The Bible teaching on forgiving the repentant sinner is clear.  If someone sins against you and repents you must forgive him.  But what does the Bible teach about forgiving the unrepentant sinner?  If someone sins against you and does not repent, do you still have to forgive them?  Let’s investigate.

Forgiving the repentant sinner

First, let’s look at forgiving the repentant sinner.  Jesus clearly taught we should forgive a brother who sins against you and repents.

Luk 17:3  Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him.
Luk 17:4  And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

This teaching is also found in the parable of the unforgiving servant.

Mat 18:21  Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
Mat 18:22  Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.
Mat 18:23  Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.
Mat 18:24  And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents.
Mat 18:25  But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made.
Mat 18:26  The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
Mat 18:27  Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
Mat 18:28  “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii; and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’
Mat 18:29  So his fellow servant fell down at his feet and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’
Mat 18:30  And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt.
Mat 18:31  So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done.
Mat 18:32  Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
Mat 18:33  Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?‘
Mat 18:34  And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
Mat 18:35  “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

The king forgave the debt of the first servant who owed him 10,000 talents (a vast amount of money).  But the first servant refused to forgive the debt of his fellow servant who owed him 100 denarii (a tiny amount of money).  When the king found out, he delivered the first servant to be tortured until he paid back the 10,000 talents.  God will do a similar thing to us if we don’t forgive our brother. 

This parable clearly teaches that you should forgive a brother who sins against you and repents.  In the parable, the sinner (he who owed money) begged for forgiveness.  But what if the sinner does not ask for forgiveness.  Should we forgive the unrepentant sinner?

Forgiving the unrepentant sinner

In Mark 11, Jesus teaches that that we should forgive others.

Mar 11:25  “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.
Mar 11:26  But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive your trespasses.”

“If you have anything against anyone”, that is if you have hatred in your heart against anyone, or hold a grudge against anyone, then forgive him. Note that there are no qualifiers of “only if they are repentant”, or “only if they ask for forgiveness”.

Here is the parallel account in Matthew 6, where Jesus teaches us how to pray.

Mat 6:12  And forgive us our debts, As we forgive our debtors.
Mat 6:13  And do not lead us into temptation, But deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
Mat 6:14  “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
Mat 6:15  But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Praying “forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors”, is asking God to forgive our sins in the same way we forgive those who sin against us.  There can be no doubt about this meaning when we read verses 15 and 16.  If we forgive others, God will forgive us.  If we do not forgive others, God will not forgive us.  Note again that there are no qualifiers of “only if they are repentant”, or “only if they ask for forgiveness”.

Here is another example where such qualifiers are missing.  Just after being crucified, Jesus asked the Father to forgive those who crucified Him.  Clearly, they were not repentant at this point, yet Jesus asked the Father to forgive them.

Luk 23:34  Then Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.” And they divided His garments and cast lots.

Do the absence of qualifiers mean that we should forgive an unrepentant sinner? The Bible is not crystal clear.  However, let’s consider a few things that are clear, that we can tie into this question.

God wants everyone to repent and be saved.

2Pe 3:9  The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

God will forgive us if we repent.

1Jn 1:9  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

God commands us to love our neighbour.

Mat 22:36  “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law?”
Mat 22:37  Jesus said to him, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’
Mat 22:38  This is the first and great commandment.
Mat 22:39  And the second is like it: ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’

We should be like God in wanting unrepentant sinners to repent and be saved and forgiving them when they do repent.

Eph 4:32  And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Col 3:13  bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.

God commands us to have a tender heart, that’s willing to forgive, bearing with one another, and forgiving one another.

As a sidenote, God will not forgive unrepentant sinners, because that would mean giving them eternal life.  And as they are unrepentant, they would forever continue their sinful ways, causing misery to others and themselves.  Rather than this, God has determined that unrepentant sinners will perish.

2Pe 3:9  … not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.

Conclusion

Should you forgive an unrepentant sinner?  Perhaps we cannot answer this question definitively.  However, it is abundantly clear that we should want an unrepentant sinner to repent and forgive him the moment he repents and asks for forgiveness.