The importance of forgiveness

“to give His people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins...” Luke 1:77
There are few things in life as importance as finding and receiving forgiveness from God. These prophetic words were uttered by Zechariah over his son John, whom we of course know as John the Baptist. John’s baptism was “a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins” (Luke 3:3). Without forgiveness, we cannot find salvation. It’s as simple as that.
The problem is our sin – both our sin nature, inherited from Adam, and the sinful acts that we have committed. Sin separates us from God: He is perfect, holy, and sinless, and anything sinful cannot enter His presence. We cannot come into a relationship with God until our sin has been removed through forgiveness.
John the Baptist was the forerunner of Jesus, as prophesied by Isaiah (Isa. 40:3-5) and Malachi (Mal. 4:5-6). He paved the way for Jesus to minister to the people, by offering a baptism of repentance. This is the same principle that we must go through: we must first repent of our sins and receive forgiveness from God, before we are truly saved. At conversion this is generally instantaneous rather than a drawn-out process, but each part is absolutely necessary.
We also need forgiveness on an ongoing basis. Just because we become a Christian doesn’t mean we never sin again. We do. But when Jesus died on the cross for our sins, all of them were yet future. He has paid for the sins you will commit tomorrow, and next week, and next year. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t try not to sin. But it means there is provision for forgiveness when we do slip up again. The Bible promises us, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9). Have you found this forgiveness from God today? If not, it’s very simple: confess your sins (acknowledge that they are wrong), repent (turn away from them), and ask for forgiveness.