God offered His Son to pay our penalties even before we realized the need for Him, and He wants us to acknowledge His Son's sacrifice, and confess our sins.

The Bible is full of commands to forgive and examples of forgiveness, and none of them stipulates that we wait for the sinner to repent before we forgive.

Forgiveness is not a feeling that washes over us, but a conscious choice. It does not mean that the offense will never come to mind, nor that all the pain vanishes.

'To forgive is to set a prisoner free and discover that the prisoner was you.' Forgiving and being forgiven are part of being a family.

Following our too frequent mess-ups in life, forgiveness is so refreshing! We must forgive others if we are to be forgiven.

In His Model Prayer, Jesus states that God's forgiveness of us depends on our forgiving others. Forgiveness spurs reconciliation among God's people.

Our hearts may overflow with compassion for someone in need, and it could be in our power to help, but if we take no positive action, what good is it?

It is impossible to become perfect without having mercy or compassion. Jesus' command to become perfect includes showing compassion to our enemies.

We tend to work at cross-purposes to God, imprisoning ourselves and others in our adversarial relationships. The key to our cell is true forgiveness.

Mercy is an important dimension of God's character, displayed by our compassion on and forgiveness of those over whom we have power.

Many consider footwashing at Passover to be a mere ritual to remind us to serve one another. But it teaches another godly attribute: forgiveness.

As we strive to be perfect as our Father in Heaven is perfect, we should be as merciful as Our Heavenly Father, making mercy our default.

Forgiveness from God is directly tied to our forgiving those who have sinned against us! We must reciprocate God's forgiveness by forgiving others.

It is commonly thought that we pay no price for forgiveness, yet Scripture shows that God gives us significant responsibilities to be a part of His family.

Jesus contrasts the enormity of what we are forgiven to what we forgive others. Our forgiveness is directly connected with our forgiveness of our brother.

Driving out the evil must be followed by cultivating goodness and righteousness. An antidote to depression is to get our hearts focused on someone else.

Physical fasting provides insights to a parallel spiritual process of cleansing and removal of sin. Our High Priest commands us to let go to lighten our burden.

Pride destroys relationships, rendering righteous judgment next to impossible. Self-righteousness (a product of pride) makes an idol out of self.

Many have a love-hate relationship with mercy: They love to receive it, but hate to give it! Here is why we should lean toward mercy in all our judgments.

Mercy is a virtue that has gone out of vogue, though it is sometimes admired. Jesus, however, places it among the most vital His followers should possess.

Our forgiveness from God is conditional, depending upon our forgiving others. It is an opportunity for us to extend grace, sacrificing as Christ did for us.

We are obligated to show compassion and mercy to all, refraining from gossip, exercising righteous judgment, forgiving others and applying the Golden Rule.

The word 'blessed' in the Beatitudes means happy from within, not dependent on circumstances. It comes from having God's spirit and hope for the future.

The entire life of Christ was a manifestation of God's grace, revealing the nature of God by means of a life lived to give us an example to follow.

Disfellowshiping is only used for the most extreme cases in which the safety of the congregation is threatened. Lesser offenses require more sensitivity.

Biblically, patience is far more than simple endurance or longsuffering. The patience that God has shown man gives us an example of what true, godly patience is.