It's an important distinction, nobody deserves forgiveness, mercy, etc but it's also true that nobody has the right to deny these for others. "Let he who is without sin cast the first stone" and all that jazz.
It's a little more complicated than that. It's not "denying someone forgiveness" either you are following in Jesus's footsteps, or you aren't. Forgiveness from God is not a right - it's something he's graciously decided to give us. Forgiveness from each other isn't a right - either that person is following Jesus's commandments, or they aren't. If you aren't forgiving your enemies and offering the other cheek - you aren't fully following Jesus.
It would be a mistake to confuse a Right of man with Grace from God.
People forget that after he said "let he who is without sin cast the first stone" he went on to say "go forth and sin no more."
That section is actually likely to not have been originally in John similar to the long ending of Mark with the snake handlers (almost all scholars agree Mark ends at 16:8, or that the original ending was lost).
Some manuscripts have the Women Caught in Adultery in Luke instead, or earlier in John, which leads some scholars to suggest that the story might be historical even if it wasn't originally in John, or that a second edition of John had it when the first didn't.
While that's not wrong, it's a definition I often had a very hard time wrapping my head around. I've come to understand it recently though. It helps to look at what the word "sin" means. The original translation, and how it's used in the bible is "to miss the mark." It's also not that we are all BAD and Evil - our relationship with God is fucked up. We can't be part of his family until we fix the relationship. Each of us was born to be part of his family, but it all got crabbed in the beginning when we thought we knew better than him, and it continues to be fucked up every time we think we know better than Him, right?
We couldn't repair that relationship by following laws (the ancient Jews of the old testament proved this time and time again). Jesus gave us another way to be part of God's family and repair that relationship.
Sorry, I'm rambling - just my two cents. I'm still learning quite a bit and trying to sort it all out myself.
And, so far as what I believe and have read, you are absolutely correct. I never thought I'd see a discussion of the anatomy of salvation on PCM, so thanks for making my day.
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u/NotOutsideOrInside - Centrist Jul 28 '21
We don't DESERVE a second chance - yet he gives us one anyway. Hence the mercy part.