The God Who Forgives

“In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace.” Ephesians 1:7

November 15, 2022

It is the very nature of God to forgive. By forgiving us God changes our past. He will forgive all our sins, not just some of them. The Greek word for forgiveness in Ephesians 1:7 means, literally, to send away. The idea is that of getting rid of a debt, obligation, or guilt of sin. Think of someone forgiving the mortgage on your home, no house payment. You are free from that burden. When God forgives us He removes the judgment of condemnation. We are released from the debt of guilt we owe Him. We have all broken God’s law and as guilty sinners we face eternal death. We need cleansing and pardon. But guilt and a sense of guilt are not the same thing. We can be guilty without feeling guilty. The good news is that in forgiveness God promises not to remember our sin against us any longer. Think of it this way. Divine forgiveness means more than pardon. The pardoned criminal is still a guilty person. Christ’s forgiveness means that the sin is gone. We have a lesson to learn here about our forgiveness of others who sin against us. Sometimes we say, “I forgive,” but what we mean is, “I won’t bring it up until I need to.” When we forgive someone we will choose not to bring up the matter to the offender or others in the future, “I will never use this sin against you.” How we do need the grace of God to receive His forgiveness and to give forgiveness to others as we have received it. H

“No child of God sins to that degree as to make himself incapable of forgiveness.” John Bunyan