10 Bible Verses About Forgiveness

Do you know you need to forgive someone, but you are struggling to do so? Forgiveness is hard, but God can help you do it. When you meditate on Bible verses about forgiveness, you can gain the motivation to forgive even when you feel stuck in unforgiveness.

The following Bible verses about forgiveness have much to teach us about the act of forgiving others. It’s not an option for us as believers in Christ. Yet it takes time and perspective to let go of deep hurts someone has done against us. The Bible can help us do this, and we can also gain practical help from a compassionate Christian counselor.

Bible verses about forgiveness.

These Bible verses can help you forgive those who have hurt you. You can think about them deeply and post them
where you will see them several times every day. By asking God to help you apply these verses to your own situation, you can finally be free from the hurts others have caused.

Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. – Psalm 19:12

Each of us has pockets of sin hidden inside. One of these sins is harboring unforgiveness toward others. But God wants the sin of unforgiveness to come out into the light. Even if you feel like you don’t care about what someone did to you anymore, you may be holding a grudge deep inside.

You can pray that God will show you hidden areas of grudges in your heart. A qualified Christian counselor can also offer a valuable, objective perspective to help you see where hidden unforgiveness is hurting you, and how you can let go of it.

For your name’s sake, O Lord, pardon my guilt, for it is great. – Psalm 25:11

One of our motivations to forgive is out of love and thankfulness for what God has done for us. Think about every sin, small or large, that you have committed just in the past 24 hours. Now think about that over the entire course of your life.

There are more sins than any of us can count when we compare our actions to our perfect, holy, sinless Savior. When you look at your sins in the light of God’s grace, you will see the depth and breadth of the forgiveness you need. This can help you ask God to forgive not only others but yourself for the sins that have been committed.

And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. – Matthew 6:12

Sins are like bad debts owed against us. They are like debts that someone either cannot or will not pay back to us. We need to decide to cancel the debts they owe us when we forgive them. We can put the debts on God, trusting Him to exact the right amount from them according to his justice and sovereignty.

Since God has forgiven our debt of sins that is impossible to repay, we can forgive others out of our overflow of thankfulness to God, who will hold them accountable much better than we could ever do.

But if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. – Matthew 6:15

This is a sobering verse to ponder. Jesus spoke these words to his followers. They are not too difficult to understand, but difficult to apply. If you feel like this verse is impossible for you to apply to the people who hurt you, ask God to give you the supernatural strength to forgive by giving extra measures of the Spirit, working forgiveness for others in you.

For this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. – Matthew 26:28

Forgiveness is never free. Someone always must pay the price for the wrong which has been done. You may feel the injustice that your offenders seem to have gotten off without a hitch. But with His own blood, Jesus paid the price for every sin that His people have ever committed. He did this though he never sinned himself. When you ponder this truth in light of your sins, it can cause you to praise God for forgiving you, and even soften your heart toward your offenders.

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses. – Mark 11:25

Forgiveness is so important to God that he wants us to pause our worship and prayer to forgive others. He knows how much unforgiveness can create barriers in our relationship with him and others. So, he asks us to immediately forgive an offender when their offense pops up in our minds. The sooner we act on this prompting from the Holy Spirit, the cleaner our hearts will be before God, and the more honest our praise, worship, and prayers will be.

Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven—for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. – Luke 7:47

Jesus spoke this verse about the woman who anointed his feet with perfume. She had lived a life of sin but had changed due to his influence in her life. Jesus acknowledged that she had many sins, yet they had all been forgiven.

Since she had been forgiven so much, her love for Jesus was great. This verse displays a principle: the more we have accepted forgiveness from God, the more love we will show him. If you want to love God more, accept his forgiveness for yourself, then share it with others.

And if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, ‘I repent,’ you must forgive him. – Luke 17:4

Let’s look closely at the word “repent” in this verse. To repent means to turn in a different direction. But repentance is a process. You may need to forgive someone who keeps sinning against you in their effort to get better. This is difficult, but God will empower you to do it.

Even if the offender isn’t repentant, you can still forgive them while putting a safe distance between you and the offender, so you aren’t continually exposed to abuse. A qualified Christian counselor can advise you in situations like these.

Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots. – Luke 23:34

This is one of the most powerful Scriptures on forgiveness. Jesus spoke these words while the Roman soldiers were nailing him to the cross. He knew that the soldiers didn’t really understand their brutality against the Son of God at a critical moment in world history.

They didn’t know they were nailing the sinless Savior of the world to a cross. But Jesus forgave them anyway. If he can do this in his sinless state to his worst offenders, certainly he will help us forgive those who either knowingly or unknowingly hurt us.

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

Personal confession is an excellent way to keep a short account with God. Commit to confessing your sins, including the sin of unforgiveness, before God every day. Ask Him to help you be ready, willing, and able to forgive those who have hurt you. In time, God will empower you to forgive those who have caused you pain and suffering. He will purify your heart and draw you close to Him.

Christian counseling for forgiveness.

Do you need more help forgiving someone for a deep hurt beyond these Bible verses about forgiveness? If so, reach out to us today. The counselors at our office can help you process your pain and let go so you can walk in the freedom that Christ provides.