God is Forgiving
Characteristics of God, God is Judge
In one of our middle school youth lessons this year, we talked about the “big problem” that several different religions identify and try to address. For Christianity, the problem is sin. Our sins separate us from a holy and righteous God, and God can’t be in the presence of sin. However, in ourselves, we don’t have the power to make this relationship right. We don’t have the power to not sin, and we don’t have the power to erase the sin in our past. So what do we do?
Fortunately for us, our God is a forgiving God. As we discussed in our latest Bible Essentials series, God established a temporary system of sacrifices in the Old Testament to help humans atone for their sins. In the New Testament, the final, perfect sacrifice was made—God’s One and Only Son. Through Jesus, all humans can receive forgiveness for their sins from the only one who has the power to forgive—God. Through this forgiveness of sin, we can once again be in a right relationship with God.
Let’s look at God’s forgiving nature a little more closely. This one’s a little long, but I didn’t want to split it and have to publish a new lesson on Christmas day. So feel free to take a little extra time to get through this one, thinking about how God’s forgiveness plays a role in the miracle of Christmas.
Substack has a new “Table of Contents” feature to help highlight the major sections of the lesson, so I thought I’d try it out. Here’s the main points for this week’s lesson:
Other Characteristics that Align with God’s Forgiveness
Sins Are Forgiven Through Jesus
What Happens When God Forgives
Our Response to God’s Forgiveness
God Is Forgiving
First, we need to establish that God is forgiving. Here is one verse that highlights this characteristic of God. I won’t spend too much time on this because this will be established over and over throughout the lesson.
Psalm 86:5: You, Lord, are forgiving and good,
abounding in love to all who call to you.
Other Characteristics that Align with God’s Forgiveness
When we read about God’s forgiveness, many of the other characteristics of God that we’ve identified are mentioned alongside forgiveness. Let’s look at a few of those.
Faithful and Just
In a verse we looked at last week, we see that God is faithful and just to forgive our sins:
1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
What does this mean? God’s faithfulness means that when he promises to do something, we can be confident that he will do it. When we confess our sins, he WILL forgive. There’s no “maybe” there. To God, if we confess, the only just response is to forgive. As humans, we might think that confession means that we have to face the consequences. But with God, all we find is forgiveness.
Merciful
When I think about the difference between mercy and grace, I usually think of mercy as not getting the punishment we deserve for our sins. The use of mercy repeatedly in the context of forgiveness supports this thinking.
Isaiah 55:7: Let the wicked forsake their ways
and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the LORD, and he will have mercy on them,
and to our God, for he will freely pardon.Micah 7:18: Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
Redeemer and Rescuer
In the Bible, redemption is about rescuing someone from a bad situation. A redeemer was there to purchase someone back from slavery. In our lives, we are slaves to sin. Through Jesus’s blood, we can find redemption and forgiveness.
Colossians 1:13-14: 13 For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Grace
Aligned with the idea of redemption, we also find God’s grace when we are forgiven. When we are forgiven and redeemed, we receive riches beyond what we can imagine. This is God’s grace.
Ephesians 1:7: In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.
Love
What prompts God to forgive? His great love for us. This is why he sent his Son to pay the penalty for our sins and to redeem us from darkness.
Numbers 14:19-20: 19 “In accordance with your great love, forgive the sin of these people, just as you have pardoned them from the time they left Egypt until now.”
20 The LORD replied, “I have forgiven them, as you asked.”
Compassion
Along with his love, God forgives because he has compassion on us. He sees us in our state of brokenness and our inability to redeem ourselves, and he has compassion on us. Therefore, when we confess our sins to him, he forgives us.
Micah 7:19: You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
As you can see from these verses, so many of God’s characteristics play into his willingness to look on us with love and compassion and forgive us because of his mercy.
Sins Are Forgiven Through Jesus
Throughout the New Testament, it becomes clear that God’s forgiveness flows through the work that Jesus did on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins. Many verses support this, but we’ll look at just a few.
Matthew 26:27-28: 27 Then he [Jesus] took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.”
Colossians 2:13-14: 13 When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins, 14 having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross.
1 John 2:12: I am writing to you, dear children,
because your sins have been forgiven on account of his [Jesus’s] name.
Without Jesus, we would still be stuck in a cycle of sin and temporary sacrifice for atonement. However, because of Jesus’s sacrifice on the cross, we can receive forgiveness through his name.
What Happens When God Forgives
So now we know that we are sinful, and God forgives us through Jesus. What happens to our sins when God forgives? The Bible gives us some beautiful imagery for this.
God Remembers Our Sins No More
When God forgives, he no longer remembers our sins. How does this align with God’s characteristic of omniscience (all-knowing)? It’s not that God CAN’T remember our sins—it’s that he chooses to forget them. Let’s look at a few verses that tell us God doesn’t remember our sins once he forgives.
