Sunday, May 19, 2013

Biblical teaching on forgiveness

Someone asked me to summarize my theology of forgiveness.
  • We need to forgive people who are truly ignorant of their sins.
  • If someone repents we are obligated to forgive them.
  • Repentance includes sorrow, restoration, recompense.
  • If someone does not repent, we are obliged to confront and rebuke them.
  • If someone refuses to repent after confrontation, there is a process that needs to be followed through until the end.
  • If someone does not repent at the end of the process, they are handed over to God. for vengeance, we are forbidden to take vengeance ourselves on the unrepentant.
  • God stands with the victim, not the perpetrator of the offense.
  • God’s goal is reconciliation of persons but this reconciliation can not happen without repentance.

No comments:

Orthodox Eschatology Series

Fr. John Brown presents a series of lectures on "The End Times: A comparison between the Orthodox understanding and Evangelical Protest...