forgiveness question?
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W
"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother. But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every word may be confirmed by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector. Truly, I say to you, whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven." (Matthew 18:15-18 RSV)
God has forgiven them. But its still up to them to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
Entrance into Paradise with Jesus Christ is dependent upon our accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior, not on forgiveness of God.
Our name is put in the Book of Life when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, its not put in the Book of Life by being Forgiven by God.
Even though God has forgiven everybody, its still up to the individual to accept Jesus for their Salvation.
Entrance into Paradise with Jesus Christ is dependent upon our accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior, not on forgiveness of God.
Our name is put in the Book of Life when we accept Jesus Christ as our Savior, its not put in the Book of Life by being Forgiven by God.
Even though God has forgiven everybody, its still up to the individual to accept Jesus for their Salvation.
If God said feed and clothe your enemies,and pray for your enemies,then we have to forgive everyone,and them being not sorry does not have anything to do with it,for God said forgive people their trespasses against you,whether they are sorry or not,which the Bible says let no root of bitterness spring up in you,for not to forgive is hurtful to the person bottling it up.
Jesus taught love people no matter how they act towards you,if they are hurtful and sorry,good,if they are hurtful and not sorry,still good,which the Bible says follow peace with all people,with holiness,without which no person shall see the Lord.
It does not matter if the person is sorry or not,we have to forgive,and let it go,but of course the Bible says follow peace with all people as much as lies in you.
Some people we can say hi,but we do not want to shake their hand,or hug them,and some people we can shake their hand,but do not want to hug them,and some people we can hug them,but we have to follow peace with all people,and if someone is not sorry and all we can do is muster up a hello,and want no more to do with the person,we are still following peace with them.
I believe we have to forgive all people no matter how they act towards us,for it does matter how the world acts,love them,forgive them,follow peace with them.
Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus,and when they came to take Jesus in the garden,Jesus called Judas friend.
When Jesus was on the cross,the people that crucified Him were not sorry,but Jesus said,forgive them Father for they know not what they do.
Jesus taught love people no matter how they act towards you,if they are hurtful and sorry,good,if they are hurtful and not sorry,still good,which the Bible says follow peace with all people,with holiness,without which no person shall see the Lord.
It does not matter if the person is sorry or not,we have to forgive,and let it go,but of course the Bible says follow peace with all people as much as lies in you.
Some people we can say hi,but we do not want to shake their hand,or hug them,and some people we can shake their hand,but do not want to hug them,and some people we can hug them,but we have to follow peace with all people,and if someone is not sorry and all we can do is muster up a hello,and want no more to do with the person,we are still following peace with them.
I believe we have to forgive all people no matter how they act towards us,for it does matter how the world acts,love them,forgive them,follow peace with them.
Judas Iscariot betrayed Jesus,and when they came to take Jesus in the garden,Jesus called Judas friend.
When Jesus was on the cross,the people that crucified Him were not sorry,but Jesus said,forgive them Father for they know not what they do.
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N
When the disciples asked Jesus how to pray, He gave them the Lord's Prayer....In it are the words forgive us our trespasses as we forgive the trespasses of others.
It doesn't say forgive us ours as we forgive those who are sorry.
Forgiveness isn't for the other person. It's for our benefit, so we don't harbor bitterness in our hearts towards others.
Is my opinion anyways....peace!!
It doesn't say forgive us ours as we forgive those who are sorry.
Forgiveness isn't for the other person. It's for our benefit, so we don't harbor bitterness in our hearts towards others.
Is my opinion anyways....peace!!
Good question! For me, true forgiveness is probably the toughest part of Christianity. There is true evil in the world, and to forgive it seems so ...wrong - tantamount to excusing it. But we are called to forgive with no caveat for anyone "deserving" it or requesting it. We are expected to forgive if we are to expect forgiveness from Him.
But we aren't required to condone or trust it. I think some people make it even harder for themselves when take forgiveness to include things such as excusing/condoning/forgetting the offense, responsibility to repair the former relationship, and even trusting the offender again, as if nothing ever happened. This is not what the Bible teaches. Knowing these are not part of forgiveness might make this very difficult thing a little less difficult.
