When you have a hard time forgiving yourself. There is only one unpardonable sin named in the Bible (see Luke 12:10). And as a believer, you probably haven’t committed it, so God will forgive you for everything else. However, when God says He forgives you and you refuse to forgive yourself, it’s like opting to stay in prison after the judge has expunged your record and set you free. And worse, you’re committing the sin of pride. How come? Because when God forgives you and you refuse to forgive yourself, you’re putting your opinion above His. If you’re having trouble forgiving yourself, stand on God’s Word: ‘I…am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins’ (Isaiah 43:25 NKJV). ‘I have blotted out, like a thick cloud, your transgressions, and…your sins. Return to Me, for I have redeemed you’ (Isaiah 44:22 NKJV). ‘Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him; and…will abundantly pardon’ (Isaiah 55:7 NKJV). ‘“Never open your mouth anymore because of your shame, when I provide you an atonement for all you have done,” says the Lord’ (Ezekiel 16:63 NKJV). ‘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 KJV). ‘There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus’ (Romans 8:1 NKJV). Are you ‘in Christ Jesus’? Then rejoice; you no longer need to struggle under the weight of condemnation. God has totally forgiven you, so forgive yourself and move on. 

© 2024. Written by Bob and Debby Gass. Used by permission under licence from UCB International.