Thinking Biblically - Human Interactions

If you were to take an informal poll of a hundred Christians, and ask them what the Christian is to do when sinned against, the vast majority here and now might say "forgive him".

The problems don't begin until you probe deeper.

What do you do before that, and why?

Let's back up a little and look at Luke 17.

How does Jesus begin?
He tells them (I'm paraphrasing):
It is inevitable that some will sin, and that some will cause others to sin. This has enormous consequences which should not be taken lightly (He then mentions a millstone and the sea to drive that point home).

With the seriousness of sin as the backdrop for what is to follow, Jesus says:
"Pay attention to yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him."

Let's look at "yourselves", "rebuke", "repents", and "forgive" a little more closely.

1) Be mutually accountable to one another.
"Yourselves" - heautou (Strong's #1438). One meaning is "reciprocal, mutual, one another".

2) Boldly speak concerning sin
"Rebuke" - (epitimaō Strong's # 2008) In NT spoken of an estimate or judgment put upon what is wrong, and hence, to admonish, reprove; admonish strongly with urgency, authority, that is to say to enjoin upon, charge strictly, the idea of rebuke or censure being employed.

3) Repent
"Repent" - (metanoeō Strong's #3340) "This change is always for the better, and denotes a change of moral thought and reflection; not merely to repent of, nor to forsake sin, but to change one's mind and apprehensions regarding it; hence, to repent in a moral and religious sense, with the feeling of remorse and sorrow"

Said differently, this is not merely "I did a bad thing".
It is not merely "I'm going to stop doing that bad thing".
It is in fact, a changing of the thinking toward the "bad thing" itself.

4) "Forgive" - (aphiēmi 863) Describes complete acquittal. Carries a sense of being sent away, or set free. Guilty person treated as innocent.

The person (after repentance) is expected to be granted full release, and treated as innocent of all charges, regardless of any actual original wrongdoing. (Notice this treatment is not offered to the person who justifies their sin, but the one who changes his thinking toward it.)

Next, Jesus immediately ups the ante, and directly commands his disciples to forgive as often as they are asked to forgive.

This thought was so foreign to their way of thinking that the disciples cried out to Jesus to increase their faith. He responded with two parables. The mustard seed and the servant making supper for the master.

The fist parable addresses the disciples' ability to look at yourselves / rebuke / repent / forgive. It is a function of faith, and it does not require a so-called spiritual giant to do this.

The second addresses submission. We are to do this -- plainly and simply because He is Lord.

We are to look/rebuke/repent/forgive because we have been told to.
We are also to have a humble attitude to this. You are not unusually gifted for having rebuked, or repented, or forgiven. You have simply lived the life you were supposed to.

You should have an attitude, not of having been unusually faithful, but of having measured up to the basic expectation of Christian conduct.

In so far as we are warned from sin, we preserve the dignity and character of the Church. As we do that, we protect His name from being blasphemed by our conduct, and safeguard the Glory of God.