10 Forgiveness Bible Verses to Bring You Peace

Are you looking for forgiveness Bible verses to help you learn how to forgive? We hope this article will help. The act of forgiveness is a deep topic because it can be one of the most difficult things to do and yet at the same time it’s one of the most powerful practices for your body, mind, and spirit.

One of the first things to remember is that regardless of how a person has wronged you, we’re called to forgive him or her because we’ve been forgiven by the blood of Jesus. This can be incredibly difficult, especially if someone has caused tremendous harm or pain, however, please remember that forgiveness does not always include reconciliation if the person you’re forgiving is dangerous to your well-being.

Many people harbor unforgiveness as a way of punishing the other person, but unforgiveness can physically damage you. John Hopkins speaks of the tremendous physical burden that unforgiveness causes.

Undealt with anger and unforgiveness puts your body in a constant state of fight-or-flight mode which can increase heart disease, diabetes, depression, anxiety, and change your immune system’s ability to respond to viruses, bacteria, toxins, and harmful substances.

There are many forgiveness Bible verses, which speaks to just how important God’s forgiveness is in our lives and how important it is for us to forgive others. Before we dive into those forgiveness verses, remember that when you forgive it’s important to not just say “I forgive you” in your heart or directly to the person, it’s also important that you release that pain and the person from any obligation to make it right. Alright, let’s look at some scriptures on forgiveness.

Forgiveness Bible Verses

Here are some common forgiveness Bible verses found in Scriptures to help us understand what it means to forgive:

The Lord our God is merciful and forgiving, even though we have rebelled against him. – Daniel 9:9

The Bible tells us that God is merciful and forgiving even though we don’t obey his commands and teaching and even though we often fall short of His desires and expectations for our lives. His character is full of mercy and forgiveness, which is a good example for us to model.

Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. – Colossians 3:13

In this life, we’re to bear with one another and forgive grievances. Bearing with people means to be patient with them and to understand the context of who they are, how they’re trying, what their past looks like, and to extend grace, mercy, and forgiveness.

For 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. – Matthew 6: 14-15

This Bible verse may seem harsh to some, but it’s a reminder that we forgive because we’re also forgiven. There’s a reciprocal act to our forgiveness which can be very reassuring when you forgive someone – it’s not in vain, you’ll experience freedom because of it, and God will also forgive your sins.

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

It’s not a coincidence that the Bible tells us to get rid of all of the things that harm our bodies, emotional states, and our relationships. We’re to get rid of anger, rage, bitterness, and slander and to replace those negative responses with kindness, compassion, and forgiveness.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. – 1 John 1:9

When we confess our sins and ask for forgiveness, God doesn’t tell us that we need to spend more time suffering or thinking about what we’ve done. He doesn’t ignore us. No, the Bible tells us that God is faithful and He not only forgives us, but he purifies us from all of our unrighteousness.

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord. – Acts 3:19

When we repent and turn to God, times of refreshing come to us from the Lord. I think we can all agree that when in the middle of sin and unforgiveness, it’s anything but refreshing. It’s painful, it’s discouraging, and it’s depressing. But, when repent and turn to God, he promises to wipe out our sins and bring refreshing.

As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. – Psalm 103:12

Isn’t it an amazing feeling to know that God throws our sins far, far away from us. They’re not tucked under a rug or bubbling under the surface waiting to hold us hostage or make us feel bad again. They’re gone!

Come now, let us settle the matter,” says the Lord. ‘Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red as crimson they shall be like wool. – Isaiah 1:18

Imagine blood-red sins staining and invading your life and then picture them turning to white snow and soft bright wool as they no longer have the ability to mark your life and mess it up. God does that to our sins. He settles them, deals them, and casts them far from our lives. What a good God to not leave us in our state of sin. We’re forgiven!

Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” – Hebrews 10:18

God doesn’t just forgive our sins – He remembers them no more! As individuals, completely letting go of wrongs against us can be incredibly difficult. We have a saying that goes, “forgiven but not forgotten.”

We’ll forgive someone, but we won’t forget. However, this verse points to God’s ability to completely forget our sins so when we ask for forgiveness and He looks at us, He doesn’t see the awful things we’ve done.

In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace. – Ephesians 1:7

The ”riches of God’s grace” speaks to just how much grace God has. He has an abundance of it – a wealth of it. Our lives are redeemed thanks to His abundant grace that has covered our sins with the blood of Jesus.

Accepting God’s Forgiveness

Sometimes, it’s difficult for people to believe that God would really forgive them. They might have done horrific things – things that they believe are unforgivable – but the Bible never tells us that we’re forgiven except when we do such and such.

Paul (formerly the murderer Saul) was forgiven. Moses (also a murderer) was forgiven and raised up as an Israelite leader that is honored and remembered to this day. David (a murderer and an adulterer) was forgiven and Christ was eventually born from His bloodline.

No matter what you’ve done, God extends forgiveness to you.

Forgiving Yourself

Sometimes people don’t struggle so much forgiving other people, but they struggle forgiving themselves for their thoughts, attitudes, or actions. The way that God demonstrates His forgiveness towards us is the way we’re to demonstrate forgiveness towards ourselves.

If an all-powerful God who sees the hearts of everyone in the world (and also sees ours) wipes our sins away, why can’t we forgive our sins as well? Many people can’t forgive themselves because they feel the need to punish themselves for what they’ve done to “make it right.”

Self-punishment does not bring about justice and it does not make things right. God brings about justice by His mercy in forgiving us and as we forgive ourselves we can start to make things right by walking more fully and closer to God who restores all things.

Christian Counseling to Help You Forgive

We hope that you’ve found these forgiveness Bible verses helpful. If you’re currently experiencing some difficulties forgiving someone or need to work through a traumatic experience that happened in your childhood or life, reach out to us for Christian Counseling to overcome traumas so you can experience the freedom of forgiveness.