In this article I discuss sin, repentance and God’s forgiveness because I have heard there are many believers of Jesus who are saying they do not believe you can sin anymore as a follower of Jesus and there is no need to repent of sins anymore. I believe we still do in fact sin as believers of Jesus and there is still a need for repentance to Jesus for the sins we commit. I decided to research what the Bible has to say about believers sinning and the need for repentance. Throughout this article you can read what the Bible says about believers sinning and repentance and God’s forgiveness of our sins.
I have divided this article into different sections where first I talk about sin and list scriptures on sin, then I share scriptures about Jesus, the Son of God sacrificing Himself for our sins. Then I list the scriptures that discuss the necessity of repentance and finally I provide the scriptures about God’s forgiveness of our sins.
Sin
There is sin and there are consequences to sin in this life as well as eternal consequences. The reason there are consequences to sin is to show us that sin is wrong and when we encounter consequences to our sin it makes us aware that what we have done is a sin. We would not know what we are doing is wrong or that it is a sin if there were no consequences. With no consequences our behavior/actions would not be considered wrong. Knowing there are eternal consequences to our sins if we do not receive the forgiveness and sacrifice of Jesus Christ to atone for our sins should make us want to avoid sinning and accept the sacrifice and forgiveness of Jesus Christ. Sinning in this life on the earth without the atonement of our sins, the forgiveness of our sins through Jesus Christ leads to eternal separation from God, which is hell.
Jesus took the punishment and consequences of our sins, which is hell. Jesus took our hell when He sacrificed His life on the earth so we do not have to endure the punishment, consequences and wrath of our sins. Without the acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice then a person’s sins are not forgiven and as a result that person must endure the punishment of their sins, which is hell. Our sins need to be forgiven to avoid the consequences of our sin. That is why Jesus is our Savior because Jesus saved us from the consequences of our sins, hell. Jesus stood in the gap and became our punishment so we do not have to be punished. All it takes is the belief, confession and acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice of His life and knowing He is the Son of God for your sins to be forgiven.
John 3:16 (NIV)
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”
Sin comes from satan/the devil/the enemy. Sin is the source of everything that is bad or evil which is the opposite of everything that is good and righteous, which comes from God. Think of it this way, God is the source of everything that is good and righteous and the devil is the source of everything that is bad and evil-there is no goodness in the devil. So one of the main reasons people should not sin, is by sinning we are joining ourselves to the devil instead of God. By sinning we are partnering with everything that is bad/evil and in turn we are distancing ourselves away from God who is good.
One of the natural consequences to sin on the earth is the more we sin the more we welcome evil into our lives, specifically fellowship with demons/satan. Since sin does not come from God and only from the devil then when we sin we are joining ourselves with the devil. Demonic possession is a result of habitual sin. Sin opens a door to evil and the more we sin the more we open the door to all sorts of demons to possess our lives. The more we sin the more we are welcoming the enemy to control our lives and not God.
What we should do is to repent of our sins and ask God to free us from the evil that causes us to sin and invite God to fill us with His Holy Spirit Presence and ask God to transform us. The goal is to take the control and power the enemy has over our lives away from the devil and give complete control of our lives over to God. Let God lead our desires, our actions and will. Be filled with God’s Presence so that sin and evil will lose its power over us.
One of the reasons I wanted to write this blog post on sin, repentance and God’s forgiveness is because there has been a lot of discussion about whether or not a believer of Jesus Christ can sin after they give their lives to Jesus and accept Jesus’ sacrifice/atonement of their sins. I believe there are many scriptures which I list in this post that clearly point to the fact that even after we give our lives to Jesus we still do in fact sin and we need to repent of our sins, which means we should not only confess our sins to God and ask forgiveness of them, but we should turn away from our sins and turn towards God.
Here is an example in scripture where we know a believer in Jesus Christ still sins, I have separated some of the verses because it is long, but communicates what I want to convey.
Romans 6:1-23 (NLT):
“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not!”
“Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was.”
“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God.”
“So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.”
“Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires.”
“Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin.”
“Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life.”
“So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God.”
“Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.”
“Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not!”
“Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey?”
“You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living.”
“Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.”
“Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. “
“When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom.”
“But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life.”
“For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
The above scripture verses are from Romans 6:1-23 (NLT).
I think it is important for people to know that even though Jesus forgives our sins it does not give us permission to keep sinning and it should not make us feel like we do not commit sins. The fact that Jesus forgives us of our sins means we have sinned and we need to be forgiven of those sins. Our sins need to be erased/removed from us and that takes place through the repentance of our sins to Jesus and Jesus’ forgiveness of our sins.
