Overview: One of the most powerful acts in the universe is to forgive someone or to receive forgiveness for something you have done to someone else. No other single act has the power to melt the heart of a person who has experienced anger, hate, envy, greed, bitterness or rage then the simple act of forgiveness. The power of forgiveness when given or received unleashes a powerful chemical cleansing with the persons mind and body. Forgiveness has the power to totally turn around a persons life as forgiveness unlocks the mind to enter into a place of communion with God, unlike any other human act.
Merriam Wester’s Dictionary defines the word forgive as follows: Function: verb 1 a : to give up resentment of or claim to requital for (forgive an insult) b : to grant relief from payment of (forgive a debt) 2 : to cease to feel resentment against (an offender) To pardon or to forgive one's enemies, intransitive senses: to grant forgiveness.
Psalm 32:1-2 Blessed is he whose transgression (or sin) is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no deceit.
Psalm 103:8-14 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love. 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 (sins) from us. 13 As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him; 14 for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust. God has promised, from the beginning of time, that he would forgive us of sin in our lives when we acknowledge the sin, repent or turn from the sin and ask for forgiveness. King Solomon, David’s son receives a word from God when he dedicates the temple in Jerusalem to God.
2 Chronicles 7:13-15 When I shut up heaven and there is no rain, or command the locusts to devour the land, or send pestilence among My people, 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 will forgive their sin and heal their land. 15 Now My eyes will be open and My ears attentive to prayer made in this place. God speaking to the nation of Israel through the prophet Jeremiah made this promise.
Jeremiah 31: 33-34 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. 34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, "Know the LORD,' for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. Again God, speaking through the prophet Amos gave a picture to the world that God would not only reach out to the Jewish nation, but to the Gentiles or to us.
Amos 9:11-12 "On that day I will raise up The tabernacle of David, which has fallen down, And repair its damages; I will raise up its ruins, And rebuild it as in the days of old; 12That they may possess the remnant of Edom, And all the Gentiles who are called by My name," Says the LORD who does this thing. Then, God speaking through the prophet Isaiah, promised that He would send a sacrifice for the sins of not only the nation of Israel, but for all mankind.
Isaiah 53:3-6 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. The promise made for all mankind happened when John the Baptist cried out this about Jesus Christ as he was about to baptize Jesus around 30 A.D.
Matthew 4:1-3 In those days John the Baptist came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, 2 and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand!" 3For this is he who was spoken of by the prophet Isaiah, saying: "The voice of one crying in the wilderness: "Prepare the way of the LORD; Make His paths straight."
Matthew 4:13-17 Then Jesus came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. 14And John tried to prevent Him, saying, "I need to be baptized by You, and are You coming to me?" 15But Jesus answered and said to him, "Permit it to be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness." Then he allowed Him. 16 When He had been baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, the heavens were opened to Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting upon Him. 17And suddenly a voice came from heaven, saying, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased."
Matthew 26:26-28 While they were eating, Jesus took bread, gave thanks and broke it, and gave it to his disciples, saying, “Take and eat; this is my body.” 27 Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered 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. Lastly, the Apostle Paul, while telling the story of his conversion and acceptance of forgiveness through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.
Acts 26:12-18 "While thus occupied, as I journeyed to Damascus with authority and commission from the chief priests, 13 at midday, O king, along the road I saw a light from heaven, brighter than the sun, shining around me and those who journeyed with me. 14 And when we all had fallen to the ground, I heard a voice speaking to me and saying in the Hebrew language, "Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me? It is hard for you to kick against the goads.' 15 So I said, "Who are You, Lord?' And He said, "I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. 16But rise and stand on your feet; for I have appeared to you for this purpose, to make you a minister and a witness both of the things which you have seen and of the things which I will yet reveal to you. 17 I will deliver you from the Jewish people, as well as from the Gentiles, to whom I now send you, 18 to open their eyes, in order to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who are sanctified by faith in Me.' God love for us is best described in this simple verse:
I John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
Conclusion: Forgive or Forgiveness, a simple word with life changing possibilities, when expressed or experienced by a person. Forgiveness is available to any person, through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is received by a simple act of faith by receiving God’s greatest gift to us, as provided by His Son. Forgiveness, is the scent the rose gives, after it is crushed by the foot of the person who has just crushed it. Experience God’s forgiveness today.