Forgiveness

These scripture are telling us to "guard," ourselves against those fellow Christians who sin against us. That we are to tell them they have sinned against us. If that brother ask our forgiveness, then we are to forgive them. It goes on to say in verse 4, that if that brother sin against us seven times a day and returns to ask forgiveness, we are to forgive.
In his book; Bold Love, Dr. Dan Allender writes: "For every person, in every instance, either brief or interminable, cruel or civil, warm or hostile, there
will be enough sin in all our relationships that forgiveness is required, if they are to continue toward an end that is good."

Christ gives us a parable in:
Matthew 18:21-35 Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? Jesus said
unto him, I say not unto thee, Untill seven times: but, Until seventy times seven. Therefore is the kingdom of heaven likened unto a certain king, which would take account of his servants. And when he had begun to reckon, one was brought unto him, which owed him ten thousand talents. But forasmuch as he had not to pay, his lord commanded him to be sold, and his wife, and children, and all that he had, and payment to be made. The
servant therefore fell down, and worshipped him, saying, Lord, have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. Then the lord of that servant was moved
with compassion, and loosed him, and forgave him the debt. But the same servant went out, and found one of his fellowservants, which owed him an
hundred pence: and he laid hands on him, and took him by the throat, saying, Pay me that thou owest. And his fellowservant fell down at his feet, and
besought him, saying, Have patience with me, and I will pay thee all. And he would not: but went and cast him into prison, till he should pay the debt.
So when his fellowservants saw what was done, they were very sorry, and came and told unto their lord all that was done. Then his lord, after that he
had called him, said unto him, O thou wicked servant, I forgave thee all that debt, because thou desired me (to): Should not you also have had com-
passion on they fellowservant, even as I had pity on you? And his lord was wroth, and delivered him to the tormentors, till he should pay all that was
due unto him. So likewise shall my heavenly Father do also unto you, if ye from your hearts forgive not every one his brothers their trespasses.

If we say, after forgiving someone seven times, or seventy times seven we cannot forgive them anymore, then how many times can Christ forgive us?
These numbers are not to be taken literal. If we do so, we are putting ourselves at great risk! These numbers represent infintesimal forgiveness.
What does it say in the Lord's prayer? Forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us. There is no number of times listed
here. If we keep a record of the number of times that someone sins against us, then stop forgiving at that number, the Lord is going to do the
same with us. When we repent with a genuine heart, God forgives us. There is no limit!
I am not touting cheap forgiveness. When we see genuine, from the heart sorrow and contrition, then forgiveness is demanded, the sin must be forgotten.

Is Christ telling us that we are to forgive the same sin, committed over and over. We are to forgive, if one truly repents.
To truly repent means that, a person will not commit the sin again. If they do, then their regret was not genuine. Then, we are to look for the fruit
of repentance. Just as Christ does. We are not to throw discernment out the window. People are to be held accountable for their repentance.

We are to forgive when we see genuine, from the heart sorrow and contrition. Our profession of love demands it. Just as our Lord Jesus. Are we better than God? What was it, Christ said upon the cross? "Father forgive them, for they know not what they do!"

There was a young woman, who decided she would start going to church. One night, in a service, she felt the tug of God at her heart. She responded to the calling and accepted Jesus as her Lord and Savior. Now, this young woman had a very rough past. It involved alcohol, drugs and
prostitution. But, the change in her was very, very evident. As time past, she became a faithful member, becoming a part of the ministry of teaching
young children. It was not very long until this faithful young woman, caught the eye and heart, of the pastor's son. The relationship grew, and they
started makeing wedding plans. This is when the problems began. You see, about one half of the church members, did not feel that a woman with a past as rough as hers, was suitable for their pastor's son. The church began to argue among themselves, to split in their feelings upon this matter.
They decided to have a meeting. As the people each made their arguments, things began to fall apart as the tensions increased. The meeting
fell into complete disarray. The young woman became very upset about all the things being brought up about her past. As she began to cry, the pastor's son stood to speak. He could not bear the pain, it was causing his wife to be. His statement was this: "My fiances past is not what is
on trial here, what you are questioning is, the ability of the blood of Jesus Christ to wash away sins. Today, you have put the blood of Jesus on
trial. So, does it wash away sin or not?" The whole church began to weep, as they realized that what they were doing, was slandering the blood of
Jesus Christ.
Too often, even as Christians, we take things that someone may say, or bring up the past and use it, as a weapon against our brothers and sisters. Forgivness for one another, is the very foundation of our belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ. This is why he went to the cross, suffered and shed his
blood. If the blood of Jesus does not cleanse the other persons sins completely, then it cannot cleanse us completely. If that is the case, then we are all in a lot of trouble.
What can wash away my sins, nothing but the blood, of Jesus!

Romans 3:23-26 For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ
Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past,
through the forebearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in
Jesus.