There are some, who claim to be Christians, who believe you must forgive anyone for anything they do to you, whether they repent or not.
However, we must not cheapen forgiveness. That would be the same as saying that because Jesus died for the sins of the world, everyone’s sins are forgiven. We know from the Scriptures above that this is not true. Only those that have repented and believed in Jesus have forgiveness of sins.
Paul demonstrates the importance of not forgiving someone that has not seen the error of their way and has not repented. In 1 Corinthians 5:911, Paul instructs the believers concerning an unrepentant sinful brother.
The idea of not even associating with a so-called believer that is living in sin is intended to bring about in that person a godly sorrow that leads to repentance. The sinning brother will thereby be encouraged to examine his behavior anew, and then, seeing the error of his way, he will be brought to godly sorrow and repentance.
The desire is that through this difficult and unpleasant way of dealing with a sinful brother, two things will be accomplished. One is that the brother will be restored to the Lord and to fellowship with all believers as soon as he repents.
The second and even more important purpose is to preserve the purity of the assembly. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 5:6, “Do you not know that a little leaven leavens the whole lump of dough? And in verse thirteen he says, Put away the wicked man from among yourselves.” (WEB).
By failing to understand the basic principles of forgiveness, we jeopardize the eventual well-being of the sinning brother, and we compromise the purity of the assembly and the testimony of the Lord. Also, when we choose to do things according to our own understanding and not according to God’s way and God’s word, we are in rebellion and are jeopardizing our own relationship with the Lord and with His people.