by Ronald Holmes

Created on: June 14, 2008

God can and will forgive no matter what the sin may be. I find several examples in the Bible to back up this statement. I want to look at some verses that indicate that God is always willing to forgive, and I also want to look at some of the people in the Bible that we know were forgiven.

First let us look at some of the verses that indicate that God will forgive any sin. II Peter 3:9 tells us "He (God) is patient with you not willing that any should perish." If He is not willing that any should perish, than that means He is willing to forgive whatever needs to be forgiven in order for a person to be saved. One of the most famous verses in the Bible is John 3:16. The verse tells us that, "whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life." This verse does not put any limitations on who can be forgiven; it simply says whoever believes in Him.

Secondly, let us address some of the individuals that were for given in the Bible. The first example I want to look at is King David. David was guilty of adultery and of orchestrating the death of the adulterer's husband. Yet we find that the prophet Nathan told David that his sins were forgiven. Later on in the Bible we can find where David was called a friend of God. That is really something for someone who had sinned the way he did.

Some people will tell you that blasphemy cannot be forgiven. This also is not true. We can see this from the life of Paul the Apostle. Paul openly admitted that he was a blasphemer before his conversion. God knew this, and yet God made a special effort to see that Paul came to a saving knowledge of Him. Not only that, Paul was used probably more than any other person in the Bible to lead others to salvation. Paul was also responsible for writing half of the books in the New Testament.

I could site many other examples from the Bible, examples such as Rehab the harlot, and the thief on the cross. We could look at individuals like Jacob who was called a deceiver, and Abraham and Isaac, who both lied about being married to their wives. The list could go on for much longer, but I feel I have made my point.

I want to leave you with one last verse. I John 1:9 tells us that "if we confess our sins he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." It never specifies what sins we can confess and expect to be forgiven; it just says that if we confess our sins we will be forgiven.

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