amazing promise forgiveness

Living on the Promises: Forgiveness

Inspiration MinistriesBy Inspiration Ministries4 Minutes

The Gateway to God’s Promises

God makes many amazing promises in His Word — for believers. We have the keys to the Kingdom and every good thing He offers is ours if we’re first willing to accept His promise of forgiveness. It’s the gateway for all other promises to flow into our lives.

The Word of God explains how simple it is:

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).

God then throws our sins away “as far as the east is from the west” (Psalm 103:12). What an amazing cleansing of our sinful nature! But here’s the thing—we’re still sinners, living in a fallen world. We will still sin until the day God takes us to Heaven. If we want to keep that amazing relationship with our Heavenly Father open and growing, we need to confess these ongoing sins as well. We need His cleansing power as part of a daily life of surrender.

David’s prayer in Psalm 139:23–24 serves as an excellent role model for us to pray daily:

Search me, O God, and know my heart!
Try me and know my thoughts!
And see if there be any grievous way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting! (ESV).

The Bible often uses the word repentance in discussing sin and forgiveness. It means to turn away from. That means that we can’t sin and then confess with the intent to keep on committing the same sin! When we become aware of a particular sin in our lives, we need to do everything we can to avoid repeating the same mistake again.

If you feel like you’ve messed up so much that God couldn’t possibly forgive you again, read Psalm 51, which David penned after sleeping with Bathsheba and then killing her husband to cover up his own sin.

So then, what impact should God’s forgiveness have on our own lives? We should be eager to extend forgiveness to others who have hurt us. As Jesus reminds us:

Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven (Luke 6:37 ESV).

The iconic Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6 makes clear that we need daily need forgiveness just like we daily need bread!

Have you opened your heart to receive the promise of God’s forgiveness? Are you praying daily for God to show you your ongoing failures, so you can confess them as well?

Meditate on these verses about forgiveness, and let us know how they change your heart!

Week One

Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered (Romans 4:7 ESV).

Week Two

Have mercy on me, O God…
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin! (Psalm 51:12 ESV).

Week Three

Our Father 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  (Matthew 6:9-13 ESV).

Week Four

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 (Matthew 6:14-15 ESV).