Does God Distance Himself when We Sin? Part 1

Jesus, Sin, and the Cross

We have been taught that sin separates us from God. Is that true? Does God distance Himself when we sin? 

God Never Leaves You

The word of God says that you are one with Him and that He will never leave or forsake you (Ephesians 1:4, Romans 6:5).

Hebrews 13:5b (AMPC) says:

…or He [God] Himself has said, I will not in any way fail you nor give you up nor leave you without support. [I will] not, [I will] not, [I will] not in any degree leave you helpless nor forsake nor [let [you] down (relax My hold on you)! [Assuredly not!]

Can you hear the tone behind this verse?

He says THREE times “I will not, I will not, I will not”!

Jesus on the Cross

One of the biggest stumbling blocks in our sense of separation from God comes from Jesus on the cross (Mark 15:34 Amplified, AMPC):

34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?—which means, My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me [deserting Me and leaving Me helpless and abandoned]?

We figure, if holy Jesus was forsaken, deserted, helpless, and abandoned by the Father on the cross, what hope do WE have?

The very mindset of the human race once Adam fell is feeling separate and abandoned.  Let’s unpack this.

Did the Father really forsake Christ?

The Word says in 2 Corinthians 5:21 (TPT):

 21 For God made the only one who did not know sin to become sin for us so that we who did not know righteousness might become the righteousness of God through our union with him.

We have erroneously thought that God is too holy to look upon sin:

Habakkuk 1:13a (NKJV) says. 

13 You are of purer eyes than to behold evil, And cannot look on wickedness.

But notice the next part of the SAME verse (context is huge for proper interpretation of scripture) 

13…Why do You look on those who deal treacherously

Clearly God not only is aware of sin, but looks on all of us and loves us, even in the places where we have acted treacherously in one way or another. The fact that He is Love and still looks upon us in love is wondrous and so beautiful!  

Is sin kryptonite to a holy God?

I think we all can agree that Christ is God and was God even in a fleshly form. Yet Christ hung out with sinners and was not compromised by the unholiness of the sin around Him. If we think that hanging out with sinners was OK for Jesus, but Father God/Holy Spirit is too holy for this, we need to be honest about what we are really saying 

Are we saying that Christ was or is less holy and less God than the Father or Holy Spirit? 

That is a very old heresy called Arianism –  the denial of the divinity of Christ.

The Word says Christ was the express image of the Father (Hebrews 1:3).

Splitting the Trinity

Think about it. 

Father God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit were One before the foundation of the world. If the Godhead, upon Whom all creation has it’s being (Hebrews 1:3, Colossians 1:17), were fractured, the universe, held together by God, would implode.

Furthermore, Christ, the perfect revelation of God the Father, spent considerable time with sinners. He was not repelled by their sin. 

And the kicker – 2 Corinthians 5:19 (NKJV) says where the Father God and Holy Spirit were in Christ when Christ was on the cross. 

19 that is, that God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them, and has committed to us the word of reconciliation.

Christ forsaken?

So, what was happening on the cross when Christ asked why His Father was forsaking Him?

First of all, understand this was a prophetic fulfillment of Psalm 22, as is the entire crucifixion scene. The crucifixion was played out before a largely Hebrew audience VERY familiar with this Psalm. 

Psalm 22:1 says:

My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?

Why are You so far from helping Me,

And from the words of My groaning?

Christ was not truly separated from Father God and Holy Spirit;He was identifying with the human race AS the human race in the hellish delusion of separation. He was diving into OUR alienation, so that the human race would be reconciled back to God. 

This astounding truth is at the very heart of the true gospel that brings glorious freedom.

Key Takeaways (Does God Distance Himself when We Sin?):

This text clarifies: God’s love never wavers, even when we mess up.

• Sin creates an illusion of separation, not reality. God is always with you, like Romans 6:5 and Hebrews 13:5 say.

• Jesus’ cry on the cross (“My God, why?”) wasn’t personal abandonment. It was:

  1. Fulfilling prophecy: Like Psalm 22, where God ultimately delivers.
  2. Emphasizing with humanity: He felt our separation pain to bridge the gap.

• This means: God’s love is constant, not vengeful. Embrace this truth for healing and restoration.

We will unpack more of this and what it means to you right now in your everyday life in Does God Distance Himself When We Sin Part 2. Buckle your seat belts and I’ll see you next time!

Much love, 

Catherine