Forgive Your Brother if He Repents

Then said he unto the disciples, It is impossible but that offences will come: but woe unto him, through whom they come!

It were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and he cast into the sea, than that he should offend one of these little ones.

Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him.

And if he 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.

Luke 17:1ff

I am not a learned Bible scholar. I haven’t studied the Bible for well over 15 years. I’m no theologian… or anything, in that regard.

I realize there are other verses which talk about forgiveness, and they don’t contain qualifications, but the word of the Bible is to be taken as a whole, not divided into pieces that you like, with chaff according to your judgment. 

There is room for interpretation as it is recorded by men. But it was originally inspired by God, as the belief goes. 

So, when it comes to forgiveness, you don’t just blindly forgive. I think you also seek to not hold enmity in your heart, if it pulls you away from God. I suspect that learning how to bring glory to God if you’ve been treated unjustly is more than mere forgiveness.

The upshot of the passage in Luke is that you forgive your brother in Christ if he is repentant. 

This is what God does, so why should it be different for us on earth?

Furthermore, how can a man be godly and never repent to others? Is he somehow greater than God?

Nay, such a man is far from godly. He should seek repentance towards those he has wronged, until they are satisfied.

It could be that the wrong is so great that full repentance is impossible. That does not mean that he should avoid seeking repentance. He should do so, and also work to accept that he has done more wrong than he can repair. Helping others to avoid his mistakes can be a way of continual repentance in the face of permanent damage to others. In fact, doing so will almost certainly bring the light of Truth to where it is needed most.

By way of example, a murderer in prison may never be released; his crime is great and full repentance to the victims is impossible. But, if he gives his life to the Lord, few places need light more.