How many times can one person make the same mistake before they learn from it and not repeat it? I'm betting it's a lot of times. Peter came up to Jesus in Matthew 18 asking, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" Jesus replied saying, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy times seven." Now, was Peter asking Jesus if he only had to forgive one person a maximum of seven times for different sins? Perhaps. But maybe Peter was being even more specific and asking Jesus how many times he must forgive a brother for one sin he commits over and over again. Either way, we know that Jesus basically sets no limit on how many times you are to forgive your brother. So, even Jesus knew that many people would commit the same sin over and over again and even against the same person.
My point is that God's grace still abounds. I am so very thankful for that. Jesus came and died for our sins. He knew that we would continue to make mistakes and even commit the same sins over and over again. But does that mean we should be complacent with continuing in that sin. For the answer to that I would refer you to Romans 6. Paul clearly explains that we should not live in sin, since we are dead to it. We are united in Christ and our lives should show that.
So, I need to heed my own words. I know that I need to repent of my sins, and not be complacent. That is so hard even for those who have been Christians for years. But it is necessary, and I will continue to pray that God helps me and gives me the strength I need to truly repent.
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1 comment:
Dave,
What brought this post up? It is so true, but from reading your blog chronologically, I seems like it came out of nowhere! It was also well stated by the way. Do you typically just think of deep thoughts like this & need to share them like this, if so, keep up the good work work!
Pete
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