Going back to what I mentioned before, God is the source of everything that is good and righteous and we know this because while Jesus was on the earth He did not sin, He was perfect, blameless and sinless. That is why when Jesus died for humanity and became the sacrifice for our sins he was able to atone for our sins because He was sinless. No one on the earth before Jesus came was ever sinless and that is what gives Jesus the power over sin, the ability to forgive us of our sins because He is/was the only one to walk the earth that is/was sinless. We know that Jesus was sinless by reading 1 Peter 3:18 (NLT) “Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.”
When we join ourselves to God we should want to live a life like Jesus. Jesus is our example of how we should live our lives and the more we want to know Father God, Jesus and Holy Spirit the more we should want to be like them. Since there is no sin found in Father God, Jesus or Holy Spirit we should want to fellowship with them by being set free from our sins and not join ourselves to the devil by always sinning. We obviously will struggle with sin while on the earth, because we know that we are not sinless like Jesus, but the key is to repent of our sins and ask God to set us free from the power of sin.
I do not believe we can make ourselves holy or righteous by our works or strength, I believe Jesus makes us holy and righteous through His sacrifice, atonement and forgiveness of our sins. Jesus is our Savior, which means Jesus saves us from our sins and the punishment of our sins apart from Him, which is hell. We need God’s help to be free from sin each day and that is why repentance is essential. I do not believe we overcome sin in our own striving and strength. I believe through daily communion, relationship, fellowship with Father God, Jesus and Holy Spirit that we can pray for God to transform us to be more like Him and the more we repent of our sins and ask God to deliver us from the evil we have joined ourselves with, the more free from sins we become.
The goal is transformation, we need to be transformed by God. Our minds, our desires, our will, our emotions need to be transformed by God. The goal is to be free from sin and evil and be transformed by God to be more like Him. We want the mind of Christ, we want God to lead our desires and we want to submit our will to the will of God, we want our emotions to be healed and transformed by God so that we can be mentally and emotionally healed and whole by God. We cannot do this alone, God wants us free from the enemy and sin and wants us to become more like Him.
Below are Scriptures on Sin:
Romans 5:12 (NLT)“When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.”
Exodus 20:1-20(NLT)
“1 Then God gave the people all these instructions: 2 “I am the Lord your God, who rescued you from the land of Egypt, the place of your slavery. 3 “You must not have any other god but me. 4 “You must not make for yourself an idol of any kind or an image of anything in the heavens or on the earth or in the sea. 5 You must not bow down to them or worship them, for I, the Lord your God, am a jealous God who will not tolerate your affection for any other gods. I lay the sins of the parents upon their children; the entire family is affected—even children in the third and fourth generations of those who reject me. 6 But I lavish unfailing love for a thousand generations on those who love me and obey my commands. 7 “You must not misuse the name of the Lord your God. The Lord will not let you go unpunished if you misuse his name.8 “Remember to observe the Sabbath day by keeping it holy. 9 You have six days each week for your ordinary work, 10 but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of rest dedicated to the Lord your God. On that day no one in your household may do any work. This includes you, your sons and daughters, your male and female servants, your livestock, and any foreigners living among you. 11 For in six days the Lord made the heavens, the earth, the sea, and everything in them; but on the seventh day he rested. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and set it apart as holy. 12 “Honor your father and mother. Then you will live a long, full life in the land the Lord your God is giving you. 13 “You must not murder. 14 “You must not commit adultery. 15 “You must not steal. 16 “You must not testify falsely against your neighbor. 17 “You must not covet your neighbor’s house. You must not covet your neighbor’s wife, male or female servant, ox or donkey, or anything else that belongs to your neighbor.” 18 When the people heard the thunder and the loud blast of the ram’s horn, and when they saw the flashes of lightning and the smoke billowing from the mountain, they stood at a distance, trembling with fear. 19 And they said to Moses, “You speak to us, and we will listen. But don’t let God speak directly to us, or we will die!” 20 “Don’t be afraid,” Moses answered them, “for God has come in this way to test you, and so that your fear of him will keep you from sinning!”
Genesis 4:7(NLT)
Jude 1:3-4 (NLT)
“Dear friends, I had been eagerly planning to write to you about the salvation we all share. But now I find that I must write about something else, urging you to defend the faith that God has entrusted once for all time to his holy people. I say this because some ungodly people have wormed their way into your churches, saying that God’s marvelous grace allows us to live immoral lives. The condemnation of such people was recorded long ago, for they have denied our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Psalms 119:11 (NLT)
“I have hidden your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.”
