Luke 17:4 Even if they sin against you seven times in a day and seven times come back to you saying, “I repent,” you must forgive them.
As both a parent and a teacher I can say nothing is more frustrating than a fake “I’m sorry” said over and over again. It doesn’t mean anything if it is not heartfelt. We want to know that the repentance is genuine. In this verse we are told that no matter how many times someone sins against us and repents, we must forgive them. Not we SHOULD forgive, but we MUST.
It makes you appreciate the love of God all the more when you consider how frustrating the cycle of sin > repent > forgive > sin > repent > forgive really is. Yet He does it, over and over. We sin and repent, He forgives, we sin and repent, He forgives.
In this verse we see we are not talking about forgiveness of wrongs done against us by just anyone, we are looking specifically at sins done by fellow believers. We know this from the verse just prior. We are told to rebuke them, which means to show strong disapproval and then we are to forgive them, again and again as often as it takes. There is no limit. We are to continue to offer forgiveness, no matter how frustrating or tiresome it may be. We speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15).
But it also means the repentance must be genuine. Unlike children who repeatedly apologize and say they won’t do it again and refuse to change their behavior, our forgiveness should be given for real, heartfelt repentance. The challenge is in knowing what is real and what is nothing more than empty words. A level of trust and discernment are required on our part.
We forgive because we are told to by Jesus and His followers multiple times in the New Testament. It is not a once and done behavior expected of us, but ongoing, continuous forgiveness. Forgiveness that follows what we assume to be genuine repentance.
Who can you forgive today?
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