I trawled through the topics on questions but can’t find one that I want to ask.<\/p>\n
My sister and I are Christians. She says that she doesn’t have to forgive a person unless they come to her and ask for forgiveness. she tells me that nobody got forgiveness from God until they actually went to Him and repented of their sins. I can’t agree with her. She says that not everyone is saved, which I agree with because they didn’t go to God and ask for forgiveness. I say that Jesus died for the whole world, regardless of whether they accepted it or not. So she has to forgive the same way, she has to bring the person who has sinned against her and ask God to forgive them. I can’t seem to find anything that backs up what I believe and plenty to find for her stance.<\/p>\n
I truly believe that we are to love one another, love our neighbor, hold no grudges or anger. I wonder if you can point me in the right direction. I am absolutely convinced that I am right and she is convinced that she is right.<\/p>\n\t
See:<\/p>\n
You are correct that we are not to hold grudges or anger toward another (Ephesians 4:31-32). But you are mistaken in you can resolve a problem between you another person without their consent and involvement. You have to have an attitude that you want problems solved and that you would be the first to hold out your hand to another, even if they wronged you. But it takes two to create a dispute and two to end it, even if one doesn’t like the current state of affairs.<\/p>\n
I find it interesting that while you can find verses that support your sister’s position, and basically none for your own, yet you are certain you are right. It seems foolish to me to hold on to a position that you personally want in spite of the evidence.<\/p>\n
You see, if a person is doing something that is wrong, I’ll stand opposed to it. But love also demands that I rescue the person, if I can, from their bad decisions. Too many people claim to “love” others while they continue to let them go doing evil because they “forgive” them while they remain in their wickedness. It isn’t love and it isn’t forgiveness because the problem remains.<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: I trawled through the topics on questions but can’t find one that I want to ask. My sister and I are Christians. She says that she doesn’t have to forgive a person unless they come to her and ask for forgiveness. she tells me that nobody got forgiveness from God until they actually went…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[20],"tags":[1571,50],"class_list":["post-34509","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-answer","tag-forgiveness","tag-repentance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":12667,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/my-wife-says-she-forgives-me-but-she-doesnt-trust-me-what-do-i-do\/","url_meta":{"origin":34509,"position":0},"title":"My wife says she forgives me, but she doesn’t trust me. What do I do?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 2, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have\u00a0written before regarding my and my wife's relationship. You mentioned that she has issues with forgiveness and I agree. I tried to discuss this with her from a scriptural perspective. Stating that we are commanded to forgive as God forgives, Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13 emphasizing the word\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":43313,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-i-tell-my-friends-wife-that-he-has-been-unfaithful-after-he-has-repented-of-his-sin\/","url_meta":{"origin":34509,"position":1},"title":"Should I tell my friend’s wife that he has been unfaithful after he has repented of his sin?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 8, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hello sir, I hope that God is blessing you in what you do. I am writing you on the matter of infidelity. I am aware of a man who has been unfaithful to his significant other. This is not the first time that he has been so. The previous\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":62768,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/i-can-always-ask-for-forgiveness-later\/","url_meta":{"origin":34509,"position":2},"title":"I Can Always Ask for Forgiveness Later","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 15, 2003","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton Text: Romans 6 \u00a0 I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0In pointing out some actions are sinful, it is not unusual to find people making excuses as to why they can continue in their sin \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0I once pointed out that sex before marriage is sinful \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A girl objected. Oh, she and her\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90727,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/forgiveness-of-debts-owed\/","url_meta":{"origin":34509,"position":3},"title":"Forgiveness of Debts Owed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer It seems that in the \"forgiveness debate\" (that sounds odd), people can easily talk past each other. The discussion really hinges on what is meant by \"forgiveness.\" To further clarify the nature and nuances of forgiveness, please note the phrase used by Jesus in His model prayer:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":36809,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/im-trying-to-forgive-my-wife-for-the-adultery-she-committed-but-im-finding-it-hard-to-forget\/","url_meta":{"origin":34509,"position":4},"title":"I’m trying to forgive my wife for the adultery she committed, but I’m finding it hard to forget","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"January 28, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Good evening, sir, I was told about your website and that you can help me with some questions I have about my marriage. I have been married for less than ten years. Well, last year my wife was seeing another guy from work. I found her messages when she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":25783,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/must-i-pay-my-friend-money-so-she-can-forgive-me\/","url_meta":{"origin":34509,"position":5},"title":"Must I pay my friend money so she can forgive me?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 8, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I want to enquire if it's right to pay money to a friend who claims I offended her. I didn't borrow anything from her, but she is demanding money so she can forgive me. Answer: \"There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, And there is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34509","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=34509"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/34509\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=34509"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=34509"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=34509"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}