- Righteous Legacy
- Posts
- How Many Times Does God Forgive the Same Sin?
How Many Times Does God Forgive the Same Sin?
How to break the Remorse-Repentance-Relapse cycle?
Vitus
February 21, 2025
What if I failed too many times for God to forgive me anymore? This is the anxiety most of us feel when we struggle with sin.
I struggled with this when I was fighting with lust. I had a fear of running out of God’s forgiveness one day.
How long does the patience of God last?
The Human Nature and Sin
In the perfect case scenario, once we believe in Jesus, we should no longer struggle with any sin. But is that realistic? I don't think so. Paul struggled with sin. Peter acted as a hypocrite. And the entire church in Corinth tolerated sexual sin.
Even after we receive salvation, we continue struggling with sin.
Being a Christian doesn't mean a sin-free life. It means a call to put off your old nature and put on the new one. It means to repent and seek God continually. It means pursuing the Spirit so the desires of the flesh lose their control.
So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won't be doing what your sinful nature craves.
The fight against sin is part of the Christian walk. God doesn’t expect you to be perfect and never make a mistake. He expects us to know about it, be real about our struggles and come to Him when we fail to meet the perfect standard.
The Standard of Jesus
Peter came to Jesus to ask how many times he had to forgive before he could hold on to the offense. It's safe to guess that he was bothered by someone and wanted to lose his patience. Peter hoped that Jesus would set a limit on how many times he could forgive before justifying his unforgiveness.
Then Peter came up and said to him, "Lord, how often will my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? As many as seven times?" [22] Jesus said to him, "I do not say to you seven times, but seventy-seven times.
Scholars agree that 77 times is not an exact number but a way of expressing a limitless amount.
If Jesus told us to forgive each other an indefinite number of times, He would be a hypocrite to not forgive us when we come to Him.
But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.
He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
God forgives all sins. There’s no limit.
The Results of Believing in Limitless Forgiveness
There are two main ways to receive God's grace.
One leads you to godliness, another leads you to destruction.
If you accept God's grace as a license to sin, this is what the author of Hebrews describes as trampling underfoot the blood of Jesus.
Dear friends, if we deliberately continue sinning after we have received knowledge of the truth, there is no longer any sacrifice that will cover these sins. [27] There is only the terrible expectation of God's judgment and the raging fire that will consume his enemies.
God has not given us grace so we can indulge in the life of sin. He has given us grace so we can be free to approach Him without fear. Grace trains us to live a life of godliness.
For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, [12] training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age
Without God’s grace, a Christian has no power to live a godly life. It’s not by our works that we please God but by our faith. If our works were enough, Jesus wouldn’t have come.
The enemy is doing everything to convince us to work for our salvation. Why? Because the greatest fear of the enemy - a Christ follower who is fully convinced of forgiveness.
Demons hate it when people are delivered from their grasp, and they try to plant seeds of doubt in our minds about the reality of our salvation. In his vast arsenal of tricks, one of Satan’s biggest tools is to constantly remind us of our past transgressions. He is “the accuser” (Revelation 12:10), and he tries to use past sins to prove that God couldn’t possibly forgive or restore us. The devil’s attacks make it a real challenge for us to simply rest in the promises of God and trust His love.
You fall into deep despair if you fear you will never be forgiven. Why fight, if there’s no hope?
However, if you believe you’re forgiven sin’s grip grows weaker. Your love for Jesus can freely grow because you have the confidence to approach Him. You know that nothing can separate you from God’s love. You know that God is on your side in your fight against sin.
And it’s only a matter of time when you’re walking free.
Last Thoughts
God knows our weakness better than we know it ourselves. He sent His Son because of His love. And He continues to forgive everyone who repents.
God’s forgiveness is unlimited. His Grace is life-changing even when our hearts struggle to accept it. But everyone who accepts it receives the power to live above guilt.
God will continue to forgive you as long as your goal is to break free from sin.