Have you ever had the experience of washing your hands only to find out that they still are not really clean? I eat a lot of fruit with my hands. Afterward my hands are sticky, so I wash them. Many times I will then sit down to read and find that my hands are still sticky.
I had a similar experience recently with paint. I spent several days painting doors and walls. Each day I struggled to get my hands clean, never quite managing to get them fully clean.
I have the same reaction with sin. Once I have sinned and asked for forgiveness, repenting of that sin, I wonder if the stain is completing gone. I know that as a human I can forgive someone but still hold onto the bad feelings for a time. Is God the same way? Does he forgive but remember the sin to hold against me at some future date?
Ephesians 5:25-27 says, “as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.” When God forgives us, he makes us holy and blameless through the sacrifice of his Son. The stain of sin is gone.
Reluctant Retiree 