freeborn | ἐλεύθερος | 8r0gwg on Nostr: Yes and no--we should distinguish between original sin and actual sins; sin(s) ...

Yes and no--we should distinguish between original sin and actual sins; sin(s) against God (on the 'vertical'), and sin(s) against others (on the 'horizontal').

I cannot forgive if I am not the offended party--unless I'm acting as, say, an 'authorized spokesman' for God (this is what preachers/pastors do in the 'assurance of pardon' part of a worship service: they pronounce it in a sort of delegated, judicial capacity). Speaking as an 'ambassador of the kingdom of heaven,' he does not author the message of forgivenss, but he communicates it to us as a faithful messenger. But I can (and must) forgive if I'm the offended party. I think of Matthew 18. But your main point is valid: we are commanded to forgive and that command is not conditioned upon anything--we have been forgiven, we must forgive ("seventy times seven!"). That involves 1) the inner heart-work of having forgivenss 'stored up' for the offender (this the part I think you're emphasizing); but it also involves 2) the communication of that forgiveness to the offending party. Our friend Virtus (npub1xg4…ryqf) is, I think, emphasizing the second part: we don't pronounce/communicate that forgiveness apart from a genuine request for it (and we must err on the side of charity when considering the 'genuineness' of each request--we should be 'quick to forgive' and 'not keep record of wrongs').