DISQUS

mandy · 1 year ago

I know that sometimes I have to forgive people even though they don't know they've done anything wrong. Part of that is the selfish nature of people...yes, even Christ followers...including me.

We're supposed to forgive people as many times as they ask for it, but that doesn't mean you have to trust or entrust them w/ things that are important to you.

I don't know Dog's deal...I just know a lot about asking for forgiveness & am learning more about giving it.

tattood1 · 1 year ago

But when do we give them a 2nd chance? When they ask for
forgiveness? Before that?
I dunno....

Clayton Bell · 1 year ago

Unrepentant Christians engaged in clear, scriptural sin should be engaged in the three levels of church discipline, ending with excommunication if needed.

Where there's not clear scriptural violation...well, that's where wisdom and the Holy Spirit should lead, hopefully down a path of confrontation, correction, and repentance. This is why church membership should be such a serious discussion and not something to be entered into lightly. IMHO.

tattood1 · 1 year ago

I agree. sometimes I just wonder...at what point do we start that 2nd chance? Only after they've repented? Or before?

Christian · 1 year ago

Romans 5:6-8 (The Message)

Christ arrives right on time to make this happen. He didn't, and doesn't, wait for us to get ready. He presented himself for this sacrificial death when we were far too weak and rebellious to do anything to get ourselves ready. And even if we hadn't been so weak, we wouldn't have known what to do anyway. We can understand someone dying for a person worth dying for, and we can understand how someone good and noble could inspire us to selfless sacrifice. But God put his love on the line for us by offering his Son in sacrificial death while we were of no use whatever to him.

I'm so glad Jesus isn't like us.

Toby · 1 year ago

The way I see it, and I am by no means a biblical scholar, this life we live is our first chance. The only way to have salvation (a second chance) is through Jesus Christ. Our job, as Christians, is to plant seed and help along the way, but only in God's time will the unrepentant repent. So, shall we give second chances? No...we can accept as many first chance mistakes they make and love them anyway, but the second chance isn't up to us.

tattood1 · 1 year ago

From a spiritual standpoint - I agree. But what about a physical
life standpoint? Day to day - flesh & blood?
A husband beats his wife. Never repents - does she give him a 2nd
chance?
A wife cheats on her husband - leaves with the kids & $. Does she
deserve a 2nd chance?

Toby · 1 year ago

Wow, that's rough. I would say, on a personal/physical level, we are to forgive regardless of the circumstances.
Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian woman who survived a Nazi concentration camp during the Holocaust, said, "Forgiveness is to set a prisoner free, and to realize the prisoner was you."
Matthew 18:21-22
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
I agree with this man...Check it out here.... http://www.tenth.org/qbox/qb_000813.htm
The bottom line, I think, is...forgive, yes, but to forgive and to return to life as usual, are two totally different things. They get a second chance...just not with you!

Rick · 1 year ago

Seventy times seven times - and if we're counting, we're not doing it right. I think there's a difference between giving them another chance and becoming an enabler. That "second chance" might need to be changed up to move in a positive direction. But forgiveness and trust being what they are, I'm really glad I get more than just a couple of opportunities to do it right the next time around, you know?

tattood1 · 1 year ago

Totally. I'm glad God gives us second chances.

portorikan · 1 year ago

2nd chances are for those that understand they've screwed up... if someone doesn't realize they screwed up, are they really getting a second chance? Do they think they're getting a second chance?

I don't think so.