"I Just Can't Forgive Myself"

 

“I just can’t forgive myself.” Have you ever heard someone say that? To my knowledge, the Bible does not speak of the need for or the way to forgive yourself.

What does it speak of?

This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. (1 John 1:5)

 

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (1 John 1:7)

 

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9)

1 John 1:5 speaks of absolute light. Verse 7 speaks of walking in that light with two results:

·       Fellowship with one another

·       Continued purification from all sin by the blood of Christ

Verse 9 speaks of God’s faithfulness in:

·       Forgiving our sins

·       Purifying us from all unrighteousness

What are our responsibilities?

·       Walk in the light.

·       Confess our sins.

What are the results?

·       Fellowship

·       Cleansing from sin

·       Forgiveness of sin

·       Purification from all unrighteousness

 Why does the Bible not mention forgiving ourselves? 

·       Sin is never against ourselves. It is against God. It is a violation of His holiness.

·       We are the sinners, not the ones sinned against.

·       We are the confessors, not the forgivers. If we think we are responsible for assigning forgiveness to ourselves, we have believed the lie of the devil. It is a great sin against God.

·       Refusing to forgive ourselves is saying that we are senior to God. Who do we think we are?

·       Even if it were our responsibility to forgive ourselves, that forgiveness should be based on grace, not merit. No one deserves forgiveness.

Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death. (2 Corinthians 7:10)

There are two types of sorrow:

1.     Godly sorrow

2.     Worldly sorrow

The first leaves no regret. The second leads to death. If you are not forgiving yourself, you are continuing in regret, which means your sorrow is not godly. As long as you hold onto this worldly sorrow, you are not forgiven by God, either. Thank God for His forgiveness and rejoice in that forgiveness. That is godly sorrow.

Do not look on refusing to forgive yourself as some sort of virtue. It is an awful sin.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the To the Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan, please join us. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships