Accept Jehovah’s Forgiveness

1-2. What relief can repentant sinners experience? (See also picture.)

KING David knew what it is like to feel guilty for past sins. (Ps. 40:12; 51:3; superscription) He made some serious mistakes in his life. Yet, he showed sincere repentance, and Jehovah forgave him. (2 Sam. 12:13) As a result, David also understood the relief that comes from receiving Jehovah’s forgiveness.​—Ps. 32:1.

² Like David, we can experience the relief that comes from receiving Jehovah’s mercy. What a comfort it is to know that Jehovah is willing to forgive our sins​—even serious ones—​if we sincerely repent, confess our sins, and do our best not to repeat our mistakes! (Prov. 28:13; Acts 26:20; 1 John 1:9) And how reassuring to know that he forgives so completely that it is as if the sin had never even happened!​—Ezek. 33:16.

3-4. How did one sister feel after she got baptized, and what will we discuss in this article?

³ At times, though, some may find it hard to accept Jehovah’s forgiveness. Consider the experience of Jennifer, who was raised in the truth. As a teenager, she got involved in wrong conduct and lived a double life. Years later, she returned to Jehovah and eventually qualified for baptism. She says: “My former life was full of materialism, sexual immorality, heavy drinking, and extreme anger. In my mind, I knew that after I begged for forgiveness and repented, Christ’s sacrifice made me clean. But I could not convince my heart that I was forgiven.”

⁴ Do you at times find it hard to convince your heart that Jehovah has forgiven you for past mistakes? Jehovah wants us to feel as secure in his mercy as did David. In this article, we will discuss why we need to accept Jehovah’s forgiveness and what can help us to do so.

WHY DO WE NEED TO ACCEPT JEHOVAH’S FORGIVENESS?

5. What does Satan want us to believe? Give an example.

⁵ By accepting Jehovah’s forgiveness, we can avoid falling into one of Satan’s traps. Remember that Satan will do anything he can to stop us from serving Jehovah. To achieve his goal, Satan may try to get us to believe that our sins are unforgivable. Consider the experience of the man in Corinth who was removed from the congregation for sexual immorality. (1 Cor. 5:1, 5, 13) When he later repented, Satan wanted those in the congregation to be unforgiving​—so harsh that they would not welcome the man back. At the same time, Satan wanted the repentant man to feel unforgivable​—so “overwhelmed by excessive sadness” that he would stop serving Jehovah. Satan has not changed his goal or his tactics. But “we are not ignorant of his designs.”​—2 Cor. 2:5-11.

6. How can we find relief from the burden of guilt?

⁶ By accepting Jehovah’s forgiveness, we can find relief from the burden of guilt. When we sin, we naturally feel guilty. (Ps. 51:17) That is a good thing. Our conscience can move us to take positive steps to correct our course. (2 Cor. 7:10, 11) However, if we hold on to guilt long after we have repented of a sin, we might be tempted to give up. When we accept Jehovah’s forgiveness, we can put the guilt where it belongs​—behind us. Then we can serve Jehovah as he wants us to serve him​—with a clean conscience and deep joy. (Col. 1:10, 11; 2 Tim. 1:3) How, though, can we convince our heart to accept God’s forgiveness?

WHAT CAN HELP US TO ACCEPT JEHOVAH’S FORGIVENESS?

7-8. How did Jehovah describe himself to Moses, and what confidence does this give us? (Exodus 34:6, 7)

⁷ Reflect on how Jehovah has described himself. Note, for example, what Jehovah said to Moses on Mount Sinai.a (Read Exodus 34:6, 7.) Of all the things that Jehovah could have said about his qualities and ways, he saw fit to represent himself as being “a God merciful and compassionate.” Would such a God withhold forgiveness from a worshipper who has truly repented of his sin? Never! That would be merciless and hard-hearted​—attitudes that Jehovah is incapable of displaying.

⁸ We can be confident that Jehovah would never misrepresent himself, for he is a truthful God. (Ps. 31:5) So we can take him at his word. If you find it hard to let go of guilt for past sins, ask yourself: ‘Do I believe that Jehovah is truly merciful and compassionate and would never withhold forgiveness from any repentant sinner? Then shouldn’t I accept that he has forgiven me?’

9. What does it mean to have our sins pardoned? (Psalm 32:5)

⁹ Meditate on what Jehovah inspired Bible writers to say about his forgiveness. Consider, for example, how the Bible writer David described Jehovah’s forgiveness. (Read Psalm 32:5.) “You pardoned the error of my sins,” said David. The Hebrew word rendered “pardon” can mean “lift up,” “take away,” or “carry.” When forgiving David, Jehovah, in a sense, lifted up his sins and carried them away. David then found relief from the heavy guilt that he had been carrying. (Ps. 32:2-4) We can experience similar relief. When we sincerely repent of our transgressions, we need not continue to carry the burden of guilt for sins that Jehovah has lifted up and carried away from us.

