Forgiveness

The erasing of the sin and guilt of a person through the action of another. All people have done wrong things. These wrong things made us enemies of God. We should be punished, but Jesus died to take the punishment for our wrong actions. Because of that, God offers forgiveness—a free pardon from the guilt of sin. This means God acts as if the wrong things we did never happened. All we have to do is ask for it. What a gift!

God wants His people to forgive others. When Peter asked Jesus how many times a person is expected to forgive someone for the same wrongdoing, Jesus’s answer surprised him: “Seventy-seven times” (Matt. 18:22 esv). What Jesus really meant was that forgiveness has no limits. We are to always forgive, just as God forgives us. If we don’t forgive, God can’t forgive us.