Principle 2: If you want your soul to be healed, you have to receive God’s forgiveness. That means you have to forgive yourself.
Like the love of God, the forgiveness of God is hard for us to grasp and trust. But the Bible contains many scriptures that assure us His grace is greater than our sin—if we receive it.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us — Psalm 103:11-12 (ESV)
Because God loves us so much, He gave His only Son—Jesus—as a sacrifice to pay for our sins. Jesus willingly laid down His life on the cross, shedding His blood for us, and His blood is the only gift that has the power to completely cleanse us of sin and bring us into relationship with God.
Psalm 103:11-12 is saying God’s love is higher and deeper than we can comprehend, and when He forgives, He forgets! He no longer sees us as sinful because we are redeemed by the blood of Christ.
Here are some key scriptures that reveal this truth:
For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. — Romans 3:23-25 (ESV)
…But where sin increased, [God’s remarkable, gracious gift of] grace [His unmerited favor] has surpassed it and increased all the more. — Romans 5:20 (AMP)
But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. — Ephesians 2:13 (ESV)
But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. — 1 John 1:7-9 (ESV)
…We have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus. — Hebrews 10:19 (ESV)
So Jesus also suffered outside the gate in order to sanctify the people through his own blood. — Hebrews 13:12 (ESV)
According to these verses…
- How was God’s righteousness revealed to us in Christ?
- What is the grace of God and how does it rival the power of sin?
- What does the blood of Christ provide for those who sincerely repent of their sin and receive Him as Lord and Savior?
Romans 8:1 clearly states that there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. So if you’re living with guilt and shame, know today that you no longer have to put up with it. Spend some time in prayer, meditating on these scriptures, and ask God to deliver you from guilt and condemnation. Jesus died so you can experience true freedom to live with His peace and joy!
