I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven for his name’s sake.
Glory is defined as the essence of who God is in personality and reputation. It is God’s reputation that is at stake here and it is for the sake of His glory that He forgives our sins.
That is a very personal matter for each of us because we have failed to protect His good name each and every time we sin. Mankind is a failed experiment if we think that His glory is dependent on our ability to be faithful to refrain from sinning.
- 1 John 1:8
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
1 John 1:10
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.
His reputation is too important to leave its care up to mankind when it is a fact that we are not faithful to refrain from sin no matter how hard we try.
Some have seen the futility in trying and have given up. They have lost sight of the greater issue which is God’s intent. The Hebrew word of sake means to bring about the desired end result.
In order to maintain His glory, His reputation, He forgives all sin for us that have become sons and daughters. This forgiveness of sins in the here and now by repentance and confession is to maintain this relationship in order to keep walking with God.
- Genesis 5:22
Enoch walked with God after he fathered Methuselah 300 years and had other sons and daughters. - Genesis 5:24
Enoch walked with God, and he was not, for God took him.
Others have done the math and it appears that Enoch was taken up to be with God rather than dying in the flood. That indicates to me that walking with God is extremely important, so repentance and confession is extremely important to bring about God’s intentions.
That means we have to stop making this all about ourselves.