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What Does it Mean that Jesus can Forgive you of your Sins?

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The Bible teaches that we all have disobeyed God and this is called sin.

Jesus paid the penalty to God for our sins by dying on our behalf. He rose again and ascended into heaven. When we confess our sins to Jesus, the payment that He made to God for the sins of humanity pays the penalty of our sins. Then we stop doing the thoughts and actions that separate us from God and instead do what honors Him and will bring us closer to Him. This is called “repentance.” When we repent of our sins and ask for Jesus to be our Master then our sins are gone. They are wiped clean and remembered no longer. We are freed! It is as if we are born again. We can live a life that honors God the Father and God the Son.

Only Jesus can forgive sins because only Jesus lived a sinless life, died for us, and rose again. Jesus is the sin-destroying Light. He said, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life” (John 8:12). Since all of humanity has sinned and fallen short of God’s glory, we cannot forgive ourselves of our sins. We need a Savior. The Savior of the world is Jesus.

When Jesus forgives you of your past sins then you are freed from them. This means that the guilt and the fear is gone because you have a new heart; a cleansed heart. In this freedom, you are not to return to the old lifestyle with the former ways of behaving and thinking. Instead, you are freed to live the life that God created you to live. You can follow the teachings of Jesus. You can learn to forgive others and live a life that is free from condemnation and guilt. You will be a new person; a new creation.