We must forgive ourselves.

[oldzimm]

This morning one of the topics of the preachers sermon was on repenting of sins. After the service a man was chatting with me, telling me he had sins of early on in life that keep coming to his mind and it bothers him. I told him he is not alone because we all have sinned and if we were to write then all down in a book, the book would at least be four or five inches thick.

After saying goodbye to him and started walking out onto the parking lot a thought came to me (that's scary) and I was compelled to go back into the church to tell the man the thought that came to me. I told him "that the sins of the past that keep coming back to bother him, I,m sure you repented of many times over. God has forgiven you, but the problem is you haven't forgiven yourself, you must let it go". The man gave me a hug and thanked me for taking the time to come back and tell him my thoughts.

Forgiving ourselves of past mistakes (sins) is a very hard to thing to do. Satan likes it when we don't forgive ourselves of the sins of our past because he then has a hold on us. When we repent of our sins we must lay them at the cross along with the rest of our burdens and just let them go. We must not dwell in the past, we must focus on Jesus and think about the future (eternity).

[2Joyful]

Amen!!

[wyguy]

Amen. Jesus nailed every sin we have committed, or ever will commit, upon that cross. It's the reason all believers in Christ are called holy (Hebrews 10:10, 13:12), righteous (Romans 3:22), perfect (Hebrews 10:14), and saints (Philippains 4:21-22, 1 Corinthians 1:2).

[MorningGlory]

This morning one of the topics of the preachers sermon was on repenting of sins. After the service a man was chatting with me, telling me he had sins of early on in life that keep coming to his mind and it bothers him. I told him he is not alone because we all have sinned and if we were to write then all down in a book, the book would at least be four or five inches thick.

After saying goodbye to him and started walking out onto the parking lot a thought came to me (that's scary) and I was compelled to go back into the church to tell the man the thought that came to me. I told him "that the sins of the past that keep coming back to bother him, I,m sure you repented of many times over. God has forgiven you, but the problem is you haven't forgiven yourself, you must let it go". The man gave me a hug and thanked me for taking the time to come back and tell him my thoughts.

Forgiving ourselves of past mistakes (sins) is a very hard to thing to do. Satan likes it when we don't forgive ourselves of the sins of our past because he then has a hold on us. When we repent of our sins we must lay them at the cross along with the rest of our burdens and just let them go. We must not dwell in the past, we must focus on Jesus and think about the future (eternity).

Great post, O.Z.! I've never seen it put into words this way but it's true; since God has forgiven us, if we don't forgive ourselves we are in direct opposition to His Word. I'm glad you went back and talked to that man; you undoubtedly made a difference in his life.

[Guest LadyC]

i shared my thoughts on this same subject with someone just recently... can't remember where though, it may have been right here on worthy. or it may not have been. oh no, i remember, it wasn't. it was a teenager at our church, via facebook.

so here's some very sobering thoughts on this subject.

when God forgives us, He forgets. it's satan that doesn't allow us to forget. this is the big difference between conviction and condemnation... God convicts, we repent, God forgives... satan though, he condemns, and keeps at us, laying that guilt trip on us over and over and over so that we keep beating ourselves up over it.

now here's the sobering part, are you ready?

when we don't let go and forgive ourselves, we're giving POWER to the enemy. and what is power to satan? glory.

we absolutely MUST forgive ourselves and accept the grace in which we stand (that's in romans 5) or we're stealing God's glory and giving it to satan. every time we dwell on it, or talk about it, we're stealing from one and giving to the other.

[xFireWithinx]

Amen! Such an excellent post!

[Guest]

Would you mind sharing a few scriptures with me of...that God wants me to forgive myself? I looked again at the thread and I haven't seen any.

As it was said in an earlier post, I would not want to go against God's word. Ahhh let me get the quote.

Great post, O.Z.! I've never seen it put into words this way but it's true; since God has forgiven us, if we don't forgive ourselves we are in direct opposition to His Word. I'm glad you went back and talked to that man; you undoubtedly made a difference in his life.

Thank you,

Randal

Edited August 15, 2010 by treetopflyer

[oldzimm]

Would you mind sharing a few scriptures with me of...that God wants me to forgive myself? I looked again at the thread and I haven't seen any.

As it was said in an earlier post, I would not want to go against God's word. Ahhh let me get the quote.

Great post, O.Z.! I've never seen it put into words this way but it's true; since God has forgiven us, if we don't forgive ourselves we are in direct opposition to His Word. I'm glad you went back and talked to that man; you undoubtedly made a difference in his life.

Thank you,

Randal

To tell you the truth I didn't get this from any scripture, but I did hear it from our preacher a couple months ago in a sermon. It surely makes perfect sense to me, if you can't forgive yourself of the sins of the past and they keep coming back to haunt you, then your still dwelling in the past and not focusing on eternity.

[Guest]

Would you mind sharing a few scriptures with me of...that God wants me to forgive myself? I looked again at the thread and I haven't seen any.

As it was said in an earlier post, I would not want to go against God's word. Ahhh let me get the quote.

Great post, O.Z.! I've never seen it put into words this way but it's true; since God has forgiven us, if we don't forgive ourselves we are in direct opposition to His Word. I'm glad you went back and talked to that man; you undoubtedly made a difference in his life.

Thank you,

Randal

To tell you the truth I didn't get this from any scripture, but I did hear it from our preacher a couple months ago in a sermon. It surely makes perfect sense to me, if you can't forgive yourself of the sins of the past and they keep coming back to haunt you, then your still dwelling in the past and not focusing on eternity.

Alright, well my question still stands as written. I would like to see the scriptures that talk of God wanting me to forgive myself for my sins of the past. I think this is a fair question. With all respect, I have made the mistake in past times of taking someone's word and not checking it with the Word of God. It only led to dissasterous results. I do not want to make that same mistake again, so you know the motivation for me asking for scripture supporting the things shared in this thread.

Thank you,

Randal

[Believer1997]

This morning one of the topics of the preachers sermon was on repenting of sins. After the service a man was chatting with me, telling me he had sins of early on in life that keep coming to his mind and it bothers him. I told him he is not alone because we all have sinned and if we were to write then all down in a book, the book would at least be four or five inches thick.

After saying goodbye to him and started walking out onto the parking lot a thought came to me (that's scary) and I was compelled to go back into the church to tell the man the thought that came to me. I told him "that the sins of the past that keep coming back to bother him, I,m sure you repented of many times over. God has forgiven you, but the problem is you haven't forgiven yourself, you must let it go". The man gave me a hug and thanked me for taking the time to come back and tell him my thoughts.

Forgiving ourselves of past mistakes (sins) is a very hard to thing to do. Satan likes it when we don't forgive ourselves of the sins of our past because he then has a hold on us. When we repent of our sins we must lay them at the cross along with the rest of our burdens and just let them go. We must not dwell in the past, we must focus on Jesus and think about the future (eternity).

Wow - you are very correct OZ... one of the hardest things I face in life ... is not being able to forgive others, but not forgiving myself. When I think that there is a God who knows my entire life and loves me and forgives me for sins and mistakes I made - I am usually in total amazement. You are right - we must lay them at the foot of the cross - and quit going back to pick them up. Great post - thank you!!