"[I]f you had asked me at another time I would have told you that I had forgiven this person"
“When ‘that person’ who hurts you comes back to mind (and they will.) The right thing to do (not the easy thing to do) is to choose in that moment to forgive. No matter how many times you have done it in the past, you need to learn how to do it over and over again.” CPost
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Not a fan PN’s approach to ministry in general, but he nailed this one.
Put’s Jesus’ “seventy times seven” in a little bit different light. Maybe His point wasn’t so much “forgive this person every time he asks, no matter how many times” as it was “forgive this person every time his offense comes to mind, no matter how many times.”
(Edit: OK, well the context of Matt. 18:21-22 shows the conversation really was about multiple offenses… but if we should forgive someone for offending over and over surely we should forgive over and over for offending)
Views expressed are always my own and not my employer's, my church's, my family's, my neighbors', or my pets'. The house plants have authorized me to speak for them, however, and they always agree with me.
How about Luke 17:3, “If you brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him”?
Is it possible that I can “forgive” in the sense that I let go of bitterness towards a person and the vengeance I’d like to see happen to a person, resting all of that in God’s hands, so I can go on and live life without an acidic spirit, yet not pronouncing to an unrepentant person that I’ve forgiven them?
Eph 4:36 — We are to forgive in the same way God has forgiven us. God forgives only those who repent and seek forgiveness. As Jonathan says, we are only to forgive those who repent. We are not universalists. How can a church do church discipline if they have forgiven every offender?
Donn R Arms
This is classic Noble, weaving pop psychology with some Bible vocab. This boot strapping spirituality has become the new normal in evangelicalism. Add in some soft music and a little mat, and he could be a Yoga Swami.”Think good thoughts. In through the nose, out through the mouth. Just let it go. It will be alright.” And he’s going to put rape in that little spiritual sauna? Mindblowing the cavalier attitude.
Also, Jesus’ experience in his final hours is not a normative paradigm for our interpersonal relationships. He’s not our example, he’s the Creator Savior King, author of faith with power over death and life. He’s transforming us via the Holy Spirit. Again, the “Jesus as an example” theology is a false doctrine, and ultimately a works based righteousness.
Lastly, reading between the lines, and knowing some of the NS culture, this is probably a veiled cover for a spiritual leader’s own past and associated atrocious behavior for which they are unwilling to take responsibility. The sum total of the article is “You got problems? Get over it.”
Jesus’ “Father forgive them, for they know not what they do,” did not give everyone responsible for Jesus’ death forgiveness. They had to repent and believe the gospel that was preached after His resurrection. Caiaphas and Annas and many others are in hell-unforgiven.
Is there a difference between granting forgiveness and just getting over being wronged? The Bible does state that repentance is a pre-requisite for granting forgiveness, but what should be our attitude toward those who’ve not repented of wrongs they’ve committed against us? Personally, I’ve found it healthy to not carry a grudge of any sort (although it may take time) and just get over it, even if the wrong was severe.
"Some things are of that nature as to make one's fancy chuckle, while his heart doth ache." John Bunyan
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