Table of Contents

Beyond Today Program -"Unforgivable: The Michaela Diemer Story

Forgiveness Is Possible

The Spiritual Need to Forgive Others

How is sin forgiven?

Baptism’s role in repentance and forgiveness

God Can and Will Forgive You

Jesus Christ’s perfect love and sacrifice

Burying the past

Live a New Life in Christ

If You Would Like to Know More...

Beyond Today Program - "Unforgivable: The Michaela Diemer Story"

Is it possible to forgive if something seems unforgivable? How can you leave pain and resentment behind

Watch the Beyond Today program - http://www.ucg.org/beyond-today/beyond-today-television-program/unforgivable-the-michaela-diemer-story

Watch "Unforgivable: The Michaela Diemer Story" on YouTube - https://youtu.be/0rKbs3lx4_Q

Transcript of the Beyond Today program

> Due to the intense subject matter of this program, we advise parents to view the program first, and then decide whether to share it with children.

[Steve Myers] Is it possible to forgive when something seems unforgivable?

> Police are looking for any evidence that can help solve the mystery of what happened to 31-year-old Michaela Diemer.

>> We’re going to follow a breaking development on the Cleveland west side.

> First exclusive all new at 6, Kristin Volk is here to share the emotional ride Michaela’s family is now on.

>> She was last seen near the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

> 31-year-old Michaela Diemer hasn’t been seen since August 20th.

[Steve] The words that come to mind are: inexcusable, pain, anger, hate. Yet, how can I handle it?

Stay tuned to this special edition of Beyond Today, “Unforgivable: The Michaela Diemer Story.”

[Announcer] Join our host Steve Myers and his guests, as they help you understand your future on Beyond Today!

[Steve] You’ll never have peace of mind until you do this. Without it, you cannot have a right relationship with God. In fact, it’s a vital tool in overcoming evil. You should even give this to those that oppose you.

What is it? Forgiveness.

You may have experienced the feelings: A pain that is so deep it’s hard to express. Sorrow that doesn’t go away. Perhaps guilt—guilt that holds you captive. Bitterness, anger that fuel resentment and hate. Even condemning and blaming others for our own suffering and hurt.

All of us can probably relate to feeling and acting this way, but God calls us to a different way of thinking. In fact, it’s so different that He says, “love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you” (Matthew 5:44).

But is that even possible? How can you leave pain and resentment behind? Can you ever really get over the emotional need to punish someone who has mistreated you? Is it just wishful thinking? God says it’s critical. He even commands it. He says that we cannot be a part of Him and His way without forgiveness.

On today’s program, we’ll examine God’s concept of forgiveness through the story of Michaela Diemer, and we’ll have a special free offer for you later in the program.

> Neighbors in the quiet community were stunned to hear Diemer was missing.

>> I had no idea. I was horrified to find out that there was somebody from our neighborhood that was missing. I feel really bad for her family.

>She was last seen near the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo.

[Steve] I spoke with Michaela’s father, Andy, about the experience.

[Andy Diemer] Michaela’s birth was one of the happiest moments of my life. As a little girl, she would often shower me with little girl kisses and send me little cards and greetings. And, one time she drew a picture of the factory I worked in and instead of the dirty factory building, it had flowers in the windows and curtains and it was much different in her mind, because that just came out of her heart, those types of—that expression.

[Steve] The joy of a father. The innocence of childhood. A reminder of the kind of God that we have.

Psalm 103 says, “Despite all your many offenses, He forgives and releases you… When people are crushed, wronged, enslaved, raped, murdered, the Eternal is just; He makes the wrongs right… An earthly father expresses love for his children; it is no different with our heavenly Father; The Eternal shows His love for those who revere Him.” (Psalm 103:3; Psalm 103:6; Psalm 103:13; Voice).

As time moves on, innocence can fade. Forgiveness becomes a challenge.

Michaela's teen years were difficult for her. With the breakup of her parents, her father was left to raise the children on his own as a single parent. At that time, she started to experiment with alcohol.

Michaela’s always had a caring heart though. Immediately after high school she studied nursing and graduated 2nd in her class. Her career in nursing gave her the opportunity to help others. Patients and colleagues alike took notice.

[Andy] The people at the nursing home truly loved her. In fact, the resident’s families would tell me when I visited it sometimes how much they appreciated Michaela taking care of their loved ones. She had such a heart for giving and the gift from God that she had to care for people.

[Steve] Life held out hope for a wonderful future. So Michaela moved to San Diego where she continued to help others. She volunteered at Big Brother, Big Sister of Pasadena and continued to work in nursing. Now unfortunately, her drinking began to affect all aspects of her life. The DUI’s added up and she ended up losing her nursing license. In time, she hit rock bottom. Now 31 years old, she decided to moved back to her home town of Cleveland, to be near her family and hopefully, to get a fresh start.

