Wanted to share some of what I have been working through while preparing for the retreat. One of the issues we will be looking at is “Are you a quicker forgiver?”
I have been working through two opposite trains of thought on the issue of should we extend forgiveness.
1. As Christians, we need to extend forgiveness to anybody that wrongs us whether they seek our forgiveness or not. 1 Peter 2:20-23; 1 Peter 3:9; Luke 23:34; Mark 11:25; Matthew 6:14
2. As Christians, we need to emulate God and be ready to forgive anyone, but only extend that forgiveness to those who seek it. Colossians 3:13; Psalms 86:5; Luke 17:3-4; Ephesians 4:32; 1 Kings 13:3-6
I have landed on a position, before I tell you what and why, work through these passages (and any others you might find) and see what you come up with.
Jamie
6 comments:
Here's my thought process after reading the verses:
We are called to emulate God. God forgave us of our sins without us asking by sending his Son to die on the cross. We should forgive anyone whether they seek our forgiveness or not, especially in those cases where forgiveness is sought from us. Otherwise we should question why we are withholding forgiveness, especially if we are "ready" to extend it.
Christ forgave us unconditionally, if our goal is sanctification then we should be willing to forgive others unconditionally.
If we withhold forgiveness until someone asks for it have we truly forgiven that person?
A question popped into my head as I was reading the verses. If Christ so readily extended forgiveness is it considered a sin for us to withhold it?
I will answer, I am just giving Scott and Mark time to answer.
Roben, read Luke 17:3-4
Did Christ forgive everyone when He died on the cross? Who is forgiven? Mark 1:15, Mark 2:17, Mark 6:12, Luke 15:10, Luke 24:47, Acts 3:19, Acts 8:22, etc. I think you get the point. For God, remission of sins always follows repentence.
Kelly, if we can't fogive people with out their asking for it, how do we follow through with the command given in Mark 11:25?
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