Baptist City Blog

The Process Towards Forgiveness

Psalm 32:5

"I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the Lord; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah."

Forgiveness is an important part of living a happy life. God said in Psalm 31:1, "Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." When a person is forgiven, they have the burden of sin or wrong lifted off them. That is why it is wrong for someone not to forgive others. When you won't forgive others, you are literally forcing them to carry the burden of their sin or wrong.

Forgiveness is an act performed by the offended. If I have done wrong, I can only seek forgiveness. The actual act of forgiveness is done by the one whom I may have wronged. However, there are some things that I can do to help towards the process of forgiveness. The verse above shows us the steps a person should take to acquire forgiveness.

First, they must acknowledge their sin. The Psalmist said, "I acknowledged my sin unto thee,..." Notice, he recognized that he did wrong and who he wronged. If you want someone to forgive you, then you must acknowledge that you have wronged them. It is unfair for you to expect them to forgive you when you won't acknowledge that you have done wrong.

What is acknowledgement? It is accepting responsibility for what you have done. It is not blaming others for what you did. It is taking the whole blame for what happened. Even if someone else was involved, if you want forgiveness then you must be willing to accept all the blame for what happened. As long as you continue to point your fingers at others for why you did something, then you are prolonging the chance for them to forgive you.

Second, they must be open about what they did. The Psalmist said, "...mine iniquity have I not hid." There are times when people acknowledge that they have done wrong, but they don't completely come clean with everything that they did. If you want someone's forgiveness, then you need to come completely clean. Being deceitful and hiding what you have done will not lead others to forgive you. Deceit was part of your wrong. So, until you remove deceit and become open about what you did, you will find that the process of forgiveness will be stalled.

Third, they must confess what they did. The Psalmist continued by saying, "...I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD:..." Not only do you need to come clean with others, but you need to come clean with the LORD. The LORD is the only one Who can place in the heart of the offended the ability to forgive you. You must go to God and tell Him what you have done. No, it is not asking God to forgive you, it is telling God what you have done. Until you come clean with God and man, you cannot obtain forgiveness.

Finally, forgiveness is given when these steps are followed. The Psalmist finished by saying, "...and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah."When you follow these steps, you will find that others are more willing to forgive. Yes, they should be willing to forgive whether or not these steps are followed, but you can make forgiveness easier if you will follow these steps.

If you are the one who has been wronged, then you need to be sure that you forgive. When someone has followed these steps, it is your obligation to forgive. No matter how deep the hurt is, forgiveness will help release you from the pain of their wrong.