This is part of a series of blogs on the Application of God’s Armor.
Publishers and editors fanatically emphasize the need for proper sentence construction and punctuation in the written word. So, as a writer I have been forced to try and understand the rules of grammar for the English language. ARGH!
For the most part I tolerate these rules trying to conform with them in what I write. But you may ask, what does grammar have to do with forgiveness? I’m glad you asked!
For a long time, I struggled with understanding when to use present perfect tenses in grammar. And I still struggle with it. But one day I was reading the Lord’s Prayer and a specific verse jumped out at me. The Lord gave me clarity about the application of present perfect tenses to forgiveness. I warn you in advance that this truth is harder to apply than all the rules of grammar. The verse is Matthew 6:12, “and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.”
In order to explain my epiphany to you I first need to share some rules of grammar. I normally wouldn’t wish this on anyone. But it appears to be necessary. In searching the Internet, I found “11 Rules of Grammar” [1] where the present perfect tenses are described; in particular rules 9 and 10.
Rule 9: “When people talk about things that have already happened but consider the time in which they occurred to be unfinished, they use the third form of the verb with a helping verb. The helping verb for the present perfect is the present tense conjugation of ‘to have.’” An example is “I have drunk three cups of Lapsang Souchong tea today.”
Rule 10: “When the action as well as the time is considered unfinished, the verb loads up on third form helping verbs (‘to be’ and ‘to have’) and changes to the progressive form.” An example is “Western countries have been waging wars in the Middle East for thousands of years.”
You still don’t see it? I admit these grammar rules on the surface do not appear to apply in Matthew 6:12. But bear with me as I explain my rationale.
First the phrase “as we have forgiven” clearly speaks about past actions that we have already forgiven. But using rule 9 above, the verb “have” is present perfect, and these are actions where someone offended us one or more times in the past.
The phrase “those who sin against us” clearly includes present actions because the word “sin” is used as a verb, and its tense is ongoing. Rule 10 above applies since the tense is both unfinished actions and past. We should expect that those who have sinned against us may continue to sin against us in the future.
To understand how these two thoughts come together, we must remember the first part in Matthew 6:12, “and forgive us our sins”. Jesus wants us to forgive others the same way He has forgiven us; unconditionally! Again, I say ARGH! Jesus forgave us once and for all, even when we continue to sin because of our human weakness! This is present perfect progressive forgiveness for unfinished actions and the past. All we need to do is believe.
This is Good News for all; shaken not stirred!
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[1] “11 Rules of Grammar” at https://grammar.yourdictionary.com/grammar-rules-and-tips/11-rules-of-grammar.html
[2] All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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