We often wonder, “does God forgive?” God does offer his forgiveness and love to all. Every person is a sinner, as we have been born into a fractured and sinful world. Because of this every person is in need of God’s forgiveness. God does not want us to live in guilt or in separation from him. This is why he offers his forgiveness. It is all about his love for us and not about what we deserve or earn.
Our sins are serious and have consequences if we do not seek forgiveness. Jesus came to die for our sins and offer forgiveness because he loves us and knows we can’t avoid those consequences on our own. Despite that truth, we let our minds trick us into thinking we must make things right and can’t approach God before doing so.
The most common emotions most of us have after sinning are guilt and shame. We either don’t understand or believe that Jesus still loves us. We find it hard to accept that he is willing to forgive and help us change. We worry that he will be silent, disapproving, judgmental or unloving. Our heart is deceived into thinking he is disappointed instead of confidently trusting his grace.
We do not need to fix ourselves, serve self-imposed penance or try to make things right before going to God for forgiveness. God forgives out of love and mercy not merit. The Bible says we are forgiven when we admit our sin, believe that Jesus has already paid the price for our sins, and ask him to come into our hearts. This involves recognizing both our need for forgiveness and our need for his help in becoming who he created each of us to be. Trust Jesus and let him forgive you.
But God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 5:8
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9
Forgiveness is a big question and for many it will take more than a few paragraphs and unfamiliar Bible verses to believe and trust that message. That is why we would love to talk with you about forgiveness or any other questions about God. Chat now.
