Wednesday, October 18, 2023

Bible Verses About Asking Others for Forgiveness, Plus 10 Free "I'm Sorry" Cards

Bible Verses About Asking Others for Forgiveness

Last week, I messed up. I mess up a lot. We all do if we are being honest with ourselves. Last week, I hurt two people because I reacted to a situation before I stopped to think about the consequences of the words I was about to hurl at them. Looking back, there were many other ways I could have responded to them instead of reacting in anger. I feel like there are many articles out there about forgiveness, but most of them are about forgiving others. There aren't as many articles about asking others for forgiveness. I'm pretty good at forgiving others, but I'm not as good at asking others to forgive me when I have hurt them. Sometimes, I hold back because of pride. It's hard to ask for forgiveness if I don't want to admit that I was wrong. Sometimes, I hold back because the situation is awkward and I don't know how to approach the person I have offended and I don't know what to say. In the end, asking others for forgiveness is not a choice for believers to make. It is expected of us. Bible verses about forgiving others are plentiful, but the Bible tells us to ask others for forgiveness too. Let's take a look at the following Bible verses about asking others for forgiveness.

Bible Verses About Asking Others for Forgiveness

First, we need to forgive others. We can't expect others to forgive us if we are not willing to forgive those who have offended us. The Bible tells us to treat each other kindly and forgive those who have hurt us. God forgives us so we should forgive others.

1. We need to make sure we are obedient to forgive others.

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ, God forgave you. Ephesians 4:32

Be Kind and Compassionate to One Another. Ephesians 4:32

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The Bible tells us to confess our sins to each other. This doesn't mean that we have to air out all of our offenses to everyone we know. I don't need to tell everyone in my ladies' Bible study group about the offensive words I said to one lady. I don't need to tell all of my family members what I said to a cousin. I don't need to post on social media the anger I hurled to a friend. What I do need to do is confess my sin to God and ask Him for forgiveness. Then, I need to go to the person I hurt, confess my sin to that person, and ask that person for forgiveness. The Bible tells us that our prayers are powerful and effective. Before we go to the other person, it is a good idea to ask God to prepare the other person's heart so that he or she will be soft-hearted and open to forgiveness. We need to go to the person we have offended as soon as possible. Otherwise, they might harbor resentment which is even more damaging for him or her the longer the resentment simmers in his or her heart.

2. Confess our sin to God and ask Him to forgive us.

3. Confess our sin to the person we hurt and ask that person for forgiveness.

Therefore confess your sins to each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16

Earlier, I told you that asking others for forgiveness is not easy for me; however, if I refuse to go to the others person and make my best effort to make things right, this hinders my relationship with God. Anger and resentment keep us from growing in our relationship with the Lord. This is true of both the offender and the offended. God does not want anger and resentment to build in either person. He tells us in His Word that if we are "leaving a gift at the alter" and then remember that someone holds something against us, we are to leave right then and go to the other person. We are to make things right with the other person and then go back and offer our gifts. In our current times, this might look differently than in Biblical times. For me, this means that I need to constantly be searching my heart and asking God to reveal to me the wrongs I've committed against others before I worship and especially before partaking in the Lord's Supper.

4. If someone holds something against us, we are to make our best effort to reconcile the relationship in order to prepare our hearts for worship and service.

Therefore, if you are offering your gift at the alter and there remember that your brother or sister has something against you, leave your gift there in front of the alter. First go and be reconciled to them, then come and offer your gift. Matthew 5:23-24

Living in peace with everyone as much as possible is a good witness for those who do not know the Lord. How can anyone see Jesus in us if we can't get along with each other? Others can only see Jesus in our lives if our lives reflect who He is.

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5. We are to live in peace with others so others will know Him.

Make every effort to live in peace with everyone and to be holy; without holiness no one will see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14

Yesterday, I did ask the two ladies whom I offended to forgive me. One of them has, but I think the other one needs more time and that's OK too. I tried. Now, it's up to her. I'll keep praying for her heart to soften toward me. If you find asking others for forgiveness difficult to do, try hiding the verses above in your heart so that you can remember God's instructions in this area of obedience. Asking others for forgiveness might be hard, but once you choose obedience and try to reconcile the relationship, a load will be lifted from your shoulders and the heaviness in your heart will lighten. Sometimes, others will forgive us. Other times, they won't. Our responsibility is to go to them in obedience according to the verses above. After that, it's up to them. Just keep praying because "the prayers of the righteous are powerful and effective."

If you are thinking of someone you have wronged, but you aren't sure what to say, maybe sending that person a card might help get a conversation going. I've created 10 "I'm Sorry" cards to help you out. You can print them out for free and use them as often as you need. I only ask that you don't sell them or claim them as your own work. Some of the cards have space for you to write your own personalized message. Simply download the PDF file here or right click on each card below and save them individually to your computer. Then print them off at home using your own printer.