Q: How does God forgive if a person falls when he is saved or sins again when he is saved?
A: Thank you for your question. The issue of forgiveness may be the most important subject to understand in order to move forward in your relationship with God. The entire world has been forgiven of all of its sins since Jesus Christ died on the cross nearly two thousand years ago. 2 Corinthians 5:19 says "that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation." Therefore, whether a person "falls" or "sins again" after they have been saved, God is not counting their sins against them. If God still counted our sins against us, what would we have to do in order to be forgiven? The Bible states that "the wages of sin is death (Romans 6:23)" and that "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22)." There is no man or woman alive today that has a life to give that would satisfy God as payment for their sins. The sacrifice of Jesus Christ was once, for all and for eternity. That is why Hebrews 10:17-18 tells us "Then he adds: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” And where these have been forgiven, sacrifice for sin is no longer necessary." There is no more forgiveness to get from God because Jesus has already dealt with the sin issue.
When the Bible talks about a person who falls, it is not so much that they have committed a sin, but that they have started living a life of works rather than resting in the grace of God. Galatians 5:4 says, "You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." If you fall from grace you have to fall to something. And in this case it is the works of the law that a person falls to. A person who has fallen from grace is still forgiven of their sins and is still saved. However, they have been deceived into believing they must live a life of obedience and repentance to law rather than resting and trusting in the finished work of Jesus Christ on their behalf. Christians do not live a life in response to laws designed to modify our behavior. A Christian lives a life of dependence on the indwelling Holy Spirit who leads us from within. Our obedience is our response to the love we are receiving from God that results in our bearing the fruit of the Spirit. That is why Titus 2:11-12 says, "For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age." It is God's grace that guides us not God's law.
Due to the fact that most Christians do not understand that the sin issue is over between man and God, a whole host of "sacrificial" systems have arisen in order to deal with our sins. Some of the most popular are continually asking God to forgive us, confession booths, altar calls and repeating the "Lord's Prayer." None of these are required by God, nor do they meet His requirement of shed blood to receive forgiveness of sins. If the sin issue was still separating man from God then verses like Hebrews 9:28 would have no place in the New Testament. "Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him." Jesus is not coming back again to die on the cross because His death on the cross was sufficient enough to take away sins. When He returns it is to gather the believers not to die again. He is not dying again for our sins because He "is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world (1 John 2:2)." With the forgiveness issue settled, we must deal with the real issue between man and God. The death of Jesus Christ does not save anybody. The problem between man and God is that man is born into this world spiritually dead to God in sin.
While the death of Jesus Christ is necessary for salvation, it alone is not salvation. Simply put, salvation is the restoration of the life of God, made available as a free gift, to all who receive Jesus Christ by faith. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10)." The gift of God is His life restored to man as it was originally intended back in the Garden of Eden. God breathed His life into Adam when he was created (Genesis 2:17). God told Adam that if he ate of the forbidden fruit he would die (Genesis 2:17). Adam disobeyed God and ate the forbidden fruit (Genesis 3:6). Thus, God removed His life from Adam leaving him spiritually dead. All mankind is therefore born in the image of Adam (Genesis 5:3); spiritually dead to God in sin. Therefore, before God could restore His life to mankind, He had to deal with the sin issue that caused spiritual death. That is why the death of God, in Christ, was necessary to take away the sins of the world. Now, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ, that life can be restored to man. And because of the death of Jesus Christ, there is now no sin to cause God to remove His life again. Therefore, the life we have is an eternal life. Therefore, when a Christian "falls" or "sins again" we can rest in the fact that our sin is already forgiven. Thus, we can "draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16)." May God continue to reveal to you the blessings you have already received through faith in Christ Jesus. Grace and Peace.
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