I had the amazing opportunity to speak on forgiveness at Konocti Christian School a couple weeks ago. Since then, I’ve been thinking how important forgiveness really is in the life of a believer.
So we’re all on the same page, let’s first define forgiveness. According to the dictionary forgiveness is the action or process of forgiving someone. My teacher growing up never let me define a word using a different form of it, so I dug a little deeper, looked up the meaning of “forgive”. It means to stop feeling angry or resentful toward someone for an offense.
I don’t know about you, but a lot of times, forgiving people that have “wronged” me is easier said than done. It’s relatively easy to say “I forgive you” when someone apologizes. However, our hearts can be far different than what our words say. For me, a sense of pain always comes to mind when I slow down to ponder the biblical meaning of forgiveness.
The Bible is filled with examples of men forgiving each other. A couple off the top of my head are:
- Joseph and his brothers – “they meant it for evil, but God meant it for good”
- David forgave king Saul of wanting to kill him
- Stephen – when he was being stoned he asked God to forgive those killing him.
- The Apostle Paul- The disciples and first Church had to forgive him for all the crimes he committed against them.
- Philemon was asked by the Apostle Paul to forgive his runaway slave Onesimus
Even better though are the times we’re told of Jesus forgiving specific people during his years of ministry.
- The Woman at the well – forgiven of her sin
- The 10th leper – he was healed from his physical issues as well as his sin
- The lame man at the Pool of Bethesda – forgave his sin but also healed him
- The thief on the cross – forgiven his sin as he died
- The soldiers carrying out his crucifixion – for their action of crucifying Jesus
Just to list a few.
Do you see the pattern in Jesus’ forgiveness? It always boiled down to Him forgiving someone’s sin.
To fully understand forgiveness, we need to better understand why we need it.
Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God”
Romans 6:23 takes it a step further and says “the wages of sin is death”.
Ephesians 2:1 tells all of us that “you were dead in trespasses and sins”
I was spiritually dead in my sins.
Can dead people save themselves? No…we have to be saved by someone. Our Savior is Jesus Christ is the only one who saves!
God loves us so much that He didn’t leave us dead in our sins. Instead,
Romans 5:8 tells us “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners (- DEAD Sinners -), Christ died for us.”
And just a little later in Eph 2:4-5 He tells us “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—”
John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” is another verse that God beautifully uses to show us how much He loves us.
Forgiveness is the result of God’s love and grace He poured out on us through Jesus’s death and resurrection. “For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
So now, I want to ask you: Is there someone you need to forgive? Maybe it’s a friend, a family member, or your spouse. Don’t carry the weight of bitterness or pain any longer. Forgiveness isn’t about pretending the hurt didn’t happen—it’s about trusting God to handle the situation and choosing to let Him heal your heart. Just as Christ forgave us while we were still sinners, we are called to extend that same forgiveness to others. Today, take a moment to ask God to show you who needs your forgiveness—and then take that step in faith.
Oh Lord, thank You, thank You, thank You for Your forgiveness! May we boldly walk in the freedom You give us. Lord, I ask that You help each person of Grace Church to generously give the same mercy and grace they’ve received to everyone in their lives. In Your Son’s name I pray, amen.
~Holly