I had a conversation last night with someone about yesterdays' blog entry, and I feel that I should add to it for some clarification. There's a couple of things in Scripture about forgiving a sinning brother or sister in Christ, or an unbeliever for that matter that I'll address.

The first one is, we always have a responsibility to forgive repentant people in the sense that we ought never to hold grudges or be bitter about things that have been done wrong to us. Without this act of forgiveness, we would be without the heart and mindset that would enable us to reach out in love to bring healing to a situation where someone needs to get "right" with us and God. It would also be hard to help someone to overcome a life-dominating bad habit.

On the other hand, you would be doing a Biblical disservice by forgiving anyone who chooses to sin persistently, willfully, stubbornly and rebelliously. We have a Biblical responsibility to rebuke them lovingly, and to refuse them our intimate fellowship if they are unwilling to acknowledge or deal with their sin. Call it an act of "tough love" if you will, but the failure of a person to repent and confess sin is a clear indication of rebellion. It can create serious repercussions for the person, for their family, friends and church.

Our responsibility, regardless of whichever circumstances we're dealing with, is to make sure that we never act vengefully or hurtfully against those who are sinning, but instead to act in ways that lead to restoration and healing. It's our job to help in any way we can to help the person in sin to get their life "right" with the Lord so that they can allow God to move in their life so that they can change and grow in Holy Spirit.

In short, I believe we are responsible to do everything we can to see that spiritual restoration takes place.