If you’ve ever done something wrong or hurtful to another person and had to ask for forgiveness, you most likely remember the liberating sense of being pardoned when they forgave you. The world doesn’t properly understand the concept of forgiveness; some people make us work to earn their forgiveness, and they grant it grudgingly. This can make life difficult and painful, because everyone makes mistakes. Thankfully, Jesus’s death and resurrection made it possible for us to be forgiven no matter how badly we’ve messed up.
Although the Bible teaches us the significance of forgiveness, there’s a right way and a wrong way to read it. We’re likely to misinterpret what we read if we don’t interpret it through the lens of grace. Before Jesus went to the cross, the people were required to forgive others, first, before God would forgive them. Jesus gave us the perfect example of forgiveness when He asked God to forgive those who crucified Him; now, faith in what He did empowers us to forgive others because God has already forgiven us.
Under the Law of Moses, the people had to work to earn anything good from God. Jesus abolished the law and replaced it with grace, which is unearned favor from God. Under grace, God now chooses to remember our sins and iniquities no more. Because of the finished works of Jesus, all that’s needed to receive forgiveness is belief in Him.
This knowledge also enables us to forgive ourselves for our own past mistakes. It’s not God’s will for us to carry the emotional weight of guilt and self-condemnation for something we may have done months, or even years, ago. We receive the benefit of Jesus’ blood sacrifice when we accept Him. There’s no condemnation for those who belong to Christ.
We can now let go of the hurt and pain that unforgiveness causes. We’re free to cast all our cares on God, because He cares for us. This takes life to a whole new level.
Prayer:
God, the finished works of Your Son made forgiveness available to anyone who chooses to accept it. This takes a heavy emotional load off us. We’re thankful and grateful for this. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Scriptures:
Matthew 6:14, 15
Luke 6:37
Luke 23:34
Ephesians 4:32
Colossians 3:13
Romans 6:14
Hebrews 10:17
Hebrews 8:12
Romans 8:1, NLT
1 Peter 5:7
For more on how God’s offer of forgiveness changes our entire life, click on the link for the CD, From Condemnation to Grace.