You can be forgiven! No matter what sin you have committed, you can be cleansed of that sin by God. No matter
how much guilt and shame you feel, you can be forgiven and have a newness of spirit. God's Word is absolute on
these truths.
The assurance of God's ever-present and free offer of forgiveness is one of the most encouraging truths of God
that a person can ever share. It is through forgiveness that we genuinely experience a newness of life and are
given the gift of eternal life.
The Nature of God's Forgiveness
There are five great truths about God's forgiveness that I want to focus on in this lesson:
1. God's forgiveness is offered to all, but it must be actively received.
2. God's provision for forgiveness is the shed blood of Jesus Christ.
3. When we receive God's forgiveness, we are given a new spiritual nature.
4. When God forgives, God forgets.
5. In our relationships with others, we experience forgiveness as we forgive those who have wronged us.
Receiving God's Gift of Forgiveness
God's forgiveness is extended to all, but not everybody receives God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness is offered
freely, but it is not experienced in a person's life without a conscious, deliberate act of acceptance.
There are those who seem to believe that God automatically and universally forgives everybody. That is not the
message of the Bible. God's forgiveness must be received. This is an act of the human will. Part of God's
creation of us is that we have the privilege to refuse or to accept God's offer of forgiveness and love—we are
not forced to receive forgiveness. Neither are we automatically forgiven. We must turn to God and actively and
intentionally receive forgiveness.
To receive God's forgiveness, one must first acknowledge within oneself the need for forgiveness and reconciliation
to God. When we confess to ourselves and to God that we are in need of forgiveness and turn to Him to receive forgiveness,
He grants forgiveness freely and unconditionally (1 John 1:9).
What the Word Says
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)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
He who believes in Him [Jesus] is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has
not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come
into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. (John 3:18–19)
What the Word Says to Me
Jesus' Death Makes Forgiveness Possible
God's offer of forgiveness is based upon the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ. When Adam and Eve sinned against
God through their willful disobedience in the Garden of Eden, they caused all of mankind to be plunged into sin.
Every person is born with a sin nature that separates the person spiritually from God.
God provided a bridge over this sin-nature chasm: In the Old Testament, this bridge was in the form of animal
sacrifices. The shedding of blood—the foremost symbol of life—was required for the forgiveness of sin. God required
man to recognize in a very tangible form that He is the author of all life and that no true wholeness of life can
be experienced apart from Him.
The supreme and definitive sacrifice for sin was made when God offered His own Son, Jesus Christ, on the cross.
When Jesus died on the cross, shedding His blood as a sin-free “lamb” without any blemish, He took unto Himself
the sins of the world. His sacrificial death eliminated any further need for the blood sacrifice of animals. The
blood of Jesus purchased salvation from sin once and for all time. Jesus said of Himself and His death on the cross:
As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up, that whoever believes
in Him should not perish but have eternal life. (John 3:14–15)
In the Old Testament, a plague of deadly vipers came upon the children of Israel as they wandered in the wilderness
between Egypt and the Land of Promise, and God commanded Moses to make a bronze serpent and place it on a pole.
All who were bitten by a viper and then looked upon the bronze serpent with faith in God survived the plague. Those
who did not look with faith in God to overcome evil on their behalf died (Num. 21:1–9). Jesus said that in like
manner, He would be lifted up on the cross so that all who “looked” on Him with faith would be saved from their
sin nature and receive the gift of eternal spiritual life (John 3:16).
Jesus Christ is God's means for receiving His forgiveness. He has made no other provision. Jesus said
very plainly that He was the “way” to salvation (John 14:6).
What the Word Says
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but
have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through
Him might be saved. (John 3:16–17)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
[Jesus said]: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
[Jesus said]: I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
(John 10:9)
What the Word Says to Me
• What new insights do you have into God's provision for forgiveness?
God Forgives the Old and Gives the New
When we receive God's forgiveness, we are given a completely new nature. God forgives the old, and then gives
the new! Our old spiritual nature—with all of its desire for self and sin—is cleansed from us. Our hearts are made
new, and our new spiritual nature has a desire for God and a desire to follow His commandments. This change in
our spiritual nature is so complete that the best way one can describe it is that we are “born again” in our spirits—we
are birthed anew, we are begotten again (John 3:5–8).
