How Do I Receive Forgiveness?
If you have confessed your sins to God, and in heart put them away. Ask the Lord by faith to wash away your sins and give you a new heart. Then, simply believe that He does this because He has promised, “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). Jesus taught that the gifts, which God promises us, we must believe we do receive, and then it is ours. He said, “What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them” (Mark 11:24).
From the records of how Jesus healed the sick, we may understand how to believe in Him for the forgiveness of sins. In the story of the paralytic at Bethesda, we learn that the man was helpless; he was crippled for thirty-eight years. Yet, Jesus bade him, “Rise, take up thy bed, and walk.” The sick man might have said, “Lord, if thou wilt make me whole, I will obey Thy word.” But, no, he believed Christ’s word, believed that he was made whole, and he stood up at once; he willed to walk, and he did walk. He acted on the word of Christ, and God gave the power.
Similarly, you are a sinner. You cannot atone for your past sins; you cannot change your heart. But God promises to do all that for you through Christ. You confess your sins to God and purpose to forsake them. Just as surely as you do this, God will fulfill His word to you. Therefore, do not wait to feel that you are made whole, but say, “I believe it; it is so, not because I feel it, but because God has promised.”
One Condition
There is one condition to the promise in Mark 11:24 that we pray according to the will of God. But it is the will of God to cleanse us from sin and to enable us to live a godly life. So, we may plead for the gift of forgiveness, and believe that we receive it, and thank God that we have received it. “There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit” (Romans 8:1).
Maintain Your Faith
Now that you are forgiven, walk with Him day by day and ask Him to give you His Spirit and keep you by His grace. The apostle says, “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him” (Colossians 2:6).
Some may feel that they must be on probation before they can have faith in God’s promise. But they can claim His promise right away. In fact, in order to resist temptation, they must have His power to help their weaknesses. We should come to Jesus as we are, helpless and weak. And He will cover us by His love and empowers us by His grace (Philippians 4:13).
God’s Infinite Love
God does not deal with us as we deal with one another. His thoughts are thoughts of mercy, love, and tenderest compassion. He says, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon.” “I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins” (Isaiah 55:7; 44:22).
Have faith in God and don’t doubt. The Lord declares, “I have loved thee with an everlasting love: therefore with loving-kindness have I drawn thee” (Jeremiah 31: 3). He also affirms, “Can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee” (Isaiah 49:15). Therefore, believe that God is your Redeemer. As you draw near to Him with confession, repentance and faith, He will draw near to you with mercy and forgiveness.
In His service,
BibleAsk Team
