In this article we want to look at the question “How do I know that God has forgiven me?”. The answer to this question is not as simple as you might think, and it touches on the principles of faith.
You can know that God has forgiven you by believing in the message of Jesus Christ.
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How do you know if God has forgiven your sins?
Now comes a message that probably does not please all believers: there are no outward signs that God has forgiven someone. There are some charismatic churches that say that speaking in tongues is an unmistakable sign that one is saved (and therefore that God has forgiven sins).
But this thesis has a problem: this assumption is relatively new and simply neglects the 2000 years of Christianity that lie in between. Who follows this thesis, must consider that God then probably forgave nobody in the last 2000 years – because after all such occurrences are practically not documented.
Of course, there is always one option open to every believer: Prayer. Of course, one can ask God to send him a sign so that he knows that God has forgiven him. In many cases, God will even answer in his wise.
However, this is not the clear biblical way to know if God has forgiven you. So: how do I know that God has forgiven me?
The answer: your faith. Your faith is the sign that God has forgiven you.
Why faith is the proof that God has forgiven you
Over and over again in the New Testament comes an exhortation to believers: Believe in Jesus and his message. Believe that Jesus rose from the dead, proving that God has forgiven every believer.
The term “faith” is often misunderstood in modern times. When we use the word “believe” in our modern usage, a certain uncertainty always resonates. If you believe you know something, you have a rough idea that it might be true.
But this is not the biblical definition of “faith”. Faith in the Bible means: trusting that the promises of God are true. Or in the case of forgiveness: trusting that God has forgiven you.
Whoever decides to go the way of God trusts in the resurrection of Jesus Christ and his teaching of God’s forgiveness. His belief in this is a sign that God has forgiven you.
The most important sign that God has already forgiven you now is…
Maybe this article is putting the cart before the horse, but the Bible talks about a sign that God has forgiven you. It is the clearest sign that God can give: He sent His own Son to earth to die for us.
Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection from the dead is cited in the Bible as the proof that Jesus is the Messiah – and thus forgiveness of sins is real. Paul even claims that (new) Christianity would be nothing if Jesus had not been resurrected.
So if you believe that Jesus is the Son of God, then you have faith – and then you have forgiveness. The one conditions the other. Or, in other words, if you attach your faith to the person of Jesus Christ, you have forgiveness at the same time.
The resurrection is a historical fact. The tomb was empty. We have 4 eyewitness accounts. We have a movement that came out of it. We have something absolutely human to put our superhuman faith in. You can read more about this in the book “The Case of Jesus”.
The death on the cross and the resurrection are THE sign that God has forgiven you.
Conclusion: How do I know that God has forgiven me?
You know that God has forgiven you because this was the core message of Jesus Christ. His death and resurrection is proof that your faith is justified. Because: whoever believes that he has been forgiven is forgiven.
