We ALL sin, we ALL mess up, we ALL need CONSTANT forgiveness every single day. It’s the person who says they don’t need forgiveness, they haven’t done anything wrong, that is deceived and in need of a Savior the most.
We live in a fallen world and there’s sin all around us and no one is exempt from that.
One day, we’ll be perfectly on the right path, doing what is right, living a holy and complete life in Jesus Christ, and then suddenly, BAM, out of nowhere, sin smacks us right in the face and leaves a scar.
We can’t seem to get out of it, can’t seem to run away, can’t seem to free ourselves from this bondage.
But there’s FREEDOM in Christ, there’s FREEDOM in His grace and salvation to us, and it starts with Him constantly forgiving us as we mess up.
We’re fallen creatures and in constant need of a Savior. Aren’t we so blessed that Jesus Christ saves us over and over and over again?! He picks us up, dusts us off, and helps us get back on track, on His will, on HIS path and that’s what the Christian experience is all about.
Sanctification.
We mess up, we get back up. We fall down, we get back up. We leave our God for something shiny and stupid, we get back on track. It’s a constant coming back to our Savior, asking forgiveness, and seeking to be in His will all the days of our lives.
It’s a beautiful picture and He so freely gives us grace and forgiveness on a constant day-to-day basis. Therefore, we should show grace and forgiveness to others as well.
That doesn’t mean to let them take advantage of you, and it doesn’t mean to not protect yourself, it just means to forgive them. Don’t hold a grudge, don’t let the sun go down on your anger (Ephesians 4:26), do everything in YOUR power to live righteously with man all around you.
As we seek to become like our Savior, it means forgiving those in times we may not want to, but in order to be like Him, we need to line ourselves up with His actions and attitudes.
If you’re struggling to do that, He understands! Call out to Him, tell Him how you feel and why, and ask Him to help you become more Christ-like, especially in the forgiving department. When you begin to forgive those around you, your life will change drastically and you will begin to live in PEACE!!!
To help you, I’ve collected these amazing 30 Bible verses about forgiveness to get you started!
30 Bible Verses About Forgiveness
1) Romans 12:17
“Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.”
2) Luke 17:3-4
“Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him, and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him.”
3) Acts 10:43
“To him all the prophets bear witness that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
4) Matthew 6:9-15
“Pray then like this:
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
5) Colossians 3:12-13
“Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
6) Isaiah 55:7
“Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.”
7) Ephesians 1:7-10
“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight making known to us the mystery of his will, according to his purpose, which he set forth in Christ as a plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in him, things in heaven and things on earth.”
8) Matthew 12:31
“Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.”
9) Luke 7:47
“Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.”
10) Mark 11:25
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses.”
11) Luke 6:37
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;”
12) Matthew 18:21-22
“Then Peter came up and said to him, “Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.”
13) 1 John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
14) Daniel 9:9
“To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him”
15) Isaiah 43:25
“I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.”
16) Micah 7:18-19
“Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity and passing over transgression for the remnant of his inheritance? He does not retain his anger forever, because he delights in steadfast love. He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”
17) Luke 23:34
“And Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” And they cast lots to divide his garments.”
18) Psalm 86:5
“For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.”
19) Isaiah 1:18
“Come now, 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 become like wool.”
20) Hebrews 8:12
“For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”
21) Proverbs 17:9
“Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.”
22) Psalm 130:3-4
“If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.”
23) Ephesians 4:32
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
24) Luke 5:20
“And when he saw their faith, he said, “Man, your sins are forgiven you.”
25) Psalm 32:1
“Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
26) Hebrews 10:17-18
“Then he adds, “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.” Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”
27) Colossians 1:13-14
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
28) Acts 2:38
“And Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
29) Psalm 103:10-12
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
30) Proverbs 28:13
“Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.”