How is forgiveness gained? I remember a conversation with a young man in my church in Monongahela who was convinced that forgiveness was a result of an apology. It had to be sought, and could not be offered unless it was. Others have proposed to me that we have a state of forgiveness before the Lord and when we sin we only need reconcile to that state and we are made right again with Him. In that case no real apology is needed - simply a turning away from the previous deed and an awareness of identity in Christ. Still yet others look to Scripture and see verses of a God who can withhold forgiveness based upon our withholding forgiveness from others. Thus a person must be practicing the very thing they are asking God to do for them. This may be one of those places where each position is a little right. Each position may be a lot of wrong dependent upon what the outcome is that the person who forgives wants. Some truths we have to fa...