Bible Dictionaries
Pardon

Holman Bible Dictionary

An authoritive act reversing a sentence given under a guilty verdict. Prayer for God's pardon for sin is based on the greatness of God's covenant love and on the long history of God's acts of forgiveness (Numbers 14:19; Micah 7:18 ). The Old Testament believers were already aware that the condition for seeking pardon was a repentant heart rather than ritual exactness (1 Chronicles 29:18 ). God's willingness to abundantly pardon serves as an incentive to repentance (Isaiah 55:7 ). See Atonement; Forgiveness; Reconciliation.