FORGIVNESS

[labbo606]

jimmy akin, mentioned something about forgivness on catholic answers, which did not make sense to me. some of you may heard him saying, the person need to be repentant befor he is forgiven.he also said god does not forgive unless the person is repentant.

thank you

 

[jimmy]

labbo606:

jimmy akin, mentioned something about forgivness on catholic answers, which did not make sense to me. some of you may heard him saying, the person need to be repentant befor he is forgiven.he also said god does not forgive unless the person is repentant.

thank you

You must repent of your sins in order to be forgiven. If you are not sorry for your sins do you honestly expect forgiveness?

Jesus sacrificed himself on the cross so that you could be forgiven your sins. You have the choice to reject that sacrafice. You do not have to be perfect and be without sin to be forgiven but you have to have the intention to try to quit sinning. Repenting is like a willingness to allow God to forgive us.

God saves us by giving us grace. It is the grace of God that keeps us from sinning . If you refuse that grace then we are refusing God.

As long as you are trying to quit your sins and you honestly repent you will be forgiven.

There are many scriptures that speak of the fact that you must repent.

Mark 6:12 They [the twelve apostles] went out and preached that people should repent.

Luke 13:3 I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.

Luke 24:47 and repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,

Acts 17:30 In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.

Acts 26:20 First to those in Damascus, then to those in Jerusalem and in all Judea, and to the Gentiles also, I preached that they should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds.

2 Corinthians 7:9 yet now I am happy, not because you were made sorry, but because your sorrow led you to repentance. For you became sorrowful as God intended and so were not harmed in any way by us. (10) Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.

2 Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.

Revelation 2:16 Repent therefore! Otherwise, I will soon come to you and will fight against them with the sword of my mouth.

Revelation 2:21 I have given her time to repent of her immorality, but she is unwilling. (22) So I will cast her on a bed of suffering, and I will make those who commit adultery with her suffer intensely, unless they repent of her ways.

 

[Mandi]

labbo606:

jimmy akin, mentioned something about forgivness on catholic answers, which did not make sense to me. some of you may heard him saying, the person need to be repentant befor he is forgiven.he also said god does not forgive unless the person is repentant.

thank you

Here is a “Prayer before Confession” It is somewhat long so please read the whole thing, in the middle I think is a clear explaination of having to be repentant and why.

O Almighty and most merciful God, who has made me out of nothing, and redeemed me by the precious Blood of Thine only son; Who hast borne with me to this day with so much patience, notwithstanding my sins and ingratitude, behold me, O Lord, prostrate at Thy feet to implore Thy forgiveness. I desire most sincerely to leave all my evil ways, to forsake this region of death where I have so long lost myself, and to return to thee, the Fountain of life. I desire, like the prodigal child, to enter seriously into myself, and with the like resolutions to rise without delay and go home to my Father, though I am infinitely unworthy to be called His child, in hopes of meeting with the like reception from His most tender mercy. I know Thou desirest not the death of a sinner, but that he may be converted and live. I know Thy mercies are above all Thy works; and I most confidently hope, that as in Thy mercy Thou hast spared me so long, and hast now given me this desire of returning to Thee, so thou wilt finish the work Thou hast begun, and bring me to a perfect reconciliation with Thee.

I desire now to comply with Thy holy institution of the sacrament of penance. I desire to confess my sins with all sincerity to Thee and to Thy minister, and therefore, I desire to know myself and to call myself to an account by a diligent examination of my conscience.

But, O my good God, what will it avail me to know my sins, **if Thou dost not also give me a hearty sorrow and repentance for them?  Without this, my sins will be all against me still and I shall** **be still Thine enemy and a child of hell**.  Thou insistest upon a change of heart, without which there can be no reconciliation with Thee;  Oh!  Give it me, then, dear Lord, at this time.  Give me a lively faith and a firm hope in the Passion of my Redeemer.  Teach me to fear Thee and to love Thee.  Give me, for Thy mercy's sake, a hearty sorrow for having offended so good a God.

O Blessed Virgin, Mother of my redeemer, mirror of innocence and sanctity, and refuge of penitent sinners, intercede for me, through the Passion of Thy son, that I may obtain the grace to make a good confession.  O, all you blessed Angels and Saints of god, pray for me, a most miserable sinner that my heart may henceforward be forever united with yours in eternal love, and never more go astray from the sovereign Good.  Amen.

 

[labbo606]

i am talking about forgivness on a natural level, does the person need to be repentant befor he is forgiven(i am talking about resentment between two people)

 

[GeorgeCooney]

labbo606:

i am talking about forgivness on a natural level, does the person need to be repentant befor he is forgiven(i am talking about resentment between two people)

JMJ

Okey! This quote of you explains the situation much better. I thought that you were talking about forgiveness for a sin in Confession. For that forgiveness, you must be sorry for your sin and be determined to never do it again, even though you might fail again.

God loves every human he ever created or ever will create. He loves the worst of sinners, but His Justice demands repentence before you are invited to join with Him in Heaven. God demands that we love those who offend us, just as He loves. We must not hate them; we must not wish them harm or try to do them harm. However, God does not expect us to be close friends and to invite into the intimacy of our lives those who do us harm and have no repenrence, no sorrow for those offenses.

“Foregiveness” of those who have offended and not repented means to love them as God does, and not to hate them and to pray for them. That “foregiveness” or love is not the same as the foregiveness that brings them back into full friendship and companionship. When God commands us to love our enemies, He does not mean to bring a person into our home who threatens us. It does not mean that we cannot physically separate ourselves from that person to avoid the offenses they would hurl upon us. It means to love them just as God loves Lucifer and all the angels and souls in hell, even though they are unrepentent and cannot be invited into Heaven.

 

[MariaG]

There are many Psalms on this that I find helpful. When I have trouble with forgiving an enemy, I read the Psalms. David talks about smiting his enemy, but always comes back to God’s will for a situation. You can have anger even at God, as long as you work through it to find God’s will.

 

[trogiah]

labbo606:

i am talking about forgivness on a natural level, does the person need to be repentant befor he is forgiven(i am talking about resentment between two people)

Humans being humans, there are many possible situations. One person can be very sorry for what they did to another but that other person can still harbor deep resentment.

One person can be totally unrepentant but the person they have harmed can be free of resentment.

When Jesus told his disciples they should forgive “70 times 7 times”, I don’t think he meant "only if they come and ask for it that many times.

I believe Jesus was advising us to live our lives free of resentment of what others have done to us. Whether or not they actually ask for forgiveness or even feel sorry.

On the other hand, in order for two individuals to have a real relationship, One needs to tell the other when they have been wronged and forgiveness needs to be asked for and recieved. Not necessarily to have a relationship with God, but to keep alive that relationship with the other person.

Peace
-Jim

 

[PilgrimJWT]

No question about it. In the Gospels, Christ repeatedly tells us we must forgive others or God will not forgive us. I believe that I will have to do that if I wish for salvation, and pray that I will be able to do it. Fortunately, in my own life, I have not been sorely tested on that point.
But there is a problem I would like to invite feedback on. I am obliged to forgive others, but there is no requirement on their part that they be repentant that I have ever seen. But God only forgives people if they are repentant of their sins. Is God holding me to a higher standard than He holds Himself to?