If you don't forgive someone else as a Christian, two things take place.

Number one, you cannot know the forgiveness of God in terms of communion, fellowship,

joy, all that ought to be there between you and the Lord.

And secondly, you will know his chastening.

Welcome to Grace to You with John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. When a member of your church sins, the whole body is affected. It's not just the one who's sinned.

And what's more, if you don't confront that person's wrongdoing, you end up sending yourself.

That's the essence of John MacArthur's study here on Grace to You. He calls it My Brother's Keeper,

and today John will look at the issue of forgiveness, specifically what it takes to forgive someone

who has sinned against you and whether you should forgive that person if he or she never

repents and never asks for your forgiveness. Those are important issues to consider with

John MacArthur, and here he is now with the lesson. Now, forgiveness is a great, great virtue.

I really believe that it is the key to the unity of the church.

It's the key to love.

It's the key to meaningful relationships.

It's what constantly tears down the barriers that try through sin to be built up to separate

us from one another, to wall us off to make us bitter and angry and vengeful.

Forgiveness is a tremendous concept.

In fact, in Proverbs 1911, it says it is a man's glory to pass over a transgression.

In other words, if you want to see man at his best, he is at his best in his ability to forgive.

In overlooking a transgression, in forgetting a sin and an evil.

So we see then in this passage beginning in verse 21 a transition into the matter of forgiveness.

Let's look at an outline.

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