Now that we have discussed the hope that God grants each of us, it is important to delve into the topic of God’s forgiveness.
To understand forgiveness, we must first grasp the true depth of our sins. What may seem like a simple mistake to us could cause significant pain to others as they may perceive our actions differently.
What is sin?
Let us explore how God views sin and how we perceive ourselves as sinners. We often think of sin as breaking one of God’s commandments, disobeying Him, not fulfilling His will, or even lacking belief in Him altogether. These are the notions we typically associate with sin. However, as we draw closer to God, we begin to see a different perspective.
“For My people have committed two evils: they have forsaken Me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn for themselves cisterns, broken cisterns that can hold no water” (Jeremiah 2:13).
Before we give in to our desires and indulge in pornography, before our lustful thoughts consume us and drive us to commit sinful actions, there is another evil that God sees—the act of leaving Him. It is like a bride abandoning her groom, who had promised her a life of purity and abundance, only for her to spend her days begging other men for love or money. Her first mistake is leaving her groom, and her second is choosing a life of sin over a life with God.
Also, how often do we find ourselves in situations where we know exactly what the right thing to do is; yet, we choose not to do it? According to the Bible, this is also considered a sin.
“Therefore, to him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin” (James 4:17).
Sometimes we deceive ourselves into thinking we’re doing fine because everyone else does bad things too. We convince ourselves that we’re not that bad, maybe just a little flawed, but overall better than others. But the truth is if we believe we are more righteous than we actually are, we are underestimating our own darkness.
“But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is that darkness?” (Matthew 6:23 ESV).
I’m not saying this to disappoint you, quite the opposite. I want you to understand the depth of sin and realize that there is more to it than you may currently know. God is willing to forgive all those sins—both the ones you are aware of and the ones you haven’t even considered as sins. He will forgive them all and even forget them.
“As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins” (Isaiah 43:25).
It’s uplifting to know that God will forgive us unconditionally. He understands our weaknesses and our enemy’s strength. All He asks is for us to acknowledge our darkness and return to Him. He will forgive us and forget our sins.
Sin against God
When we engage in pornography and masturbation, our minds deceive us into believing that we only commit sin in our hearts, without hurting anyone else. While looking at porn is clearly a sin, against whom is it a sin?
Joseph, in The Old Testament, figured this out and cried,
“How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9).
Similarly, David, when he sinned and repented, cried,
“Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight” (Psalm51:4).
And then the Prodigal Son in the New Testament said to his father,
“Father, I have sinned against heaven and in your sight and am no longer worthy to be called your son” (Luke 15:21).
When we commit sin—any sin—it is not just a wrongful act, but a sin against heaven and against God Himself. Therefore, we should pause and reflect before allowing ourselves to be drawn into this darkness. We need to consider that we are sinning against God foremost.
Sin Against Our Bodies
Moreover, the Bible clarifies that engaging in sexual sins is sinning against our own bodies.
“Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never!” (1 Corinthians 6:15 ESV) “Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).
If you have gone through life unaware of how much your habit has hurt God, yet He is still willing to forgive you, imagine how much greater His love is now that you recognize your sin. Despite everything, He still accepts you with open arms and rejoices in your desire to return to Him. His promise still stands:
“The one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out” (John 6:37).
No matter what your current status is—even if God knows you might relapse—He will accept you.
David lived a life according to God’s heart. Yet, this man broke God’s commandments more than once: “You shall not commit adultery. You shall not covet. You shall not covet your neighbor’s house; you shall not covet your neighbor’s wife. You shall not murder.”
Here, David actually broke three commandments. First, he coveted his neighbor’s wife, which is something that God specifically instructed not to do. Then, despite her being married, he committed adultery with her. To cover up his actions and avoid being discovered, he orchestrated the murder of her husband by sending him to the front lines of battle.
Now, let’s see what happens after. Let’s embark on a journey into God’s vast heart and witness its greatness. Once David repents and admits his sins of adultery and murder, he realizes that they were only against God. When he repents, God quickly—actually, very quickly—accepts his repentance and blesses both David and Bathsheba.
Out of all David’s wives, God chose Bathsheba and included her name among His ancestors in Matthew’s genealogy. He blessed Bathsheba’s son, Solomon, and sent the prophet Nathan to inform David that Solomon’s nickname, given by God, is Jedidiah, meaning “beloved of the LORD.”
… So she bore a son, and he called his name Solomon. Now the Lord loved him, and He sent word by the hand of Nathan the prophet: So he called his name Jedidiah, because of the Lord. (2 Samuel 12:25).
It is fascinating to observe how God transitions from anger to love when He sees a person repent and seek Him. Once someone acknowledges their mistakes and turns to God, it is as if those mistakes never existed. God chooses not to remember them and welcomes them back into His family.
God’s forgiveness is further exemplified through His lineage from Ruth, a foreigner who was not Jewish. These were the very people that God had commanded Israel not to intermingle with or marry. However, He accepted Ruth into His lineage.
God wanted Israel to avoid mixing with people who had bad habits and evil ways as it could negatively influence them. But God also values and appreciates the good in those individuals. He forgives anyone’s past if they choose to seek Him, regardless of their background. Ruth is a prime example of this.
Ruth loved her mother-in-law dearly. She felt great compassion for her. While her sister Orpah stayed with her people in Moab, Ruth couldn’t bear to part from Naomi or the God of Israel whom she had grown to know.
But Ruth said, “Do not urge me to leave you or to return from following you. For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God. (Ruth 1:16 ESV).
She embraced God and became part of His family. God blessed her abundantly and included her in Jesus’ ancestry as one of the deserving women. She became David’s grandmother.
In Matthew Chapter 1, you can find three women who were sinners among Jesus’ ancestors—Tamar, Rahab, and Bathsheba. The fact that God chose to forgive them and include them in His genealogy is a powerful testament to His forgiveness and acceptance. It demonstrates His great power. God could have made all His ancestors saints, but that would discourage us and create distance between Him and our lives, which are filled with weaknesses in a world consumed by sin.
Forgive Yourself
We have witnessed God’s willingness to forgive at any time. Our new challenge is learning to forgive ourselves.
“Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 3:13-14 ESV).
To forgive yourself, it’s not just about your mindset. You can’t simply tell yourself you’ll forget the past because your mind won’t easily believe something that happened for a long time can simply vanish. While God is always ready to forgive, we struggle with how to forgive ourselves.
Your mind can trick you. This happens in everyday life. When we do something good, we feel happy. When we face setbacks, we feel sad. To forgive yourself, you must take control of your mind.
Let’s provide our minds with the material and fuel to stay focused. Instead of letting it jump around based on emotions, we can redirect its energy toward what lies ahead. As the verse suggests, if we ignore our past long enough, our minds will eventually forget it. Things we don’t dwell on naturally fade from memory.
Imagine your mind as a train, burdened with the weight of years filled with sins. It feels stuck, unable to move forward. But here’s the thing—God forgives you for your sins and grants you just enough strength to start moving again. As you pick up speed, you realize that the weight and burden become lighter. The faster you go, the easier it gets. So, the secret to forgiving yourself is to keep pushing forward without dwelling on the heaviness of your load. The more you press on, the lighter you become, and those negative thoughts will eventually fade away.
“For godly sorrow produces repentance leading to salvation, not to be regretted; but the sorrow of the world produces death” (2 Corinthians 7:10).
So, if you restart your battle and feel down, know that it’s either a new trick from the Devil or just your body weight and the long history of sins pulling you down. It may give you the illusion of dying, but in reality, you’re not even sick. Jesus has already healed you.
Press on. Keep fighting.
Start with five minutes of prayer.
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