Is Repentance a Condition for Forgiveness or Forgive Unconditionally?

Luke 17: 3-4 ties forgiveness to repentance: “If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him…and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” So, is repentance a condition for forgiveness, or should we forgive people unconditionally? Unfortunately, scholars don’t agree. There are two groups:

One group says forgive whether people repent or not. This is known as unconditional forgiveness.
Another group says forgive if people repent. This is known as conditional forgiveness. I am in this camp.

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Here's the accompanying post: https://www.scottlapierre.org/is-repentance-a-condition-for-forgiveness-or-forgive-unconditionally/

00:00 Is Repentance a Condition for Forgiveness, or Should We Forgive Unconditionally?
04:59 Lesson One: ____________ ______ to help produce repentance.
14:17 Lesson Two: Associate forgiveness with a ____________________ relationship.
23:01 Lesson Three: ______________________ doesn’t always mean the same relationship.
28:01 Lesson Four: Forgiveness should be ___________________ on the person repenting.
37:05 Lesson Five: Associate unforgiveness with an _________________ relationship versus mistreatment.
42:55 Lesson Six: Unconditional forgiveness can hinder ______________.

Family Worship Guide
Directions: Read the following verses and then answer the questions:

Day 1: Luke 17:3-4—Why does God command us to rebuke people in sin? Why is it often a bad idea to say, “It’s okay”? When people repent what are some encouraging things we can say instead?

Day 2: Matthew 6:12, Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13—In what ways should our forgiveness resemble God’s forgiveness? Why is forgiveness primarily about actions versus feelings? Can we forgive people but have a different relationship with them?

Day 3: Matthew 18:24-33—Why should forgiveness be conditional on people repenting? Unforgiveness is not license to do what? How might unconditional forgiveness shortchange the spiritual life of someone in sin?

Five steps when rebuking sin:
1. Find verses addressing the sin.
2. Share the verses with the person, and request the verses be read aloud.
3. Ask the person to explain the verses.
4. Ask the person if they disobeyed the verses.
5. Ask the person the proper response to disobeying God’s Word.

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