Christian Forgiveness - Who and When

Christian Forgiveness - Who and When?

The belief that Christians must unconditionally forgive all sins and sinners is not true. Does this statement surprise you? No where, in the Bible, are we commanded to give a big blanket of forgiveness for every evil person that commits heinous crimes and sins.

Forgiveness is given when a person repents (turns in a new direction) and asks for forgiveness. So we aren't required to lets say, forgive Stalin, Hitler, Charles Manson etc. They never repented of evil and never asked for forgiveness.

Let's look at what the Bible does say about who should be forgiven and when they should be forgiven..

Luke 17:3 "Take heed to yourselves; If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him."

It should be noted that Jesus used the phrase "If thy brother trespass against thee... " which of course does not mean just anyone. Although brother can mean humanity in general, it is usually used in the Bible (and every where else) to mean fraternity of believers, or a male sibling. So this verse is not referring to pagans and heathens, but to our brothers (and sisters) in Christ.

The second part of this verse; "...rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him." states we must forgive our brother if he repents. The Greek word for repent is metanoeo which means "to think differently or afterwards reconsider". In fact, in Luke 17:4 Jesus said, "And if he sins against you seven time in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him." Notice that Jesus did not say to go about forgiving unrepentant people who are not in the least sorry for what they have done. He said forgive your brother who repents and asks your forgiveness.

Throughout the Bible, God forgives those who are repentant and ask for forgiveness. No where in the Bible does it say God forgives unrepentant sins or trespasses. Since repentance is a prerequisite for forgiveness, no one can forgive an unrepentant person even if they want to. You may feel sorry for someone or wish a particular event had not happened but you cannot forgive a person if they are not repentant.

So who must be forgiven and when must they be forgiven?

>Answer: Your brothers and sisters in Christ when they repent and ask for forgiveness.