Results 1 - 3 of 3
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Can we not ask God to forgive another? | John | Wild Olive Shoot | 150953 | ||
If I may be so bold as to interject, I think the discussion may be an amalgamation of two very distinct topics: 1. Our forgiveness of our fellow man; 2. God’s forgiveness of man. The first is mentioned in Matthew 6:14,15 / Matthew 18:21,22 / Matthew 18:34,35 / Mark 11:24-26 / Luke 17:3,4 / Colossians 3:13, and I’m sure other places as well. The latter is mentioned in Matthew 26:27,28 / Mark 2:9-11 / Acts 2:38 / Acts 13:38 / Ephesians 1:7 / Colossians 1:14 / Hebrews 8:12, and again, other places as well. We can forgive others for their trespasses against us, but only God can forgive trespasses against God. I think they are to very different applications of forgiveness one, from us to others, and the other, from God to us. We should continue to forgive those who wrong us so long as they repent. God on the other hand has granted us forgiveness of sins eternally through the blood of Jesus, should we confess and repent 1 John 1:9. I don’t know if I presented my thoughts eloquently enough to properly convey them. Maybe another who can more easily convey this thought can help or correct my understanding of the two? WOS |
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2 | Can we not ask God to forgive another? | John | Mommapbs | 150956 | ||
WOS - I'm not equating man's forgiveness of others with God's. You wrote: "We should continue to forgive those who wrong us so long as they repent." My question: When one "trespasses" against another, who is actually being "tresspassed?" We can not forgive others for their trespass against God, but we can forgive them for their tresspass against us. We can even choose to forgive them unconditionally, meaning, they don't have to come and say "I'm sorry" before we choose to forgive them in our heart. When offended, most folks would rather repay "in kind" than forgive. What does Jesus tell us to do in Mt 5:39? (I've been told that we only have one cheek to turn though . . . is this what He would do?) We also also are admonished not to be conformed to the pattern of the world, but to be transformed - (Romans 12:1-2) so, what SHOULD our response to offense be? Might we strive to adopt and attitude of humility and compassion toward the offender, being mindful of our own sinfulness and God's forgivenss of us? Most of the time I suspect that when offended we are more concerned with our "rights" than our responsibilities toward God. Since this post was to be a source of encouragement to one who was offended, I would prefer to look to God for a response that will glorify Him. In doing so perhaps this will also be a source of encouragement to the offender to come to repentance toward God as well. imo, the strongest prison bars are made of unforgiveness and they are self built. Didn't Jesus came to free us from these bonds? We can forgive be cause we are forgiven. mommapbs |
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3 | Can we not ask God to forgive another? | John | Wild Olive Shoot | 150964 | ||
mommapbs, It wasn’t my intent to insinuate that you were equating God’s forgiveness with man’s nor was I being accusatory. As I read through the posts that originated from jen2000, I read were she was informed that she should “ask God to forgive” the person who trespassed against her. A follow up post stated, that remark was unscriptural and pointed out that Jesus had the authority as God the Son to request God the Father’s forgiveness we however, do not. It further pointed out that, referencing The Lord’s Prayer, “This verse teaches us two things: that we are to pray for the forgiveness of our own debts [same as 'sins' in Luke 11:4], and that we are to forgive our debtors, i.e., "others for their transgressions" as Jesus points out in Matthew 6:14. But it says nothing about asking God to forgive someone else. “ After that point, it seemed to me anyhow, that the discussion started, not necessarily comparing God’s forgiveness of man and our forgiveness of man, but intertwined the two. My point is that, and I agree with you concerning. “Since this post was to be a source of encouragement to one who was offended, I would prefer to look to God for a response that will glorify Him”, while encouraging another, there as well runs the risk of further confusing that person. All I wanted to do is point out that there is a difference between the two. Whether or not we forgive another has only an effect on our own relationship with God, not necessarily the offender’s. However, God’s forgiveness has an eternal effect. With God’s forgiveness, we must first have faith, then confess and repent. Through the blood of Christ we have atonement. But just as you stated, we can forgive another without them even asking and probably should. I know many that would never “stoop” to apologizing and asking for forgiveness when they harm another, intentionally or not. But when Paul wrote to the Church in Corinth about forgiving the sinner, it is never mentioned that the sinner repented yet they were still instructed to forgive and comfort. (2 Corinthians 2:7) I think it is important to distinguish between the two for the sake of the person who initiated the question. WOS |
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