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NASB | 2 Corinthians 5:8 we are of good courage, I say, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Corinthians 5:8 we are [as I was saying] of good courage and confident hope, and prefer rather to be absent from the body and to be at home with the Lord. |
Bible Question:
All of our lives we have been taught that God will forgive us if we repent. If a person keeps sinning and takes repenting w/ no concern will God still forgive that person? |
Bible Answer: 1 John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. John in his epistle says "If we confess our sins" the "we" and "our" in this verse refers to believers. The "If" which begins this verse is a conditional word. If we confess our sins, there is forgiveness and cleansing, and restoration to fellowship. (see 1 John 1:7) It is only as believers continue to walk in the light that we can have fellowship with Jesus Christ and find cleansing from all sin. In Isaiah is found: Isaiah 59:2 But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid [his] face from you, that he will not hear. Unconfessed sin in the believers life, breaks our fellowship with God. Going back to 1 John 1:9 we could also say the following is likewise also true. If we don't confess our sins, God is not faithful to forgive us our unconfessed sins, and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Spiros Zodhiates in his commentary on 1 John has the following to say concerning 1 John 1:9 "The verb "confess" ... presupposes consciousness and conviction for wrongdoing. The present subjunctive indicates that the process of confessing is energized each time we are convicted about a sin, and that EACH TIME we confess there is available forgiveness. "Faithful" (pistos- trustworthy) means that Christ can be trusted to grant us forgiveness EACH TIME we ask Him. Not only is He faithful, but He is also just (dikaios), fulfilling His declared promise. On the other hand, IF WE DO NOT CONFESS OUR SINS, it is within His justice not to forgive us even as a just judge could not allow a criminal to go free. The Lord keeps an account of unconfessed sins for which we bear the consequences. Our unconfessed sins will remain for eventual retribution (Heb. 10:26). Not to confess our sins is tantamount to claiming that we are sinless. In reality we are claiming that we are living the same perfect life which Christ lived, which is blasphemy ... the Lord's forgiveness is available to us EACH TIME we ask for it and as many times as is necessary." I would also like to state that when a believer is convicted of sin, this conviction comes from the Holy Spirit, and we need to immediately confess it, with the desire to turn from it. Unconfessed sin in the life a believer: (1) separates us from fellowship (Isaiah 59:2 and 1 John 1:7) (2) hinders our prayers. (John 9:31) (3) holds back God's desire to forgive us I hope this sheds some light on your question |