Why Would God Want to Forgive Us?

Why would God want to forgive us? How can we know we are forgiven?

—Molly, age 13

Your question about forgiveness is important and I want to think about what the Bible says about it. First, why do we need to be forgiven? Some people think that since God loves everyone, He is not bothered by what we do—He just loves us anyway. But that isn’t how God looks at our sins. Isaiah 59:2 says, “Your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid His face from you, that He will not hear.” God counts sin as a serious problem. He doesn’t do anything wrong and made us to be people that love and obey Him. So when we sin—do something we know is wrong—we know God is not pleased. He still loves us and wants to do good to us, but our attitude and actions separate us from Him.

Our sins control us and make us a slave. Romans 6:20-21 tells us about this: “When you were the slaves of sin, you were free from the control of righteousness [that means, you didn’t think or want to do what is right]. What benefit did you reap at that time…? [Doing wrong didn’t really make you happy—it just brought shame and trouble to you.] The result of those things is death!” Just like a bird in a cage or a criminal in handcuffs, we can’t free ourselves. We need someone strong enough and loving enough to set us free from sin.

But if our sins separate us from God, who can help us? This is why Jesus came. Ephesians 1:7 says “we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace.” Our sins have to be punished by death, but Jesus willingly paid that price for us. Why? Because God wants us to know and love Him, so He made a way to save us from sin. Read John 1:9—“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” This is wonderful, but it can only be true if we do our part. We must confess that we have sinned and need forgiveness. We also must turn from all that is wrong (Acts 20:18) and be willing to forgive those that have hurt us (Matthew 11:25).

Now let’s think about how we can know we are forgiven. If you really believe that God is not pleased with sin and you have confessed and turned away from it, then you also must believe that God wants to forgive you. Psalm 86:5 says that God is “good, and ready to forgive.” Sometimes we think God doesn’t want to forgive us because of all the wrong things we’ve done. If a person kept doing wrong to us, we would have a hard time being kind to them. But God isn’t like that. He never holds grudges or gets bitter, because those attitudes are wrong. God is good and always desires to do good to you, because He created you to have a relationship with Him. The more sins you have, the more He desires to save you. Imagine a small child falling into a pit and calling for help. Wouldn’t his father hurry to get him out? If the pit was very deep, the child would seem very far away, but wouldn’t the father be even more eager to rescue him? That is how God looks at sin and forgiveness. God created you and loves you even more than any parents can. Sin dragged you away from Him and caused you lots of trouble. God wants to deliver you and bring you close to His heart again. Do you believe that He will forgive you just as soon as you turn from your sin and ask Him? When you believe Him, then you will know you are forgiven because of the peace and joy He will give you.

When I was your age I thought I was a Christian and I tried to do right, but I still had guilt in my heart. Then Jesus talked to my heart one night about my sin and how He would save me if I would confess and turn from it. It was scarey to think of confessing and admitting that my heart wasn’t right, but I wanted forgiveness and peace enough to give up my pride and say “yes” to Jesus. I’m so glad I did! He took away my sin and has helped me to love what is right and hate evil. He has helped me to please God and love others. Now I live with joy and peace, because Jesus is King in my heart—not selfishness and wrong. I’ve written a story about it called “Mariann’s Heart.” It is wonderful to love Jesus and know Him as your Savior and Friend!