To Forgive or Not to Forgive those Who are Unrepentant

There have been many discussions on this topic. I know I always thought that I must forgive everyone the same - those who repent and those who do not. Then I read Pink's take on the whole issue where he states and emphasizes the 'if they repent' clause, then you forgive (from Luke 17). This is tricky. Why? B/c it can be easily abused. There is no license in Scripture to keep a grudge against those who have offended and have not repented. But, at the same time, we do desire to take the Scripture seriously ('if' clauses and all).

Here is Piper's take on it which I find very enlightening and comforting. It is perhaps the most balanced view that I have read.

He states:

Forgiveness of an unrepentant person doesn't look the same as forgiveness of a repentant person.

In fact I am not sure that in the Bible the term forgiveness is ever applied to an unrepentant person. Jesus said in Luke 17:3-4, "Be on your guard! If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times a day, and returns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' forgive him." So there's a sense in which full forgiveness is only possible in response to repentance.

But even when a person does not repent (cf. Matthew 18:17), we are commanded to love our enemy and pray for those who persecute us and do good to those who hate us (Luke 6:27).

The difference is that when a person who wronged us does not repent with contrition and confession and conversion (turning from sin to righteousness), he cuts off the full work of forgiveness. We can still lay down our ill will; we can hand over our anger to God; we can seek to do him good; but we cannot carry through reconciliation or intimacy.

The whole message can be found HERE.