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Forgiveness is one of the Bible's central themes and one of its hardest instructions. Most people looking up what the Bible says about forgiveness are not researching a doctrine. They have someone specific in mind, or they are the person who needs to be forgiven. This guide is written with that in mind. It covers what the Bible says about God's forgiveness, what it asks of us, and the questions that come up when the person who hurt you is not sorry, is dangerous, or is you.
Quotations are from the Berean Standard Bible; each reference links to the chapter, where you can compare the King James Version and other translations. For the full collection of passages, see the forgiveness topic hub.
God's forgiveness comes first
The Bible never asks people to forgive as an act of moral heroism. It asks them to pass on something they have received. So the place to start is not the command but the character of God.
The LORD is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving devotion. He will not always accuse us, nor harbor His anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins or repaid us according to our iniquities. … As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
East and west never meet; the distance is infinite by design. The prophet Micah uses a different picture: God "will cast out all our sins into the depths of the sea" (Micah 7:19). Isaiah has God say, "Though your sins are like scarlet, they will be as white as snow" (Isaiah 1:18), and, most remarkably, "I, yes I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake and remembers your sins no more" (Isaiah 43:25). The new covenant Jeremiah promises ends on the same note: "I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more" (Jeremiah 31:34).
In the New Testament this forgiveness is tied to Jesus. From the cross he prays, "Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34), for the people executing him. And the letters describe forgiveness as something already accomplished: "in Christ God forgave you" (Ephesians 4:32).
How to receive it
The Bible's instruction for the person who needs forgiveness is short:
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Confession means agreeing with God about what you did, without minimizing or excusing. Psalm 32 describes what happens when someone refuses: "When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long." And what happens when they stop refusing: "I said, 'I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,' and You forgave the guilt of my sin" (Psalm 32:3, 5).
The parable of the prodigal son is the Bible's fullest picture of this. The son rehearses a speech; the father runs to him before he can finish it, "filled with compassion," and calls for a feast (Luke 15:20–24). The Bible's God is not reluctant to forgive. He is described as running.
What God asks: forgive as you have been forgiven
Every New Testament command to forgive is built on the same logic. Because you have been forgiven an unpayable debt, forgive the smaller debts owed to you.
Be kind and tenderhearted to one another, forgiving each other just as in Christ God forgave you.
Bear with one another and forgive any complaint you may have against someone else. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
Jesus put the same logic into the Lord's Prayer, "forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors," and then added the only commentary he gave on any line of that prayer: "if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours" (Matthew 6:14–15). Our line-by-line guide to the Lord's Prayer discusses what that does and does not mean. The short version: forgiveness is not earned by forgiving, but a heart that refuses to forgive has not yet grasped what it received.
Seventy times seven: the parable of the unforgiving servant
Peter thought he was being generous:
Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?" Jesus answered, "I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!"
The King James Version has "seventy times seven"; the Greek can be read either way, and the point is identical: stop counting. Jesus then tells a parable. A servant owes his king an impossible sum, is forgiven the whole debt, walks out, and has a fellow servant thrown into prison over a tiny one. The king's response is the sharpest line in the passage:
Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?
The parable does not say the small debt was imaginary. It says that next to what the servant had been forgiven, it was small, and that receiving mercy without passing it on is a contradiction.
Forgiveness, repentance, and reconciliation are three different things
A great deal of confusion comes from using one word for three things the Bible keeps distinct.
Forgiveness is releasing your claim to repay the wrong: giving up revenge, resentment, and the right to keep score. Paul describes this side of it in Romans 12: "Do not repay anyone evil for evil … Do not avenge yourselves, beloved, but leave room for God's wrath" (Romans 12:17, 19). Forgiveness hands the debt to God. It can be done unilaterally, in your own heart, whether or not the other person ever knows.
Repentance is what the wrongdoer does: acknowledging the wrong and turning from it. Jesus ties the restoration of a relationship to it: "If your brother sins, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him" (Luke 17:3). This verse is sometimes read as "you need not forgive until they repent." In light of Mark 11:25, "if you hold anything against another, forgive it," it is better read as describing the full cycle of confrontation, repentance, and restored relationship, not as a condition for letting go of resentment.
Reconciliation is the restored relationship itself, and it takes two. You can forgive someone who is dead, absent, or unrepentant. You cannot be reconciled with them alone. Paul's realism in Romans 12:18 covers this: "If it is possible on your part, live at peace with everyone." Sometimes it is not possible on their part.
Trust is a fourth thing, and the Bible nowhere commands it. Joseph forgave his brothers and wept over them, but he also tested them thoroughly before revealing himself (Genesis 50:15–21 is the end of that long story). Forgiveness is given; trust is rebuilt.
