It can be extremely hard to forgive people who have done wrong, especially when they do not care about it and keep doing wrong. However, studies have shown that forgiveness is something that can dramatically lower stress. Forgiveness is necessary for many people to move on from the wrongdoings that have happened to them. So, how can I forgive people who do bad things? Cuurio also has many questions that may help further as well. Feel free to reach out at anytime at johnjr@steeplelesschurch.com. There also is a sermon that relates to this topic, if you are interested in watching it please click here.
6 Common Questions About Forgiveness
1. What is Forgiveness in the Bible?
Forgiveness in the Bible is when someone releases someone for the blame of perceived wrongdoing and lets God judge in the end. Forgiveness for other people is not only expected by God but required by Him. “For if you forgive other people for their offenses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses” (Matt. 6:14-15). This does not mean that you put yourself in a position to be abused in any sense. You can forgive someone, but still allow them to be punished by the proper authorities or separate yourselves from them.
2. Why Should I Forgive People?
God says that we should forgive people because God has forgiven us first. Because of the grace and mercy we receive from God, we should be merciful to others whom we perceived have wronged us. Christians are free to live a life knowing that if someone sins against us, we can depend on God to handle it. Instead of seeking revenge for ourselves we leave it up to God and love the person because God sees everything from a true perspective, and we don’t. We can count on Him to take care of it!
3. What if People Do Not Forgive me?
Christians are called to forgive and live in peace as much as possible. However, when we wrong someone else they may not have the same feelings. If they are a Christian they should forgive, but this looks different in different situations. For example, if you abuse someone they have no obligation to ever speak to you again. We should not expect forgiveness from those who are not Christian because their thought process is not guided by God, and therefore it’s very possible that they are going to want to have their revenge. Regardless, if we have sinned against someone we should repent of that sin and apologize if able to. We are not called to force people to forgive us, that is between them and God. If someone doesn’t forgive us we should move on if possible and try to live at peace as much as we are able.
4. Can God Forgive me?
Yes, because of the sacrifice that Jesus has made every sin will be forgiven. There is technically only one unforgivable sin and it’s this: if we do not trust in Jesus as our Lord and savior. That’s it. No matter what you have done, if you truly trust God, and just accept his free gift of grace, He will forgive you. This is because Jesus was perfect and His sacrifice is sufficient to cover all our sins, no matter how bad!
5. How Can I Be Forgiven by God?
Anyone can be forgiven by God by doing the following: You must admit that you are imperfect and need a savior. You must believe in Jesus and put your trust in Jesus as God, and trust His free gift of salvation through the sacrifice Jesus made for you (& me) when he died on the cross. Mere knowledge about God is not enough, we must put our faith in Jesus by accepting His free gift of salvation to us. Our actions will not save you, only God can do that.
And even more great news: if we can’t do anything to “be good enough for God to accept us,” then likewise we can’t do anything to negate that free grace and forgiveness He offers us. Since we don’t deserve it in the first place, we can do absolutely nothing to become undeserving of it. He loves us & offers forgiveness to us, and that’s it. We just have to accept it. That’s why they call it the Good News!
6. How Do I Follow the Bible?
The only way we can follow the Bible is by knowing what the Bible says. Going to church is a great start, but there is no substitute for reading the word of God ourselves. The greatest commandment given by God is to love God. The second greatest commandment is to love others as yourself. This love does not mean extreme acceptance of any opinion or mindset, as may be inferred by American culture.
Rather, Christians show others love despite their shortcomings or sins or mistakes – because we want them to know God as we do. When someone asks us what sin is, we can tell them the truth with confidence, and sometimes we should – but we must allow God to change their hearts. Being judgemental has no place in true Christianity, even though many “Christians” are very judgemental. That’s regretful, to be honest – and we must remember that God is love, and as believers in Him we should reflect that love to everyone around us.
We should never try to force someone to believe what we believe or put them down if they do not believe what we believe, because we were the same as them before we found God. Furthermore, we are still sinners too, and have no reason to feel superior to anyone else because we are saved only by the grace of God. Only. Nothing else.
There are plenty of ways we can love people, and the guidelines laid out in the Bible help Christians live as Jesus did. Jesus is the example that we Christians should follow because He is perfect. We’ll never actually be perfect, but as believers, we continue to shoot for perfection (or at least toward it!), because the One (Jesus) who loves us is perfect. To follow Him is naturally to try to be more like Him. That’s what the Bible teaches us. BUT… trying to be perfect has nothing to do with Him accepting us or not – remember that!
God loves you deeply and I would love to help you with any questions or worries you have about Christianity. SteepleLess Church would love to be a place for you to hear about God too. You can connect with me anytime at johnjr@steeplelesschurch.com. God bless.
