What Are The 4 Stages of Forgiveness?
Let’s explore the four stages of forgiveness and its benefits. Then, apply forgiveness in your own life.
1. Face the Offense.
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Don’t minimize the offense.
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Don’t excuse offensive behavior.
“Indeed, we felt we had received the sentence of death. But this happened that we might not rely on ourselves but on God, who raises the dead.” (2 Corinthians 1:9)
2. Feel the Offense.
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Don’t deny your pain.
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Don’t carry false guilt for hating what happened.
“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under the heavens ... a time to love and a time to hate.”
(Ecclesiastes 3:1, 8)
3. Forgive the Offender.
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We are called by God to forgive!
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Genuine forgiveness draws you into the heart of God, and your life takes on the divine character of Christ.
“If you forgive people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.”
(Matthew 6:14–15)
4. Find Oneness—if appropriate.
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Note if the offender honestly accepts responsibility
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Set appropriate boundaries.
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Don’t rush reconciliation—change takes time.
“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and of one mind.”
(Philippians 2:1–2)