[Andy] She came back to Cleveland area where we live and I began to immediately get involved with her again, to help her get on her feet. And she did not ask me to come here, because she probably knew I would say, “You need to fix your life. You need to fix yourself. You cannot stay here and go out and party and then come home. You can’t do that.” So she went to a homeless shelter. And that was very difficult for me.

I hugged her goodbye, and that evening, actually not very long after that, I think it was even before I arrived home, she sent me a text and told me that she was going to make me proud.

[Steve] At the homeless shelter, Michaela met others who were trying to put their lives back together. Through a contact, she found work cleaning up at the local baseball stadium through a temporary staffing agency. Her father was hopeful that this would be the first of many steps to get her life back on the right track.

[Andy] She and I were maintaining contact with texts. She was telling me that she was going to go get her resume made up, going to go down to the library as I suggested and look on the database there for jobs. She was telling me, essentially, that she was trying to restart her life. Then, I texted her back that “That’s good! Happy that you're trying.” Just was positive back to her. We always had a lot of X’s and O’s in our text messages—hugs and kisses.

[Steve] Though optimistic, Michaela’s father was still deeply concerned.

[Andy] I do remember praying—I keep a diary of my prayers, and I wrote about that experience.

“Many of my thoughts today are on my daughter. She is staying at a homeless shelter, or so it appears, and has worked a few hours in the last several days. Her job is to pick up trash at Progressive Field after the Indians games. She informs me that a bus transports her and other homeless from the shelter to the field. How could this nightmare get any worse, O God? I pity my poor daughter, but I can hardly help her if alcohol is more important to her than being cleaned up of her addiction. Father, I know You hear my prayers for her. Please watch over my dear one and draw her to You.”

That was my prayer that day for her.

[Steve] And all of a sudden, nothing. No word from her, nothing.

> Hi, you’ve reached my voicemail, leave me a message and I’ll call you back.

[Andy] And I started to look. Nobody had seen her.

Well I continued to pray during that time as the realization dawned on all of us that something seriously wrong had happened—something seriously terrible had happened. And as that realization began to dawn on me, I went to my strength; I went to God on my knees and in my thoughts. I went to God for strength to get through that.

And the morning that she went missing, I wrote in my diary these words:

“This morning, my thoughts go again to where they have often gone of late. I’m thinking of my daughter. I do not know where she is at the moment, but I pray, O Lord, that You are watching over her. Please reach her heart today, so that she may turn to You and live.”

[Steve] After four long days of silence, Andy reported his daughter missing to the police.

[Andy] I went to the police and filed a missing person report and a feeling of a deep foreboding was with me—that I was going through a personal hell. Now my wife knew, but the people I worked with didn’t. It was only until Michaela’s missing persons report went public that other people began to know, and then I didn’t feel so alone.

[Steve] Michaela’s father put up signs, called her friends, drove the streets looking for his daughter. Days turned into weeks. Then a glimmer of hope—two long weeks after her disappearance, Michaela’s cousin happened to spot her car, but Michaela wasn’t driving it. Someone else was.

So she followed the car to a gas station. The driver filled up the car, went in and paid, and then drove off. Finally a break! The surveillance camera from that gas station would certainly help police identify that man who was driving Michaela’s car, which would lead to finding her.

Police viewed that video tape and after another week and a half, they came up empty. They couldn’t find the man or the car on the video tapes. Yet Andy was determined. He was determined as a father. He went to that gas station. He asked to review the tapes himself. Now while reviewing those tapes, they noticed something that explained why the police couldn’t find anything. They realized the time stamp on that video was an hour off. Andy immediately searched the tape accounting for that lost hour. There he was! The car and the suspect—clear as can be—right there on video.

[Andy] I didn’t know what to think. I did not know why this man on that video was driving my daughter’s car. I just knew we’d identified this person at least on the video, and I asked the police to come immediately to the gas station. They did, along with an FBI agent, who was now also assigned to the case.

[Steve] Armed with the image of the man from the surveillance video, police were able to identify that man as Michaela’s supervisor at the staffing agency. Andy had spoken to this very same man while going through Michaela’s phone records. This was the same man who told Andy that he had no idea where Michaela could be and that she “just stopped showing up for work.”

[Andy] And I think I was holding it together fairly well at that point, but on the drive home, the weight of this experience overwhelmed me, and I just began to cry out to God, literally, in my car, as I’m driving, telling God that it has to end. We have to know what happened.

[Steve] God answered that prayer and things began to progress quickly. The police were able to stake out the business where the man was employed and waited for him to come and pick up his paycheck. When he did, they finally captured the only one who would know what really happened to Michaela.

[Andy] And then about 3:30 AM that morning, I received a knock at my door. It was the FBI agent and a Cleveland homicide detective, said, “We found a body which we believe to be your daughter.”

