When to forgive?

[tonychanyt]

Luke 17:

3b If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, 4 and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.

You can wait until he repents, but you don't have to. Note that Jesus did not say that if your brother did not repent, don't forgive him. While on the cross, Luke 23:

34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.”

Peter was inquisitive and wanted to know more, Matthew 18:

21 Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” 22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.

Jesus proceeded to tell the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant who refused to forgive his brother:

32 Then his master summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. 33 And should not you have had mercy on your fellow servant, as I had mercy on you?’

What if the brother refuses to acknowledge his offense against you?

See How to resolve conflicts among Christians?.

In any case, we should always have a forgiving heart.

Paul summarized it nicely in Ephesians 4:

32 Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Colossians 3:

13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

Forgiveness is a group thing. You may have inadvertently offended your brother at times. Be quick to forgive one another.

Proverbs 17:

9 Love prospers when a fault is forgiven, but dwelling on it separates close friends.

Do we have to forgive blindly?

You don't have to. However, it is wise to forgive even if someone does not repent. Do yourself a favor: forgive and set yourself free to love.

There is no free lunch in repentance and forgiveness. If the person who offended you is an enemy of God, God will punish him. Leave it to God.

How do you know if you're being forgiven by God or just projecting your desire to be forgiven onto an idea of God in your mind?

The Father forgives you iff you forgive others.

When do we forgive?

You are doing yourself a favor when you do. You are hurting yourself when you don't. You choose when.

 

[Unqualified]

Be slow to speak, quick to listen, quick to forgive. This how I understand it but cannot find it in the Bible.
There are many other scriptures in the New Testament, in the gospels about forgiving. Mat 6:15

 

[Offline4Better.]

Luke 17:


You can wait until he repents, but you don't have to. Note that Jesus did not say that if your brother did not repent, don't forgive him. While on the cross, Luke 23:


Peter was inquisitive and wanted to know more, Matthew 18:


Jesus proceeded to tell the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant who refused to forgive his brother:


What if the brother refuses to acknowledge his offense against you?

See How to resolve conflicts among Christians?.

In any case, we should always have a forgiving heart.

Paul summarized it nicely in Ephesians 4:


Colossians 3:


Forgiveness is a group thing. You may have inadvertently offended your brother at times. Be quick to forgive one another.

Proverbs 17:


Do we have to forgive blindly?

You don't have to. However, it is wise to forgive even if someone does not repent. Do yourself a favor: forgive and set yourself free to love.

There is no free lunch in repentance and forgiveness. If the person who offended you is an enemy of God, God will punish him. Leave it to God.

How do you know if you're being forgiven by God or just projecting your desire to be forgiven onto an idea of God in your mind?

The Father forgives you iff you forgive others.

When do we forgive?

You are doing yourself a favor when you do. You are hurting yourself when you don't. You choose when.

I made a devotional about this already.

Matthew 6:14-15: "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."

Ephesians 4:31-32: "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."

Colossians 3:12-13: "Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity."

Luke 17:3-4: "So watch yourselves.“If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”"

All verses in NIV.


Forgiveness Devotional:

Forgiveness: An Analysis

Hello folks. Today, we will be doing an analysis on forgiveness, something we must try to do, regardless of circumstances. Date May 11, 2024 | Forgiveness Verse Matthew 6:14-15: "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if...

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[Spiritual Jew]

Luke 17:


You can wait until he repents, but you don't have to. Note that Jesus did not say that if your brother did not repent, don't forgive him.

He did specifically say if he does repent, then forgive him. He never said to forgive him if he doesn't repent.

Luke 17:3 So watch yourselves. If your brother or sister sins against you, rebuke them; and if they repent, forgive them. 4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying ‘I repent,’ you must forgive them.”

I don't see anything here about having to forgive them if they don't repent.

While on the cross, Luke 23:


Peter was inquisitive and wanted to know more, Matthew 18:


Jesus proceeded to tell the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant who refused to forgive his brother:


What if the brother refuses to acknowledge his offense against you?

See How to resolve conflicts among Christians?.

In any case, we should always have a forgiving heart.

Yes, we should always be ready to forgive someone and should forgive them quickly if they indicate they are sorry, but I see nothing that says we have to forgive them if they are not sorry for what they did.

Paul summarized it nicely in Ephesians 4:


Colossians 3:

Colossians 3:13 Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.

The Lord forgave us because we expressed that we were sorry for our sins and confessed our sins, right? And this says to forgive as the Lord forgave us. To me, that means we should forgive only if someone expresses that they are sorry since the Lord only forgives people if they are sorry and repent. Of course, we are to love our enemies and not hold grudges against them or want to get revenge against them, but I don't know if we are expected to forgive someone if they aren't sorry for what they've done. I tend to think not because of verses like this. To forgive as the Lord forgave us says to me that we forgive if someone admits they were wrong and asks for forgiveness. And we should forgive immediately if someone expresses that they are sorry. But, otherwise....I don't think so.

But, let me say again that not forgiving someone doesn't equate to not loving them and wanting to get revenge on them, so don't get me wrong here. But, if God doesn't forgive them, why should we? But, like God, we should still love them, be patient with them and hope that they will repent.

Take what happened at the Olympics opening ceremony, for example. I assume you're familiar with that. They openly mocked Christ in front of the world. In my view they not only sinned against Christ by doing that but against all Christians as well. Do I forgive them for that? No. Absolutely not! They are not sorry they did it, so why should I forgive them? But, do I love them, anyway? Yes. Do I want to take revenge on them? No. Vengeance is the Lord's. And I hope they will repent of their shameful acts so that God will forgive them. Until then, I see no reason to forgive them just as God will not forgive them unless they repent.

 

[tonychanyt]

if God doesn't forgive them, why should we?

To be on the safe side, I would just forgive. I am not God.

 

[Spiritual Jew]

To be on the safe side, I would just forgive. I am not God.

I'm okay with that, but I just think it's talking about being ready and willing to forgive immediately if someone says they're sorry. And, like I said, regardless of any of this, we should always love our enemies and not try to take revenge on them.