Bible Verses That Will Help Me Forgive
Salvation is the Bible's central theme. But salvation is impossible without God's forgiveness to us. New converts who are led to say the sinner's prayer are told that for them to be saved, they have to accept Jesus into their heart as their Savior. But there is one requirement that is always left out: The need to forgive others.
Mark 11:25 says: "And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive them so that your Father in heaven may forgive your sins." Therefore, aside from asking forgiveness, the one reciting the sinner's prayer should also declare his/her intention to forgive those who wronged him/her.
Forgiving should not be limited to the sinner's prayer; it has to be an everyday habit. In reciting the Lord's prayer, Jesus said: "Forgive us our sins, as we forgive those who sin against us (Luke 11:4)." Here we learn that forgiving others is a prerequisite to obtaining God's forgiveness.
Forgiving is difficult especially to those who have been deeply wronged. God knows exactly what they're going through, for He had to sacrifice His own Son just to be able to forgive. Nobody has that kind of love — willing to give his/her own child in order to forgive the people who hurt him/her.
Jesus taught His followers this kind of forgiveness in Matthew 18:21 –22: "Then Peter came and said to Him, 'Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me and I forgive him? Up to seven times?' Jesus said to him, 'I do not say to you up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.'"
A world without forgiveness is without happiness. Which is why the Apostle Paul advices to "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice. Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you (Ephesians 4:31–32)."