When a baby is born, it has no memory of what it was like to be a fetus. Everything about the baby's life is
changed at birth: the baby breathes air, experiences the weight of gravity, and has a completely new sensation
of touch. It cries, takes in nourishment through its mouth, grows in self-awareness and awareness of others, sees
light, and experiences many other changes. The same is true for the person who is born anew spiritually. Everything
about one's spiritual perception and experience is changed!
What the Word Says
Jesus answered, “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the
kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not
marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of
it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes. So is everyone who is born of the Spirit.” (John 3:5–8)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again.
(1 Peter 1:3)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become
new. (2 Cor. 5:17)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool. (Is. 1:18)
What the Word Says to Me
God Forgives and Forgets
When God forgives, God forgets. Forgiveness from God results in a complete “fresh start” from God's perspective.
Nothing of the old is remembered or counted against a person.
No matter how many times a person errs or sins against God after he or she is saved, a person can be forgiven
and experience a new beginning. Any time we turn to God with a sincere heart and admit our failures, shortcomings,
and willful rebellion, God hears our prayer and responds with forgiveness. Once we are forgiven, we stand before
God totally cleansed. God never holds our past sin against us.
What the Word Says
You have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption,
For You have cast all my sins behind Your back. (Is. 38:17)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgression from us. (Ps. 103:12)
What the Word Says to Me
Forgiven As We Forgive
Some people live with guilt, shame, remorse, and other lingering negative feelings of anger and bitterness not
because they have failed to believe in Jesus Christ or failed to receive God's forgiveness but because they have
not forgiven other people who have wronged them, hurt them, or rejected them. God's Word is very clear on this:
“Forgive, and you will be forgiven” (Luke 6:37). When we forgive others, releasing them from our hearts, we experience
great freedom of spirit.
Heaviness of heart is not necessarily a product of sin against God. It can be the result of holding a grudge,
continuing to bear resentment, or harboring bitterness against others. Hate and a spirit of vengeance can weigh
down the soul. Choose to be free! Forgive those who have done evil against you. Entrust them to God.
What the Word Says
[Jesus said]: “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and
you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
[Jesus said]: “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your Father
in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses. But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father in heaven forgive
your trespasses.” (Mark 11:25–26)
What the Word Says to Me
• Have you ever experienced the freedom of forgiveness after forgiving another person?
• How do you feel about God's command that we forgive others in order to be forgiven?
What encouraging news that God makes a way for every person to experience freedom from guilt and shame. God
freely offers forgiveness to all who face up to their sin, believe in the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ, and
accept what Jesus did as having been on their behalf.
What encouraging news to know that God has made a provision for each of us to have a completely new spiritual
nature!
What encouraging news that God does not hold our sins against us once we have received forgiveness! He forgets
our past and makes a provision for all things to be new for us.
If you encounter people who are suffering under guilt, are mired in sin, or can't seem to let go of their past,
give them the good news: “God wants to forgive you and give you a new life in Christ Jesus!”
• Have you experienced God's offer of forgiveness? How did you feel when you received God's forgiveness of
your sin nature?
• What new insights do you have into forgiveness?
• In what ways are you being challenged to share this encouraging news of God's forgiveness with another
person? Is God bringing to your mind a specific person who might need this word of encouragement today?
Three Lies That Keep People from Forgiveness
Satan is the father of all lies, and some of his foremost lies relate to God's forgiveness. Above all else,
Satan does not want a person to receive God's forgiveness or to be given the gifts of a new nature and eternal
life. Three of his lies are these:
1. You are a good person, and therefore you do not need to be forgiven.
2. Your sins are too great, too horrible, to be forgiven.
3. Your sins have been repeated too often to be forgiven.
Every Person Needs Forgiveness
Satan's first lie against a person is usually an attempt to convince the person that he doesn't need
salvation. He whispers to the heart, “You're OK. You haven't done anything wrong. Everybody makes mistakes. In
fact, in comparison to other people, you haven't done anything all that bad.”