[Steve] It was the worst news. The body they found was indeed Andy’s only daughter, Michaela.

Police discovered that on the night of Aug 20th Michaela’s supervisor, Ronald Hillman, had taken her to an abandoned house near his home. It was there a struggle took place. Michaela was raped, beaten, and murdered in that house. Her body was left for several days until Hillman, fearing discovery, dumped her body near train tracks not far from his home.

As Andy went through that horrific story, he asked me: “Could you imagine your daughter laying out here—for a month?” I couldn’t, could you?

And yet there’s more to the story. Andy will have an opportunity to confront the man who killed his only daughter. What will he do? Just imagine, what would you do? Stay with us. We’ll find out right after this.

[Steve] You see when you understand God’s purpose for your life, it changes everything.

[Gary Petty] This is about having God come into your life, to change you, to make you into His child.

[Darris McNeely] America is at a crossroads. You have seen the world go through dramatic changes. What’s God doing? And what’s His plan and purpose for you? How can you take control of your life and meet the challenges for our day. You need to hear our message of hope and understanding. Come see Beyond Today live as we present, “America: The Time is Now.” Join me, along with Steve Myers and Gary Petty. We’ll give you answers to understand today’s world events and hope for what God has planned for you.

We’re coming to Nashville, Indianapolis and Columbus. Check our website for details and get your free tickets today. Come hear a message of help for today and hope for tomorrow. America, the time is now!

> And today we’re uncovering the story behind the charges just filed in the death of a missing woman. Ed Gallek was first to report. He joins us now with what He has learned. Ed.

>> Charges now against Ronald Hillman. Police say he killed Michaela’s Diemer—missing for a month, body just found. And we’ve learned more of what happened.

[Steve] The man pled guilty to all charges and faced life in prison without the possibility of parole. The sentencing took place only 1 year after Michaela’s murder. The family would have an opportunity to speak to the murderer directly. Can you imagine talking to the one who killed your loved one? What would you say?

[Andy] Before I went to the sentencing where the family would address the killer, who had now admitted to all the crimes, I prayed on my knees and wrote prayers in my diary, as I often do, and was trying to determine what I would say to him. And I realized I wanted to let him know how important Michaela was to me, how much she meant to me.

Then, I told Mr. Hillman: “I’m talking to you very sternly now, but I don’t hate you. In fact, I don’t have any—an ounce of hatred against you. I just feel sorry for you, for what you’ve become.”

And I told him that, “You now have life, and while Michaela doesn’t have life, you have time to reform and fix yours.” When I told him that, Mr. Hillman sobbed. He was a broken man. Completely broken.

[Steve] Forgiveness is powerful. Difficult words, challenging to verbalize and even more challenging to actually do. But it wasn’t over yet. Ronald Hillman was now given an opportunity to speak.

[Andy] He stood up and he said, “At first, I wasn’t going to say anything, but I think that would be unfair to both myself and everyone here.” He said, “I took responsibility for what I did, and I deserve every punishment I get. I think the only thing I have left to say is, ‘May Michaela rest in peace.’”

[Steve] Sorrow. Repentance. Was he truly repentant? Only he and God know for sure. But we did see an amazing display of forgiveness that came straight from the heart of a grieving father. Even the judge took notice.

[Andy] Mr. Hillman was sentenced to life without parole and led away. And after the judge left the courtroom, he removed his robes and came back out, walked directly to me, and shook my hand. And he said, “You’ve displayed a tremendous amount of strength today in a very difficult situation.” But I know where that strength came from.

[Steve] It’s easy to forgive an occasional slight or minor hurt feeling, but can we forgive when it seems humanly impossible? Can we display godly forgiveness?

[Andy] I never felt any hatred or ill will against him. I simply did not make that choice. I didn’t harbor any resentment. I realized it would have done no good. God will judge.

By choosing forgiveness, we are doing what God would have us do because He sees the potential in everyone. He’s made an opportunity for everyone to have eternal life.

What I would say is that the burden is too heavy for you to bear a grudge, to bear hatred, to bear resentment. It’s too heavy a burden. Let God take care of that and you go on with your life.

As I look back now and I see how much His hand was involved, it’s incredible to see how close God is to us—even in our darkest hours, how close He is.

[Steve] God is always close to us. Will we choose to be close to Him?

I’d like to take a moment to remind you to order your free copy of our helpful Bible study aid, Forgiveness Is Possible. How could you forgive the unforgivable? And, how do we seek God’s forgiveness?

This important study will provide help for the challenges that you face. We’re offering this special Bible study aid in print just for a limited time! After that, it will only be available electronically, online. So if you’d like your own, personal printed copy of Forgiveness Is Possible, please call us today—toll free at 1-888-886-8632.

