The Bible has a consistent message about forgiveness. Psalm 130:4 says that with God is forgiveness. It is part of His nature. The Gospel of Luke ends with this promise; “repentance and forgiveness of sins should be proclaimed in his (Jesus) name to all nations, beginning from Jerusalem.” Act 5:31 “God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.” Act 10:43 “To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name." Act 13:38 “Let it be known to you therefore, brothers, that through this man forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.”
The result of belief in Jesus is forgiveness of sins. That is transparently clear. Is there some condition attached to that forgiveness? Are some sins only forgiven after specific repentance? Will I go through life having never been forgiven for sins I have never confessed? Apparently some Bible teachers and writers think so. Here’s why I say that.
Ephesians 4:32 states this, “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. “ The example of how we are to forgive is the one set by Christ. Forgive one another, a vitally important point here, as Christ forgave us. When we forgive as Christ forgave we have it right. If Christ attached conditions to his forgiveness of me than so must I in regard to my fellow believers. And if I attach conditions to my forgiveness of fellow believers than I must be able to demonstrate that God’s forgiveness of me is conditional. Unless I do not want to forgive as Christ forgave.
How then are we to understand these two verses? First from the first chapter of Ephesians, “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” Notice the definite condition. We have forgiveness. Right now, present tense. In the next verse it says that Christ lavished these things upon us. He smothered us with redemption and forgiveness. He heaped them on us. Colossians 1 has a similar proof. “He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.” How did Christ forgive us? With strings attached? Or do we right now live in the continuous blessing of forgiveness? Yes, there is one condition- belief. “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” But that closes the contract, ends the pursuit. We can never be more or less forgiven by God than we were the moment He brought us to faith. His manner of forgiveness is to be our example. And He does not wait for our repentance or confession. He has already forgiven us of all our sins.
Yet there are some who teach that our forgiveness of another believer is based on his repentance. If he does not repent, then we must not forgive. That idea is promoted chiefly from a story Jesus told His disciples in Luke 17. “Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."
Two points stand out in this illustration. First of all it has a specific application. If your brother sins and you rebuke him and he repents, then you must forgive. That is the specific order here-sin, rebuke, repent, forgive. But the general principle is still Ephesians 4:32- forgive one another as you have been forgiven.
The main point of Jesus lesson is the second point of importance. Jesus is not offering a lesson on forgiveness here. He is commanding care in the personal life of the disciples. The emphasis is not on forgiveness but on confrontation. He is challenging His men to keep their eyes on each other, to watch out for themselves. If your brother sins- rebuke him. And every time he sins, rebuke him. The major concern is not about forgiveness but about personal failures that may need forgiveness. The key to that interpretation is in verse 1. “And he said to his disciples, "Temptations to sin are sure to come, but woe to the one through whom they come!” Verse 2 highlights the dangers of offending a little one. With that in mind, Jesus warns to watch out for each other so that if sin does occur you can challenge one another and make short account of it. Is rebuke, repent, forgive the pattern for all interpersonal forgiveness? Or rather a specific application of the general principle established by Ephesians 4:32?
One more thing. What happens when a rebuked brother does not repent? Is he not to be forgiven? Jesus does not say that. There is no ‘if he does not repent do not forgive.’ It is not wrong to forgive without repentance. This lends additional support to the view that Jesus main point was to encourage accountability among His followers.
When we forgive others as Christ forgave us will we choose the overarching, comprehensive forgiveness He bestows or take a narrow approach that denies forgiveness unless there is repentance? And by the way, 1 John 1:9 assures us that forgiveness of all our sins has already taken place before confession. Here is what it says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to have already forgiven our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
We forgive one another as Christ forgave us when we forgive one another from the heart with no conditions, no strings attached.
