If you know that what you’re about to do is wrong and you think that you will just ask for forgiveness later, will God forgive you?

Wow! Great question! And it’s also a very complicated question with an equally complex answer. The Apostle Paul talks about this very subject in the book of Romans, Chapter 6. The whole chapter is devoted to us being dead to sin but alive in Christ and that we are no longer slaves to sin but slaves to righteousness. The subject is so critical that Paul writes, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means!” (Romans 6:1) And he later repeats himself when he says, “What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means!” (Romans 6:15)

What Paul is saying is that just because God will forgive you doesn’t give you the excuse to commit the sin, especially when you know it’s wrong. It all has to do with your heart. Are you truly sorry? Are you truly repentant? Or do you think because you know God forgives sins, you’ll be okay?

Let’s look at another very important scripture verse that deals specifically with this: it’s Hebrews 10:26-27. It says, “If we keep deliberately sinning after we have received the knowledge of truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God.”

God does not take this stuff lightly. If you know it’s wrong and you intentionally do it because you think by asking for forgiveness later you’ll be forgiven, God says there is no sacrifice for that. You must truly be sorry and never do it again. Only God knows your heart. But, when He knows you are truly sorry and that you won’t do it again and that you were silly for thinking you could do it and expecting forgiveness … believe it or not, then God will forgive you! He knows you are sincere in your apology.

If you steal and give back, is that good or bad?

We all know that stealing is not good. It is one of the Ten Commandments. “You shall not steal” Ex. 20:15. But what about if you steal and give it back? Does that make everything okay? - Good question!

A couple of examples in the Bible of where stealing is mentioned is Exodus 22: verses1, 3-6, & 14 and Luke chapter 19. These examples show us that if there has been stealing then the person who has stolen needs to take steps to try and make things right, to pay back what has been taken. We call this restitution.

Let’s look at Zacchaeus the tax collector in Luke chapter 19. As a tax collector Zacchaeus had cheated people by taking more money or possessions than he should have. The first thing Zacchaeus had to do is recognize he had been stealing and confess it, which he does in verse 8. But, in addition to confessing that he had stolen he also promises to pay back four times the amount he stole from anyone. He was committed to making things right with those he had stolen from. In other words, Zacchaeus brought about restitution. One of the things that I think is interesting is that Zacchaeus was promising to pay back four times the amount he had stolen. Zacchaeus was eager to make things right with those he stole from. His offer to pay more was a reflection of his heart.

If I steal, God wants me to recognize my sin. He wants me to be sorry that I have stolen and confess what I did. Then He wants me to do all I can to make things right with the person from whom I stole.

Personally, when someone has stolen from me, I have had to ask God to help me forgive them. With God’s help, forgiveness wasn’t hard to give, but being able to trust that person again may take some time.

If you’ve never heard of God, why do you go to Hell?

This is a good question with which many people have wrestled. Here are just a few remarks on what God’s Word tells us about God’s judgment on people, and those who go to heaven and those who don’t.

We do not know how God will judge those who have never heard of Him or His Son Jesus Christ. That’s the short answer to your question. We do not know for certain that they will go to hell. We simply do not know the mind of God with regard to those who do not know Him. But read on about what we do know …

God is a just God, a God of justice. We do know that He will judge each person uniquely and fairly and the only reason people are going to hell is because they have told God that they can live without Him. On Judgment Day God will allow people to continue to live with the decision they have made. Not everyone who hears the truth about God will be saved, only those who believe in Jesus and obey. Read Luke 8:1-15. Also read John 3:18, John 8:24, 1 John 5:11-13, Deuteronomy 32:4.

The only reason anyone will be in heaven is because Jesus bled and died on the cross to pay the penalty for human sin. Nobody will be in heaven because they lived a good life or because they were sincere. Rather they will receive eternal life as a result of God’s good gift to them in Christ. Read John 14:6, Ephesians 2:8-9, Titus 3:5, John 1:12, Acts 4:12, Romans 3:22-24, Romans 5:6-8.

Those who have heard about Christ will be held accountable for how they responded to Him. To reject Christ is to reject God’s offer of forgiveness and eternal life. To choose not to decide about Jesus is to reject Him. Love demands a choice. A loving God invites us to come to Him. Romans 10:9-10.

Have confidence in Christ. Keep asking great questions. But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander 1 Peter 3:14-16.

Should I forgive someone if it’s not their fault?

Hmmm…interesting question! So, let’s look at it like this: You invite your friend over to play the Wii. During an intense game of Backyard Baseball, your friend is the batter and you’re the pitcher. You decide you’re gonna throw him your nastiest fastball. You wind up and make a throwing motion as hard as you can. At the same time, he makes a swinging motion.

But, because you’ve thrown this crazy pitch, you lose your balance and step right into his controller as he’s coming around to hit your pitch. He ends up hitting you right in your head. It’s clearly your fault because you fell into his space but your head hurts and you’re mad.

So…it’s not his fault, right? But, you’re still mad. Should you forgive him? Let me ask you this…what did he do wrong that needs your forgiveness? Why would you forgive someone that did nothing wrong?

My point is this: you should forgive only those people who have intentionally done something bad to you or to someone you care about. Now, sometimes mistakes happen and usually someone is at fault. For example, let’s say in the above Wii scenario your friend swung too hard and the controller flew out of his hand and hit your television breaking it. Now, it’s his fault EVEN THOUGH he didn’t mean to do it. So he apologizes to you. It’s your choice to forgive or not forgive.

Jesus makes it pretty clear that we are to forgive people because He forgave us for our mistakes. We are to love as Jesus loves.