Does Luke 17:3 imply that we are not to forgive a brother or sister until they have repented? I know God will not forgive until we have repented and asked him for forgiveness.<\/p>\n\t
“Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him<\/em>” (Luke 17:3).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Jesus states that we are required to forgive people when they repent. Jesus did not specify what to do when someone refuses to repent.\u00a0 What is often overlooked is that Jesus said we are also to “rebuke” the offender. We ought to care enough about people to scold them when they wrong so that they might change and start doing what is right.<\/p>\n
Too often, people make “forgiveness” an empty word. They claim to forgive (release a person from any debt owed to them) while continuing to hold them accountable for their sin. True forgiveness is owed when a person changes his ways (Matthew 6:14-15). Sometimes people offer “forgiveness” to avoid the responsibility of trying to get the person to change. I should love my fellow man so much that I am willing to go through the discomfort of rebuking him so that I can forgive him. You could say that since I’ve already made up my mind to forgive a person when he changes, that I’ve already forgiven him.<\/p>\n
Technically, there cannot be forgiveness without repentance. You can’t release someone from a debt he refuses to acknowledge and plans to continue committing. Forgiveness is a gift, and you can’t give a gift that the receiver refuses to accept.<\/p>\n
There are cases when people have asked God to forgive their enemies (Luke 23:34; Acts 7:60). The implication is that they won’t hold the sin against their enemies, but whether a person is actually forgiven is up to God. We are not in a position to tell God what He must do.<\/p>\n
See also:<\/p>\n
\n
- Forgiveness Without Repentance?<\/a><\/li>\n
- Is the Christian Obligated to Forgive the Sinner Who Will Not Repent?<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Question: Does Luke 17:3 imply that we are not to forgive a brother or sister until they have repented? I know God will not forgive until we have repented and asked him for forgiveness. Answer: “Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him” (Luke 17:3). Jesus states…<\/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":[27],"tags":[1571,50],"class_list":["post-94933","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-forgiveness","tag-repentance"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":60416,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/three-quotes-on-forgiving-a-brother\/","url_meta":{"origin":94933,"position":0},"title":"Three Quotes on Forgiving a Brother","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 20, 2006","format":false,"excerpt":"From Questions Answered, Lipscomb and Sewell, Kurfees, pg. 260 Question: If a brother in the church offends us, is it right for us to forgive him whether he comes and asks us to or not, or must we hold it against him until he comes and asks our pardon? Would\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":60560,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/unforgiven\/","url_meta":{"origin":94933,"position":1},"title":"Unforgiven","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 29, 2008","format":false,"excerpt":"by Bryan Matthew Dockens I sincerely desire the forgiveness of those who've done me wrong. Like Stephen (Acts 7:60), and Christ before him (Luke 23:34), I pray that God will forgive those who have harmed me. I do not forgive them, though, unless and until they repent. This does not\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":70001,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/forgiveness-without-repentance\/","url_meta":{"origin":94933,"position":2},"title":"Forgiveness Without Repentance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mike Johnson via Seeking Things Above The Bible emphasizes the importance of forgiving those who sin against us. In fact, failing to do so is very frightening because, in Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus taught, \"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if\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":28504,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/is-the-christian-obligated-to-forgive-the-sinner-who-will-not-repent\/","url_meta":{"origin":94933,"position":3},"title":"Is the Christian Obligated to Forgive the Sinner Who Will Not Repent?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 11, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"by Curtis A. Cates The above question has often been asked of this scribe. Every accountable being at times sins against others; some sin publicly, even against the church. Clearly, those who repent and ask for forgiveness are to be fully forgiven. But, not everyone repents and asks for forgiveness.\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":56286,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/forgiveness-3\/","url_meta":{"origin":94933,"position":4},"title":"Forgiveness (North)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 26, 2009","format":false,"excerpt":"by Phillip North via\u00a0Biblical Insights, Vol. 8, No. 8, Aug. 2008. Much has been preached and written on how mankind, especially Christians, should and must practice forgiveness. No doubt it is a command, not a mere option. Jesus said, \"But if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will\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":24049,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/do-we-forgive-even-though-the-elders-refuse-to-change\/","url_meta":{"origin":94933,"position":5},"title":"Do we forgive even though the elders refuse to change?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 24, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: \"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, \u2018I repent,\u2019 you shall forgive him\" (Luke 17:3-4). 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