Can One Recover From His Mistakes?
Robert Meredith
Only by the grace of God can one recover from his mistakes. The Bible informs man, “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). Therefore, everyone has made mistakes from which he needs to recover. As we are discussing mistakes, we are talking about sins against God or our fellow man. Everyone, sooner or later, will transgress God’s law; not because they have a sinful nature, but because they are free moral agents, who by their free will choose to violate God’s commands. God gave man his spirit (Ecclesiastes 12:7), therefore it is not sinful by nature or God would be. God is a free moral agent, that is, He makes choices. Man is made in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27), and will in time choose to do something which is not in harmony with God’s revealed will. This sin separates man from God (Isaiah 59:2). This separation is spiritual death, but by God’s unmerited favor man can be forgiven of his sins if he will come to Jesus by obeying His gospel (Matthew 11:28-30; Romans 1:16; 10:16; 2
Thessalonians 1:7-9).
In order to access God’s grace and be forgiven, one must obey the Lord. The Holy Spirit had penned, “And being made perfect, He became the author of eternal salvation unto all them that obey Him” (Hebrews 5:9). Jesus did indeed die for all people (Hebrews 2:9); but only those who obey the Lord through an obedient faith can access His grace which He makes available (Romans 1:5; 16:26; 5:2). As noted earlier, all accountable people are in need of His marvelous grace. By Jesus’ atoning death, He made a way for any one to recover from his fall by sin. The Apostle John wrote, “And He is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:2). The word “propitiation” means “atoning victim.” Jesus willingly took our place and made atonement for our sins. Notice that John said that Jesus was the propitiation for our sins. John was writing to Christians (1 John 3:1), therefore Jesus died for their sins. The Apostle also declared that Jesus died for the sins of the whole world. Those who are still in the world of sin can have their sins removed the same way that the first century Christians had their sins removed, by obeying the gospel of Christ. In the first century a person, upon his belief in the Lordship of Jesus (Acts 16:30-31; Hebrews 11:6; Acts 8:36-38), repented of his sins (Acts 2:38; 3:19; 17:30), confessed that Jesus was the Christ (Acts 8:36-38; Romans 10:10) and was immersed in water for the purpose of having his sins washed away by Christ’s blood (Acts 2:38; 22:16 with Revelation 1:5; Romans 6:1-6). The inspired apostles were the ones who proclaimed God’s wonderful grace and told those longing for salvation how to come to God’s mercy. These apostles, guided by the Holy Spirit, told people how to be born again, being born of the element of water after hearing the teaching of the Spirit (John 3:3-5).
After one comes to the knowledge of the truth, it is possible for him to once again depart from God. When this happens, he once again needs to recover from his sins. This time, however, he needs to do what the Apostle Peter told a child of God, one who had already been born into the family of God (Galatians 3:26-27; 6:10; Ephesians 2:19), to do. A man named Simon of the city of Samaria had obeyed the gospel (Acts 8:13); but in time fell back into sin (v. 18). Peter told this wayward child to “Repent therefore of this thy wickedness, and pray God, if perhaps the thought of thine heart may be forgiven thee” (Acts 8:22). The same is true today. If a Christian falls back into the bondage of sin, he must repent and ask God’s forgiveness.
One can learn great lessons from many of the Old and New Testament saints. David was a man who made some terrible mistakes in his life, yet he recovered from his mistakes by repenting and once again seeking the face of God. Too, Peter was a man who often stumbled and fell. He sank when walking on the water because he took his eyes off of Jesus (Matthew 14:28-31), he denied the Lord three times (Luke 22:61), and he was rebuked by the Apostle Paul on one occasion because of his sin (Galatians 2:11-14). Peter made mistakes, yet he did not quit, because God’s grace does not quit for those who abide in it and are sustained by it (Philippians 4:13; Romans 5:20-21; 2 Corinthians 12:9a). Today, anyone can recover from his sins; not by himself, but through Christ. Jesus died for your sins and provides the tools necessary to overcome evil (Acts 20:32). By turning to Christ you can recover from your mistakes!