At what point do we stop forgiving another person for their sin, and start thinking of them as evil?
On the one hand, there is Matthew 18:21-22 in which Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” and Jesus answers, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” On the other hand, we have Hebrews 10:26-27 which says, “…if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”
Does that mean that we must forgive a person who sins 77 times, but on the 78[SUP]th[/SUP] time it is up to God as to what to do with them? Do we keep track of the number of times a person sins, by keeping a ledger? Do we put notches on a wall for each time, so we can make sure we do not forgive the person on their 78[SUP]th[/SUP] sin?
Everyone, including those who strive for righteousness and have accepted the truth of Jesus, was conceived in a world of sin. After all, the world is the domain of Satan, who goes to and fro to prey on the morally weak among us and tries to get them to commit sins toward becoming evil. Those of us who have accepted God through Jesus stand a better chance of being forgiven of our sins then those who’ve rejected Him.
But how do we distinguish those who have accepted God through Jesus and, because of the world in which we live, are prone to sin now and then, from those who purposely sin and are thus following Satan or other gods? How do we distinguish between a God-fearing person who sins up to 77 times, and an evil person who is on their way toward sinning 78 times and more?
What resources does the Bible give us, to make such a discernment?
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by TESTING you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We know what is good, from what the Bible tells us. Goodness involves loving God with all one’s heart, soul and mind, and loving eachother.
At the end of the day, though we do not know what is in the hearts and minds of others; only God knows that. We can guess, and if we have had enough experience in the world the chances are we will guess right. What does God expect from us, as part of loving Him and eachother, but as he directed Adam and Eve in Genesis to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth? In that regard, any act committed which prevents others from being fruitful and, either directly or through their children, to multiply, and which prevents others who are God-fearing from going forth, is an act of sin.
So, we have a standard of sorts, but it is not perfect. A person who sins up to 77 times may try to deceive us into believing that they are really God-fearing, and after all, nobody’s perfect, etc., but in reality they could be the embodiment of evil. This could be where our testing comes in. ‘Is the person good in other ways?’ ‘Can we let this person into our house?’ But once the person is in our house, do they become a drag or a threat on our own striving for righteousness?
We can only hope, with God’s help, that despite our imperfections we do the right thing on the whole.
On the one hand, there is Matthew 18:21-22 in which Peter asks Jesus, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” and Jesus answers, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.” On the other hand, we have Hebrews 10:26-27 which says, “…if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a fearful expectation of judgment, and a fury of fire that will consume the adversaries.”
Does that mean that we must forgive a person who sins 77 times, but on the 78[SUP]th[/SUP] time it is up to God as to what to do with them? Do we keep track of the number of times a person sins, by keeping a ledger? Do we put notches on a wall for each time, so we can make sure we do not forgive the person on their 78[SUP]th[/SUP] sin?
Everyone, including those who strive for righteousness and have accepted the truth of Jesus, was conceived in a world of sin. After all, the world is the domain of Satan, who goes to and fro to prey on the morally weak among us and tries to get them to commit sins toward becoming evil. Those of us who have accepted God through Jesus stand a better chance of being forgiven of our sins then those who’ve rejected Him.
But how do we distinguish those who have accepted God through Jesus and, because of the world in which we live, are prone to sin now and then, from those who purposely sin and are thus following Satan or other gods? How do we distinguish between a God-fearing person who sins up to 77 times, and an evil person who is on their way toward sinning 78 times and more?
What resources does the Bible give us, to make such a discernment?
Romans 12:2 says, “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by TESTING you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” We know what is good, from what the Bible tells us. Goodness involves loving God with all one’s heart, soul and mind, and loving eachother.
At the end of the day, though we do not know what is in the hearts and minds of others; only God knows that. We can guess, and if we have had enough experience in the world the chances are we will guess right. What does God expect from us, as part of loving Him and eachother, but as he directed Adam and Eve in Genesis to be fruitful and multiply and have dominion over the earth? In that regard, any act committed which prevents others from being fruitful and, either directly or through their children, to multiply, and which prevents others who are God-fearing from going forth, is an act of sin.
So, we have a standard of sorts, but it is not perfect. A person who sins up to 77 times may try to deceive us into believing that they are really God-fearing, and after all, nobody’s perfect, etc., but in reality they could be the embodiment of evil. This could be where our testing comes in. ‘Is the person good in other ways?’ ‘Can we let this person into our house?’ But once the person is in our house, do they become a drag or a threat on our own striving for righteousness?
We can only hope, with God’s help, that despite our imperfections we do the right thing on the whole.