March 3, 2026
The word “forgive” means to wipe the slate clean, to pardon, to cancel a debt. … The Bible tells us that we are all in need of forgiveness from God. We have all committed sin. Ecclesiastes 7:20 proclaims, “There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins.” …
Thankfully, God is loving and merciful—eager to forgive us of our sins! 2 Peter 3:9 tells us, “He is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.” God desires to forgive us, so He provided for our forgiveness. …
Second Corinthians 5:21 teaches us, “God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.” Jesus died on the cross, taking the punishment that we deserve! … 1 John 2:2 proclaims, “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.” Jesus rose from the dead, proclaiming His victory over sin and death (1 Corinthians 15:1–28). Praise God, through the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the second half of Romans 6:23 is true, “but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”—GotQuestions.org1
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God doesn’t keep grudges. He is never trying to get even with us. Jesus paid all the costs for everything we’ve done wrong.
God planned to do that long before you were born. Ephesians 1:4 says this: “Even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes.”
God had a plan for the guilt in our lives long before we took our first breath.
Because God forgave us, he expects us to forgive others. The Bible says, “Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others” (Colossians 3:13).2
Here’s why forgiveness is so important.
— Because God has forgiven us. We will never need to forgive anybody else more than God has already forgiven us. When we come to Christ, all our sins are wiped away. God has no record of our sins in Heaven if we’ve accepted Christ in our life. Since God offers us that kind of forgiveness, we should freely offer it to others.
— Because resentment makes us miserable. Holding on to unforgiveness doesn’t just hurt the other person. It hurts us. In fact, it hurts us more.
— Because we’ll need more forgiveness in the future. We’ll make mistakes in the future. We’ll sin. We’ll fail. We’ll fall. We will need the forgiveness of God and others later. But Jesus taught, “If you don’t forgive others, your Father will not forgive your offenses” (Matthew 6:15).—Rick Warren3
After I lived a “decent” life, my time on earth came to an end. The first thing I remember is sitting on a bench in the waiting room of what seemed to be a courthouse. The doors opened, and I was instructed to come in and have a seat at the defense table.
As I looked around, I saw the prosecutor. He was a villainous-looking gent who snarled as he stared at me. He definitely was the most evil person I have ever seen. I sat down and looked to my left and there sat my lawyer, a kind and gentle-looking man whose appearance seemed strangely familiar to me.
The corner door flew open, and the Judge appeared. He was an awesome figure, in full, flowing robes, as He moved across the room. I couldn’t take my eyes off Him. As He took His seat behind the bench, He said, “Let us begin.”
The prosecutor rose and said, “My name is Satan, and I am here to show You why this man belongs in hell.” He proceeded to tell of lies I had told, things I had stolen, and times I had cheated others. The more he spoke, the further down in my seat I sank.
I was so embarrassed that I couldn’t look at anyone, even my own lawyer, as the Devil told of sins that even I had completely forgotten about. As upset as I was at Satan for telling all these things about me, I was equally upset at my representative, who sat there silently, not offering any form of defense at all.
I knew I had been guilty of those things, but I had done some good in my life. Couldn’t that at least compensate for part of the harm I’d done? Satan finished with a fury and said, “This man belongs in hell. He is guilty of all that I have charged, and there is not a person who can prove otherwise.”
When it was His turn, my lawyer first asked if He might approach the bench. The Judge allowed this, over the strong objection of Satan, and beckoned Him to come forward. As my lawyer got up and started walking, I was able for the first time to see Him in His full splendor and majesty. I realized why He seemed so familiar. This was Jesus representing me—my Lord and Savior!
He stopped at the bench and softly said to the Judge, “Hi, Father.” Then He turned to address the court: “Satan was correct in saying that this man has sinned. I won’t deny any of these allegations. And yes, the payment for sin is hell, and this man deserves to be punished.”
Jesus took a deep breath and turned to His Father with outstretched arms and proclaimed, “However, I died on the cross as payment for this man’s sins, and so that this person might have eternal life. He has accepted Me as his Savior. He is Mine.”
My Lord continued by saying, “His name is written in the Book of Life, and no one can snatch him from Me. Satan still does not understand. This man is not to be given justice, but rather mercy.”
As Jesus sat down, He quietly paused, looked at His Father and said, “There is nothing else that needs to be done. I’ve done it all.”
The Judge lifted His mighty hand and slammed the gavel down. The following words echoed in the chamber: “This man is free. The penalty for him has already been paid in full. Case dismissed.”
As Jesus gave me my instructions about where to go next, I asked, “Have You ever lost a case?”
Christ lovingly smiled and said, “Everyone who has come to Me and asked Me to represent them has received the same verdict as you—‘Punishment paid in full.’”—Author unknown4
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From the very beginning, God decided that whoever would come to Him, He would transform to be like His Son. In effect, His Son would be the firstborn, with many brothers.
So when we came to Him through receiving Jesus as our Savior, the Father declared us “not guilty,” filled us with Christ’s goodness, and promised us glory like our Savior’s.
What can we ever say to such wonderful things as these? If God is on our side, who can work against us? God didn’t spare even His own Son, but gave Him up for us all. Won’t He also surely give us everything else?—Romans 8:29–32, paraphrased
Published on Anchor March 2026. Read by Lenore Welsh. Music by Michael Dooley.
1 “Got Forgiveness?” GotQuestions.org, January 4, 2022, https://www.gotquestions.org/got-forgiveness.html
2 Rick Warren, “Four Ways to Love Others Like Jesus,” Pastors.com, https://blog.pastors.com/articles/four-ways-to-love-others-like-jesus/
3 Rick Warren, “How Jesus Gives Us Freedom,” Pastors.com, https://blog.pastors.com/articles/how-jesus-gives-us-freedom/
4 “Jesus, Our Advocate,” God’s Other Ways (blog), https://www.godsotherways.com/stories/2020/3/25/do-the-next-thing-4baw5-8faz4-8858t-9sdzk-94pzd
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