Christians: Does forgive mean to not hold against them?

Correction is part of forgiveness. We are all in this together to improve each other because with improvement comes greater happiness.. Trying to make people guilty is not part of forgiveness; that's judgment.

To see it as if it had never happened .

That is what it means on a personal level. Obviously a political power must protect its citizens from criminal forces.

good question. Turn the other cheek right?

Locking them up is intended to be a deterrent to crime. It has nothing to do with holding a grudge.

Take the Christian caliphate elsewhere.

Americas a secular nation, always has been, and always will be.

Do you understand the difference between Civil Law and Religious Law?

So if we want to be a friend of God, we must forgive other people.

This is what Jesus meant when he said in the Sermon on the Mount: “If you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you; whereas if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” Matthew 6:14, 15

Indeed: FORGIVENESS

The act of excusing or pardoning another in spite of his slights, shortcomings, and errors. As a theological term, forgiveness refers to God's pardon of the sins of human beings.

No religious book except the Bible teaches that God completely forgives sin (Ps 51:1,9; Isa 38:17; Heb 10:17). The initiative comes from Him (John 3:16; Col 2:13) because He is ready to forgive (Luke 15:11-32). He is a God of grace and pardon (Neh 9:17; Dan 9:9).

Sin deserves divine punishment because it is a violation of God's holy character (Gen 2:17; Rom 1:18-32; 1 Peter 1:16), but His pardon is gracious (Ps 130:4; Rom 5:6-8). In order for God to forgive sin, two conditions are necessary. A life must be taken as a substitute for that of the sinner (Lev 17:11,14; Heb 9:22), and the sinner must come to God's sacrifice in a spirit of repentance and faith (Mark 1:4; Acts 10:43; James 5:15).

Forgiveness in the New Testament is directly linked to Christ (Acts 5:31; Col 1:14), His sacrificial death on the cross (Rom 4:24), and His resurrection (2 Cor 5:15). He was the morally perfect sacrifice (Rom 8:3), the final and ultimate fulfillment of all Old Testament sacrifices (Heb 9:11-10:18). Since He bore the law's death penalty against sinners (Gal 3:10-13), those who trust in His sacrifice are freed from that penalty. By faith sinners are forgiven-"justified" in Paul's terminology (Rom 3:28; Gal 3:8-9). Those who are forgiven sin's penalty also die to its controlling power in their lives (Rom 6).

Christ's resurrection was more than proof of His deity or innocence; it was related in a special way to His forgiveness. Christ's resurrection was an act by which God wiped out the false charges against Him; it was God's declaration of the perfect righteousness of His Son, the Second Adam, and of His acceptance of Christ's sacrifice (1 Tim 3:16). Because He has been acquitted and declared righteous, this is also true for those whom He represents. Thus, Christ's resurrection was a necessary condition for the forgiveness of man's sins (1 Cor 15:12-28). To be forgiven is to be identified with Christ in His crucifixion and resurrection.

Christ has the authority to forgive sins (Matt 1:21; Heb 9:11-10:18). This forgiveness is an essential part of the gospel message (Acts 2:38; 5:31). But blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (attributing to Satan a deed done by Jesus through the power of God's Spirit) is an unpardonable sin (Mark 3:28-29) - not because God cannot or will not forgive such a sin but because such a hard-hearted person has put himself beyond the possibility of repentance and faith.

God's forgiveness of us demands that we forgive others, because grace brings reponsibility and obligation (Matt 18:23-35; Luke 6:37). Jesus placed no limits on the extent to which Christians are to forgive their fellowmen (Matt 18:22,35; Luke 17:4). A forgiving spirit shows that one is a true follower of Christ (Matt 5:43-48; Mark 11:25).

We wouldn't have criminal records to begin with or jails if this majority "Christian" country truly knew what forgiveness was.