Forgiving Yourself

After sinning, it can be difficult to move past the sin and the feeling of condemnation. The feeling of failing God, either intentionally or unintentionally, can stop us from moving forward and forgiving ourselves. The feeling of condemnation, self-pity, and depression can be overwhelming and stay within our heart, but once we repent of our sin and God forgives us, those feelings don’t have to stay.

Sometimes coming to God, means humbling yourself and forgiving yourself.

Begin with Prayer and Repentance

Before we can truly forgive ourselves, we need God’s forgiveness and a great place to start is through repentance. Repentance changes your heart and mind from sin, towards God. Before, when we were living in sin, did not know Him, nor deserved the opportunity to be saved, He allowed us a chance to turn and get things right.

When you repent, you put forth works (Luke 3:8, Acts 26:20) that prove it. There should be actions following your repentance and faith toward God and what He did for you. Some actions can be: separating from the sin and its triggers, or being baptized in Jesus’ name. When baptized, all of the sins that we have done in the past are buried with Him in baptism (Rom 6:3-4) and we are able to walk in the newness of life.

Jesus Made Forgiveness Final

Before, in the Old Testament, the Israelites had to go to a priest (Lev 6:1–7) and receive forgiveness by offering and sacrificing various animals for atonement. The priest would give atonement for the sins of the people every single time for every sin they would ever commit, but Jesus was the ultimate sacrifice. Being killed once (1 Pet 2:24, Heb 10:12), Jesus took and died for all of the sins that we have and will ever commit. Ultimately, Jesus died so that we wouldn’t have to die for our sins and the condemnation that we should have endured was put on Him. Now, we can live without our heart condemning us.

The Bible says in Romans 8:1 “There is therefore now no condemnation, to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh but after the spirit.” Sometimes, after we repent from committing a sin, we can put more judgement on ourselves than God has. 1 John 3:20 states “For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart and knoweth all things.” Our heart can lead our emotions into disarray, but the God that we serve is greater. Throughout the Bible we can see that He wants us to be right before Him.

Through Jesus, we can forgive ourselves. When doing so is difficult, we have a high priest, Jesus, that understands and feels what we’re going through. Heb 4:15 lets us know that “we have not a High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.” He was tempted with everything that we have and will ever face and is able to help us through it. We can get help in times of need (Heb 4:16) and have confidence toward God and His word.

Steps to Forgiveness and Living Free

If you need help with forgiving yourself, repent and ask God for forgiveness. Remember what He did on the cross to save us from our sins, and have faith in Him and His word. Take actions to keep you from committing sin again, be baptized, and live holy! If you are ready to be baptized and need to know where you can go, contact us! We connect you to a church near you. Don't stay stuck! Encourage yourself. Check out this episode of the PRESS Movement Prayer podcast, "How to Pray And Encourage Yourself!"