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I’ve wrestled with this for a while, just want to see what you guys think.

We’re commanded to forgive as God has forgiven. Ok, fair enough. Seems a simple concept at face value.

But when you really dig in, what does that mean?

Most Christians say that forgiveness is something you do, regardless of whether the offending party confesses, apologizes, or repents.

But then look at how God operates. He requires confession and repentance for forgiveness. Neither is optional.

So then, God holds us to a higher standard than even himself in this regard?

That doesn’t seem logical or reasonable to me. But hey, perhaps I’m wrong. I’m just thinking nakedly here.

I’ve also heard a pastor say that forgiving someone - regardless of a confession or apology - allows God to take up your case. The analogy being that in a court of law, it’s better to let the judge take up the case than to take it up yourself. Ok, I can see the logic in that, too.

But I’m still flummoxed by the idea that we are held to a higher standard than God holds for himself. Again, he requires confession and repentance for forgiveness.

I’ve wrestled with this for a while, just want to see what you guys think. We’re commanded to forgive as God has forgiven. Ok, fair enough. Seems a simple concept at face value. But when you really dig in, what does that mean? Most Christians say that forgiveness is something you do, regardless of whether the offending party confesses, apologizes, or repents. But then look at how God operates. He *requires* confession and repentance for forgiveness. Neither is optional. So then, God holds us to a higher standard than even himself in this regard? That doesn’t seem logical or reasonable to me. But hey, perhaps I’m wrong. I’m just thinking nakedly here. I’ve also heard a pastor say that forgiving someone - regardless of a confession or apology - allows God to take up your case. The analogy being that in a court of law, it’s better to let the judge take up the case than to take it up yourself. Ok, I can see the logic in that, too. But I’m still flummoxed by the idea that we are held to a higher standard than God holds for himself. Again, he *requires* confession and repentance for forgiveness.

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[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

One thing worth noting is that you are using one English word to cover two different Greek words:

"Forgive us our debts" (Lord's prayer, Strong's Greek word 863) is more related to "leaving" (e.g. Matthew 4:20 they "forgave" their fishing nets and followed Jesus).

"Forgiving one another, just as God in Christ forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32, Strong's Greek word 5483) is more akin to giving/granting (e.g. Luke 7:21 he "forgave" [granted] sight unto many that were blind)

Surely this won't resolve all of the confusion, but you have conflated two similar concepts.

[–] • 0 pt

Thanks for the information. It would seem that the word could be used interchangeably within context: one meaning to repent (the "leave/leaving" version of the word) and one meaning what we're more familiar with (the version meaning to give/grant), which sounds more like "forgiveness" as we would usually understand it.

While that's interesting and good to know, you're right.. it's beside the point and doesn't really answer the question I'm asking.

[–] [deleted] • 0 pt

The question isn't really well-formed because of the confusion. How we are to love each other (John 17, Ephesians 4) isn't the same as we are to love the lost.