Forgiveness is possible through repentance and understanding Christ's perfect sacrifice.
“And Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins …’” (Acts 2:38, Revised Standard Version).
How are we forgiven, and where do baptism and Jesus Christ fit in? The Bible says God forgives our sins and mistakes. Through faith in Christ’s sacrifice, we have all of our sins and the guilt we harbor entirely removed. We are then completely clean in God’s sight (Acts 22:16).
It is comforting to know that God not only forgives our sins, but totally dissociates them from us: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more” (Hebrews 8:12).
David was awed by God’s complete mercy and forgiveness. He wrote, “For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalms 103:11-12).
Through the prophet Isaiah, God tells us of the forgiveness that follows when we repent and turn to Him: “Wash yourselves, make yourselves clean; put away the evil of your doings from before My eyes. Cease to do evil, learn to do good … Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:16-18).
Paul made it clear that the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9). He then explained how we are cleansed and made right with God: “And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God” (1 Corinthians 6:11). Jesus Christ cleanses the Church “with the washing of water by the word” (Ephesians 5:26).
This washing away of the accumulated filth of our sins is part of what is symbolized by baptism. Before Paul was baptized, Ananias said, “Why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord” (Acts 22:16). By plunging our entire body under water, we are symbolically cleansed throughout.
Of course, the water is only a symbol. In reality, the cleansing of sin and reconciliation to God are by the shed blood of Jesus Christ, our Savior (Romans 5:8-10; Acts 20:28). Without His sacrifice, our sins cannot be washed away.
Leaving guilt behind
Thankfully, God does not keep a scorecard with good deeds on one side and bad ones on the other. Our slate is wiped clean of every sin if we confess and repent of our sins and ask for His forgiveness. “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). As earlier pointed out, no good deeds, no physical effort of our own, can ever repay God for the precious gifts of forgiveness and the cleansing of our guilt.
It is normal for us to feel guilty when we sin, and the pain of penalties for past mistakes often lingers. Guilt, however, need not remain as a debilitating weight dragging us down.
Guilt can spawn needless feelings of inferiority and bitterness. After we repent, God totally forgives our sins, and there remains no reason to feel guilty unless we sin again. Even then, we should immediately repent, ask God to forgive us and put the guilt behind us. God, in His infinite mercy, applies Christ’s sacrifice to cover and remove our sin and guilt.
We are told in Hebrews 10:22: “Let us go right into the presence of God, with true hearts fully trusting him. For our evil consciences have been sprinkled with Christ’s blood to make us clean, and our bodies have been washed with pure water” (NLT). A clear conscience is one of the most wonderful gifts God gives His children.
King David was a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22). He was not perfect, but he did strive to prevent sin from separating him from God. In Psalms 139:23-24, David prayed, “Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my thoughts. See if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (NRSV).
He also prayed: “Hide Your face from my sins, and blot out all my iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me” (Psalms 51:9-10).