Additionally, we’ll send you a free subscription to our bi-monthly Beyond Today magazine! Six times a year you’ll receive articles on subjects that will both help you change your life for the better and assist you in effectively comprehending current events as they relate to Bible prophecy. Beyond Today magazine will also help you learn more about God and how you can build a personal relationship with Him.

To order your free copy of Forgiveness Is Possible and the Beyond Today magazine, call us: 1-888-886-8632 or write to us at the address shown on your screen [Beyond Today, PO Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254].

Could you forgive a murderer who took your daughter’s life?

Seems impossible to most of us. Yet, we have a great God who forgives everyone their shortcomings and sin. The Bible tells us, we’re like that murderer—we deserve to die for our sins.

The Bible shows that God loves us—no matter how big or how small the sin. He can forgive everything when we repent, and when we change and when we begin to grow. We’ve also contributed to the death of Jesus Christ—the one who sacrificed His life so that we may truly live. We’re the killers! We helped take the life of Jesus. Yet, we can be different people. We can be godly people. We can be forgiven people with the help of His Spirit.

So let’s make it our goal to become more like Christ and to learn how to forgive.

That’s our program for today. Thanks for joining me. Now don’t forget our free offers and be sure to tell your family and friends about us. Tune in again next week for another edition of Beyond Today and join me in praying, “Thy Kingdom come.” For Beyond Today, I’m Steve Myers. Thanks for watching.

[Announcer] For the free literature offered on today’s program, go online to BeyondToday.tv. Please join us again next week on Beyond Today!

Forgiveness Is Possible

To God’s people, the apostle Paul wrote: “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do” (Colossians 3:12-13; emphasis added throughout).

Forgiving others can be very difficult to do, especially when we’ve been deeply hurt. It can also be hard to admit wrong and seek forgiveness when we are at fault. But both are absolute musts!

Forgiveness is at the core of Christian faith, belief and action. It’s only by God’s grace that we can be saved (Ephesians 2:5; Ephesians 2:8), and His grace is the foundation of His forgiveness of our sins (Ephesians 1:7). That forgiveness was made possible by God’s love and the sacrifice of His Son Jesus Christ (John 3:16-17). We must never take that lightly. We must do everything that’s necessary to receive God’s initial forgiveness of all our past sins. And then for the rest of our lives, we must daily ask God for His forgiveness for any new sins we have committed (1 John 1:9).

To receive God’s ongoing forgiveness, it is absolutely essential that we extend gracious forgiveness to others for wrongs they have done to us (Matthew 7:13-14). We will see how much this is emphasized throughout the New Testament.

The road to forgiveness can be long and hard, but through God’s loving guidance it is possible to remove the mountains of resentment, grudges and bitterness.

Begin the road to lasting, meaningful forgiveness right now—forgiving others and seeking and receiving forgiveness, especially from God.

The Spiritual Need to Forgive Others

Forgiveness does not come easily for most of us. Our natural instinct is to recoil in self-protection, retaliation and revenge. We don’t naturally overflow with mercy, grace and forgiveness when we are wronged.

First, let’s understand that there is a difference between God’s forgiveness and our forgiveness of others. When God forgives us, He completely blots out the sin and removes the guilt (Isaiah 43:25; Psalm 103:1-12). Only God can forgive sins in that way (Mark 2:5-11). When you forgive someone for hurting you, you are deciding to cancel his or her indebtedness to you personally and to not harbor any more resentment or grudge. We human beings are not able to quickly “forget” how someone has hurt us, but we can treat the person as if we’ve forgotten the hurt.

In Luke 17:3-4, Jesus Christ said: “Take heed to yourselves. If your brother sins against you, rebuke him; and if he repents, forgive him. And if he sins against you seven times in a day, and seven times in a day returns to you, saying, ‘I repent,’ you shall forgive him.”

There are several things to notice in this passage. “If he repents,” then it is especially essential to “forgive him.” But other scriptures show us that we must forgive even when the guilty party does not repent. This scripture also shows us that it is often appropriate to “rebuke” the person who has hurt you. That means to tactfully confront the person and let him know how he has hurt you. One of the benefits of that is he will be more likely to repent and apologize.

Forgiving someone does not mean you should stay in a position to be seriously hurt again. If you are in a relationship that is likely to continue to be dangerous or seriously abusive, you should remove yourself from that vulnerable position.

And why “seven times?” Seven is not meant as an exact number. It was an expression that meant “many times.” At another time, Jesus said, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven” (Matthew 18:21-22).

How is it possible to obey this command from Jesus Christ? Even the apostles were stunned at this statement that their duty was to forgive their brother again and again! Their reaction is in verse 5: “And the apostles said to the Lord, ‘Increase our faith.’” They knew that they needed divine help to be able to do that. They sensed the truth of a later saying, “To err is human; to forgive, divine.”

