Can you be forgiven if you intentionally sin?
Question:
Hello,
I was told by my parents (who are a deacon and a deaconess in a church) that if someone sins intentionally (meaning that they know what they’re doing is a sin), God would not forgive them. Is that true?
Answer:
I assume your parents are thinking of: "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:26). Draw your attention to the phrase "go on sinning." It refers to continuing in willful sins. Not all translations make this clear, but in Greek, it refers to continuing in willful sins. There is no forgiveness while a person remains in sin. This passage does not address the person who sinned but then turned from his sins. See A Sin Leading to Death" for more details.
God does not withhold forgiveness. He wants everyone to repent (II Peter 3:9), and that would include people who intentionally sinned. However, if a person refuses to repent, then there will be no forgiveness. Esau is an example of such a person. "See to it that no one comes short of the grace of God; that no root of bitterness springing up causes trouble, and by it many be defiled; that there be no immoral or godless person like Esau, who sold his own birthright for a single meal. For you know that even afterwards, when he desired to inherit the blessing, he was rejected, for he found no place for repentance, though he sought for it with tears" (Hebrews 12:15-17). Esau wanted the benefits of living godly without giving up his sins, and such a thing cannot happen.
Also, see: "Can you be forgiven in old age if you willfully sinned in your youth?"
