23/04/2026
It's hard to get our minds around how gracious God is.
God is Merciful and Forgiving.
God is also Omniscient; he knows everything.
How can God forgive someone for a sin when, in his infinite knowledge, he already knows they will sin again?
Our perspective of forgiveness is a bit two-dimensional, and we think of it in very linear terms. We think that if we sin, we must confess, and then we are forgiven. If we sin again, we must confess again, and so goes the thought. Some people worry about the idea of dying and having a few sins left that were not confessed.
All of this thinking leaves out both the infinite knowledge of God and the very relational patient heart of God.
When the Lord went to the cross, his life paid for the sins of all humanity for all time. This includes all the sins you have ever committed, including all the sins you have not yet committed, but which will inevitably come.
But forgiveness is not automatic, because anyone without faith cannot access this precious gift. Even if a gift is given, it must also be received. A ticket for travel on an ocean liner may be purchased, but the passenger must still embark on the journey.
So someone comes to faith and embarks on the journey of knowing Christ. All their sins are washed away, and the Lord forgives them completely. They are clean and in Christ. They have joined his family. Then it becomes about the relationship with God.
With our own children, we know they will make many mistakes. We don’t know what those mistakes are specifically, but we know they will happen. We accept that as reality, and try to teach them and instruct them as they grow. We expect they will grow and mature. If they struggle repeatedly, a normal parent will be patient with them. But if they harden their hearts as children or teenagers and refuse to listen, the relationship becomes broken, and they no longer grow. Or it becomes very hard for them to mature, and their lives may not turn out so well.
So with God. We come in faith and are accepted into the family. He knows we will make mistakes in the future, and in fact knows specifically what those mistakes are. But he is patient with us and expects us to grow and mature. When we sin, we confess our sins, and that is a part of maintaining our relationship to God. But if we harden our hearts, the relationship is broken, or starts to break, and we no longer grow, and we fall away from Him.
Confession helps us to receive forgiveness in our experience, to make that transaction which is already paid for by Christ. It helps us to stay close to him, to stay in relationship. God in his patience, is like a parent, helping us to mature and grow.
If a believer dies before they have a chance to confess their final sins, the grace of God is such that, because they are in Christ and in his family, the mercy of God triumphs over judgment.