God's Word says that every person is in need of forgiveness. We all are born with a sin nature that is in need
of being changed (Rom. 3:23). We all err in keeping God's commandments—sometimes out of ignorance, and sometimes
willfully and rebelliously. To claim that we don't have a sin nature or that we do not sin is sheer folly. (1 John
1:6, 8)
God does not grade “on the curve” or on the average. He judges the nature of mankind as being either forgiven
or unforgiven. You cannot be good enough, or do enough good deeds, to earn God's forgiveness. God's forgiveness
is always a gift, never something we can achieve by our own efforts (Eph. 2:8–9).
Sometimes a person will suffer with guilt and shame, and yet attempt to justify their position in saying, “But
I don't deserve this guilt and shame. I'm a good person.” The most loving and encouraging thing you can
say to such a person is this: “We are all sinners. Sin results in our feeling guilt, shame, and a sense of being
‘unclean.’ But thank God, He has made a way for each of us to be free from the weight of sin!”
For many people, the news that they don't need to earn their own salvation—that they don't need to strive, to
work, to struggle to “get good enough for God's forgiveness”—is a blessed relief. Accepting God's forgiveness is
an easy act. It is an act of humble receiving, not an act of earning or achieving.
What the Word Says
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. (Rom. 3:23)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
If we say that we have fellowship with Him, and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.… If we
say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (1 John 1:6, 8)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works,
lest anyone should boast. (Eph. 2:8–9)
What the Word Says to Me
No Sin Too Great
So many people seem to be locked into this lie that Satan has fed to their spirits: You have done something
so terrible that it is beyond God's forgiveness. God's Word declares that no person is beyond God's love and forgiveness,
regardless of what they have done!
We only need to take a brief look at the Word of God to see that, among others, God forgave
• Abraham and Sarah, who missed God's perfect plan for their lives, the result being a child that Abraham
should not have caused to be born;
• Moses, who committed murder;
• David, who committed adultery;
• Peter, who denied knowing Jesus three; times, in the time of Jesus' greatest suffering
• Paul, who persecuted Christians and was responsible for the death of Christians.
God had a plan for the redemption and complete reconciliation of each of these great leaders in the Bible. His
plan for redemption through Jesus Christ is offered to all today, regardless of the nature or magnitude of their
past sins.
One of the teachings about sin in the New Testament is that all sin is equal before God. In other words, there
are no bad sins, not-so-bad sins, and only-a-little-bad sins. Sin doesn't exist by degree. Sin is sin. A person
either has a sin nature or doesn't have a sin nature. Sin stains the spirit regardless of its “type” or “size.”
God's offer of forgiveness covers all sin. No variety or dimension of sin is beyond His loving capacity
for forgiveness.
What the Word Says
Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
And whose sins are covered;
Blessed is the man to whom the LORD shall not impute sin. (Rom. 4:7–8)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves,
nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. And such were some
of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and
by the Spirit of our God. (1 Cor. 6:9–11)
What the Word Says to Me
• What new insights do you have into God's power to forgive all manner of sin?
God's Mercy Cannot Be Exhausted
Another group of people seem to believe that they have exhausted God's mercy through repeated sinful acts after
their salvation. Satan has fed them the lie: “You have known God's forgiveness, and now look, you are sinning again.
God's fed up with you. He's not going to continue to forgive you time after time.”
God's Word says that God has “abundant mercy” (1 Peter 1:3). We cannot exhaust His supply of forgiveness. Each
and every time we sin, we are to come to God and ask for His forgiveness, and then by faith, receive His forgiveness
and to ask for His help that we might not sin again as we have.
What the Word Says
The grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant. (1 Tim. 1:14)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
The Lord is not slack concerning His promise … but is longsuffering toward us. (2 Peter 3:9)
What the Word Says to Me
What the Word Says
He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ. (Phil. 1:6)
What the Word Says to Me
What good news to know that we can be forgiven, regardless of our past! If you encounter people who believe
they have put themselves outside the realm of God's forgiveness, share the encouraging truth of God: “You can still
be forgiven! You are not beyond God's ability to forgive you. Your past does not need to be your future.”
• What new insights do you have into forgiveness?
• How do you feel about God's promises related to forgiveness?
• In what ways are you being challenged in your spirit today regarding forgiveness?
From Sharing the Gift of Encouragement
by Charles Stanley. Copyright 1998 by Charles Stanley.
