Quote:
Originally Posted by james73
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.
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).
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I'm all on board with you on forgiveness. We should forgive even when folks don't repent.
But still, these are the words of Jesus which I cannot deny.
Matthew 18:17
If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won't accept the church's decision,
treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.
And the apostle John:
2 John 1:10
If anyone comes to you and does not bring this teaching,
do not receive him into your house or give him any greeting,