What God Says About Quid Pro Quo. Part [15] 12/28/2025 (Evening thought)

Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

Take the example of David and Uriah. If Uriah had opened the letter containing his death sentence and he decided to forgive David, his act in doing so does not move the needle in heaven one iota. David will have to admit and confess to doing the wrong, and then God, and God alone could offer pardon. But on a man to man, horizontal level, Uriah could choose to bury the hatchet and not pursue charges with Morgan and Morgan.

In other words, only God could wipe a person’s slate clean, but we, on a man- to man level, could decide to let things slide. This is what was made plain to Moses as he asked God to wipe away the sins of the people who had made and worshiped the golden calf. Let’s pay close attention to the following passages, for they reveal the prerogatives of God alone, as it pertains to the issues of forgiveness and pardons.

Exodus 32: 30 And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, you have sinned a great sin: and now I will go up unto the Lord; peradventure I shall make an atonement for your sin. 31 And Moses returned unto the Lord, and said, oh, this people have sinned a great sin, and have made them gods of gold. 32 Yet now, if thou wilt forgive their sin, and if not, blot me, I pray thee, out of thy book which thou hast written.

Exodus 32:33 And the Lord said unto Moses, whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.

May God add His blessing to the study of His word. “Good night” and God bless!

What God Says About Quid Pro Quo. Part [14] 12/27/2025 (Morning thought)

Exodus 34: 6 And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, The Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, abundant in goodness and truth, 7 Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty…..

This leads us to our fourth and final exhibit of quid pro quo: [4] When quid pro quo includes pardons. God has not granted to any mortal man the power to pardon sin, for the Bible explicitly says that this is the prerogative of God alone. Yet, over millennia the practice has been adopted in religious and in secular circles. Thus, before we move on, it is imperative to establish the truth in the matter beyond all doubt.

Mark 2:3 And they came unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was borne of four. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. 6 But there was certain of the scribes sitting there, and reasoning in their hearts, 7 Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God only?… Par·don/ noun: The action of forgiving, or being forgiven for an error or offense.

Before we continue it is necessary for us to grasp the meaning of a particular passage in the Bible, so that when we speak of pardon or forgiveness on the horizontal, man to man level, we’ll understand what is being referred to. Question: On a human level, what does it literally mean to forgive one their trespasses?

Matthew 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. 14 For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.

May The Lord add His blessing to the study of His word. God bless!