Uplifting & inspirational prayers, verses, poems & more
Bible Verses on Forgiveness
There are a lot of Bible verses on forgiveness found throughout the Scriptures since this is a major biblical theme. Lets take a look at the top 20.
Whether we are looking for passages about God forgiving us or those about our responsibility to forgive others, we can discover a lot of information about the nature and expectation of forgiveness.
We have carefully sorted through a huge number of biblical passages to find you the best 20 bible quotes on forgiveness for use in sermons, reflection, or study that clearly reflect the importance of forgiveness in the life of all Christians who profess to follow in the way of Jesus.
Scripture on Forgiveness
1.
“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.”
[English Standard Version, Colossians 3:13]
2.
“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]
3.
“And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”
[Matthew 6:12]
4.
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;”
[Luke 6:37]
5.
“Do not say, I will repay evil; wait for the Lord, and he will deliver you.”
[Proverbs 20:22]
6.
“Do not say, I will do to him as he has done to me; I will pay the man back for what he has done.”
[Proverbs 24:29]
7.
“Then Peter came up and said to him, Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times? Jesus said to him, I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.””
[Matthew 18:21-22]
8.
“Do not rejoice when your enemy falls, and let not your heart be glad when he stumbles,”
[Proverbs 24:17]
9.
“Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God, for it is written, Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.”
[Romans 12:19-21]
10.
“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]
11.
“Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
[Ephesians 4:32]
12.
“if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.”
[2 Chronicles 7:14]
13.
“To the Lord our God belong mercy and forgiveness, for we have rebelled against him”
[Daniel 9:9]
14.
“For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.”
[Psalm 86:5]
15.
“And we labor, working with our own hands. When reviled, we bless; when persecuted, we endure;”
[1 Corinthians 4:12]
16.
“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]
17.
“But Joseph said to them, Do not fear, for am I in the place of God? As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today. So do not fear; I will provide for you and your little ones. Thus he comforted them and spoke kindly to them.”
[Genesis 50:19-21]
18.
“Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing”
[1 Peter 3:9]
19.
“And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And they cast lots to divide his garments.”
[Luke 23:34]
20.
“Blessed are the merciful, for they shall receive mercy.”
[Matthew 5:7]
These Bible verses on forgiveness tell us that God wants to forgive us for our sins and this is clearly displayed in the attitude of Jesus toward those who were crucifying him. When looking at the way God forgives us, we can see that forgiveness goes beyond out understanding of forgiveness. When God forgives, he also forgets.
We discover in these biblical passages that God wants us to forgive others in the same way he has forgiven us. We are not to seek vengeance or desire ruin on those who have hurt us and harmed us in some way. Instead we are to leave all of that to our God. And as God’s forgiveness includes no longer remembering out sins, we also need to strive to forget the sins of others and continue to forgive them no matter how many times they have hurt us.
