We tend to get forgiveness wrong in the church. I had someone once tell me that with respect to amazing things someone in the church had done to me that I needed to lead the way for the congregation and turn the other cheek. What really needed to happen was the person needed to be confronted as even my dialogue partner agreed that the behavior was far out of line. Matthew 18 tells us how we are to deal with interpersonal sin among Christians. The Matthew 5 passage about turning the other cheek begins with "Do not resist an evil person."
The body of Christ is actually supposed to confront sin in its midst in order that we all grow up into the image of Christ. If we turn the other cheek when another Christian sins against us we have actually said to them that they aren't a brother or sister but an evil person. In my case it would have required the person stepping down as a leader in the church if I were to turn the other cheek having decided they were an evil person rather than a Christian.
Too often we confuse Christianity as being nice to one another rather than being honest with one another and holding one another accountable for who we are and whose we are. Generally, the world knows this hypocrisy and readily notes it as why they have shunned the church. If we would change that perception, we need to begin by dealing with sin among Christians in a Biblical manner.
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