Forgiveness

What does God require of us to be forgiven?



Do we need to repent?



Are we forgiven even before we sin? or after we sin?



Is forgiveness different for those who are not children of God? Are there those that God does not forgive?



I get stuck on these questions a lot. I wonder about forgiveness and the difference or similarities of "giving it to God".



If a person wrongs you and then comes to you to ask forgiveness, without a doubt you are commanded to forgive.



If a person wrongs you and never asks forgiveness and continues to wrong you, what is the point in forgiveness? Some say "forgiveness isn't for the offender in that case, it's for you, your peace of mind." But then I ask, if forgiveness is for the one who was offended, why would God ever forgive? Does God need to forgive for His peace of mind?



Are we really required to forgive those who wrong us, who never ever repent, and then continually wrong us? Or, are we asked to give that person/situation over to God. Let God deal with that person and remove ourselves from harms way?



Is forgiveness a "two-way" deal? Can there be true forgiveness if one party doesn't want it? Would God forgive me if I didn't ask?



I do wonder sometimes if we require more of ourselves than God himself requires when if comes to forgiveness. If God forgives when we repent, shouldn't we require the same?



Maybe forgiveness is the actual act of handing over an unrepentant offender to the Lord. If we can do this, we are acting biblically. We are maintaining our relationship with the Father and not allowing unforgiving to become a sin "of the mind" that would hinder our relationship with God.



This is one of those things that keeps me up at night...pondering.



I found an interesting and well thought out article on forgiveness here if you want to check it out. The author does a great job of separating God's forgiveness, or "Divine forgiveness" and "civil forgiveness", which would be forgiveness between two people. It is a pretty well-balanced article that presents a couple of different viewpoints on forgiveness.