No sin is too great for God to forgive. The blood of Jesus Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin — not just some.— Charles Spurgeon
In a world filled with flawed humans, offences, failures, and sins abound. And for relationships, whether divine or human, to thrive, forgiveness remains indispensable. While the concept of forgiveness is often discussed, its core meaning is frequently misunderstood. Today, we will reflect on why the Christian message of forgiveness, rooted in the blood of Jesus, offers true liberty and reconciliation to our world.
In the Greek of the New Testament, the word for forgiveness is ἀφίημι (aphiēmi), meaning “to release, let go, cancel, or remit a debt.” It carried both legal and commercial implications, releasing someone from a debt or setting a prisoner free. To forgive meant to absorb the cost yourself, releasing the offender from obligation or punishment.
In our relationship with God, sin placed us in eternal debt. We were spiritually bankrupt, unable to repay or restore ourselves. But God, in His mercy, sent Christ to pay our ransom and shed His blood for our release from captivity to sin.
Forgiveness is a covenantal response rooted in God’s eternal plan and sealed by Christ’s blood. Two key attributes of God guarantee forgiveness: His faithfulness and His justice. “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1:9)
When we confess our sins, God doesn’t ignore our guilt. He looks at the finished work of Christ, and based on that, He removes our debt. This is His faithfulness. And because Christ fully satisfied the requirements of justice, it would be unjust for God to withhold forgiveness from those who come by faith. That’s His justice.
Forgiveness is a two-way transaction. God has graciously extended it through Christ, but it must be received on His terms, not ours. What does this require?
Acknowledgment of our sin
Acceptance of His offer of grace
To receive God’s forgiveness is to agree with Him about our guilt and to trust completely in Christ’s atoning work. Even more astounding is that Christ offers not just an example, but a salvation that empowers us to extend the same grace of forgiveness to a hurting world.
In the chapters that follow, we will explore forgiveness more deeply, learning how to position ourselves not only as recipients of divine mercy but also as dispensers of Christ-like forgiveness to those around us. For as Colossians 3:13 admonishes, we must “forgive as the Lord forgave us”.
Why is this important? Because only those who have truly experienced the unearned and undeserved forgiveness of God can find the strength to forgive from the heart.