Forgiving someone who is not sorry
This is the question most people actually have. The Bible's examples answer it. Jesus forgave his executioners while they were still executing him. Stephen, being stoned, prayed, "Lord, do not hold this sin against them" (Acts 7:60). Neither waited for an apology.
What unilateral forgiveness means in practice: you stop rehearsing the wrong, you give up plans for revenge, you pray for the person (Jesus's own instruction for enemies, Matthew 5:44), and you hand the matter to the judge who "will repay." It does not mean pretending the wrong did not happen, saying it did not matter, or resuming the relationship as if nothing occurred. Those belong to reconciliation, which needs their repentance.
Hebrews warns about the alternative: "See to it … that no root of bitterness springs up to cause trouble and defile many" (Hebrews 12:15). Unforgiveness is a root. It grows.
Forgiveness and abuse
The Bible's command to forgive is not a command to stay in danger. Scripture consistently pairs mercy with justice and wisdom: it establishes courts and authorities to restrain evil (Romans 13), it tells the wise to see danger and take refuge (Proverbs 22:3), and Jesus himself withdrew from people who wanted to kill him. Forgiving an abuser, in the biblical sense of releasing vengeance to God, is compatible with leaving, reporting, and never returning. Anyone who uses forgiveness verses to pressure a victim back into harm is misusing them. If you are in that situation, the right first step is safety and help, and the forgiveness question can wait.
Forgiving yourself
The phrase "forgive yourself" is not in the Bible, and it is worth noticing why. Scripture locates forgiveness in God: he is the one wronged by sin, and he is the one who forgives. What people usually mean by "I cannot forgive myself" is that they have not accepted God's forgiveness as real. The biblical answer is not to become your own judge and acquit yourself, but to believe the verdict already given: "As far as the east is from the west." Psalm 32 begins, "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered." That blessing is offered, not achieved.
Where the wrong was against another person, restitution and apology are part of the picture; the Bible expects the wrongdoer to make things right where possible. But the guilt itself is God's to remove, and he has said he removes it.
When someone has forgiven you
Paul gives one more instruction, easy to overlook. Writing about a man who had been disciplined by the church and had repented, he tells the church: "you ought to forgive and comfort him, so that he will not be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow" (2 Corinthians 2:7). Forgiveness is meant to be followed by comfort. A forgiven person should not be left to drown in remorse.
How to actually do it
- Name the wrong honestly. Forgiveness that minimizes the offense is not forgiveness; it is denial. Joseph said plainly, "you intended against me for evil."
- Decide, then keep deciding. Forgiveness is a choice that usually has to be made repeatedly as the feelings return. That is what "seventy-seven times" feels like from the inside.
- Pray for the person. Jesus's instruction for enemies is the most practical tool in this list. It is very difficult to keep hating someone you are honestly praying for.
- Hand the debt to God. Romans 12:19 is the mechanism: leave room for God's justice. You are not saying it does not matter. You are saying it is not yours to collect.
- Separate forgiveness from reconciliation. Forgive now; let reconciliation depend on their repentance and on wisdom.
- Read the passages. Matthew 18, Psalm 103, and Luke 15 are the three to sit with.
FAQ
What does the Bible say about forgiving others?
Forgive as God has forgiven you (Ephesians 4:32, Colossians 3:13), without keeping count (Matthew 18:22), giving up revenge and leaving justice to God (Romans 12:19). Jesus made forgiving others a line of the Lord's Prayer and warned that an unforgiving heart has not understood God's forgiveness.
Does the Bible say to forgive someone who is not sorry?
Yes, in the sense of releasing resentment and revenge: Jesus and Stephen both forgave people who were killing them. Restored relationship, however, is tied to repentance (Luke 17:3). Forgiveness can be one-sided; reconciliation cannot.
What does "seventy times seven" mean?
Peter asked whether forgiving seven times was enough; Jesus answered "seventy-seven times" or "seventy times seven," depending on how the Greek is read. Either way the meaning is: stop counting. The parable that follows explains why: we have been forgiven far more.
Does forgiving mean forgetting or trusting again?
No. God's forgiveness is described as "remembering sins no more," but people are not commanded to forget or to trust. Joseph forgave his brothers and also tested them. Forgiveness is given; trust is rebuilt over time, and sometimes wisdom means it is not rebuilt.
Does God forgive all sins?
The Bible says that whoever confesses is forgiven and cleansed "from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9), and that God removes sins "as far as the east is from the west." The one sin Jesus described as unforgivable, blasphemy against the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:31), is generally understood as a settled, final rejection of God's mercy; a person worried about having committed it has, by that worry, shown they have not.
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