Ok, I am a christian, if you are a christian I need your input on this...?

Question

You know how in the bible it says to forgive someone 7 times 70? Well, I just put that into the calculator and it came up as 490. Is that possible? That we actually only have to forgive someone 490 times? Like what if they keep doing things to you, and you have forgiven them exactly 490 times? what about the 491 time? I am not arguing the bible. I only want you to either correct me, or give me your interpretation of this. Thanks.

Answer 1

just forgive them. stop counting. love as Christ loves and move on.

Answer 2

This is a reference to the Parable of the Unforgiving Servant, at Matthew 18:21-35.

Jesus meant that you should forgive whenever someone asks for forgiveness. By using the 7 x 70 reference, He merely meant that a believer should keep forgiving. There is NO indication He meant we should only forgive a person 490 times.

The end result of a Christian's inability to forgive is "34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”

In fact, asking for and giving forgiveness is SO important to God that Jesus said at Matthew 5:23 Therefore if you bring your gift to the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar, and go your way. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Peace and love in Jesus.

Answer 3

Apparently you are to forgive when asked for forgiveness. We are forgiven are sins by asking the Lord to forgive us. Our sins far surpass any number. The point is to forgive. There are certain numbers that are repeated over and over in the bible each having their own meaning. I've never heard a limit on forgiveness. Maybe I should read better. Which part of the bible is this in? Some people have different interpretations of what they read, I think it depends on the day. I've heard people reading the same passage in the bible and each time taking something different away from the passage.

Answer 4

The Bible is describing forgiveness for the same sin on the same day 490 times. It was meant to be a number that is impossible to reach- after all, who will sin against you 490 times in one day doing the same thing? We should always forgive because God will always forgive us.

Answer 5

I don't think (and I could be wrong) that this verse is meant to be taken literally... Jesus really doesn't mean that you should forgive somebody ONLY 490 times... I believe that he was figuratively speaking proving that we should continue to forgive over and over and over....and not keep count. I feel he used these numbers to prove a point... you don't forgive somebody 7 times, you forgive them 7 times 70 - showing that you A. shouldn't keep track and B. keep on forgiving. Maybe he should have used a bigger number like 7 times 700 million to get his point across that there is no limit to how many times you forgive. But that's just my interpretation of it.

Answer 6

The point of those verses was not that we only have to forgive 490 times, but rather we continue forgiving even when the person continues to wrong us.

You have to look at that verse against other scriputre that indicates that forgiveness is not just a one time deal. We are commanded to forgive with no conditions.

Answer 7

What if it were your 490th time, would you want God to forgive you for the 491th time? The numbers don't matter, as a Christian you must possess the spirit of forgiveness. You will not forget when someone has truly wronged you, but if you desire to have a place with Christ then you must forgive and not be concerned with how many times you have already forgiven. If Jesus can asked God to forgive those who were crucifying Him, surely we can do the same.

Answer 8

You SHOULD argue the bible.

Anyway, if someone keeps "doing things to you", you have to forgive 490 times for each single thing they do.

Answer 9

Jesus was using hyperbole there. The proper interpretation is that you should always be willing to forgive someone, just as in Christ God forgave you of your many sins.

Now opinion- What is forgiveness? Does it mean that we let a friend/ family member keep abusing us without consequences? Read 2 Samuel 11-12. God forgave David but there were still consequences to his actions. Ex.-for a family member the consequences may be that you don't get together as often for the sake of family boundaries.
God has called us to love & forgive those who ask for forgiveness. If someone doesn't ask for forgiveness, we should A) not withold love B) let it slide so you don't become a bitter person.

Love God, love people,
Jeff

Answer 10

If you can forgive someone 490 times for doing wrong to you, don't you think you can forgive them for anything that they have done to you? Are you actually keeping tally of how many times someone is hurting you? If you aren't then how to you know how many times you have forgiven them? That is my perspective on things!

Answer 11

Numbers are not literal in the Bible - 7 is a very special number, a lucky number, 40 means a long time, like when Noah built his ark it rained for 40 days and 40 nights, Jesus went out in the desert for 40 days, etc. Just look at how old people were in the Bible - I mean, really! Methuselah was almost 1000 years old? I don't think so. 12 is another one - there were 12 disciples, 12 tribes of Israel, Joseph (the coat of many colors) was one of 12 sons.