Forgiveness Conditional on Repentance?

[Benjamin]

“Take heed” We must forgive a brother that repents.

(Luk 17:3)Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

(Luk 17:4)And if he trespass against the eseven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him.

If a brother does not repent, what then, should he be forgiven by us?

(Luk 6:27)But I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you,

(Luk 6:28)Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.

(Luk 6:29)And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thycoat also.

And what if a person does not forgive, or repent of not forgiving, can he be forgiven by God?

(Mar 11:25)And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have aught against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.

(Luk 11:4)And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us. And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.

Is forgiveness a two-way street or can one conclude that forgiving another should be unconditional even if they are unrepentant?

What if we don’t forgive? And does God forgive His children unconditionally even if they don’t repent?

 

[genesis12]

It isn't something I do, or they do. The convicting power of the Holy Spirit brings about a change of heart. From that, forgiveness flows, regardless of man-made criterion.

 

[2BHizown]

Put on bowels of mercies

Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness, longsuffering;
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye. Col 3:12, 13

 

[USN2Pulpit]

Luke 13:3b & 5b (Jesus speaking) - "...but unless you repent you will all likewise perish." (NKJV)

 

[J.D.]

There's a difference between legal forgiveness and experiencial forgiveness. In the legal sense, I've already forgiven my brother for his trespasses, just as the blood of christ procured my forgiveness long before I knew him. But my brother does not experience forgiveness until he comes to repentance of his wrong and come to believe in my sincerity in forgiving him, just as I can not experience Christ's forgiveness until I come to him in faith and repentance.

 

[Benjamin]

But my brother does not experience forgiveness until he comes to repentance of his wrong and come to believe in my sincerity in forgiving him,…

So we ought to forgive a brother right away or do we wait until he repents? For the brothers sake do we make him sweat a little first?

(2Co 2:1) But I determined this with myself, that I would not come again to you in heaviness.

(2Co 2:2) For if I make you sorry, who is he then that maketh me glad, but the same which is made sorry by me?

In obedience to forgiveness we make him sorry first so that he will repent and if so this is proof that we are obedient in all things?

(2Co 2:5) But if any have caused grief, he hath not grieved me, but in part: that I may not overcharge you all.

(2Co 2:6) Sufficient to such a man is this punishment, which wasinflicted of many.

(2Co 2:7) So that contrariwise ye ought rather to forgive him, and comfort him, lest perhaps such a one should be swallowed up with overmuch sorrow.

(2Co 2:8) Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward him.

(2Co 2:9) For to this end also did I write, that I might know the proof of you, whether ye be obedient in all things.

(2Co 2:10) To whom ye forgive any thing, I forgive also: for if I forgave any thing, to whom I forgave it, for your sakes forgaveIit in the person of Christ;

(2Co 2:11) Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.

…

just as I can not experience Christ's forgiveness until I come to him in faith and repentance.

We comfort and confirm our love in the same manner, but do not forgive unless he repents which comes from sincerity in faith of being forgiven? Without this fruit of repentance what proof have we that he is in the spirit; although we do not want him swallowed up in sorrow we want this assurance first? At the judgment day is repentance then a condition of forgiveness or can conversion come without repentance?

(Mar 4:12)That seeing they may see, and not perceive; and hearing they may hear, and not understand; lest at any time they should be converted, and their sins should beforgiven them.

 

[J.D.]

Ben, I'm speaking here off-the-cuff, so do check what I say against the scripture and sound counsel.

We comfort and confirm our love in the same manner, but do not forgive unless he repents which comes from sincerity in faith of being forgiven?

My position is that although we have already forgiven our brother for his trespasses against us, this forgiveness can not be experienced in a real way on both parts unless there's been repentance. Whether repentance is sincere or not can be hard to judge and may take time to bear out.

The experience cuts both ways. I must be convinced that he is truly repentant, and he must be convinced that I have truly forgiven him. Anything short of that is born of doubt, and will not be blessed.

Without this fruit of repentance what proof have we that he is in the spirit; although we do not want him swallowed up in sorrow we want this assurance first?

I don't know what you mean by "proof that he is in the spirit". I would think that we would want a brother in sin to be swallowed up (but not consumed) in sorrow so that he may repent. Remember sorrow itself is not repentance, but should lead to repentance, but it doesn't necessarily do that. A man can be sorrowfull but not change his mind, but Godly sorrow works repentance not to be repented of - that is, Godly sorrow is a sorrow that causes a change of mind.

At the judgment day is repentance then a condition of forgiveness or can conversion come without repentance?

If you are saved, there is no judgement for you "at the judgment". Your sins were judged on the Cross. Again, in regards to forgiveness of sin before God, it is my position that repentance is a condition of EXPERIENCIAL forgiveness, but LEGALLY speaking, our sins were already forgiven on the Cross. There's even a legal sense in which it could be said that our sins were always forgiven, we who believe being foreknown from eternity.

 

[Benjamin]

Thanks J.D.

The experiential/ legal aspect will help me to articulate my thoughts better in the future. I guess how one believes sins were judged on the cross and/or paid for on the cross gets right back into the E/L aspects and what could be said about our sins forgiven and foreknown in eternity was eloquently put, don’t think I’ll stir that pot here. Will continue checking it out in the scripture, good post.