Jesus, the Sacrifice for the Sins of Humanity
The eternal consequences of sin are separation from God, eternal hell. Hell is the eternal punishment of our sins that takes place at the time of a person’s death if that person has chosen to reject the salvation/sacrifice of Jesus Christ, the atonement and forgiveness of their sins through Jesus.
All of humanity is in need of being saved from hell, humanity needs a savior. Father God sent His Son Jesus Christ to save the world from their sins and consequences to sin which is hell, separation from God. Jesus Christ took all the punishment of the sins of humanity when the wrath of God was poured out upon Him on the cross. Jesus Christ took our hell and consequences of sin so we do not have to be separated from God, but could have access to His Father God in Heaven again like at the time of creation in the garden of eden. The only person who could give us access to God the Father again was His Son Jesus because Jesus was in Heaven with Father God and He chose to sacrifice His life so we could have eternal life with the Father. Jesus Christ became our sacrifice.
We know that Jesus became our sacrifice for sin by reading Romans 3:23-25 (NLT)”23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood.”
We need to be forgiven of our sins, our sins make us guilty and only forgiveness through Jesus can our sins be erased, removed and forgiven. Jesus says in the Bible our sins are forgiven and as far as from the east is to the west so our sins are no more. That is why repentance of sins is necessary. We must ask Jesus to forgive us our sins. Jesus saved us from our sins, Jesus saved us from hell and that is why He is called our savior.
We were all created to have perfect union and closeness with God like Adam and Eve in the garden, but sin caused us to be separated. Since there is a cause and effect as it relates to sin, the consequences of sin must be addressed through Jesus. Jesus is the access point to the Father. The Bible says no one comes to the Father unless through Jesus.
Matthew 1:20-21(NLT)
“20 As he considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream. “Joseph, son of David,” the angel said, “do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. For the child within her was conceived by the Holy Spirit. 21 And she will have a son, and you are to name him Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.”
1 Peter 2:24 (NLT)
“He personally carried our sins in his body on the cross so that we can be dead to sin and live for what is right. By his wounds you are healed.”
1 Peter 3:18 (NLT)
“Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.”
Galatians 1:4 (NLT)
“Jesus gave his life for our sins, just as God our Father planned, in order to rescue us from this evil world in which we live. “
Romans 3:5-31(NLT)
“5 “But,” some might say, “our sinfulness serves a good purpose, for it helps people see how righteous God is. Isn’t it unfair, then, for him to punish us?” 6 Of course not! If God were not entirely fair, how would he be qualified to judge the world? 7 “But,” someone might still argue, “how can God condemn me as a sinner if my dishonesty highlights his truthfulness and brings him more glory?” 8 And some people even slander us by claiming that we say, “The more we sin, the better it is!” Those who say such things deserve to be condemned. 9 Well then, should we conclude that we Jews are better than others? No, not at all, for we have already shown that all people, whether Jews or Gentiles, are under the power of sin. 10 As the Scriptures say, “No one is righteous-not even one. 11 No one is truly wise; no one is seeking God. 12 All have turned away; all have become useless. No one does good, not a single one.” 13 “Their talk is foul, like the stench from an open grave. Their tongues are filled with lies.“Snake venom drips from their lips.” 14 “Their mouths are full of cursing and bitterness.” 15 “They rush to commit murder. 16 Destruction and misery always follow them. 17 They don’t know where to find peace.” 18 “They have no fear of God at all.” 19 Obviously, the law applies to those to whom it was given, for its purpose is to keep people from having excuses, and to show that the entire world is guilty before God. 20 For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are. 21 But now God has shown us a way to be made right with him without keeping the requirements of the law, as was promised in the writings of Moses and the prophets long ago. 22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. 23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God freely and graciously declares that we are righteous. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. 25 For God presented Jesus as the sacrifice for sin. People are made right with God when they believe that Jesus sacrificed his life, shedding his blood. This sacrifice shows that God was being fair when he held back and did not punish those who sinned in times past, 26 for he was looking ahead and including them in what he would do in this present time. God did this to demonstrate his righteousness, for he himself is fair and just, and he declares sinners to be right in his sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we have done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law. 29 After all, is God the God of the Jews only? Isn’t he also the God of the Gentiles? Of course he is. 30 There is only one God, and he makes people right with himself only by faith, whether they are Jews or Gentiles. 31 Well then, if we emphasize faith, does this mean that we can forget about the law? Of course not! In fact, only when we have faith do we truly fulfill the law.”