The command to forgive is most difficult because sometimes we don’t want to forgive. We want to strike back, we want justice, we want the other person to know the pain he or she has inflicted on us. We want to wear it on our sleeve, as it were. If we forgive someone seven times, aren’t we just letting someone get away with a wrong? If we simply forgive, won’t we just be allowing people to take advantage of us?

This is a natural, human response to hurt—but look at how Christ further illustrates this teaching for us in what is commonly known as the Lord’s prayer: “And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen” (Matthew 6:12-13). He then explains: “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15).

Sin is represented here as debts (compare Luke 11:4), and it’s in the plural form—indicating it has amassed or piled up. We cannot expect God to forgive our debts, the penalty we owe for sin, if we are not also forgiving. For our debts to be absolved, we must forgive those who have hurt us. If we show mercy to men, we receive mercy from God.

Forgive again and again?

What should we do if our brother repeats an offense numerous times? God forgives us time and again, so we must follow His example.

God passes over our sins, and as Proverbs 19:11 states it is our “glory to pass over a transgression” (King James Version). Address it, resolve it if possible, forgive it and move on! Vengeance is God’s alone. It is not ours (see Deuteronomy 32:35; Romans 12:19).

But what if it’s a great wrong? Not forgiving is a greater wrong. Forgiveness reflects God’s character, which we are supposed to emulate. When we forgive, we reflect the Father’s love.

The standard is this: Forgive as He has forgiven you. Forgiveness gives us the opportunity to extend to others what God has extended to us—and our purpose in life is to develop God’s character. But our corrupted human nature and its accompanying pride are the antitheses of forgiveness. Pride opposes and resists our need to forgive. It demands justice and wants to get even. Our nature does not want to forgive.

Those who deal with human relationship problems see this firsthand. For example, Catholic priest Robert Hagedorn said: “When I was first ordained a priest, I believed that over 50% of all problems were at least in part due to unforgiveness. After 10 years in the ministry, I revised my estimate and maintained 75-80% of all health, marital, family, and financial problems came from unforgiveness. Now after more than twenty years in the ministry, I have concluded that over 90% of all problems are rooted in unforgiveness.” He makes a good observation of the degradation that a failure to forgive brings to society, and it’s directly linked to the command that Christ gave.

A well-known authority on marriage once wrote that he believed the most important key to a harmonious marriage was the husband and wife being willing to forgive each other day after day after day.

Human nature is vindictive, and it must be overcome in order to extend and experience true forgiveness. You can see a desire for revenge, retaliation and mudslinging in our entertainment—on the movie screen, in music, on television—but also in everyday social interaction, in business and in politics. It surrounds us; but in spite of all this evil, confusion and hatred, we are told to forgive as often as we have opportunity.

Our critical need for God’s forgiveness

All people sin, and therefore all need God’s forgiveness. There isn’t anyone who doesn’t need to be forgiven. Therefore, we had better be forgiving of those who hurt us. And just abstaining from “getting even” doesn’t cut it. Bitterness and resentment will occur even if you do not retaliate, because without forgiveness you’ll never get rid of your inner turmoil. The score is never settled; the anger and pain are never gone.

Christ gave a very sobering example to help us grasp this concept of forgiveness. It’s a parable of a king and his servant. The servant owed the king 10 thousand talents. “But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made” (Matthew 18:25).

The servant begged for forgiveness, and the master forgave him his debt. Soon after, the same servant came across a fellow servant who owed him a debt and demanded it be repaid. This fellow servant could not pay and also begged for forgiveness, but the servant who had just been forgiven refused and had the man jailed. When the king heard of this, he was very angry that his servant had not also been forgiving and sent the man away to be punished until he could repay (Matthew 18:32-34).

Christ is here contrasting two debts. The first servant owed the king a huge fortune—10,000 talents. The second servant owed a measly 100 denarii. Let’s say that the servants’ debts were to be paid in nickels. The 100 denarii debt could be carried in one person’s pocket. But it’s been estimated that the 10,000 talents (in the form of nickel-sized denarii) would take an army of 8,600 lined up single file, in a line that stretched five miles long. This is with each of the men carrying a sack of nickels weighing 60 pounds! What an enormous contrast.

Obviously, the first servant with the huge debt pictures you and me in our relationship with God. The second servant pictures our relationship with those who have inflicted injuries on us that are small by comparison.

Remember the Lord’s Prayer

Of course, the amount owed really doesn’t matter, does it? The point is, no wrong that men may do to us in any way compares with the wrong that we have done to God. And we pray for the merciful reprieve that only He can give, taking away our accumulated piles of shortcomings and failings.

Author C.S. Lewis once said, “To be a Christian means to forgive the inexcusable, because God has forgiven the inexcusable in you.”

