“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness<\/em>” (I John 1:9).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
Regarding our sins, we are grateful for two things. We’re thankful, first, that God is willing to forgive us, and second, that we can know He has forgiven us. The first without the second would leave us always uncertain about our forgiveness, so it’s important to know that our Father has, in fact, wiped out our transgressions.<\/p>\n
Before going further, there is something we should keep in mind. In Acts 8:22, Peter said to Simon, who had tried to buy from Peter the ability to perform miracles, “Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps the thought of your heart may be forgiven you<\/em>.” Since Simon was a baptized believer (Acts 8:13), was there any doubt that God would forgive him? Why did Peter say “if perhaps<\/em>“? I can think of at least one reason: Simon’s forgiveness would depend on the sincerity of his request. God will not be mocked by hypocritical, impenitent prayers for forgiveness.<\/p>\n
If we’re sincere in confessing our sin, however, God has promised to pardon us: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness<\/em>.” Could there be a more glorious, hopeful promise? Surely not. When we honestly admit the sinfulness of what we’ve done and ask to be forgiven, we can rejoice in the faithfulness of God’s promise. If we’ve asked, then He has forgiven us. God always does what He says!<\/p>\n
I believe there is value in verbally acknowledging this confidence. Rather than vaguely “feeling” forgiven, we can make it more specific: “Dear Father, I am thankful that you are faithful and just to forgive what I’ve done. I gladly receive Your forgiveness now.”<\/p>\n
Saying something like that to God does several things. It causes us to consider whether we truly believe God has forgiven us, it makes our gratitude for forgiveness more specific, and it sets a clear marker between the “before” and “after” – a defining moment when we reject our sin, accept God’s forgiveness, and pivot toward being a new person. And if you want to make it more clear-cut, say it out loud. It’s something we all know is true: “verbal” acknowledgments make a bigger difference in our lives than those we merely “think.”<\/p>\n
“Today, I receive that gift of forgiveness You hold out to me. Thank You for doing a healing work inside of me that I cannot do on my own” (Suzanne Eller).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
by Gary Henry via WordPoints.com “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). Regarding our sins, we are grateful for two things. We’re thankful, first, that God is willing to forgive us, and second, that we can know…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[1571],"class_list":["post-91004","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-forgiveness"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":28155,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-did-peter-say-that-perhaps-god-would-forgive-simon\/","url_meta":{"origin":91004,"position":0},"title":"Why did Peter say that perhaps God would forgive Simon?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"July 21, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I a question for you regarding a scripture. It was a passage that you showed\u00a0someone grappling with blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. \"Repent therefore of this your wickedness, and pray God if perhaps\u00a0the thought of your heart may be forgiven you\" (Acts 8:22) I am sure I am misunderstanding\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":49560,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-continue-to-ask-for-forgiveness-if-jesus-died-for-all-our-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":91004,"position":1},"title":"Why continue to ask for forgiveness if Jesus died for all our sins?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"December 5, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: A friend and I found a small church to attend, but their pastor prays at the beginning of their service asking for forgiveness of their sins. This made me wonder: Jesus died on the cross for us and he put the past, present, and future sins on that cross\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":16007,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/forgiveness\/","url_meta":{"origin":91004,"position":2},"title":"Forgiveness (Hamilton)","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 23, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton I.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0We must each face death \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0A.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0But most of us have already experienced death. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0B.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Death is a separation. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a01.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Physical death is a separation of the spirit from the body. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a02.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0When our sins separate us from God, this is spiritual death - Isa.\u00a059:1-3 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0C.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0Spiritual death is not permanent.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Sermon"","block_context":{"text":"Sermon","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/sermon\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":90727,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/forgiveness-of-debts-owed\/","url_meta":{"origin":91004,"position":3},"title":"Forgiveness of Debts Owed","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"September 24, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Doy Moyer It seems that in the \"forgiveness debate\" (that sounds odd), people can easily talk past each other. The discussion really hinges on what is meant by \"forgiveness.\" To further clarify the nature and nuances of forgiveness, please note the phrase used by Jesus in His model prayer:\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":70001,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/forgiveness-without-repentance\/","url_meta":{"origin":91004,"position":4},"title":"Forgiveness Without Repentance?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"October 1, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Mike Johnson via Seeking Things Above The Bible emphasizes the importance of forgiving those who sin against us. In fact, failing to do so is very frightening because, in Matthew 6:14-15, Jesus taught, \"For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":80660,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/all-past-present-and-future-sins\/","url_meta":{"origin":91004,"position":5},"title":"All Past, Present, and Future Sins?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 30, 2024","format":false,"excerpt":"by Terry Wane Benton I don't know how many times I have heard preachers when talking about getting full forgiveness of sins, say, \"That means all past, present, and future sins are forgiven at the cross.\" Let us study the scriptures on this matter. The Bible does not say or\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91004","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91004"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91004\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91004"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91004"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91004"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}