Journal: Journal of Ministry and Theology
Volume: JMAT 05:1 (Spring 2001)
Article: Is Self-Forgiveness Biblical Forgiveness?
Author: Donald W. Holdridge, Sr.

JMAT 5:1 (Spr 01) p. 89

Is Self-Forgiveness Biblical Forgiveness?

Donald W. Holdridge, Sr.

Associate Professor Of Bible
Baptist Bible College, Clarks Summit, Pennsylvania

Last fall I caught the end of a program that I usually do not watch. I was curious to see what kind of theology would come out of “Touched By An Angel.” In this episode, a pastor had lost his teenage son in a car accident. He was devastated and angry at God for taking his boy. Near the end of the show, he broke down and humbled himself before the Lord. One of the angels said, “God has forgiven you. Now you need to forgive yourself.”

The angel’s second sentence grabbed my attention. Red flags began going up as I started to compare the concept of self-forgiveness with Scripture. Does the Bible say anything about Christians having to forgive themselves after God already has forgiven them? I also wondered how widespread this doctrine of self-forgiveness has become? To answer these questions, I have divided the following article into three sections: what the world says about self-forgiveness, what some Christian writers are saying about self-forgiveness, what the Word of God says about self-forgiveness.

What The World Says About Self-Forgiveness

It did not take me long to learn how popular forgiving yourself really is after I went on-line. Barnes & Noble sells three works which contain this very concept in their titles.1 Nearly two hundred sites popped up when I searched “self-forgiveness” on the web.

JMAT 5:1 (Spr 01) p. 90

Many of these sites had additional sites linked to them that discuss this same topic. Self-forgiveness is promoted by psychics, self-healers, psychotherapists, and even some psychologists and medical doctors.

The world recognizes the need for forgiveness. Many voices out there have correctly observed the harm that unresolved guilt has caused in people’s lives. Some believe that those who cannot forgive themselves are “seriously wasting energy and bleeding off the vitality of [their] life force.”2 Others believe that a lack of self-forgiveness leads to a loss of love for oneself, self-destructive behaviors, self-pity, chronic guilt and depression, sarcasm, cynicism, pessimism, fear of failure, fear of rejection, low self-esteem, and low self-worth.3 Some warn that, if people continue to let their past failures bind them (consciously or unconsciously), their bodies will become physically ill.4

Many solutions hav...