Let me begin by reviewing a verse of Scripture that talks about forgiveness.
"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 NIV).
The Bible says that when we admit to God that we were wrong (confess our sins), then He will always and at all times forgive us. Most people don't understand what the Bible is saying when it declares, "He will forgive us!" Bible forgiveness is one of the most fascinating subjects in the Word of God.
The word forgive is translated from the Greek word aphiemi. This word has a threefold meaning which reveals the awesomeness of God's forgiveness. One meaning of this word is "to dismiss the wrong that was done." This means if you tell a lie, then confess it as sin, God will dismiss that act. As far as He's concerned, you never told the lie.
This leads to the next meaning of this word, "to remit the punishment." God cannot punish you for something that He has dismissed.
The third meaning of this word is "to treat the guilty party as if they never committed the crime." If God dismissed the act that you performed, and remitted the punishment, then surely He will treat you as if you were innocent.
This is what the word forgiveness means. When we confess our sins to God, He dismisses them, remits the punishment, and treats us as if we never did wrong. Thank God! This is also how God wants us to treat one another. He enables us to forgive each other in the same way.
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