Can I ask God to forgive me again? I thought I had resolved never to do this activity again and I’m filthy from the grime of my sin. Will God forgive me yet again?
Have you ever asked yourself those questions and thought that you would never be found trapped by the sin again?
To answer this question, let us look at some key Bible passages:
Psalm 51 – In this passage, David asks God to have mercy on Him because of God’s steadfast love (his steady perfect personal affection). David did not ask God to forgive him and blot out the error of his way because he promised never to do it again or because this was the only time he’d ever messed up. In contrast, David identified sin was ingrained within him since before birth. David declared He would proclaim God as a praiseworthy, forgiving God as God created in him a pure inner person and allowed the Spirit of God always to be with him.
Matthew 18:21-35 – Jesus told the parable to illustrate how much we should forgive our brother who sins against us. He told the man that he had been forgiven all the debt “because you pleaded with me”. God in Heaven will not forgive us unless we forgive others. But from this parable we can clearly see that forgiveness is granted “because you pleaded with me” as the reason the debt had been forgiven.
Matthew 27:5 – Judas had sinned against the Lord, but instead of asking forgiveness and repenting, he went out and hanged himself.
Matthew 26:75 – Peter after denying Jesus three times, went out and wept bitterly. This can be understood he cried aloud, expressing uncontainable, audible grief. He was overcome with sorrow. Then in the last chapter of John, we see how Jesus came to him personally to reinstate him with all debt paid.
1 John 1:9 – We must agree with God that we need His forgiveness. When we evaluate sin in the same way God does, He is trustworthy to forgive us and to cleanse us.
Take the time to consider other known characters in the Bible like Esau, Samson, Saul, and others. The common thread is those who seek God and ask to be forgiven from the heart, receive forgiveness.
Psalm 51 states so clearly, God will not think lightly of those who have a broken spirit and a contrite heart. Those who are humbled by their great need of God and dependence on Him will always receive God’s forgiveness.
So maybe you did mess up yet again. What should you do? Confess to God you messed up again, humble yourself before Him, plead with Him for His steady perfect personal affection toward you to take away your sin and cleanse you completely. Then, go in the confident knowledge you have been forgiven . . . again!
Written By: Anne Gurley
