Today, we are considering whether God will forgive us if we continue to commit the same habitual sins. This is a massive question that we will barely cover in full today. But I think it is worth pausing first and asking what sin is. There may be some of us who stumble over this article and do not know.
Sin, in the Bible, is written as Khata in Hebrew, or Hamartia in Greek. It means literally the failure to miss the goal. But what is the goal? Genesis 1-3 explains to us that as we are made in the image of God, we are to become like Him, loving people well and loving God. Yet what often happens is that we fail at loving both God and people because we spend more time in our own selfish desires and urges, acting on our own ideas and for our own benefit and that is often at the expense of others and almost always leads to relationship breakdowns. The Bible also talks about sins such as Inequity, which describes behavior that is crooked, and sins of Transgression, which describes the breaking of trust between God and us or us and others. Basically, in its briefest form, sin is what keeps us separate from God (Isaiah 59), like a barrier between us and Him.
Thankfully, John 3:16 tells us that God loved the world so much that He set a plan in motion to send His only son, Jesus, to die on the cross in our place so that we may be saved. Believing in Him affords us forgiveness of sins and starts this process some call sanctification, which is a really big word that simply means the process of making us holier.
There are many verses in the Bible that talk of Jesus forgiving our sins, including 1 John 1:9, which reads: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
So we know Jesus is faithful and willing to forgive us. I'm sure any of us who grew up in the church have heard the words “Saying sorry means you won’t do it again”. But friend, is that really practical? How many times as an adult have you said sorry and then went and committed the same act again in human terms? It happens, not because we were not sorry the first time, but because, as human beings, life is never as black and white as this.
Reading this title instantly reminded me of a conversation between Peter and Jesus. It is found in Matthew chapter 18. Peter comes to Jesus and asks, “Lord, How many times shall I forgive my brother when he sins against me? Up to seven times?” This may seem like an odd question, but in the 1st century, the Pharisees and Sadducees taught that forgiveness was a 3-strike rule. We should only forgive three times. So, Peter doubles this and then adds one. Yet Jesus' response is intriguing. He replies, “I tell you not seven times, but seventy – seven times”. Some even suggest it was written as seventy times seven times which makes 490 times! There is a subtle link here to a man called Lamech in Genesis 4, but we do not have time to delve into that today.
But what has this to do with habitual sin, I hear you ask? Jesus goes on to equate forgiveness with the kingdom of heaven. He explains that in heaven, a person who is sorry or repentant will come to Jesus and ask for forgiveness, and no matter what the sin is, they will be afforded forgiveness. Jesus expects us to act that same way. Just as we are forgiven, we should then forgive.
Ephesians 4:32 says this best as it reads: “Be Kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you”. So, we already see this narrative and the weighty importance of forgiveness from God for His people.
However, if we go about our lives sinning for the sake of sinning, what would God say about that?
1 John 3:8-9 reads: “Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning…. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God.”
These words are vitally important to note. We cannot go about our lives sinning just because grace is offered to us. In no way am I out to condemn the world for repeating sins, because our lives with Jesus are a journey and we are all in different places, some things I battle you would find silly, and possibly likewise. But we are all on the road with Jesus praying we are more like Him tomorrow than we are today. So, these words are not to condemn but rather to point out that pursuing or making a practice of sinning is a problem. If we are people who choose to sin because grace will bail us out we need to look at our hearts and as Paul note sin 1 John 3 “examine ourselves to see whether you are in the faith.” Of course, as Christians, we stumble, and our flesh can take over, but we need to be pursuers of Christ, and as David was named, men and women after God's own heart.
I believe every time we sin God will forgive us if we come back to Him, but abusing that grace is wrong. Romans 6 reminds us “Should we keep sinning so that grace can abound? Of course not!” Romans 5:20-21 tells us “Moreover the law entered that the offense might abound. But where sin abounded, grace abounded much more, so that as sin reigned in death, even so, grace might reign through righteousness to eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.”
I think the answer to this question is a heart matter. It is not will God forgive us if we sin, but rather, should we keep on sinning for the sake of it, hoping God will forgive us when we do? We can have a heart that asks how close to the line do I have to be to remain holy? Or one that asks, how holy can I be? and I know which question I would rather ask on my hard days.
Oh, friend, it is easy to stumble and fall—too easy, in fact—but grace welcomes you with open arms.
But if you are a person who is living in sin, living far from God like the prodigal there is grace for you also. If you are running into habitual sin pray, ask for grace, grab a hold of someone and ask them to hold you accountable, and rest in Jesus. But also, if you are choosing to live in sin, playing Russian roulette with grace examine your relationship with God and repent. There is always space at the table of grace for you, come back to the father and let Him help you navigate those sins that you cannot get a hold on.
There is so much more we could say on this topic, but I hope you know the grace of God is always available. Like a warm fire on a cold day or a simple hug when you have felt alone. Jesus does not leave us or abandon us but as he intercedes for us, He also advocates on our behalf, He pleads our case and welcomes us before the father, not because of who we are but rather because of the goodness found in Him and in His sacrifice in our place. There is no sin great enough that it cannot be cleansed by His blood, and there are no repetitive sins that He will not forgive if you come to Him.
I suppose that is the challenge today: will we come to Jesus and ask Him to help us navigate these hard sins we cannot or ask Him to forgive the ones we have made a bed in? Grace is free to you, but it came at a high price. Let us not be the people who abuse such a gift.
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