Forgiveness is one of the values that defines us as Christians, but how does it appear in the Bible? In this article, we will look at everything related to forgiveness in the Bible and reflect and pray to better understand this concept.
Forgiveness according to the Bible
Jesus taught us during his passage through our world that God is good and merciful. He is able to forgive us even though we are sinners and make all the mistakes we make in our daily lives.
We only need to seek the Lord with humility and open our hearts; being sincere about the sins we have committed and acknowledge them before Him. It is born this way, confession by which we obtain the redemption of our sins.
As it cannot be otherwise, the Bible and especially the Gospels have many fragments that speak of forgiveness, giving us a fundamental idea of forgiveness about this concept and how to incorporate it into our Christian lives.
This is what we are going to see today, in an article dedicated exclusively to the importance of forgiveness in the Bible.
Why should I forgive according to the Bible?
We begin this article with a beautiful video in which you will learn why it is necessary to forgive according to the Bible. In it, you will see how forgiveness is a gift from God and that we must apply it in our lives to be holy like Him.
The video is dedicated to human forgiveness, that which you can apply with the people around you, whether they are family, friends or people with whom you do not get along very well. And, as the Bible says, forgive your enemy, and you will be saved.
Definition of forgiveness according to the Bible
Before we go further into forgiveness, it is necessary to look at what forgiveness is according to the Bible. Once the concept is understood, everything else becomes much easier.
One of the best definitions of forgiveness can be found in Colossians 3:13, where you can see that human forgiveness comes by extension to God’s forgiveness, and this should try to resemble His forgiveness, i.e., we must forgive for the sake of loving.
“Bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another. As Christ forgave you, so also do ye.” (Colossians 3:13)
Thus, it is clearly written in the Bible: to forgive is to love. Christians should love each and every person in the world.
Our mission as children of God is to show the Sacred Scriptures to those who do not know them with respect and love. And when the whole world knows the message of the Lord, forgiveness will no longer be necessary, and we will all live holy in the Glory of God.
Origin of the word forgiveness in the Bible
Now that we know the definition of forgiveness in the Bible, how about knowing the origin of this beautiful word?
Read on to find numerous examples of forgiveness in the Bible, which will give you a clear idea of its origin and how this concept has been treated over time.
Types of forgiveness according to the Bible
As we have been saying throughout this article, two types of forgiveness can be easily identified, types of forgiveness. God’s forgiveness of humanity and forgiveness between human beings.
The main difference between the two types is who gives that forgiveness, since in no way can we compare the infinite capacity to forgive with the infinite capacity to forgive, since in no way can we compare the infinite capacity to forgive with the infinite capacity to forgive our Lord’s infinite capacity to forgive with our limited capacity.
Human forgiveness should be intended to resemble God’s forgiveness. Although it will hardly ever be equal to God’s forgiveness, since our weak condition in the face of sin by nature prevents us from forgiving infinitely.
Even so, don’t stop trying. Jesus said well in his day to Peter in Matthew 18:22, “you shall forgive up to seventy times seven”The number is so large that it will be difficult for any of us to reach it. But that is the goal.
“Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times seven, but even until seventy times seven.” (Matthew 18:22)
Examples of forgiveness in the Bible
Paul of Tarsus (St. Paul)
As you probably know, Paul of Tarsus was a persecutor of the early Christians, He even went so far as to kill some of them at a time when atrocities were the order of the day.
However, the Lord knew Paul’s heart well and knew that he could change, so He revealed Himself to him by showing him the true way and forgiving him for the damages committed. This is one of the greatest acts of love and forgiveness in history, and it was given by the Lord.
Below, we leave you the biblical fragment in which this act of forgiveness is narrated so that you can reflect in silence and realize God’s infinite love for humanity.
“But as he went on his way, it came to pass, when he came near Damascus, suddenly there shone around him a brightness of light from heaven;
And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, “Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?
He said, “Who are you, Lord? And he said unto him, I am Jesus whom thou persecutest: it is hard for thee to kick against the pricks.
And he, trembling and fearful, said, Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou shalt do.” (Acts 9:3-6)
Simón Pedro (San Pedro)
Another clear example of forgiveness in the Bible we find it in the case of Simon Peter. This was one of Jesus’ most important disciples, although on numerous occasions he doubted his faith. Perhaps because of these doubts, so human, he is the most relevant apostle and the one who should guide us all.
The fact is that Jesus told Peter that he would deny Him three times during his Passion, as you can see in Matthew 26:34, which was fulfilled exactly, creating an enormous sadness in the apostle.
“Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, That this very night, before the cock crow, thou shalt deny me thrice.” (Matthew 26:34)
But the Lord already had a mission entrusted to Peter and of course he was forgiven for his offenses, was forgiven for his offenses. He later became the founder of the Church and for Catholics he is also the first pope.
