strength, and spirit).  This is an impossible task!  We were to also love others as ourselves (this fails too, because our love is always tainted in some way with selfishness).  This also fails, because it falls short of God's perfect selflessness.

Matthew 22:34-40 - But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, "Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?" And He said to him, "'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the great and foremost commandment.  The second is like it, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets."

Here, Jesus was quoting from the Old Covenant:

Deuteronomy 6:4-5 - Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.

and

Leviticus 19:18 - You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

Under the New Covenant things are much different.  We are commanded to believe in Jesus and to love as God has loved us.

John 6:28-29 - Therefore they said to Him, "What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent."

John 10:37-38 - If I do not do the works of My Father, do not believe Me; but if I do them, though you do not believe Me, believe the works, so that you may know and understand that the Father is in Me, and I in the Father.

Romans 4:4-5 - Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due. But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness.

Hebrews 4:2-3 - For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.  For we who have believed enter that rest.

1 John 3:21-23 - Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.  This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.

1 John 4:16-21 - We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. By this, love is perfected with us, so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment; because as He is, so also are we in this world.  There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love. We love, because He first loved us. If someone says, "I love God," and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen. And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.

John 15:11-12 - These things I have spoken to you so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full.  This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

Ephesians 5:1-3 -  Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us.

Ephesians 5:25 - Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her.

John 15:9 - Just as the Father has loved Me, I have also loved you.

Lastly, the standard under the New Covenant is not for us to ask God to forgive us in the same way we forgive others, as was the case under the Old Covenant (meaning, God's forgiveness of us is dependent on us first forgiving others), but rather that we recognize that God has already forgiven us, therefore we forgive:

Ephesians 4:32 - Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Colossians 3:13 - Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.