Lord forgive me, and I will be clean

By William F. Holland Jr.

DD., C.ED.D.

God’s love and His provision of eternal salvation is the greatest peace and security we could ever hope for. We heard His truth, became convicted, we saw our need for a Savior, and by faith we repented of our sin, and cried out for Him to save us. Second Corinthians assures us that when we receive Jesus as our Lord, our old spirit becomes converted into a brand new creation.

Within this process, we became a child of God and our names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life. How do we know this? Because the Bible teaches in many places including John 3:16, that whoever places their trust in God shall be saved. After we repent and are baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit, God’s plan is for us to grow strong in our faith and become spiritually mature as the goal is to take on His nature and character – to be like Him. 

If there comes a time when we intentionally step off the narrow path, we can become what is called lukewarm or backslidden. I sing an old song called, “Your drifting too far from the shore” which is saying the Lord is beckoning for you to come back to Him. Yes, we all sin, but this does not mean we are lost again.

The Holy Spirit will always convict God’s children to repent and then lead them back into a right relationship with Him. Remember the passage in Matthew 18:12 where Jesus leaves the ninety-nine to bring the one wayward sheep back into the fold. He loves His children and will never give up on us when we stray.

Romans chapter 6 explains about the transformed life and the dangers of sin after we are born-again. We should be encouraged to know that we cannot be made to disobey God as sin cannot overcome us or hold us captive any longer. Verse 14 says, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: you are no longer under the law, but now under His grace.”

Verse 16 makes it clear that if we are drawn back into the darkness of disobedience, it’s because we made the decision to follow the enemy and turn away from God. “Don’t you realize that you choose your own master? You can embrace sin and death or obedience to God. The one to whom you offer yourself, they will be your master, and you will be their slave.

Do you not comprehend that when you yield yourselves to either God or the devil, your behavior reveals the one you truly love?”

The point is that when we sin, we do not need to be saved and baptized again, we simply need to to be sorrowful for our rebellion and to repent for how we allowed our carnality to control us and disappoint Him. Sin should make the child of God nauseated and if it does not convict us, that individual has lost their reverential fear of God’s holiness.

He is faithful to forgive and restore all those who are sincere. Grace allows us to be reconciled and rededicate our promises to love and serve Him and be restored in our personal relationship with Him. 

First John 1:6-10 reminds us of His willingness to forgive and reconcile us back to Him. Verse nine says, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Psalm 51 is a beautiful collection of verses for repentant prayer. Verses 10-12, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and sustain me by your mercy.”

Romans chapter 6 is such an amazing explanation of how a Christian has died to sin and is buried with Christ in His death. Then we are resurrected into a new creation as Christ rose from the dead by the glory of God the Father. Now when God sees us, He sees the righteousness of Christ. Romans 5:1-2 declares we have been justified by faith, which gives us joy and peace.

May we wake up every morning and ask for an awareness of God’s presence, that we might be focused on Christ and be willing to do His will. Yes, we will be tempted to sin, but we are always given the freedom to choose good or evil. 

Dr. Holland is a minister, chaplain, and Christian author. Read more about the Christian life at billyhollandministries.com.