Question for the Month, 10/05
In Luke 17.3, Jesus says:
"So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."
This appearance of the conditional clause "ean metanoeo" [if repents] seems to be a departure from the more merciful and unconditional "forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Col 3.13b)"
What do you think out there in the blogosphere? Certainly, I take the Lord's word over Paul's. While Paul went to jail for his faith, Jesus died AND rose for our sins, so I would take His word over someone who died but did not rise again. But, personally, I want God to forgive ALL of my sins, not just the ones I remembered enough to repent for, a la Mark 11.25 and Luke 6.37. Further, shouldn't I forgive others regardless of their repentance? Is this a hint at a possible way to "lose salvation" or does it simply point toward a smaller crown in heaven at the "white throne judgement" [Rev. 20.11]? Any takers?
"So watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."
This appearance of the conditional clause "ean metanoeo" [if repents] seems to be a departure from the more merciful and unconditional "forgive as the Lord forgave you. (Col 3.13b)"
What do you think out there in the blogosphere? Certainly, I take the Lord's word over Paul's. While Paul went to jail for his faith, Jesus died AND rose for our sins, so I would take His word over someone who died but did not rise again. But, personally, I want God to forgive ALL of my sins, not just the ones I remembered enough to repent for, a la Mark 11.25 and Luke 6.37. Further, shouldn't I forgive others regardless of their repentance? Is this a hint at a possible way to "lose salvation" or does it simply point toward a smaller crown in heaven at the "white throne judgement" [Rev. 20.11]? Any takers?
posted by Aarron & Cristine Pina at 12:00 PM
2 Comments:
Hi,
The Luke 17:3 verse is referring to rebuking a fellow Christian believer for a sin. The important thing to remember when doing so is that the reason for this is to bring the sin to the person's attention with the purpose of restoring him or her to God and to those fellow humans that he/she may have hurt. We must check our attitude. Are we doing this because we love the person? Are we doing this because we are willing to forgive them? Unless rebuke is tied to forgiveness, it will not help the sinning person.
Colossians 3:12-14 is also directed at believers. These verses are instructing us that we are to forgive others because God has forgiven us so much. Realizing God's infinite love and forgiveness can help us love and forgive others.
The Mark 11:25 and Luke 6:37 verses are instructing us in a more general way. They show that a forgiving spirit amongst ourselves demonstrates that a person has received God's forgiveness.
In Matthew 6:14,15 Jesus gives a startling warning about forgiveness. If we refuse to forgive others, God will also refuse to forgive us. Why? Because when we don't forgive others, we are denying our common ground as sinners in need of God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness of our own individual sins is not the direct result of our forgiving others, but it is based on our realizing what forgiveness means (see Ephesians 4:32). Again, it relates to attitude.
It is easy to ask God for forgiveness, but difficult to grant it to others. That is because God is perfect and we are not. However, whenever we ask God to forgive us for sin (although ALL our sins are forgiven at the moment of salvation, our human sin nature still creeps in from time to time), we should ask ourselves, "Have I forgiven the people who have wronged me?"
Salvation happens in a moment in time, but sanctification (e.g. becoming more like Christ) takes a lifetime...doesn't it?
The deliberate choice and act to forgive others is for our benefit as well. When we hold a grudge against someone it hurts our fellowship with God as well as our relationships with other people. Releasing it through forgiveness is a powerful way to free our lives from the harm that holding a grudge can place on our souls.
Mission Command,
The answer is that both are right. Jesus asks us to unconditionally forgive, and as the first commenter said, it's for our own benefit to do it. We are freed from the self-destructive nature of unforgiveness and the bitterness that it grows into.
Paul is also right. His instruction sounds more like the forgiveness we give person-to-person. If a brother comes to us and repents (how else would we know he repented unless he came to us?), then we are to give him the gift of our forgiveness. Spoken out loud. This is the forgiveness that restores relationships here on earth, and our ability to truly forgive each other is a gift given to us by our Lord Jesus Himself.
What a great God we serve, Who both forgives us of everything and equips us with the ability to forgive others! Praise His holy Name!
SkyePuppy
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