DO YOU REALLY NEED TO FORGIVE YOURSELF?

The message of self-forgiveness, like many other unscriptural teachings, is quite attractive in a therapeutic age. Have you ever heard someone say, “All you have to do is, forgive yourself”? I believed that for years. I mean, for years. But it never brought me the ever-increasing peace and joy that comes in knowing that one has been forgiven.

It really sounded exciting to my ears and, of course, gave me temporary relieve. I thought it would be the permanent solution to my perpetual guilty conscience. Alas, to my dismay, I could not forgive myself. I tried. But the harder I tried, the more disillusioned I became. It was simply impossible. I never knew why then, but I think I do now – after all these years.

There were two basic reasons why I was unable to forgive myself. First, it was against God that I had sinned. So, it had to be God that would forgive me. Secondly, I could never forgive myself because I was unable to forget the sins I had committed. But God could forgive me because He can choose not to remember them. For He said, “Your sins I will remember no more.”

You see, although God had wrought a work of grace in me in my early teens, not knowing this, I was crippled by guilt for years. As fundamental as it is to the Christian Faith, unfortunately, I was not properly taught at that initial stage what the forgiveness of sins entailed. I never knew that the very moment I repented and forsook my sins, God forgave me and forgot them.

Because I did not begin on a very good note, I suffered greatly. I lived with a guilty conscience that hunted me for many years after I first met the Man of Calvary. I wasn’t truly certain, that once God forgives a person, they are forgiven. As basic as this is, it took years for it to become a revelation to me. You may not understand, except you have experienced it.

Quite frankly, I could not conceive in my mind that once I confess my sins, God is faithful and just and will forgive me my sins and purify me from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9). I thought I had to confess my past sins each time I were to approach God in prayer. Of course, it was customary for the person leading the prayers in church to demand this of us. So, I grew up with this perception.

Dear saints, I bring you good news. If God has forgiven your past sins, you are forgiven. Yes, you may never forget those sins. But once God has forgiven you, He has forgiven and forgotten all your confessed sins. Therefore, REJOICE – if you have been forgiven.

So, there is no such thing in the scriptures as “forgive yourself.” We were commanded by Jesus to forgive others their trespasses; and God promised that when we do so, He will also forgive us our own trespasses. Forgiveness is only in two-fold: You forgive others; God forgives you. Hence you don’t need to forgive yourself.

Simply believe that God has forgiven you, if you confessed and forsook your sins. It is that plain and straightforward. Sadly, our biggest battles are to be fought inside the church. We must fight for the purity and simplicity of the gospel. Because, as it stands, there is yet another appealing message that says, “Once you become a Christian, God did not only forgive your past sins, but also, your future sins as well.”

Although that is a discussion for another time, suffice it to say, that such thinking often leads to lawlessness and moral decadence. If our future sins have been forgiven, as some claim, what is the point of being watchful then? We don’t instantly stop sinning the moment we become Christians. It is only the beginning of a life-long pursuit of holiness. We were made holy; we are being made holy; and we will be made holy.

You see, even as Christians, we must go on confessing and forsaking our sins. Only as we go on confessing would God also go on forgiving us, and purifying us from all unrighteousness. God does not only want to forgive our sins; He also wants to purify us from all unrighteousness. Though this is a very important truth, it is hardly ever preached today. Indeed, there is deliverance from the power and practice of sin.

And that is the point God wants to bring us to. For whoever lives in Christ does not go on sinning. They cannot, because God’s seed abides in them. Having delivered us from the guilt of sin, God wants to deliver us from the power of sin. Finally, sometime in the future, we will be delivered from the presence of sin. This is what it means to be saved. So, we are not yet saved; we are simply being saved. Salvation is a life-long process.