Let me give a short disclaimer before I begin. When I write these posts, I am preaching to myself. I don't ever intend for this to sound like I am pointing a certain group of people out. On the other hand, I am going to be brutally honest.
God will always forgive you, but that isn't a reason to commit sin on purpose. It took until college for me to see people do this over and over. I would hear stories about people going out to sleep around or get wasted every day, but then they felt the need to explain themselves to me. "God will forgive me." "It will only be one more time and then I won't ever do it again." Those phrases are the two most common things I hear. It takes me off guard that these people see me and choose to explain themselves to me because I am Christian as well. It really opened my eyes to the fact that God hears this on a daily basis.
I imagine these conversations going something like this,
Person: "Hey, God."
God: "Hey!"
Person: "A bunch of us are planning to go drinking tonight."
God: "You know how I feel about that."
Person: "Yeah, but when I get back you will still be here. You will forgive me and we will go back to being how we were before, so why wouldn't I have one night of fun?"
Okay, my imagination is a tad over the top, but do you see my point? Here, let me put it in a conversation of everyday life.
Girl: "Hey, boyfriend!"
Boy: "Hey!"
Girl: "I am going on a date with Kyle tonight."
Boy: "But we are in a relationship."
Girl" "Yeah, but you will be here when I get back. You will be mad, but I expect you to forgive me and for nothing to change between us."
Again, dramatic I know, but we shouldn't go out and date other people while we are in a committed relationship. If we did, the relationship would change even with forgiveness. After the date, the couple would be distant and the girl is likely to go on another date.
Why don't we see ourselves in a relationship with God? God set these rules for us for our benefit. He wasn't trying to hinder our fun or make our lives bland, He wants to take care of us. Also, just because he is gracious to forgive doesn't mean the relationship won't change. By disobeying Him, we push God further from us. We will then be choosing worldly things over Him, which makes it easier to keep choosing those unfulfilling things. From personal experience, I can promise you that you will find yourself further from Him than you ever thought was possible.
He will not force you to choose Him, but instead, we have to chase after Him. By choosing worldly things on purpose, we are forcing the relationship away. Stop committing sins you know won't lead you to the right places. Trust that God is keeping you from those things to help you grow.
