Asking for forgiveness can be hard because admitting I need forgiveness is not. Needing forgiveness from another is hard because it means I have to accept and confess that I committed wrong towards the casualty. Saying, “I am sorry. Please forgive me,” can be the hardest five words because of pride. Dependence on God’s grace is as worldwide as pride and guilt.
David, a man who had been called “A man after God’s heart” is asking for God’s pardon. He wants absolution for a series of covenant violations. He wants to be restored to how it was before.
The forgiveness of sin in the Bible is the removal of guilt and the result of covenant violations against God. Forgiveness of sin is only possible because of the grace and mercy of God. The Most High God sent his one and only son to pay everyone else’s penalty for their sin. As Apostle Peter said at Pentecost, “Jesus Christ of Nazareth… Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.” (Acts 4:12)