Forgiving is a major part of loving others. When Jesus gave us the outline that we call the Lord’s Prayer, it was a part of His Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7), which teaches the necessity to love everyone, including through forgiveness. In particular, read Matthew 5:38-48 about how we must follow God’s example in being merciful and loving toward everyone, rather than having the mentality of “an eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.”

What did Jesus mean by “turning the other cheek” (see Matthew 5:39)? He meant that loving other people will always make you more vulnerable to being hurt, but you should be so dedicated to loving others that you are willing to run the risk of being hurt.

How merciful and loving we are toward others largely determines how merciful God will be when He judges us and deals with us (see Luke 6:27-38; Matthew 7:2-5). “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).

Forgiveness is an act of faith. By forgiving someone, we are trusting that God is better at justice than we ever could be. God does everything out of love, not spite. When forgiving, we give up our desire to get even, leaving all of the issues of fairness for God to work out.

By doing so we are following the Scriptures, and we can truly say, “I will forgive my brother, not seven times only, but as many times as is necessary.”

It’s by softening our hearts and allowing forgiveness to develop toward those who have wronged us that we open the opportunity for ourselves to be forgiven by God. Make no mistake—God wants to forgive you, no matter what you’ve done in the past.

How is sin forgiven?

Sin is the transgression of God’s sacred law (1 John 3:4, KJV). The penalty we all have earned for sinning is death (Romans 6:23). This cause-and-effect relationship is absolute and automatic. The penalty of death must be paid.

We can’t jump out of a 10-story building trying to break the law of gravity without paying a penalty for our actions. In the same way, when we break God’s spiritual law, the death penalty for doing so must be paid. Forgiveness does not mean eliminating the penalty for our sins. Rather, it means a transferring of the penalty from us to someone who could accept and pay that penalty in our place. The question is, who pays that penalty?

Because all have sinned and the death penalty hangs over everyone, God knew that a Savior was needed to die for the sins of the world. Notice Peter’s words: “For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed . . . but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake” (1 Peter 1:18-20, NIV).

The apostle John spoke of God’s great love for us and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that pays the penalty for our sins, making forgiveness possible. “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2, NIV).

John also wrote: “This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins” (1 John 4:9-10, NIV).

God actually created all things through Jesus Christ (John 1:1-14; Ephesians 3:9; Colossians 1:16-17; Hebrews 1:1-2). As mankind’s Creator who, being the perfect Son of God, lived a sinless life in the flesh, Jesus Christ was able to serve as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of all humanity for all time.

Baptism’s role in repentance and forgiveness

“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, English Standard Version).

Peter said that baptism is an essential part of forgiveness. But where does baptism fit in with the grace of God and Jesus? 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).

This is where baptism comes in. Paul explained how we are cleansed and made right with God: “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. But when we submit to God and are baptized as He wants us to be, we’re demonstrating our faith that our sins can and will be cleansed by Jesus’ sacrifice.

God Can and Will Forgive You

Peter, Jesus’ disciple and friend, knew the depths of God’s forgiveness. Vowing loyalty to His Master, Peter promised that He would never forsake Jesus in His time of trouble. Jesus knew Peter’s heart, however, and He knew Peter wasn’t ready to live up to that promise. He was still too weak and all too human.

Peter denied Jesus three times just before the crucifixion, leaving His friend and Master alone, just as Jesus said he would. Luke wrote that Peter saw his failure and left, weeping bitterly (Luke 22:62).

It’s easy to understand Peter’s despair. Could he ever be forgiven for his betrayal? Did he even deserve forgiveness?

Well, after Jesus was resurrected, He acknowledged Peter’s sincere and deep repentance and let Peter know that he was forgiven.

As a result, just a short time later, we find a very different Peter. Instead of being ruled by fear and doubt, he was bold and courageous. Instead of suffocating in shame and guilt, he triumphantly preached God’s forgiveness and mercy.

His statement recorded in Acts 2:38 is one of the most crucial passages in the Bible. Peter cut to the core of what God expects from us. He told his convicted listeners: “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit” (New International Version).

Having the indwelling gift of God’s Spirit brings countless benefits. One precious benefit is that it enables us to much more easily forgive others who hurt us.

Peter set forth the vital truth: that our repentance and God’s merciful forgiveness are both necessary, complementary parts of the overall salvation process.

Since repentance has to occur before forgiveness, let’s look at repentance first.

The necessity of repentance

The book of Acts covers about 30 years of early Church history, reaching from Jerusalem to Rome. Paul, like Peter, continually preached the importance of repentance. He testified “to Jews, and also to Greeks, repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21).

True repentance has two components. First, there must be sincere “godly sorrow”—sorrow toward God for breaking His commandments—not just sadness that one is suffering a penalty (2 Corinthians 7:9-10). Second, there must be a turning around—turning from the way of sin to the way of obedience to God (Ezekiel 18:23; Ezekiel 18:30-32).

