How Do I Forgive Me?

Berean Baptist on November 18, 2019

One of the most common issues I encounter in counselling concerns guilt because of sin. As you know, I am never shy of preaching the horrible weight of sin that is against us, and that preachers ought never to let sinners off the hook by saying people feel too guilty already and we do not want to add to their guilt. No, if you are not a Christian, you do not understand how deeply guilty you are. If I can pound that point home clearly and without equivocation, only then I have done my duty to the gospel. You need forgiveness of your sins through the blood of Jesus Christ.

However, pay close attention. The Bible says nothing about forgiving yourself of sin. Much less does it speak of a person who trusts Christ as having any time in their life regardless of their sin that they must forgive themselves. The Bible never allows a Christian to think Christ’s forgiveness is not enough—that we need to take an extra step and work on forgiving ourselves before we are made whole.

The question, “How do I forgive myself,” was answered insightfully by H.B. Charles in a recent devotional. He said, “The most faithful response to this question is to reject it as an illegitimate question. The biblical teaching about forgiveness can be summarized in two main ideas: God forgives sinners freely, completely, and sacrificially. Ultimately, divine forgiveness is paid for by the cross of Christ. Christians must forgive those who wrong us, as God has forgiven us for the sake of Christ. That’s it. Sermon over. There is no third point. God has forgiven us, and we must forgive others. Period…the Bible does not teach that we should forgive ourselves. It does not explain how to forgive ourselves. It does not say anything about forgiving ourselves whatsoever.”

            Charles went on to say that self-forgiveness is self-centered psychology that suggests we are the ones who need to be appeased. In effect, it suggests that we are the God that is offended which he termed not just erroneous, but blasphemous. And yet, this concept is often found in self-esteem preaching. In self-help books, this is often part of their step program much like AA has a twelve-step program to wellness.

            Self-forgiveness betrays the sacrifice of Christ by proclaiming it less than sufficient. It is nothing less than one more self-righteous works religion that is the backbone of all false religions. Adam began this religion by grabbing fig leaves to cover his nakedness. Self-forgiveness is another fig leaf that is odious to God’s grace in the full and free pardon of sin in Christ. Self-forgiveness evidences a person does not understand the work of Christ. The same people who would never think of doing penance by working the beads of a rosary have in fact embraced the same religion by laboring to emancipate themselves from guilt figuring how they can forgive themselves.

            Charles also made this comment: “You do not need to supplement divine forgiveness with any self-forgiveness. Your forgiveness in Christ is complete. Receive it. Remember it. And rejoice in it. If your testimony is, ‘God has forgiven me,’ that is enough! You do not need to forgive yourself.” I submit this is the heart of the gospel. It is a gospel of grace that leaves nothing for us to do. Notice Charles said, “Receive it.” You are the recipient not the giver. As in your salvation, you do not “accept” it as if it must be evaluated and found to meet your approval. No, Christ approved it, you only need to receive it.

            If you receive the forgiveness of sin accomplished by the grace of God, it is enough. Nothing needs to be added. Indeed, God wants nothing from you nor accepts anything from you. Christ took care of it. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus.” (Romans 8:1)

                                                                                    Pastor V. Mark Smith

The Blessing of Forgiveness

Berean Baptist on November 16, 2015

“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” (Psalms 32:1-2)

 All of us are familiar with the life of David. The two major events that usually stand out about his life are the victory he had over Goliath as a very young man and the terrible sin of adultery he committed with Bathsheba after he had become king. This sin only worsened as he tried to cover it up by murdering Uriah her husband. These two notable events show in the first an incredible demonstration of faith, and in the second a despicable demonstration of failure. Even though David defeated the giant Goliath, we would more remember him for his failure than his faith if not for this one important factor—God is merciful and He is always willing to forgive our sins.

This psalm is a psalm of forgiveness. It is possible in the worst of our failures, in the deepest poverty of our sins, to find God’s forgiveness. The key is repentance. The joy of forgiveness David found was not until he uttered the words, “God, I have sinned.” It was then and only then that David was restored to happiness and fellowship with the Lord.

The beginning of this psalm is an expression of the forgiveness found: “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.” “Impute” is not a word we often use but it simply means “to charge to the account of.” “Blessed is the man whose sins are not charged to him.” This statement begs for further explanation. How and why does God not charge sin to a person who is as obviously guilty as David was? If God is a God of justice and true righteousness, how can He overlook sin? This is a very good question and one which has a rock solid answer rooted in the divine satisfaction of justice. God never lets sin go unpunished. Every evil deed must receive a just recompense of reward.

If this is true, how was David granted forgiveness? The only answer is that somehow sin was punished by being meted out upon some other who bore the guilt of David’s sin. The New Testament has the answer for this: “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him” (2 Corinthians 5:20-21). This is in response to the Old Testament teaching of Isaiah 53:6:  “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” The death of Christ on the cross provided the means for double imputation without which none of us could ever be forgiven. Second Corinthians expresses it by saying Christ was made sin for us (our sins imputed to Him) and He is made righteousness for us (His righteousness imputed to us). This is the way God’s justice was satisfied for David’s sin and is the basis for his forgiveness. Our sins were punished in Christ and the merits of His righteous life are given to us. This all takes place by faith which was displayed by David when he recognized his sin and repented. He expected that God would do what He always promised—when there is sincere repentance, God always forgives. Later in the Psalms, David wrote: “Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me” (Psalms 51:9-10).

Today we rejoice as David did because the same God that forgave him will also forgive us. You may have failed God deeply and you wonder if you could ever be forgiven. The answer is “yes.” Repent of your sins and place all your confidence in Christ. Trust Him as the redeemer of your soul and His death as the satisfaction for your sins. When you have done this, you will know the joy of David when he said, “Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven.”

Pastor V. Mark Smith