Posted on 06/05/2018 12:36:39 PM PDT by MplsSteve
“But you sure feel like you have enough information to judge the two children . . .”
The two “children” were about 55 years of age when they published the obituary.
My comment was: “The article leaves me with the impression Gina and Jay have not forgiven. We can only guess about their temperament.”
These words were not judgmental but rather a test of my capacity for understatement.
No, it’s not necessarily the Bible, ”?cite>
Actually, it is. It’s in Luke.
Go read it for yourself.
Where do you find it?
I just did a quick search and couldn't find anything about forgiving only those who ask for forgiveness.
I do find Luke 17:4: "And if he [a 'brother,' v.3] trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him," but I don't see a condition about forgiving him only if he should "turn again to thee."
Luke 6:37 has "forgive, and ye shall be forgiven," without such a condition, and the "Lukan Lord's Prayer" has "And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us" (11:4), also without that condition.
Luke 23:34 has "Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do," which has long struck me as an example of asking for forgiveness for people who have not asked for it at all.
You missed the “I repent” part. No repentance, no forgiveness.
L
I don't see an "only" here, and I haven't seen any such restrictions elsewhere.
(I interpret the point of "I repent" to be much more that this brother keeps doing the same thing over and over, even seven times a day, such that his repreated "I repent" may sound weak, insincere, or worse.)
Luke 17 3 clarifies it even further. Forgiveness is conditioned upon repentance.
“If he sins, rebuke him. If there is repentance, forgive him.”
I don’t know why you think this unclear.
L
“If he sins, rebuke him. If there is repentance, forgive him.”
I don’t know why you think this unclear.
Again, there's no "only" here (as in "only if there is repentance"). Neither do I see "only" elsewhere, such as in Matthew 18:21-22, which doesn't even mention the other's repentance as a condition in any way:
[21] Then came Peter to [Jesus], and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
[22] Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Or here (these verses also expand the scope to "men" or "any," not just "brothers"):
[Matthew 6:14] For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
[15] But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
[Mark 11:25] And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.
[26] But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses.
Here there is also no mention of the other party's repentance, let alone requiring it.
I also noticed Luke 6:27-38, which I may describe later when I have some more time.
I'll end this post, though, with this thought: "what if you're wrong, and what if I'm wrong?" If I have forgiven those who ought not to be forgiven, I'm not sure that I will have done much harm. If I have not forgiven those who ought to be forgiven, the penalty looks severe.
My mom and I had a rough spell for awhile. She died a few a months ago. I wrote her obituary and the thought never crossed my mind to besmirch her. As God has forgiven me for far worse, I had forgiven her for infinitesimally smaller things she did to me.
I think the point is not letting people off the hook for the havoc they wreak just because they are room temperature.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.