Paul emphasized that promising to turn away from sin isn’t enough. Repentance also needs to bring about obvious good works—the fruits of repentance. He stated that people “should repent and turn to God and prove their repentance by their deeds” (Acts 26:20, NIV). Earlier John the Baptist had demanded “fruits worthy of repentance” from his listeners (Luke 3:8).

Paul and Barnabas urged the people of Lystra to “turn from these worthless things to the living God” (Acts 14:15, NIV). Those who are truly being called by God feel a strong sense of urgency to move forward toward forgiveness—taking the biblical steps of repentance our Creator requires.

Continuing in sin—unrepentance—has a way of leading us into a box canyon with no way out. There is only one way forward, and it’s toward God’s forgiveness by repenting of sin and allowing Him to change us.

David’s example of repentance leading to forgiveness

God does not view sin lightly, and neither should you. It’s a deadly serious topic, as it’s something that God hates. He hates it because it brings about death and removes us from Him. As our Father, He wants to have a close, intimate relationship with us, and sin left unrepented of keeps us from experiencing that level of closeness.

A poignant example of the relationship between repentance and forgiveness comes from the life of Israel’s King David. When he broke at least two of the Ten Commandments in murdering a soldier named Uriah after committing adultery with Uriah’s wife Bathsheba, God asked him through Nathan the prophet: “Why did you despise the word of the Lord by doing what is evil in his eyes?” (2 Samuel 12:9, NIV). The shaken king responded, “I have sinned against the Lord.”

But notice Nathan’s reply: “The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going to die” (2 Samuel 12:13, NIV). David’s sincere, heartfelt repentance is expressed for us in Psalm 51. Every Christian should read it from time to time to recognize the kind of heart and attitude God wants to see in us. David’s repentance was from the heart, and it created change in him. It reestablished his relationship with God. As a result, God showered grace and forgiveness on him.

God has mercifully provided us a way out of sin—at great cost to Himself. Once we really grasp the greatness of God—and really begin to see ourselves in comparison to our Creator like Job did—we are well on our way to genuine, heartfelt repentance and His gracious forgiveness.

God’s merciful and compassionate forgiveness

King David praised God’s gracious nature in Psalm 103: “Praise the Lord, O my soul . . . and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases . . . The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love . . . He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.

“For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; for he knows how we are formed, he remembers that we are dust” (Psalm 103:1-14, NIV).

Once you have truly repented of your sins, God’s forgiveness is absolute, total and complete. He applies the sacrificial blood of His Son Jesus Christ to you personally. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

God blots out our transgressions of His law through the sacrifice of Christ, “in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Colossians 1:14).

Our new status with God

Repentance, water baptism and receiving God’s Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38) begin a completely changed life for a Christian. Once this bridge has been crossed, forgiveness is sure. Salvation is always assured provided we keep repenting when we fall short, returning to the path of God’s law, mirrored by obedience to the Ten Commandments (1 John 1:9). As the psalmist wrote, “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalms 119:105).

Jesus Christ said, “Truly, truly I say to you, whoever hears My word and believes in Him [the Father] who sent Me has eternal life and shall not come into condemnation, but has passed from death into life” (John 5:24, Modern English Version).

The apostle John repeated this encouraging truth in 1 John 5:11-12: “And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

After His resurrection, Jesus said of the Messiah, referring to Himself, that “repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” as a key component of the mission He gave His disciples (Luke 24:47, NIV). Now we can see how genuine repentance, followed by God’s merciful and compassionate forgiveness, converge to impart true conversion—putting us firmly on the road to eternal life!

Jesus Christ’s perfect love and sacrifice

The incredible truth is that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life” (John 3:16). Even more amazing is that God loved us when we were still sinners. We were still under the death penalty of sin when He called us to conversion (Romans 5:8).

Jesus has a deep, burning desire to help mankind share eternity with Him (Matthew 23:37). The book of Hebrews says that we should be “looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God” (Hebrews 12:2).

It was anything but joyous to go through scourging and crucifixion, an incredibly brutal form of execution. Isaiah 52:14 prophesied that Christ’s appearance would be “disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness” (NIV).

Psalm 22 describes some of the thoughts and feelings of anguish and pain Jesus faced when enduring His betrayal and death. Yet He had the spiritual vision to look past His own suffering to the joy of spending eternity with others who would choose the road to eternal life (Hebrews 12:2).

He willingly accepted the curse, the death penalty meant for us, “having become a curse for us (for it is written, ‘Cursed is everyone who hangs on a tree’)” (Galatians 3:13). (To learn more about who Jesus actually was and what He went through for us, read or download our free study guide Jesus Christ: The Real Story.)

Christ’s sacrifice was so complete that no sin ever committed is too big or small for God to forgive (Psalms 103:3). Paul called himself the chief of sinners, as he had persecuted Christians, yet God used him powerfully after his conversion (1 Timothy 1:15). Throughout the book of Psalms, King David praised God’s mercy. He saw God’s mercy as endless, filling the earth (Psalms 119:64).