But we aren't required to condone or trust it. I think some people make it even harder for themselves when take forgiveness to include things such as excusing/condoning/forgetting the offense, responsibility to repair the former relationship, and even trusting the offender again, as if nothing ever happened. This is not what the Bible teaches. Knowing these are not part of forgiveness might make this very difficult thing a little less difficult.
L
Yes and we must also pray for them!! It was difficult at first but easier now.
I remember several years after my divorce, I took a bible study class on forgiveness. Our pastor explained about the importance of forgiveness, even when the other party doesn't accept responsibility for their actions. Then he told us we also must pray for them. I blurted out "Can I pray for him to get run over by a car?" Thank goodness our pastor had a great sense of humor....lol
T
Yes, always forgive, no matter what! Why? Because you are not their judge, God is. Whether or not He forgives them is up to Him, but you must forgive, or you won't be forgiven.
When you forgive someone it does not mean they get away with it. It just means that you are not the one to dish out the wrath.
When you forgive someone it does not mean they get away with it. It just means that you are not the one to dish out the wrath.
P
Being angry with another for no just cause brings you under contempt. Which reaps bitterness and evil. The Lord even instructs us to make peace with that person before presenting your self to him. If that person receives you you have gained a brother. If not he is held in contempt. This is what is ment by loosening.
It is better to live with everyone as peacefully as you can.
It is better to live with everyone as peacefully as you can.
Hey Absolem,
You've asked a great question that I have struggled with myself from time to time...but I've never sat down to finally come to terms with it.
Here are some quick thoughts:
As others have said, there are verses like those found in the Lord's prayer that suggest we must always forgive. Also, Matthew 6:14-15: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
So it seems we need to always forgive.
But then there are verses that suggest that forgiveness is contingent upon the actions of the offending person:
Like:
Luke 17:3-4: "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 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."
So it seems like we need to forgive IF the offender repents.
Does God forgive everyone of all of their sins? Or is repentance necessary on the part of the sinner?
2 Corinthians 7:10: "For Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation..."
1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,....."
It seems like God requires repentance on our part (as you suggested in your post), so the question that comes to my mind is:
Are we required to (or can we even?) go beyond what God does when it comes to forgiving?
In other words, can we forgive others without them being sorry for what they did when it looks like God doesn't even do that?
Great question you've put out there. I'll be interested to see what other people think because it seems that various scripture verses need to be harmonized.
Peace.
You've asked a great question that I have struggled with myself from time to time...but I've never sat down to finally come to terms with it.
Here are some quick thoughts:
As others have said, there are verses like those found in the Lord's prayer that suggest we must always forgive. Also, Matthew 6:14-15: "For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
So it seems we need to always forgive.
But then there are verses that suggest that forgiveness is contingent upon the actions of the offending person:
Like:
Luke 17:3-4: "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 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."
So it seems like we need to forgive IF the offender repents.
Does God forgive everyone of all of their sins? Or is repentance necessary on the part of the sinner?
2 Corinthians 7:10: "For Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation..."
1 John 1:9: "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,....."
It seems like God requires repentance on our part (as you suggested in your post), so the question that comes to my mind is:
Are we required to (or can we even?) go beyond what God does when it comes to forgiving?
In other words, can we forgive others without them being sorry for what they did when it looks like God doesn't even do that?
Great question you've put out there. I'll be interested to see what other people think because it seems that various scripture verses need to be harmonized.
Peace.
Good point. We do it in view of His mercy not in view of something we could do .Only God can forgive sin and cast it as far as East is from West never to be remembered again forever more.
When we remember the offence we must also remember we have forgiven them in Christ.Forgiving with us is remembering we have forgiven them ,
It, I believe is much easier to love a person by blessing them when yoked with Christ then to like them . The likening part is a bonus.
When we remember the offence we must also remember we have forgiven them in Christ.Forgiving with us is remembering we have forgiven them ,
It, I believe is much easier to love a person by blessing them when yoked with Christ then to like them . The likening part is a bonus.