Luke 17:3-4
3Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4And 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.
In Luke 17:3-4, Jesus taught that Biblical repentance is not perfect behavior, but rather a change of mind and heart.
We see that He is teaching His followers to give grace for their brother (or sister) to sin an unlimited number of times, but to forgive them in the event that they repent. Jesus is teaching His followers to model their forgiveness after the way God forgives people.
A mystery that I feel is often overlooked is that Jesus teaches us to do what God does.
Often we hear that if we sin habitually, such as seven times in a day, then we have not demonstrated true repentance. This is not so because repentance is less about change of actions and more about change of thoughts and heart which have the possibility of leading to change of actions.
Question of reflection: If someone sins against you seven times a day and seven times a day they repent, would you believe they have truly repented? Jesus says that if someone sins against you seven times a day, every day, and then repents then they deserve your forgiveness.
Look at what the word repent means in the New Testament:
G3340 metanoeó
Original Word: μετανοέω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: metanoeó
Phonetic Spelling: (met-an-o-eh'-o)
Definition: to change one's mind or purpose
Usage: I repent, change my mind, change the inner man (particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God), repent.
So what implications does this have on how we perceive other Christians who we may secretly believe are unrepentant? According to Jesus, causation does not equal correlation. In other words, just because someone habitually sins seven times a day, or 100 times a day, does not mean they are not right with God.
What makes someone right with God is when they change their mind and change their inner person, even if momentarily. The juxtaposition of these islands of repentance immersed in and surrounded by a sea of otherwise severe and permeating sin is something only God can understand. Our mission is to forgive, give grace, and keep no record of wrongs when forgiveness is requested.
This is a glimpse into the unlimited forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love of God that surpasses all human comprehension.
3Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. 4And 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.
In Luke 17:3-4, Jesus taught that Biblical repentance is not perfect behavior, but rather a change of mind and heart.
We see that He is teaching His followers to give grace for their brother (or sister) to sin an unlimited number of times, but to forgive them in the event that they repent. Jesus is teaching His followers to model their forgiveness after the way God forgives people.
A mystery that I feel is often overlooked is that Jesus teaches us to do what God does.
Often we hear that if we sin habitually, such as seven times in a day, then we have not demonstrated true repentance. This is not so because repentance is less about change of actions and more about change of thoughts and heart which have the possibility of leading to change of actions.
Question of reflection: If someone sins against you seven times a day and seven times a day they repent, would you believe they have truly repented? Jesus says that if someone sins against you seven times a day, every day, and then repents then they deserve your forgiveness.
Look at what the word repent means in the New Testament:
G3340 metanoeó
Original Word: μετανοέω
Part of Speech: Verb
Transliteration: metanoeó
Phonetic Spelling: (met-an-o-eh'-o)
Definition: to change one's mind or purpose
Usage: I repent, change my mind, change the inner man (particularly with reference to acceptance of the will of God), repent.
So what implications does this have on how we perceive other Christians who we may secretly believe are unrepentant? According to Jesus, causation does not equal correlation. In other words, just because someone habitually sins seven times a day, or 100 times a day, does not mean they are not right with God.
What makes someone right with God is when they change their mind and change their inner person, even if momentarily. The juxtaposition of these islands of repentance immersed in and surrounded by a sea of otherwise severe and permeating sin is something only God can understand. Our mission is to forgive, give grace, and keep no record of wrongs when forgiveness is requested.
This is a glimpse into the unlimited forgiveness, grace, mercy, and love of God that surpasses all human comprehension.
