Forgiveness with or without Repentance Part 2

I will now answer the email question posed by a woman writing to her pastor. If you look at all the New Testament passages I provided on forgiveness (part 1), only one of them had conditions on forgiveness. We read…

Luke 17:3-4 So watch yourselves.”If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him. 4If he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times comes back to you and says, ‘I repent,’ forgive him.”

Jesus clearly says if the brother in question repents, forgive him; even if he repeatedly sins against you; each time he repents, you are to forgive him. Jesus teaches repentance as a condition before forgiveness. Let’s look at a few other passages of scripture.

In Col. 3:13 the Apostle Paul tells us to forgive as Christ forgives us. How does Christ forgive us? Does Christ forgive us without repentance from our sins? The answer is no. To receive forgiveness from Christ we need to come before Him and ask for forgiveness. Just as Christ freely forgives a repentant sinner, we must be willing to forgive someone who sins against us and repents. Jesus began his ministry in Mark chapter 1:15 by saying “Repent and believe the good news!” Again repentance is a prerequisite for belief. Peter preached a similar message in Acts 2:38 (NIV) Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.” The Acts passage teaches the need for repentance (and belief) to receive forgiveness from Christ.

Luke 23:34 we see Jesus asking the Father to forgive the Roman soldiers, who were crucifying him, for they know not what they do. The Father, just like Jesus, can only forgive if they repent and believe. Here was an example of Jesus asking the Father to forgive the very same people who put Him on the cross. Only Christianity teaches followers to reach out and love your enemies. The sin of crucifying an innocent man was not unforgivable.

When Stephen asks God to forgive the people stoning him, he seems to be drawing his words from what Jesus said in the Luke 23:34. It was clearly a Christ-like demonstration to all viewing the stoning, including Paul. These are examples of prayers to God on behalf of unbelieving individuals, demonstrating that God will forgive the worst offenders if they choose to repent and ask for forgiveness. It was like Stephen and Jesus was saying, “God as horrible as these sins are, if they look to you and repent, please forgive them.”

I think part of the problem lies in the definition of forgiveness. The apologist, referred to in the email, had a narrow definition and one I think he can justify Biblically. The Bible teaches if the guilty person repents, you are to forgive. Many people have a much broader definition of forgiveness that takes into consideration forgiving unrepentant people with the sole purpose of releasing the burden a person feels when they have been wronged. I agree there has to be a releasing process because if you don’t, the anger can eat you up. However, this releasing process is not what the apologist or I think is the Biblical definition of forgiveness. True forgiveness comes after true repentance.

Looking for something?

Or visit the Site Map

Incoming search terms for the article:

• forgiveness without repentance (119)
• What worldviews deal with the topic of forgiveness (46)
• without repentance there is no forgiveness (32)
• biblical forgiveness definition (21)
• no forgiveness without repentance (18)
• does God forgive without repentance (17)
• luke 23 34 meaning (16)
• there is no forgiveness without repentance (13)
• biblical definition of forgiveness (13)
• is there forgiveness without repentance (11)
• can there be forgiveness without repentance (11)
• What worldviews deal with the topic of forgiveness? (10)
• forgiveness without repentence (10)
• conditions of forgiveness (9)
• Luke 23:34 meaning (8)
• Without repentance there is no remission of sins (8)
• repentance a condition of forgivenes (8)
• biblical meaning of forgiveness (7)
• conditions for forgiveness (7)
• without repentance there is no forgiveness of sins (6)
• bible meaning of forgiveness (6)
• forgiveness definition bible (5)
• forgiveness without repentance? (4)
• Jesus teaches repentance (4)
• Biblical Forgiveness (4)
• bible definition of forgiveness (4)
• condition of Forgiveness (3)
• forgiveness and repentance in the bible (3)
• forgive without asking for forgiveness (3)
• forgiveness biblical definition (3)
• can there be forgiveness without repentance? (3)
• true repentance and forgiveness (2)
• meaning of forgiveness in the bible (2)
• sin without forgiveness (2)
• does the bible say without repentance there is no forgivess of sins (2)
• forgiveness without repentance bible (2)
• true repentance before forgiveness (2)
• forgiveness christian definition (2)
• definition of true forgiveness (2)
• what is the biblical meaning of forgiveness (2)
• jesus definition forgiveness (2)
• how to forgive when there is no repentancs (2)
• can we be forgiven without repentance (2)
• condition for forgiveness (2)
• no forgiveness of sin without repentance (1)
• luke 23:34 with explanations (1)
• repentance forgiveness luke (1)
• scripture about repeated sin and asking for forgiveness without repentance (1)
• paul forgiveness without repentance (1)
• bible verses about repeated sin (1)
• scripture without repentance there is no remission of sins (1)
• luke 17 3 4 meaning (1)
• meaning in the bible forgiveness (1)
• meaning of asking for forgiveness (1)
• bible repentance codition for forgiveness (1)
• passage on forgiveness and repentance (1)
• repent and receive forgiveness (1)
• repent and ask for forgiveness of your sins scripture (1)
• meaning of forgiveness (1)
• repent jesus forgive ask (1)
• repent to receive forgiveneness (1)
• meaning of luke 23:34 (1)
• bible meaning of asking for forgiveness (1)
• bible verses about forgiveness without repentance (1)
• sentence using repentance and forgiveness (1)
• shall i forgive if there is no repentance (1)
• sin repentance forgiveness (1)
• will god forgive us without repentance? (1)
• are there conditions to forgiveness (1)
• without repentance there is no forgiveness of sin (1)
• are sins forgiven without asking (1)
• without repentance there is no remission (1)
• are christians to forgive even if there is no repentance (1)
• without repentance there no remission sin (1)
• without repentence does God forgive us? (1)
• worldview academy definition (1)
• www explain christian forgiveness (1)
• will god fogive us without repent? (1)
• where in the bible does it state that without repentance there is no remission of sins (1)
• as christian can one forgive withoutbrepentance (1)
• teaching forgiveness of sin without repentance (1)
• to forgive someone without them asking for forgiveness (1)
• true forgiveness in the bible (1)
• what are condition of forgiveness in the bible (1)
• what are the condition of forgiveness in the bible (1)
• what is the maning behind sin without repentence (1)
• what is the meaning behind luke 23 34 (1)
• what is the meaning of asking for forgivness (1)
• what is the meaning of luke 17:3-4 (1)
• ask for forgiveness bible (1)
• you ask for forgivness and repent repentence (1)
• blibical meaning of forgiveness (1)
• did stephen forgive without repentance (1)
• do people need to repent before i forgive (1)
• does god forgive us without repentance (1)
• biblical forgiveness define (1)
• Does God forgive without repentence (1)
• does one forgive when there is no repentance (1)
• does repentence qualify one for forgiveness (1)
• does there need to be repentence for forgiveness? (1)