10-11. What do the words “ready to forgive” tell us about Jehovah? (Psalm 86:5)

¹⁰ Read Psalm 86:5. David here speaks of Jehovah as being “ready to forgive.” Commenting on this expression, one Bible reference work says of Jehovah: “[He] is a ‘forgiver’​—it is his ‘nature.’” Why is it Jehovah’s nature to be forgiving? The next part of the verse explains: “You abound in loyal love for all those who call on you.” As we learned in the preceding article, loyal love impels Jehovah to form a deep, lasting attachment to his faithful worshippers. Moved by his loyal love, he “will freely forgive” all repentant sinners. (Isa. 55:7, ftn.) If you find it hard to accept God’s forgiveness, you might ask yourself: ‘Do I believe that Jehovah is a Forgiver​—that he readily forgives all repentant ones who call out to him for mercy? Then shouldn’t I accept that he forgave me when I cried out to him for mercy?’

¹¹ We can find comfort in knowing that Jehovah completely understands our sinful nature. (Ps. 139:1, 2) This is clear from another of David’s psalms, which can also help us to accept Jehovah’s forgiveness.

DO NOT FORGET WHAT JEHOVAH REMEMBERS

12-13. According to Psalm 103:14, what does Jehovah remember about us, and what does this move him to do?

¹² Read Psalm 103:14. David speaks of Jehovah as “remembering that we are dust.” With those words, David explains one of the reasons why Jehovah is ready to forgive repentant worshippers: He is ever mindful of our sinful nature. To understand this better, let us take a closer look at David’s words.

¹³ David says that Jehovah “well knows how we are formed.” He formed Adam “out of dust from the ground” and well knows that perfect humans have natural limitations​—for example, the need to eat, sleep, and breathe. (Gen. 2:7) But when Adam and Eve sinned, being dust took on added meaning. As their offspring, we inherited a sinful nature that makes us prone to doing wrong things. Jehovah is not just aware of our sinful nature; David speaks of him as “remembering” it. The Hebrew word used here can mean to take positive action. We might sum up the meaning of David’s words this way: Jehovah understands that we will fall short at times; when we do, he is moved to respond to our heartfelt repentance by showing us mercy and forgiveness.​—Ps. 78:38, 39.

14. (a) How does David explain Jehovah’s far-reaching forgiveness? (Psalm 103:12) (b) How does David’s example show the completeness of Jehovah’s forgiveness? (See the box “How Jehovah Forgives and Forgets.”)

¹⁴ How far-reaching is Jehovah’s forgiveness? (Read Psalm 103:12.) David says that when Jehovah forgives, He puts our sins “as far off as the sunrise [east] is from the sunset [west].” In a sense, east is always at the utmost distance imaginable from west; the two points can never meet. What does this tell us about the sins that Jehovah forgives? One reference work illustrates it this way: “If sin be removed so far, then we may be sure that the scent, the trace, the very memory of it must be entirely gone.” Just think​—a scent can trigger a memory. But when Jehovah forgives, it is as if not even a trace of a scent remains that would call to mind the sin and cause him to hold it against us.​—Ezek. 18:21, 22; Acts 3:19.

15. What can we do if we carry persistent guilt for past mistakes?

¹⁵ How can David’s words found in Psalm 103 help us to accept Jehovah’s forgiveness? If we carry persistent guilt for past sins, we can ask ourselves: ‘Am I forgetting what Jehovah remembers​—that is, am I forgetting that he is mindful of my sinful nature and will forgive a repentant sinner like me? Am I also remembering what Jehovah chooses to forget​—that is, am I remembering the sins that he has forgiven and would never hold against me?’ Jehovah does not focus on our past sins. Neither should we. (Ps. 130:3) When we accept Jehovah’s forgiveness, we will be able to forgive ourselves for past mistakes and move on.

16. Illustrate the danger of holding on to guilt for past sins. (See also picture.)

¹⁶ Consider an illustration. Holding on to guilt for past sins is like trying to drive a car forward while continuously looking in the rearview mirror. It is good to glance occasionally in the mirror; you can respond to potential dangers behind you. But to move forward safely, you must focus on the road ahead. Similarly, it can be helpful if we occasionally look back at our past mistakes; we can learn from them and strengthen our resolve not to repeat them. But if we keep focusing on past mistakes, the guilt we carry may limit what we can do now in serving God. Instead, may we keep focused on the road ahead of us. We are on the road that leads to life in God’s promised new world, where bad memories “will not be called to mind.”​—Isa. 65:17; Prov. 4:25.

CONTINUE TO CONVINCE YOUR HEART

17. Why do we need to keep convincing our heart of Jehovah’s love and forgiveness?

¹⁷ We need to keep convincing our heart of Jehovah’s love and forgiveness. (1 John 3:19, ftn.) Why? Because Satan will not let up in his efforts to convince us that we are unlovable or unforgivable. Either way, his goal is the same​—to get us to stop serving Jehovah. We can expect that Satan will intensify his efforts because he knows that his time is short. (Rev. 12:12) We must not let him win!

18. What can you do to convince your heart of Jehovah’s love and forgiveness?

¹⁸ To strengthen your confidence in Jehovah’s love, apply the suggestions discussed in the preceding article. To convince your heart of Jehovah’s forgiveness, reflect on how Jehovah has described himself. Meditate on what he inspired Bible writers to say about his forgiveness. Do not forget that he is well-aware of your sinful nature and will deal with you mercifully. And remember that when he forgives, he does so completely. Then with the same type of confidence that David had in Jehovah’s mercy, you will be able to say, “Thank you, Jehovah, for pardoning ‘the error of my sins’!”​—Ps. 32:5.