There is Hope in Forgiveness

Many Christians have the wrong idea about forgiveness.

Additionally, the topic of forgiveness is often neglected because everyone thinks they understand it when actually they do not.

The God Who Forgives

1. It is the very nature of God is to forgive sins (Neh. 9:16-17; Ps. 86:5)
2. When God forgives, He forgives completely ( Jer 50:20; Rom 8:1).
3. God’s forgiveness costs us nothing (Eph 2: 8-9) but it was very costly to God (Isa. 53:4-12; John 3:16).
4. God never withholds forgiveness when sins are confessed in a sincere biblical manner (1 John 1:9).

Hope in Forgiveness

Hope is defined as a confident expectancy. In the Bible, the word hope stands for both the act of hoping and the thing hoped for.

Rom 4:18 – In hope against hope he believed, in order that he might become a father of many nations, according to that which had been spoken, “So shall your descendants be.”

1 Pet 1:3 – Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead

Hope does not arise from the individual’s desires or wishes but from God, who is Himself the believer’s hope:

Ps 39:7 – “But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.

Genuine hope is not wishful thinking, but a firm assurance about things that are unseen and still in the future.

Rom 8:24-25 – For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Question to Consider

If you are in Christ, does the fact that God has forgiven you give you hope?