Forgiveness Is Possible

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Forgiveness Is Possible

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To God’s people, the apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do” (Colossians 3:12-13; emphasis added throughout).

Forgiving others can be very difficult to do, especially when we’ve been deeply hurt. It can also be hard to admit wrong and seek forgiveness when we are at fault. But both are absolute musts!

Forgiveness is at the core of Christian faith, belief and action. It’s only by God’s grace that we can be saved (Ephesians 2:5; Ephesians 2:8), and His grace is the foundation of His forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 1:7). That forgiveness was made possible by God’s love and the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17). We must never take that lightly. We must do everything that’s necessary to receive God’s initial forgiveness of all our past sins. And then for the rest of our lives, we must daily ask God for His forgiveness for any new sins we have committed (1 John 1:9).

To receive God’s ongoing forgiveness, it is absolutely essential that we extend gracious forgiveness to others for wrongs they have done to us (Matthew 7:13-14). We will see how much this is emphasized throughout the New Testament.

The road to forgiveness can be long and hard, but through God’s loving guidance it is possible to remove the mountains of resentment, grudges and bitterness.

Begin the road to lasting, meaningful forgiveness right now—forgiving others and seeking and receiving forgiveness, especially from God.