What role does forgiveness play in the life of a Christian? First and foremost, we receive God’s forgiveness through His love, mercy and grace when we confess our sins and repent (stop doing them) and accept His gift of salvation; Jesus Christ paid the price for us with His shed blood on the cross in our place. “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.” (1 John 1:9) “Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all.” (Psalms 65:3) Jesus proved that He had the power on earth to forgive sins even before He went to the cross. (Mark 2:1-12)
We are commanded to forgive others as God has forgiven us. “But when you are praying, first forgive anyone you are holding a grudge against, so that your Father in heaven will forgive your sins, too.” (Mark 11:25) Jesus teaches us to pray, “Forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.” (Matthew 6:12 and Luke 11:4) Paul wrote, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.” (Colossians 3:13) When Peter asked Jesus if seven was enough times to forgive someone, Jesus told him to forgive them 490 times instead. (Matthew 18:21-22) I don’t know about you, but I have never met anyone so persistently evil that I had to forgive them that many times. What Jesus is telling us is there should be no end to our forgiveness. Do we wait for others to confess and ask our forgiveness? No! While the Roman soldiers were throwing dice to see who would get His clothes, Jesus asked His heavenly Father to forgive them. (Luke 23:34)
I think the hardest lessen I have had to learn as a Christian is to be able to forgive myself. It has been said that God knows our sins, but calls us by our name; while Satan knows our name but calls us by our sins. Guilt is one of the enemy’s most powerful weapons against those who have been redeemed. A dear friend of mine shared with me that she was plagued by guilt for years until God spoke to her through the Holy Spirit telling her, “I have forgiven you! Are you greater than I am?” That realization released her from the burden of that guilt.
How is it possible for us to forgive and forget? It is because of God’s love in our heart. In Paul’s beautiful definition of love, he tells us that love “keeps no record of being wronged” (1 Corinthians 13:5) As Christians, God’s love pours out of us onto everyone with whom we come in contact; even our enemies. (Matthew 5:44)