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Originally Posted by bearbear
I agree we should always forgive (even if the person doesn't repent) and we should always accept a brother back into fellowship after they repent.
But what if they continue to sin against others and refuse to repent? Should we still fellowship with them as a brother? In the case you brought up, the brother is asking for Peter's forgiveness, implying that he repented.
Luke 17:4
and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
I believe there's a difference between forgiveness, which means to cancel all the debt the person owes you (and is necessary to remove bitterness from our soul), and actually receiving someone as a brother if they haven't repented of a heinous ongoing sin.
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Nope I was thinking of Matthew 18:21-22, and I got the number wrong, it was 77 not "7 times 77" as I remembered. Still, the message is: forgive, a lot and much more than you think is reasonable. Peter probably thought seven times was being a "good" person, amply forgiving. Jesus showed him the way.
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Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.
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If you are looking for excuses to not receive someone as a brother, you won't find them in the words of Jesus. There's no limit to the number of times you must forgive a brother; even if he keeps on saying "I repent" and then goes back to whatever he was doing, you cannot get frustrated with him, you gotta keep on accepting (as the verse you gave from Luke shows).