" Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ' I repent,' you shall forgive him. " ( Luke 17:3-4 )
When a christian doctrine is not properly balanced, much harm is done. Harm is done to the christians hearing the message. And harm is done to the non christians who will hear the message second hand, or see the consequences of that imbalance, lived out in everyday life.
Much harm is being done today, by the preaching of a false message on forgiveness. Most teachers on forgiveness today would have you believe that a christian is supposed to be a punching bag, even a recipient of torture, and repeatedly forgive, even if there is no remorse, or repentance, on the part of the attacker. That is not what the Bible teaches.
I heard a story recently, of a missionary's wife who lost her missionary husband and two sons, when their vehicle was purposely set on fire by extremists, with them in it. She immediately, and publicly, forgave the murderers, without receiving the slightest indication of remorse on their
part. This is not an example of christian forgiveness. This is encouraging more outrages by the perpetrators.Listen carefully: Forgiving, without demanding repentance, is becoming an accomplice to the evil deed! The teaching by Jesus, quoted above, is not an isolated teaching. God is good, and He hates evil. Forgiveness, without repentance, encourages more evil. Anyone who thinks he is going to heaven, even though he has not repented of his sins, is in for a big shock! Check out some of these verses: Mark 4:12 John 20:21-23 I John 3:6 etc.
What is the correct teaching then? As God is ready, yes eager, to forgive our sins, we should be ready, and eager, to forgive those who have sinned against us. There are a few who have sinned against me in different ways. I would love to forgive them, but I can't. To forgive them without an expression of repentance on their part, would make me a partaker of their evil deeds. Were they to come to me, and ask for forgiveness, I would readily grant it, and receive them into my arms as a loved and accepted family member. I long to do this, but just as God can't receive the rebellious and unrepentant, I can't either.
If you think I am being unforgiving and unchristian on this issue, I challenge you. Go to a complete concordance and look up all the verses that relate to forgiveness, forgive, forgives, forgiven, repent, repentance etc. Then go to the people whom you have offended, or falsely accused, and ask for their forgiveness. There is joy in heaven over one sinner who repents. And, there is joy in the body of Christ, here on earth, as well.