Romans 5:13-19 (NLT)
“Yes, people sinned even before the law was given. But it was not counted as sin because there was not yet any law to break. Still, everyone died—from the time of Adam to the time of Moses—even those who did not disobey an explicit commandment of God, as Adam did. Now Adam is a symbol, a representation of Christ, who was yet to come. But there is a great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gracious gift. For the sin of this one man, Adam, brought death to many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness to many through this other man, Jesus Christ. And the result of God’s gracious gift is very different from the result of that one man’s sin. For Adam’s sin led to condemnation, but God’s free gift leads to our being made right with God, even though we are guilty of many sins. For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one man, Jesus Christ. Yes, Adam’s one sin brings condemnation for everyone, but Christ’s one act of righteousness brings a right relationship with God and new life for everyone. Because one person disobeyed God, many became sinners. But because one other person obeyed God, many will be made righteous.”
Matthew 26:45 (NLT)
“45 Then he came to the disciples and said, “Go ahead and sleep. Have your rest. But look—the time has come. The Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners.”
Hebrews 9:28 (NLT)
“28 So also Christ was offered once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him.”
Romans 5:8-9 (NLT)
“But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. And since we have been made right in God’s sight by the blood of Christ, he will certainly save us from God’s condemnation.”
Romans 6:6 (NLT)
“We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin.”
Romans 5:20-21 (NLT)
“God’s law was given so that all people could see how sinful they were. But as people sinned more and more, God’s wonderful grace became more abundant. So just as sin ruled over all people and brought them to death, now God’s wonderful grace rules instead, giving us right standing with God and resulting in eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
1 John 5:16-21 (NLT)
“If you see a fellow believer sinning in a way that does not lead to death, you should pray, and God will give that person life. But there is a sin that leads to death, and I am not saying you should pray for those who commit it. All wicked actions are sin, but not every sin leads to death. We know that God’s children do not make a practice of sinning, for God’s Son holds them securely, and the evil one cannot touch them. We know that we are children of God and that the world around us is under the control of the evil one. And we know that the Son of God has come, and he has given us understanding so that we can know the true God. And now we live in fellowship with the true God because we live in fellowship with his Son, Jesus Christ. He is the only true God, and he is eternal life. Dear children, keep away from anything that might take God’s place in your hearts. “
Romans 6:1-23 (NLT)
“Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives. Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus. Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living. Because of the weakness of your human nature, I am using the illustration of slavery to help you understand all this. Previously, you let yourselves be slaves to impurity and lawlessness, which led ever deeper into sin. Now you must give yourselves to be slaves to righteous living so that you will become holy. When you were slaves to sin, you were free from the obligation to do right. And what was the result? You are now ashamed of the things you used to do, things that end in eternal doom. But now you are free from the power of sin and have become slaves of God. Now you do those things that lead to holiness and result in eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Matthew 9:13(NLT)
“13 Then he added, “Now go and learn the meaning of this Scripture: ‘I want you to show mercy, not offer sacrifices.’ For I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners.”
Jude 1:3-4, 24-25 (NLT)
“Now all glory to God, who is able to keep you from falling away and will bring you with great joy into his glorious presence without a single fault. All glory to him who alone is God, our Savior through Jesus Christ our Lord. All glory, majesty, power, and authority are his before all time, and in the present, and beyond all time! Amen. “
Repentance
In this section I talk about repentance and list scriptures referencing our need for repentance. I wanted to address repentance in this article because it has been coming up in many discussions that I have had that some believe as a follower of Jesus Christ you no longer need to repent of sins. I believe as mentioned before repentance is something we should always do especially as a believer of Jesus Christ because our goal is to be free from sin and be more like Jesus and in order for us to do that we must first recognize that we in fact still sin as believers and then repent, ask forgiveness to God for sinning against Him and ask God to deliver us from the evil that causes us to want to sin and then receive the forgiveness of our sins from God.
Here is an example in scripture where it tells us that even as a believer of Jesus we still sin and need to repent of our sins. Luke 17:3-4 (NLT) “So watch yourselves! “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”
Below are other scriptures that address the necessity of Repentance:
Matthew 4:17 (NLT)
“17 From then on Jesus began to preach, “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”
1 John 1:7-10 (NLT)
“But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin. If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth. But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. If we claim we have not sinned, we are calling God a liar and showing that his word has no place in our hearts.”
“I have had one message for Jews and Gentiles alike, the necessity of repenting from sin and turning to God and of having faith in our Lord Jesus.”
Matthew 13:40-42(NLT)
“40 “Just as the weeds are sorted out and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of the world. 41 The Son of Man will send his angels, and they will remove from his Kingdom everything that causes sin and all who do evil. 42 And the angels will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”
Luke 17:3-4 (NLT)
“So watch yourselves! “If another believer sins, rebuke that person; then if there is repentance, forgive. Even if that person wrongs you seven times a day and each time turns again and asks forgiveness, you must forgive.”
