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What the Bible says
What Does the Bible Say About Forgiveness?
Forgiveness stands at the heart of the Christian faith: God freely forgives all who come to Him, and calls us to forgive others as we have been forgiven.
The Bible says that if we confess our sins, God is faithful and just to forgive, casting them as far as the east is from the west. No sin is too great for the mercy purchased at the cross.
Because we have been forgiven so much, Jesus calls us to forgive others, not seven times but seventy times seven. Forgiveness does not mean pretending the wound never happened; it means releasing the debt into God's hands.
Key Bible verses
“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 · King James Version (public domain)
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.”
Ephesians 4:32 · King James Version (public domain)
“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.”
Colossians 3:13 · King James Version (public domain)
“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.”
Psalm 103:12 · King James Version (public domain)
“For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.”
Matthew 6:14 · King James Version (public domain)
How this points to Jesus
On the cross Jesus prayed, Father, forgive them. He bore the punishment our sins deserved so that we could be pardoned freely. Forgiveness is not God overlooking sin; it is God absorbing it in His Son. In Christ, the guilty go free.