What does the Bible say about forgiveness?
Short answer: God forgives generously and asks us to do the same. The Bible separates three different forgiveness questions — forgiving others, being forgiven by God, and forgiving yourself. Here's what scripture says about each.
Work this out on paper. A prayer journal helps you name the person, name what happened, and pray your way toward forgiveness over time. Free.
Forgiving others
- Matthew 6:14–15
"If you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins."
Jesus links the two directly. Refusing to forgive blocks something in our own relationship with God.
- Colossians 3:13
"Bear with each other and forgive one another … Forgive as the Lord forgave you."
The standard isn't fairness — it's the way Jesus already forgave us.
- Matthew 18:21–22
"Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, 'Lord, how many times shall I forgive…?' Jesus answered, 'I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.'"
Forgiveness is a posture, not a punch card.
- Ephesians 4:32
"Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you."
Kindness and forgiveness travel together.
- Mark 11:25
"When you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins."
Prayer surfaces the unforgiveness we've been avoiding.
Being forgiven by God
- 1 John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."
Confess. He forgives. It really is that direct.
- Psalm 103:12
"As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us."
Not a little distance. Infinite distance.
- Isaiah 1:18
"Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow."
God's forgiveness isn't a polite overlook — it's a transformation.
- Ephesians 1:7
"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace."
Forgiveness is something Jesus paid for, not something we earn.
- Acts 3:19
"Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord."
Turning toward God is the doorway.
Forgiving yourself
- Romans 8:1
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."
If God isn't condemning you, you don't have permission to either.
- 2 Corinthians 5:17
"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!"
The version of you that did that thing isn't who you are now.
- Psalm 32:5
"I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity … and you forgave the guilt of my sin."
Acknowledge, don't hide. Forgiveness meets honesty.
- Philippians 3:13–14
"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on."
Forgiveness includes moving forward, not endlessly relitigating.
- Micah 7:19
"You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea."
What God has cast away, you don't have to keep fishing back up.