Hasan_ibn_Sabah said:
Yes, the Bible tells us to pray to the Father "Forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors", not should we forgive them but we should also do good to them. We are told to forgive the trepasses of other or God will not forgive our trespasses.
Paul said we should forgive others because God has
already forgiven us.
Ephesians 4:32
And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
Who was Jesus talking to? Who was Paul talking to? Their instructions conflict with each other. Which should you follow?
It sounds like you think works are required for salvation. Do you?
The Bible also say we have to let our anger cease. We are not to let the sun set on our anger.
Withholding forgiveness has nothing to do with being angry.
Does a person have to repent in order to be forgiven? Jesus seems to take a more pro-active route, he forgives people fo their sins before they even ask. When he healed, he would tell people "Your sins are forgiven, go sin no more" and yet while we were his enemeis, he dies for us
So if someone dies having lived his entire life in rebellion against God and utterly rejecting the gospel, does God forgive him?
Here is what Jesus actually taught about forgiving others:
[jesus]"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, 'I repent,' you shall forgive him."[/jesus] Luke 17:3-4
Jesus says to rebuke him, but to forgive him only
if he repents.
But what if he doesn't repent. Should we forgive him anyway?
As if it weren't obvious enough in Luke 17:3-4, Matthew 18:15-17 removes all doubt:
[jesus]Moreover if your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault between you and him alone. If he hears you, you have gained your brother. But if he will not hear,...[/jesus]
...Forgive him anyway so that the sun won't set on your anger? Not quite:
[jesus] ...take with you one or two more, that "by the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established.' And if he refuses to hear them,...[/jesus]
...Go ahead and forgive him so you will not become bitter? Nope:
[jesus] tell it to the church. But if he refuses even to hear the church,...[/jesus]
...Then announce that you've forgive him anyway to demonstrate to everyone how magnanimous and "Christlike" you are? Absolutely not:
[jesus] ...let him be to you like a heathen and a tax collector.[/jesus]
When you teach that Christians should forgive everyone no matter what, you teach the world that they do not need to humble themselves before God. He'll forgive them anyway; after all, his followers forgive everyone no matter what.
(What's ironic is that this topic came up when you rebuked several Christians who you thought were doing wrong... but you didn't jump at the chance to forgive them. :think: )
