102 Bible Verses about Forgiving a Friend

Forgiving truly frees your soul, heals you deep down, and brings such peace of mind. There's no better feeling than having a clear conscience and a healthy heart. Holding onto unforgiveness just breeds anger, pain, depression, sadness, resentment, and so much more. God wants you to experience true freedom by learning to forgive, just as He forgives your sins and offenses every single day.

Even in your mistakes and weaknesses, God shows you His love, always giving you new chances. He wants you to extend that same grace to the people around you.

If you forgive others, your Heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins. Jesus teaches us to forgive through His own example, showing eternal love to those who betrayed Him, even His closest friends.

Maybe you've been hurt and let down by friends, and your trust has been broken. But you should follow Jesus' example and forgive them. Choose to start fresh and not lose friendships over pride or arrogance. Practice humility and ask for forgiveness for any wrongs you've committed. Forgiveness isn't about making things right with the other person; it's about making things right with yourself and letting go of the burden that's holding you back and affecting your relationship with God.

If you love your friend, reach out, talk things through, and create new memories together. Leave the past behind, learn from it, and look forward to a beautiful future. Hold onto the principles of loyalty, honesty, and transparency, and your bond will be unshakable. Always remember Proverbs 17:9: "Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends."

For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Whoever covers an offense seeks love, but he who repeats a matter separates close friends.

Whoever conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes them will obtain mercy.

"Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven;

And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father also who is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses."[4]

Pay attention to yourselves! If your brother sins, rebuke him, and if he repents, forgive him,

and if he sins against you seven times in the day, and turns to you seven times, saying, 'I repent,' you must forgive him."

He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;

as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.

Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all.

If possible, so far as it depends on you, live peaceably with all.

Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it[9] to the wrath of God, for it is written, "Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord."

If you, O LORD, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?

But with you there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

Brothers,[1] if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

Now if anyone has caused pain, he has caused it not to me, but in some measure -- not to put it too severely -- to all of you.

For such a one, this punishment by the majority is enough,

so you should rather turn to forgive and comfort him, or he may be overwhelmed by excessive sorrow.

So I beg you to reaffirm your love for him.

"I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.

Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead,

I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.

Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.

See to it that no one fails to obtain the grace of God; that no "root of bitterness" springs up and causes trouble, and by it many become defiled;

For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

"Judge not, that you be not judged.

For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you.

Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense.

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace,

Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.

He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son,

in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.

Have mercy on me,[1] O God, according to your steadfast love; according to your abundant mercy blot out my transgressions.

Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin!

And Jesus said, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do."[2] And they cast lots to divide his garments.

Yet he, being compassionate, atoned for their iniquity and did not destroy them; he restrained his anger often and did not stir up all his wrath.

A gift in secret averts anger, and a concealed bribe,[3] strong wrath.

"Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin.[3]

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.

and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.

Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.

For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.

I give thanks to you, O Lord my God, with my whole heart, and I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your steadfast love toward me; you have delivered my soul from the depths of Sheol.

All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation;

that is, in Christ God was reconciling[3] the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation.

"Come now, let us reason[3] together, says the LORD: though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they are red like crimson, they shall become like wool.

And behold, some people brought to him a paralytic, lying on a bed. And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, my son; your sins are forgiven."

And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him.

Turn away from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it.

Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger,

and give no opportunity to the devil.

We love because he first loved us.

then he adds, "I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more."

A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.

who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases,

but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

Anyone whom you forgive, I also forgive. What I have forgiven, if I have forgiven anything, has been for your sake in the presence of Christ,

Great peace have those who love your law; nothing can make them stumble.

Do nothing from rivalry or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.

Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.

And as you wish that others would do to you, do so to them.

Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me! O LORD, make haste to help me!

Let those be put to shame and disappointed altogether who seek to snatch away my life; let those be turned back and brought to dishonor who desire my hurt!

So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart."

A man who is kind benefits himself, but a cruel man hurts himself.

Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.

Put on then, as God's chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience,

My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,

and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus,

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right[2] spirit within me.

Cast me not away from your presence, and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of your salvation, and uphold me with a willing spirit.

let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts; let him return to the LORD, that he may have compassion on him, and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.

Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant

or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful;

it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.

For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more."

Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding.

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God.

Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.

Whoever despises his neighbor is a sinner, but blessed is he who is generous to the poor.

But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?

And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray.

So it is not the will of my[5] Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.

I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being,

Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

For your name's sake, O LORD, pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Anxiety in a man's heart weighs him down, but a good word makes him glad.

"Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.

Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own,

for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I keep your word.

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

"You have heard that it was said, 'An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.'

But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also.

do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Those who sow in tears shall reap with shouts of joy!

What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be[8] against us?

A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger.

This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.

So you also, when you have done all that you were commanded, say, 'We are unworthy servants;[5] we have only done what was our duty.' "

Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

When he calls to me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble; I will rescue him and honor him.

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.[1]

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you[2] free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Trust in the LORD, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.[1]

Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers,[2] cast out demons. You received without paying; give without pay.

Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

If your enemy is hungry, give him bread to eat, and if he is thirsty, give him water to drink,

for you will heap burning coals on his head, and the LORD will reward you.

To the contrary, "if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head."

Therefore, confess your sins to one another and pray for one another, that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person has great power as it is working.[2]

Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.

"If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift.

Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?"

Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven.[7]

bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.

with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,

Prayer