Jeremiah 31:34: “No longer will they teach their neighbor,
or say to one another, ‘Know the LORD,’
because they will all know me,
from the least of them to the greatest,”
declares the LORD.
“For I will forgive their wickedness
and will remember their sins no more.”Hebrews 10:17-18: 17 Then he adds:
“Their sins and lawless acts
I will remember no more.”
18 And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary.
God Does Not Count Your Sins Against You
In alignment with God forgetting our sins once they are forgiven, he also doesn’t count our sins against us when we are forgiven. How can he, when he doesn’t remember them? This is one of the greatest blessings of knowing God.
Romans 4:7-8: 7 “Blessed are those
whose transgressions are forgiven,
whose sins are covered.
8 Blessed is the one
whose sin the Lord will never count against them.”
God Casts Our Sins Far Away
The Bible uses several comparisons to help us understand how completely God forgives. Some of these may be familiar to you, and others may not be. In this first one, God casts our sins as far away as the east is from the west. Pay attention to the references to God’s mercy and love in these verses.
Psalm 103:9-12: 9 He will not always accuse,
nor will he harbor his anger forever;
10 he does not treat us as our sins deserve
or repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his love for those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
God Buries Our Sins in the Depths of the Sea
We’ve been watching some National Geographic shows lately, and one thing that has struck me is how little of our oceans have been explored. This is because they are so deep and massive. When God buries our sins in the depths of the seas, they are no longer accessible. Why, then, do we try to cling to them at times?
Micah 7:18-19: 18 Who is a God like you,
who pardons sin and forgives the transgression
of the remnant of his inheritance?
You do not stay angry forever
but delight to show mercy.
19 You will again have compassion on us;
you will tread our sins underfoot
and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.
God Turns Our Sins from Red to White
In the Scarlet Letter, Hester Prynne has to wear a scarlet letter to let everyone know about her sin. In the Bible, blood has to be shed for sin. These things cause us to associate the color red, or scarlet, with sin. But when God forgives, our sins are no longer scarlet. They are as white as snow—we become pure in God’s sight.
Isaiah 1:18: “Come now, let us settle the matter,”
says the LORD.
“Though your sins are like scarlet,
they shall be as white as snow;
though they are red as crimson,
they shall be like wool.”Psalm 51:1-2, 7: 1 Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your unfailing love;
according to your great compassion
blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash away all my iniquity
and cleanse me from my sin.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean;
wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.
God Blots Our Sins Out Like the Mist
What is more temporary than the morning mist? As soon as the sun comes out, the mist is gone. In the same way, when God forgives us through his Son, our sins are gone.
Isaiah 44:22: “I have swept away your offenses like a cloud,
your sins like the morning mist.
Return to me,
for I have redeemed you.”
I love the imagery that the Bible uses to make the point that once God forgives, those sins are gone. If one image doesn’t connect with you, maybe another one will. However we picture it in our minds, when God forgives, our sins no longer exist.
Why Does God Forgive?
We’ve already mentioned that God forgives because of his mercy, love, and compassion. It’s just a part of who he is. But the Bible gives a couple other reasons that God forgives. Let’s look at two of those.
God Forgives for His Name’s Sake
God forgives us because he loves us, but even more than that, he forgives for the glory of his own name. When we tell others about God and what he has done for us, that often starts with how he has rescued us from sin. We tell others about God’s forgiveness, and this brings glory to him.
Psalm 25:11: For the sake of your name, LORD,
forgive my iniquity, though it is great.Psalm 79:9: Help us, God our Savior,
for the glory of your name;
deliver us and forgive our sins
for your name’s sake.Isaiah 43:25: “I, even I, am he who blots out
your transgressions, for my own sake,
and remembers your sins no more.”
God Forgives Us So We Can Serve Him
The Bible is clear that God doesn’t forgive just so we can keep on sinning. He forgives so that we can serve him.
Psalm 130:3-4: 3 If you, LORD, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.
Our Response to God’s Forgiving Nature
God’s forgiveness, accomplished through Jesus’s death on the cross, is a key step in restoring the relationship between God and humans. But not everyone experiences God’s ultimate forgiveness. What do we need to do to be on the receiving end? Let’s look at a few requirements.
1. Believe in Jesus
The first step in receiving God’s forgiveness is to believe in Jesus. Only those who believe in Jesus will receive forgiveness.
Acts 13:38-39: 38 “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. 39 Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses.”
Acts 10:42-43: 42 “He [Jesus] commanded us to preach to the people and to testify that he is the one whom God appointed as judge of the living and the dead. 43 All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.”
