There are many people who believe we forgive others for our own sake, this is not biblical and comes right out of the psychology playbook.
No, forgiveness is not something we do for ourselves, there is no scripture that says forgiveness is for ourselves. forgiveness requires repentance on the part of the offender. When there is a confession of offense then the offended forgives and a relationship is reconciled.
Luke 17:3-4 "…3 Watch yourselves. If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. 4 Even if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times returns to say, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
We do have a benefit from having a forgiving heart but we do not do it for that benefit, we do it to obey God and to reconcile a relationship.
If someone is not sorry for their offense then the relationship remains broken, it doesn't matter if we say "I forgive", the relationship still remains broken.
We are not to do revenge or treat them the way they treat us, but this is not the principle of forgiveness.
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