Matthew 18:15(NLT)
“15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back.”
Matthew 3:1-6,8,11(NLT)
“3 In those days John the Baptist came to the Judean wilderness and began preaching. His message was, 2 “Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near…. 6 And when they confessed their sins, he baptized them in the Jordan River… 8 Prove by the way you live that you have repented of your sins and turned to God… 11 “I baptize with water those who repent of their sins and turn to God. But someone is coming soon who is greater than I am—so much greater that I’m not worthy even to be his slave and carry his sandals. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
Forgiveness
In this last section I share the scriptures of Jesus’ forgiveness of our sins. I believe it is not only important to recognize that we still sin as believers and our need to repent of those sins, but most importantly we need to receive Jesus’ forgiveness of our sins. Jesus sacrificed His life so our sins would be forgiven and so we could have access to Father God in Heaven. Jesus wants the world to accept/receive His sacrifice and the forgiveness of sins because Father, Jesus and Holy Spirit want to spend eternity with all of humanity and do not want anyone to receive the punishment of their sins which is hell. We know the punishment of our sins is hell when a person has not accepted Jesus’ sacrifice as I mentioned before. God loves us and desires to extend His forgiveness of our sins to all the world if they will accept His forgiveness. I pray you would receive Jesus’ forgiveness of your sins and not live in a place of condemnation of your sins, but in the freedom that comes from living a life in fellowship with Father God, Jesus and Holy Spirit. I pray you would be filled with God’s love and be transformed by His love.
Below are Scriptures on Forgiveness:
Psalms 103:12 (NLT)
“12 He has removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west.”
Psalms 25:11 (NLT)
“For the honor of your name, O LORD, forgive my many, many sins.”
Psalms 25:18 (NLT)
“Feel my pain and see my trouble. Forgive all my sins. “
Psalms 65:3 (NLT)
“Though we are overwhelmed by our sins, you forgive them all.”
Psalms 103:3 (NLT)
“3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.”
Psalms 130:3-4, 7-8 (NLT)
“LORD, if you kept a record of our sins, who, O Lord, could ever survive? But you offer forgiveness, that we might learn to fear you…O Israel, hope in the LORD; for with the LORD there is unfailing love. His redemption overflows. He himself will redeem Israel from every kind of sin.”
Matthew 6:14-15 (NLT)
“If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
1 Kings 8:46-51 (NLT)
“If they sin against you—and who has never sinned?—you might become angry with them and let their enemies conquer them and take them captive to their land far away or near. But in that land of exile, they might turn to you in repentance and pray, ‘We have sinned, done evil, and acted wickedly.’ If they turn to you with their whole heart and soul in the land of their enemies and pray toward the land you gave to their ancestors—toward this city you have chosen, and toward this Temple I have built to honor your name— then hear their prayers and their petition from heaven where you live, and uphold their cause. Forgive your people who have sinned against you. Forgive all the offenses they have committed against you. Make their captors merciful to them, for they are your people—your special possession—whom you brought out of the iron-smelting furnace of Egypt.”
Luke 11:4 (NLT)
“…Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us. And don’t let us yield to temptation. ”
John 20:23 (NLT)
“If you forgive anyone’s sins, they are forgiven. If you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
Colossians 3:13 (NLT)
“Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.”
Daniel 9:9 (NLT)
“But the Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him.”
Isaiah 1:18 (NLT)
“Come now, let us settle this, says the Lord. Though your sins are like scarlet, I will make them as white as snow. Though they are red like crimson, I will make them white as wool.”
Matthew 6:11-13 (NLT)
“Give us today the food we need, and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.”
Matthew 9:6 (NLT)
“6 So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.”Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!”
Matthew 12:31 (NLT)
“31 “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven.”
Matthew 18:21 (NLT)
“21 Then Peter came to him and asked, “Lord, how often should I forgive someone who sins against me? Seven times?”22 “No, not seven times,” Jesus replied, “but seventy times seven!”
Matthew 26:26-29 (NLT)
“26 As they were eating, Jesus took some bread and blessed it. Then he broke it in pieces and gave it to the disciples, saying, “Take this and eat it, for this is my body.” 27 And he took a cup of wine and gave thanks to God for it. He gave it to them and said, “Each of you drink from it, 28 for this is my blood, which confirms the covenant between God and his people. It is poured out as a sacrifice to forgive the sins of many. 29 Mark my words—I will not drink wine again until the day I drink it new with you in my Father’s Kingdom.”