Such examples inspire great hope. No matter what our background or past mistakes, when we genuinely repent and are baptized, God promises complete forgiveness.

We can try to hide from sin, ignore sin or pretend that there is no consequence of sin. We can try to run away from the natural penalty of sin. But no human efforts can forgive sin and completely remove the spiritual penalty associated with it. Only Christ’s sacrifice can permanently cleanse and forgive us.

Burying the past

As God no longer associates us with our old sins, so should we put the past behind us. With our old sins now buried in the grave, as pictured by baptism, we should not go back and dig them up. Considering the symbolism involved, this would be akin to grave robbing.

Continuing to fret about past sins may seem like repentance. But it’s more like self-punishment. The truth is that God wants repentance, not penance. He doesn’t want us to punish ourselves once He’s forgiven us. He doesn’t want us to throw old sins back into His face by continuing to be consumed with thinking about them. He wants us to trust Him and His desire to completely forgive and forget. Forgetting may not be possible for people, but God works this miracle in our lives by completely removing past sins from us when we repent. After forgiveness, those sins no longer exist to God. Again: “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).

We need to learn from our mistakes. But once we have done so, we need to leave them buried in the past. We are to “walk in newness of life” (Romans 6:4). Someone who does this, in God’s eyes, becomes a new person, someone completely forgiven as though he or she had never sinned in the first place. What a wonderful miracle God works through repentance and forgiveness!

It’s important that we see ourselves from this perspective and focus on the future, not on the past. Paul expressed the concept this way in Philippians 3:13-14: “One thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”

Realizing how complete forgiveness is possible through Christ’s perfect sacrifice, we must look ahead to maintaining the right course. 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” (New Living Translation). A clear conscience is one of the most wonderful gifts God gives His children.

Live a New Life in Christ

No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, true forgiveness is within reach. You don’t have to live in shame and fear. God offers you the will and power to sincerely repent before Him and be cleansed from your sins.

The apostle Paul wrote to us about the awesome power of Jesus’ sacrifice by which we have forgiveness and newness of life: “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross” (Colossians 2:13-14, New Living Translation). Through that ultimate sacrifice God completely removes our sins when we repent and dedicate ourselves to living a new life of overcoming sin.

Paul explained the role of baptism in demonstrating our repentance and eagerness to live to please God: “You were buried with Christ when you were baptized. And with him you were raised to new life because you trusted the mighty power of God, who raised Christ from the dead” (Colossians 2:12, NLT).

Once a Christian begins a new life in Christ, he or she still isn’t perfect and entirely sinless, but a repentant Christian is able to overcome and, step by step, conquer sin through the help of God’s Holy Spirit. You can have the power to overcome and grow spiritually if you seek God with your whole heart and submit yourself to His incredible will for your life.

God is calling you to repentance. If you have not begun to answer that calling, we hope you will do so without further delay. God is offering you and all of us a life with a glorious future—the life of a forgiven child of God!

If You Would Like to Know More...

Who we are: This publication is provided free of charge by the United Church of God, an International Association, which has ministers and congregations throughout much of the world.

We trace our origins to the Church that Jesus founded in the early first century. We follow the same teachings, doctrines and practices established then. Our commission is to proclaim the gospel of the coming Kingdom of God to all the world as a witness and to teach all nations to observe what Christ commanded (Matthew 24:14; 28:19-20).

Free of charge: Jesus Christ said, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). The United Church of God offers this and other publications free of charge as an educational service in the public interest. We invite you to request your free subscription to the Beyond Today magazine and to enroll in our 12-lesson Bible Study Course, also free of charge.

We are grateful for the generous tithes and offerings of the members of the Church and other supporters who voluntarily contribute to support this work. We do not solicit the general public for funds. However, contributions to help us share this message of hope with others are welcomed. All funds are audited annually by an independent accounting firm.

Personal counsel available: Jesus commanded His followers to feed His sheep (John 21:15-17). To help fulfill this command, the United Church of God has congregations around the world. In these congregations believers assemble to be instructed from the Scriptures and to fellowship.

The United Church of God is committed to understanding and practicing New Testament Christianity. We desire to share God’s way of life with those who earnestly seek to follow our Savior, Jesus Christ.

Our ministers are available to counsel, answer questions and explain the Bible. If you would like to contact a minister or visit one of our congregations, please feel free to contact our office nearest you at info@ucg.org .

For additional information: Visit our Web site www.ucg.org to download or request any of our publications, including issues of Beyond Today, dozens of free Bible study aid booklets, Beyond Today programs and much more.

Mailing address: United Church of God, an International Association, PO Box 541027, Cincinnati, OH 45254