One of the problems most of us have is making excuses for our mistakes. There is a very popular line that says, “It is easier to ask forgiveness than it is to ask for permission.”

That is really a cheap view of forgiveness. It communicates that you can keep on doing the same thing over and over and always ask for forgiveness. Repentance in the Bible means that we ask for forgiveness with no intent of committing that sin again.

Recently a man broke into the Berean Baptist Church in Ellenwood, Georgia. He took a lot of expensive equipment including microphones and laptops containing important records from the church. He broke the lock to the church safe, but it was empty. (I can’t believe that the Baptist Church had an empty safe.)

The interesting thing is that the robber scrawled a note on the wall saying, “Sorry but I’m poor. Forgive me Lord.”

It is easy just to try to excuse our actions by saying that we need to be forgiven. That cheap concept of forgiveness is really an excuse for sin.

This was actually the fourth time the Berean Baptist Church has been robbed in the last two years. The pastor, Rev. Roger Davis, said that he was considering putting up a note of his own telling potential robbers to call him instead and the church would take up a collection for them.

The Bible is clear that each of us has sinned, but God desires to forgive us for our sins if we truly repent and confess. Confession is not a subtle excuse for our actions. It is the key to a right relationship with God and with our fellow man. The Bible says that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.