Thy Kingdom Come

I stood in church services for years, and in a mindless fashion, recited this prayer, not giving a thought to what it actually meant, or to whom it was actually given (by the Lord) to pray. However, I stopped praying this prayer years ago, because I determined that it was wrong, in a doctrinal sense, for me (or any member of the body of Christ) to pray it. I came to this determination for two reasons: First, it is clearly given to the Lord’s twelve disciples, not the Christian church, to pray; and second, it has elements in it which militate against “the gospel of the grace of God”(Acts 20:24), the only gospel by which anyone can be saved today.  ((The fact that the doctrine of the prayer is contrary to the gospel of grace, does in no way negate the universal spiritual principle of forgiveness embodied in the prayer))

The Disciple’s Prayer 

The twelve disciples were chosen by the Lord at the beginning of his earthly ministry for a specific purpose, i.e., to call out a new nation from among the apostate nation Israel that existed at that time. (Matthew 21:43) This new nation, beginning with the twelve, was to be the recipient of the prophetic new covenant kingdom (Ref. Jeremiah 31:31; Hebrews 8:8). Thus it was mete for the Lord to exhort them to pray for the kingdom to come, being that it was promised to them.  ((the Lord’s prayer to the Father is found in John chapter 17))

The prayer also exhorts them to, “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”, meaning that forgiveness was conditional. Anyone who thinks otherwise need only read the qualifying statements the Lord makes following the prayer:

“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: but if you forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (verses 14,15)

Set this in contrast to what the apostle Paul said about forgiveness in the letters to the Ephesians and Colossians:

And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you…Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Eph 4:32; Col 3:13

What is the difference in the exhortation by the Lord in the prayer he gave to his disciples, and this exhortation to the body of Christ by Paul? In the former, forgiveness of others is a clear and certain condition to being forgiven yourself. In the latter it is just the opposite; you have been forgiven, therefore, you ought to forgive others. There is a very big “if” in the former, but not in the latter. Why? Because the former is what theologians call a “works righteousness” doctrine, and this is not at all out of place in the four gospel accounts of the     Lord’s earthly sojourn. “The gospel of the kingdom” (Matt. 4:23; 9:35; 24:14; Mark 1:14), required many “works of righteousness” to be saved, which included keeping the commandments, and selling all your possessions and giving the proceeds to the poor. (Matt. 19: 17,21)

The Disciple’s Prayer Contradicts the Gospel of Grace

On the contrary, “the gospel of the grace of God”(Acts 20:24), the gospel the Lord gave to Paul from heaven, cannot require any works of righteousness, for it says, “blessed is the man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works…..if by grace, then is it no more of works:otherwise grace is no more grace. But if it be of works, then is it no more grace: otherwise work is no more work….for by grace are ye saved, through faith, and that not of yourselves, not of works; it is the gift of God….not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us (Rom. 4:8;11:6; Eph. 2:8,9; Titus 3:5)

In other words, grace and works are mutually exclusive.

No one today can be saved by attempting to comply with the demands of the gospel of the kingdom, nor is anyone today promised the kingdom as their inheritance. Therefore no one should be praying the so-called “Lord’s prayer”. You can be saved by the gospel of the grace of God, which says that “…Christ died for our sins…was buried…and raised again the third day.”(1 Cor. 15:3,4) His sacrifice provided the payment for all your sins, past, present and future. If you will give up your efforts to please God through your works, and freely receive the gift of salvation by grace offered to you, “..thou shalt be saved”, sealed and bound for glory!

Mike Schroeder

All Scripture references are from the King James Bible. Feel free to distribute this tract as you see fit.