THE DELETE BUTTON DOCTRINE:
"Just slip up your hand"

This is a doctrine that has crept into the church, and now is rooted there. It is the concept that God's forgiveness is as simple as pushing the delete button on your computer. Poof. Everything is gone. All your sin disappears. It comes along with the idea that coming to Jesus is achieved by "slipping up your hand." In revivals in the past, men wept before the altar of God, because of their sin. Lives were changed as people turned from their sin. Now, you don't really have to repent, you just are sorry, and say so, and then it is over, you are "saved." And lives don't change, just the location. Instead of people being sinners in the world, we have churches filled with unrepentant sinners.

The Father watched in pain while Jesus suffered an agonizing death at the hand of religious men, on our behalf, to take away our sin. All our sin did not disappear, it was placed on Jesus' body. There was no delete button for Jesus on the cross. If man will come to Jesus in sorrow from their sin, and turn from their sin, then He will forgive. This is the purpose of Jesus' sacrifice. His forgiveness is complete and your sin is taken from you. But if you casually come to Jesus and do not turn away from your sin, even though you say, "I am sorry," the Father is not willing to forgive.

Jesus suffered an incomprehensible death for you. This is the greatest thing that has ever happened in all of earth's existence. There is grace towards man, and that grace consists of the Son of God's bloody body hanging on a cross for us. Grace is not license to keep sinning. Grace is offered that we might come to the Father, and turn from our sin. No greater grace could be offered than what has been given to us. There was nothing quick and easy about the suffering that Jesus endured for us, and in response our hearts should be full of passion and love for what He did. Deep calls to deep. A quick "I am sorry" for own sin, our own actions, is not deep, but self-serving and shallow. Do not slip up your hand. Fall on your face, and He will be waiting to receive you, when He sees that you sincerely repent, and desire Him.