Are we to always forgive?

Some verses to assist you in understanding that forgiveness is essential as a Christian. Though it is hard, if we do not forgive others, then God will not forgive us.

Mat 18:21 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

Mat 18:22 Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.

Luk 17:4 And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

Mat 18:35 So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brother their trespasses.

Mar 11:25 And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

Mar 11:26 But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.

And remember the prayer that Jesus taught us

Mat 6:9 After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name.
Mat 6:10 Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as [it is] in heaven.
Mat 6:11 Give us this day our daily bread.
Mat 6:12 And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.
Mat 6:14 For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Mat 6:15 But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.


God bless you!

Hello InChristAlone! I have learnt alot about forgiveness as I have had to do alot of that in my own life too! It is biblical that we forgive always as illustrated in Eph 4:32; John 20:23; 2 Cor 2:7. We are meant to forgive but I understand that sometimes that is not so easy to do. But through forgiving others, we release ourselves from the grudge we have and control that they can have over our lives and through forgiving them, we give them over to God to do a work in their lives. Also say if I have choosen not to forgive, the unforgiveness can turn into bitterness and resentment and the only person this will effect in the long run, is me. Am I making sense? Unforgiveness also allows satan to gain a foothold in our lives. So we give him the right to "torment" us.
Also forgiving someone doesn't mean that you
have to put up with what you have. You need to know what your boundaries are. Forgiving someone also doesn't mean that you have accepted that what they did to you was right. Does that make sense?
Most importantly choose to forgive because God has forgiven US for the many things that we have done. Hope that helps!

quite simply yes - but it is very hard. However, let me tell you this - forgiving when you don't want to is the best thing in the world - my father was real bad - I have forgiven him for everything and it is awesome - God has blessed me for it and I no longer get all stupid around him. It is a blessing that God tells us to forgive as much as he forgives us.

That's so good to hear Mat777. I think forgiveness is really hard. For myself, I've always thought that I was really forgiving. But then I realised sometimes I let people walk all over me, so in which case is probably my own fault. Maybe you should try to confront that person about whatever the problem is. Otherwise you might not have closure for yourself and find it difficult to forgive. It could also be that the person doesn't even realise what they have done to hurt you. Commit it to God...

Oops... I meant to say the above to InChristAlone... I just forgot to start a new paragraph...

Yes, we are to always forgive and love our enemies. That is what the bible says.

Forgiving doesn't require repentence.

AGREED!

21Then Peter came and said to Him, "Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?" 22Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.(MATT 18 NAS)


PRAYING!