It is not forgiveness without reconciliation. This is why God said, "When they come and say I repent you are to forgive them." If someone is not sorry and will not confess their sin, they are not forgiven. If they come and are sorry, then we can reconcile. The confession of sin and the extended forgiveness are the healing that causes reconciliation.
Luke 17:3-5 "…3Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.” 5The apostles said to the Lord, “Increase our faith!"
We are not called to forgive someone who is not repentant. Our model for this is Christ Himself Who requires us to repent to be forgiven and changed into a new creation.
Confession and forgiveness bring growth of character and change of behavior.
Those who say you can forgive but still have nothing to do with the person are not wise and not Biblical. The key is knowing the difference through discernment between manipulation and authentic repentance. God gives us this through the Holy Spirit.
May every believer evaluate these phrases we hear everyone saying, many of them sound so good but are very wrong.
