We all need encouragement and the best place to go is to the Bible.
In this blog Post I have tried to gather some Bible passages or Bible verses which will encourage us all around the topic of Forgiveness.
I do believe that we should not just grab a verse and read it on its own but we should always lift our bibles and read a passage of scripture to make sure that we know the real meaning and context of each of the verses we are putting our trust in.
I pray that you will do the same and only use this list to guide you as to where you may find help.
So here are 10 Bible verses or short passages for us to turn to in times when we are concerned about forgiveness.
1. 1 John 1 v 9
Starting at the beginning with what we need to be sure of - the fact that He is the one who is willing to forgive our sins
and
cleanse us from them
but
we also have a part to play - we must confess our sins.
2. Daniel 9 v 9
Daniel did not have the benefit of the New Testament and the narrative of Jesus about His Father but yet he still knew what a forgiving God we have, regardless of how sinful we are.
"To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, though we have rebelled against Him."
3. Isaiah 1 v 18
“Come now, and let us reason together,”
Says the Lord,
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool.
God is so gracious to explain to us that even though we are so sinful compared to our Holy God He still has made a way for us to be changed.
4. Isaiah 43 v 25
“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions
for My own sake;
And I will not remember your sins.
We cannot get rid of our sin but God will.
Then he actually comforts us by telling us He will not remember them - in other words He will not hold them against us afterwards.
5. Psalm 103 v 10-14
10. He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor punished us according to our iniquities.
We do not get what we deserve
11. For as the heavens are high above the earth,
So great is His mercy toward those who fear Him;
God's mercy is greater than we can even imagine
12. As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
There is no getting these sins back because of His forgiveness
13. As a father pities his children,
So the Lord pities those who fear Him.
Fear (awe) of God brings our the tender mercy of our God
14. For He knows our frame;
He remembers that we are dust.
God made us so no-one can know us better than He can
Are we deserving of any of this forgiveness?
No but God gave Jesus in our place so that He can forgive us when we turn to Him.
6. Ephesians 1 v 7
In our previous verse we saw the effect of God's mercy on our forgiveness now we see His grace.
7. Acts 10 v 43
It's not a complicated process to apply for the forgiveness of God, we simply have to believe
this is where faith comes into the process.
8. Isaiah 53 v 5-6
We have seen the mercy and the grace of God to bring about our forgiveness.
Then we saw the faith we need to have and now we see the hope we have in this Saviour
but none of this is to be taken lightly because our Saviour took such a heavy burden that belonged to us.
9. Matthew 6 v 14-15
Forgiveness is not just something that God does for us.
We must remember that once we have faith in God and become new creations we have the responsibility of taking on the commands of God and so we need to love others as He does and be ready to forgive them.
It should be an outworking of the Spirit of God working in and through us.
We finish with a reminder from the Apostle Paul
10. Colossians 3 v 13
bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.
The most important thing to remember is we must give forgiveness because we have first received forgiveness from the Lord.
