Take heed to yourselves; if thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him. And if he repent, forgive him. Luke 17:3
A Christian working at a local market was called in to his manager’s office and was told that he was being fired for stealing. One of the other employees had reported that he had seen the Christian taking money from the till. The Christian was devastated, and protested, because he was innocent. He asked the manager to call in one of the other workers, who could confirm his innocence. Reluctantly, the manager did so, and the other employee confirmed that the Christian was not even working on the day that the theft occurred. It turned out that the accusation had come from a young man who had been ridiculing the Christian because of his faith. It also turned out that no money was actually missing. The entire thing was just a mean trick. When confronted, the young man turned to the Christian with a sneer, and declared, ‘You have to forgive me, because you are a Christian.’ He was wrong.
Our text describes the three steps that a Christian is to follow when someone commits an offense against him. This does not apply to petty things, small issues that involve no harm (somebody steps on your toe, or takes your parking space). In such cases, these things are to be quickly and permanently dismissed and forgotten. What is in view here are issues that are harmful, unpleasant, and/or vindictive. That is why the first step is to reprove the person, in this case a brother or sister in the Lord. This means bringing the matter to their attention, and trying to resolve it. In most cases, if handled graciously, the issue moves on to the repentance and forgiveness stage.
Repentance is a prerequisite to obtaining forgiveness. When most Christians are brought face to face with their offenses, they will repent and ask for forgiveness. Those who don’t need to be dealt with in other ways. Those who do need to be forgiven. So how do we do that?
To forgive a person for a wrong done does not mean that the wrong is to be ignored, excused, tolerated, disregarded or overlooked. That would do nothing because it does not result in the wrongdoer correcting their behaviour. But if the person has truly repented, there will be a change in behaviour. The person will express remorse and often make an effort to make amends. It is only when the offender has produced proofs of repentance that the offended Christian is obligated to offer forgiveness. This is what happened when we were saved. We found no forgiveness until we had experienced repentance. But when the repentance in our heart was real, the forgiveness by God was fully and freely extended. That is the model we are to follow when forgiving others.
Hopefully, we will not need to reprove or forgive anyone today. But if the situation arises, let us follow God’s pattern. – Jim MacIntosh