Luke 17:3

Therefore the Lord warns the disciples: "Take heed to yourselves." Behold, He says, I tell you beforehand that evil will come; do not be held accountable. For evil must come, but there is no necessity for you to perish, if you are careful and arm …

As if He says, Offences must needs come; but it does not follow that you must perish, if only you be on your guard: as it need not that the sheep should perish when the wolf comes, if the shepherd is watching. And since there are great varieties of offenders, (for some are incurable, some are curable,) He therefore adds, If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him. But some one may well ask, If when I have several times forgiven my brother he again trespass against me, what must I do with him? In answer therefore to this question He adds, And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; forgive him.

If he be guilty of gross sin, to the offence of the Christian community he is a member of, let him be gravely and mildly reproved for his sin, and, upon his repentance, received into friendship and communion again. This the apostle calls forgiveness, 2 Cor. ii. You are to repeat this every time he repeats his trespass,

Take heed to yourselves..... Or to one another, that ye neither give, nor take offence.

See the notes at Mat 18:15, Mat 18:21-22. “Trespass against thee.” Sin against thee, or does anything that gives you an offence or does you an injury. Rebuke - Reprove. Go and tell him his fault, and seek an explanation. Acquaint him with what has been the effect of his conduct, and the state of your feelings, that he may acknowledge his error and repent.

We are taught for one thing in these verses — the great sinfulness of putting stumbling-blocks in the way of other men's souls. The Lord Jesus says, "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come — but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck — than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin!" When do men cause others to sin?

We are taught for one thing in these verses — the great sinfulness of putting stumbling-blocks in the way of other men's souls. The Lord Jesus says, "Things that cause people to sin are bound to come — but woe to that person through whom they come. It would be better for him to be thrown into the sea with a millstone tied around his neck — than for him to cause one of these little ones to sin!" When do men cause others to sin? They do it, beyond doubt, whenever they persecute believers, or endeavor to deter them from serving Christ. But this, unhappily, is not all. Professing Christians do it whenever they bring discredit on their religion by inconsistencies of temperament, of word, or of deed. We do it whenever we make our Christianity unlovely in the eyes of the world — by conduct inconsistent with our profession. The world may not understand the doctrines and principles of believers — but they are very keen-sighted about their practice . The sin against which our Lord warns us, was the sin of David. When he had broken the seventh commandment, and taken the wife of Uriah to be his wife — the prophet Nathan said to him, "You have given great occasion to the enemies of the Lord to blaspheme." (2 Samuel 12:14.) It was the sin which Paul charges on the Jews, when he says, "The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you." (Romans 2:24.) It is the sin of which he frequently entreats Christians to beware, "Give no offence, neither to the Jews nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God." (1 Corinthians 10:32.) The subject is a deeply searching one. The sin which our Lord brings before us, is unhappily very common. The inconsistencies of professing Christians, too often supply the men of the world with an excuse for neglecting religion altogether. An inconsistent believer, whether he knows it or not — is daily doing harm to souls.

If thy brother trespass - See the notes on Mat 18:21, Mat 18:22.

Forgiveness as a transaction is impossible until the offender seeks that forgiveness. Forgiveness as a readiness to conduct the transaction is possible now. You can't give the present until it is requested, but you can have it wrapped and sitting by the door.