What exactly must we believe? We must believe that Jesus is the Son of God, that he came to earth and lived a perfect life, that he died as the perfect sacrifice for our sins, and that he rose again, victorious over sin and death.
2. Confess Our Sins
The second step in receiving God’s forgiveness is to confess our sins.
Psalm 32:5: Then I acknowledged my sin to you
and did not cover up my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess
my transgressions to the LORD.”
And you forgave
the guilt of my sin.1 John 1:9: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.
Before God will forgive, we must admit to him that we have sinned. We must acknowledge our sin before a holy and righteous God. This sounds scary, but if we remember that he is faithful to forgive if we confess, we can approach his throne with humility and thankfulness as we confess. We can even do this confidently, knowing that we have an Advocate who will speak on our behalf if we believe in Jesus, as we learned from our 1 John study last week.
3. Ask for forgiveness
The third step in receiving God’s forgiveness is to ask for forgiveness. This is a natural step that follows after confessing sin. If you read through the Verse Resources List that accompanies this lesson, you will see example after example of people asking God for forgiveness—for their own sins or for the sins of the community. Even Jesus, in the Lord’s Prayer, taught us to ask for forgiveness for our sins.
Luke 11:2-4: 2 He said to them, “When you pray, say:
“‘Father,
hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come.
3 Give us each day our daily bread.
4 Forgive us our sins,
for we also forgive everyone who sins against us.
And lead us not into temptation.’”
If Jesus teaches us to ask for forgiveness, then that’s what we need to do!
4. Repent
The fourth step in receiving God’s forgiveness is to repent. Repentance is more than just admitting that we have sinned. It is actively turning away from our sins and turning toward God.
2 Chronicles 7:14: If my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and will heal their land.
Acts 3:19-20: 19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, 20 and that he may send the Messiah, who has been appointed for you—even Jesus.
Repentance means committing to no longer pursuing the sins in our lives. Instead, we focus wholeheartedly on following God.
5. Forgive Others
Once our sins are forgiven, we should in turn have that same forgiving nature with others.
Ephesians 4:32: Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.
Colossians 3:13: Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
The Bible even connects God’s forgiveness of us with our forgiveness of others. It says that if we refuse to forgive others as we have been forgiven, then God will not forgive us. That’s a pretty harsh reality!
Matthew 6:14-15: 14 “For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
Mark 11:25: “And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.”
This seems like a lot of steps to receive God’s forgiveness, but they flow naturally from one to the next, and they often happen simultaneously. Once we believe in Jesus, we should be prompted to confess our sins, ask for forgiveness, and turn away from our sins. Then we should in turn go out and forgive others as we have been forgiven.
A Final Warning
Although ending with the steps to forgiveness seems like a pretty way to wrap up this study in a bow, the study wouldn’t be complete without adding a final warning. The Bible is clear that there are reasons that God will refuse to forgive. I found three reasons, in addition to the reason listed above of us refusing to forgive others.
1. God will not forgive if we continue a life of sin.
Deuteronomy 29:19-20: 19 When such a person hears the words of this oath and they invoke a blessing on themselves, thinking, “I will be safe, even though I persist in going my own way,” they will bring disaster on the watered land as well as the dry. 20 The LORD will never be willing to forgive them; his wrath and zeal will burn against them. All the curses written in this book will fall on them, and the LORD will blot out their names from under heaven.
2. God will not forgive if we follow other gods.
Joshua 24:19-20: 19 Joshua said to the people, “You are not able to serve the LORD. He is a holy God; he is a jealous God. He will not forgive your rebellion and your sins. 20 If you forsake the LORD and serve foreign gods, he will turn and bring disaster on you and make an end of you, after he has been good to you.”
Jeremiah 5:7: “Why should I forgive you?
Your children have forsaken me
and sworn by gods that are not gods.
I supplied all their needs,
yet they committed adultery
and thronged to the houses of prostitutes.”
3. God will not forgive if we blaspheme the Holy Spirit.
Mark 3:28-29: 28 “Truly I tell you, people can be forgiven all their sins and every slander they utter, 29 but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; they are guilty of an eternal sin.”
This final warning brings us to a decision point. Will you admit you have sinned, ask for forgiveness, and choose to follow God rather than pursue sin? Or will you decide to continue in your sin, making that sin a god in your life? Only the first choice leads to forgiveness. The second leads to God’s wrath. As we end this year and move into the next, I pray you truly consider the sacrifice God has made on your behalf and choose to follow him.
Premium Resources
Each individual characteristic of God study will come with two resources: a word search just for fun (including an answer key), and a list of verses for if you want to investigate that individual characteristic of God more completely.
You can access these resources by clicking here: God Is Forgiving Resources
