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P
Good question to ask elect as others may be asking it as well... I struggled with this issue for a while... okay so honestly about forty years..... I was like "WHAT???? You want "me" to forgive THAT????) I was baffled for a long time and wrestled with god over it (AND LOST by the way ) for quite some time... I had to come to the place of understanding exactly "how much" ive been forgiven for to really be able to apply it... forgiveness is like getting a steak now.. once you try it it becomes the only staple that will satisfy your appetite..nothing short of it will do...
K
Revenge of any kind or of any level, including holding a grudge, simply does not belong to us. WE must always forgive. Whether God forgives or not is up to Him- He is the Judge, the only judge. I feel bad for anyone who would attempt to throw this Judge off the judgement seat and take over! We are not the Judge but are the ones being judged, so if we attempt to take over God's job we will be judged for our disobedience. Just because you forgive someone does not mean they get away with it, it just means that judging their soul is God's job- not yours. He says if YOU don't forgive that you won't be forgiven.
To my knowledge, there's not a verse in the bible that says to "Forgive your enemies". If someone doesn't want forgiveness, and if someone doesn't repent, I don't believe we are expected to forgive them unless their offense is one of ignorance (unknowing transgression). Both the Baptist and Jesus preached that forgiveness requires repentance. "If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him" (Luke 17:3). So forgiveness is qualified by repentance. We are suppose to forgive others as our Father forgives us, and God doesn't forgive the unrepentant sinner. All sin is not automatically forgiven, a person needs to confess their transgression; "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins" (1 John 1:9). We are taught not to seek vengeance or return evil for evil against our enemies. We are also taught to love and pray for our enemies (Matthew 5:44), but no where does it say to forgive them. God forgave King David because he repented, but God did not forgive King Saul because he never truly repented. "Therefore if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire on his head" (Romans 12:20). jmo
V
It does not matter if my brother/neighbor/enemy repents to me or to God or not, if I don't want anything hindering my perfect peace in Christ Jesus and my clear communication with the Lord, I must relinquish my right to myself and forgive them. Not only does that set me free from being shackled to hurt, anger & vengeance but it sets the person free whom you forgave. They no longer are indebted to you. That may not sound fair, right?
Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners and He was sinless. He took our debt away. How is that fair to Him? It may not appear to be fair, but it is the miracle of grace: unmerited favor. Unconditional love.
To forgive someone like Jesus forgives verifies that His Spirit abides in you. Jesus said on the Cross, "Father, forgive them because they don't know what they're doing."
Jesus died for us while we were yet sinners and He was sinless. He took our debt away. How is that fair to Him? It may not appear to be fair, but it is the miracle of grace: unmerited favor. Unconditional love.
To forgive someone like Jesus forgives verifies that His Spirit abides in you. Jesus said on the Cross, "Father, forgive them because they don't know what they're doing."