Bible Verses About Forgiveness
What the Bible says about God's forgiveness and forgiving others.
Forgiveness runs in two directions in the Bible: the forgiveness we receive from God and the forgiveness we extend to others. The two are never separated. Those who have been forgiven much are called to forgive, not to earn mercy but because they have tasted it.
These verses hold both together. They show how freely and completely God pardons sin, and they press that same mercy outward toward the people who have wronged us.
And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you.
The standard for forgiving others is the cross: forgive one another even as God in Christ forgave you.
Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.
Bear with and forgive each other; the Lord's forgiveness of us sets both the pattern and the obligation.
For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you:
Jesus ties our forgiving to our being forgiven, not as a transaction but because an unforgiving heart has not grasped grace.
But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Confession meets a God who is faithful and just to forgive and to cleanse, not reluctant but reliable.
As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us.
God removes our sins as far as the east is from the west, a distance that never meets.
Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.
Though sins are like scarlet, God promises to make them white as snow.
Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;
Repentance leads to sins blotted out and seasons of refreshing from the Lord.
Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven:
Releasing others from judgment is part of living as the forgiven: forgive, and you will be forgiven.
Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?
Seventy times seven means stop counting; forgiveness is a way of life, not a quota.
Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven.
Who is a God like unto thee, that pardoneth iniquity, and passeth by the transgression of the remnant of his heritage? he retaineth not his anger for ever, because he delighteth in mercy.
God delights in mercy and casts our sins into the depths of the sea, never to be dredged up again.
He will turn again, he will have compassion upon us; he will subdue our iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
Living it out
Receive before you give. Bring your actual sins to God in honest confession, trusting that He is faithful to forgive and to cleanse, and let that mercy sink in.
Then let it flow outward. Forgiveness is rarely a single feeling; it is a decision, often repeated, to release the debt as God released yours. Name the person you need to forgive and begin.
Questions for reflection
- Is there a sin you have been carrying that you have never actually confessed to God?
- Who are you still keeping a record against, and what would releasing it look like?
- How does remembering God's mercy to you change how you see the one who wronged you?