The forgiveness of God is the greatest blessing we have in our lives. It is something that if we are not careful, we can easily take for granted. It is something that we certainly need if we are truly going to be heaven bound.

Consider five important things that we need to understand about God’s forgiveness.

It is something we all need.

  • We need it because we have all sinned against God (Romans 3:9, 23).
    • The only person to have lived a perfect life was Jesus (1 Peter 2:22).
    • As sinners we deserve eternal spiritual death (Romans 6:23).
  • No sinner can expect to make it to heaven without God’s forgiveness.

It is extended to all.

  • This is what the death of Jesus was all about!
    • Through the death of His Son on a cross, God made a way for every person to receive forgiveness (1 John 2:1-2).
    • Through Jesus’ death, we can be reconciled, justified and saved from the wrath of God (Romans 5:6-10). All of these things are tied to God’s forgiveness.
  • There is no sinner in the world that God is not eager and willing to forgive.

It is not unconditional.

  • This is very different than God’s love.
    • God’s love for us in unconditional (John 3:16; Romans 5:8).
    • No matter how we live, God will always love us.
  • There are conditions that a person must meet to receive God’s forgiveness.
    • The non-Christian must repent and be baptized (Acts 2:38).
    • The Christian in sin must repent and confess his sin (1 John 1:8-10).
    • One must also be willing to forgive others (Matthew 18:21-35; Ephesians 4:31-32; Colossians 3:12-13).

It is complete.

  • When God forgives, He takes our sins completely away (Psalm 103:8-14). He chooses to forget and no longer hold them against us (Hebrews 8:12).
  • It doesn’t matter what we have done. If we are willing to repent, God is willing to forgive us and completely wipe our sins away (1 John 1:9).

It is continual.

  • No matter how many times we mess up, God will forgive us. We need this, because sometimes we mess up over and over again!
  • We just have to make sure that we display this same kind of compassion towards those who continually seek our forgiveness (Matthew 18:21-22)

Conclusion: Do you need God’s forgiveness?