In one of Jesus’ subsequent appearances, Peter received his mission to lead the Christians to guide the Christians in the new stage ahead of them. The corresponding fragment is as follows:
“When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these? He answered him, “Yes, Lord; you know that I love you. He said to him, “Feed my lambs.
He said to him again the second time, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter answered him, “Yes, Lord, you know that I love you. He said to him, “Shepherd my sheep.
The third time he said to him, “Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? Peter was saddened that he said to him the third time: “Do you love me? And he answered him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus said to him, “Feed my sheep.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, When thou wast younger, thou girdedst thyself, and wentest whither thou wouldest: but when thou shalt be old, thou shalt stretch forth thine hands, and another shall gird thee, and carry thee whither thou wouldest not.
This he said, signifying by what death he was to glorify God. And when he had said this, he added, Follow me.” (John 21:15-19)
King David
The last example of forgiveness to a relevant biblical character that we leave you here today is that of King David. Unlike the others, David lived many years earlier, during the era of the Old Testament in which the Law of Moses was the prevailing law of the time.
David’s life was very complicated until he became king of Israel and went through many ups and downs. He was persecuted for a long time and like every human being also sinned.
In 2 Samuel 11, you can see how David commits adultery by sleeping with two women in the same chapter. This was punished by God, although later David he was able to redeem himself and the forgiveness of his sins, and became one of the most important prophets of our religion.
From his hand was written the Book of Psalms was written, widely used in today’s liturgy with precious and powerful musical compositions. None of this would have been possible without God’s forgiveness.
Only God can forgive sins
And who has the authority to forgive?
Only the Lord can give true forgiveness, We ourselves have no authority whatsoever and must submit to his power. This was well said by the Jews who saw Jesus perform miracles, although they did not believe that He was the Son of God.
This example of forgiveness in the Bible can be found in the passage in which Jesus heals a leper forgiving him of all sins. Below is the text:
“When he saw their faith, he said to him, Man, your sins are forgiven you.
Then the scribes and Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this that speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” (Luke 5:20-21)
His thinking was not wrong: only God can forgive sins. What they had not considered was that they were before God. And that is how the Lord forgave so many people through Jesus, although that was not the greatest act of forgiveness.
Jesus gave himself up for us to die on the cross to forgive all our sins. With only one act, He bore the guilt of all mankind and, most importantly, forgave us.
We should be eternally grateful with the Lord for this great act of forgiveness and pray with all our strength for Him. The Lord is infinite love and we are sharers in his love.
One baptism for the forgiveness of sins
There are many Christian prayers dedicated to the Lord in which forgiveness intervenes at some point. The clearest example we have is the Lord’s Prayer, in which the two types of forgiveness we have mentioned in this article are both present in the same sentence:
“And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors.” (Matthew 6:12)
In this prayer created by Jesus Christ Himself and prayed so many times by all Christians, we ask God to forgive us and we commit ourselves to forgive people in the same way that He does with us.
Another very relevant prayer for most Christians is the Creed. It professes all the beliefs that a Christian should have and, of course, it also speaks of forgiveness.
We leave it below, in case you don’t know it or want to read it again today and confirm your faith. Look at the last lines and don’t worry if you don’t understand them, we will explain them to you later.
We believe in one
God,
Father
almighty Father,
Creator of heaven and earth,
of all that is visible and invisible;
and in one Lord,
Jesus Christ
the only begotten of God,
born of the Father before all ages,
light of light,
True God of true God;
begotten, not created, consubstantial with the Father,
by whom all things were made;
that for us men and for our salvation
came down from heaven
and became incarnate through the work of the
Holy Spirit
and Mary the Virgin
and became a man;
for our sake he was crucified
in the time of
Pontius Pilate
and he suffered and was buried,
and rose again on the third day
according to the Scriptures
and ascended to heaven;
and is seated at the right hand of the Father;
and he will come again in glory to judge the living and the dead,
and his kingdom shall have no end.
And in the
Holy Spirit
Lord and giver of life,
that proceeds from the Father;
that with the Father and the Son he receives one and the same
worship and glory,
who spoke through the
prophets.
In a holy, catholic and apostolic Church.
We confess only one
baptism
for the remission of sins.
We await the resurrection of the dead
and the life of the future world. Amen.
The line referring to baptism shows us how it is this sacrament that opens the door to the light of the Lord and forgives us our sins in order to live in happiness. We can only be baptized once, and this baptism is renewed each time we confess before God.
Thanks to baptism, we have the opportunity to be saved and to receive God’s grace.However, this does not take away our responsibility to act well and avoid falling into temptation. Although baptized, we are still human.
This is the end of today’s article on forgiveness. Remember that Jesus taught us that to forgive is to love and we must give forgiveness in our lives to try to be more holy and create a better world.
Remember that forgiveness does not mean being weak, and it is an act of love to the Lord and to the rest of the people it affects. Forgiveness will make you feel much better, so don’t hesitate to go to confession when necessary!
For our part this is all, we hope this article has helped you and we look forward to seeing you in the next one!