Forgiven

To begin, if you are in Christ, God no longer finds you guilty – Romans 8:1, 31-39 and John 5:24. Outside of Christ and under law, of course, all men are found guilty – John 3:36 and Romans 3:19-20. If you are in Christ, all of your sins have been forgiven – Colossians 2:13.

Nowhere in the New Testament are we told that we must “ask to be forgiven.” Rather, we are told to repent and believe or to confess (to speak the same thing or agree with God about) our sins – Acts 10:43; 17:30-31; 1 John 1:9.

This is an important distinction for you to understand.

When we first come to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, we are forgiven for all of our sins (past, present, future). Because Christ has died already and will only die once His one offering is either sufficient or not. Of course, God says that one offering is sufficient. See Hebrews 10:5-18 for an explanation of this fact.

Therefore, if you have received Christ by faith, then in God’s sight your sins are gone! He has promised never to hold them against you. The blood of Jesus Christ has settled forever for you the issue of sin’s guilt in your life – Isaiah 43:25; Colossians 2:13-14.

Today, Christ lives in heaven as your Intercessor and Advocate with the Father. It is His work at the right hand of God that keeps us in the saving grace of God – Hebrews 7:24, 25 and 1 John 1:8-2:2 as well as Romans 8:34

Which we have already considered. When you or I sin, our enjoyment of our relationship with our Father is hindered, but the relationship as a son to the Father is never altered. That’s why we are told simply to confess our sins (1John 1:9) and to forsake our sins (Proverbs 28:13) in order to know afresh His forgiveness and mercy. Notice that the Word says that He is faithful and just to forgive us. All is based upon the finished work of our Lord Jesus Christ at Calvary. Thus, when we first trust in Christ, all of our sins are forgiven. When we sin after becoming a believer, we must confess our sins in order to experience a renewed sense of awareness of the perfection of His offering to restore us to an enjoyment of His presence. This forgiveness in our daily lives is important and needed, yet it only affects the enjoyment of our fellowship with God and not our standing before God which is secured for eternity in our union with Christ.

Soon, our Lord will come to take us home to be with Him forever. Then we shall be forever delivered from the sins that are still a part of our lives which so grieve Him and us. When we are given a new body, the principle of sin will no longer be found within us. We shall be like Him in all purity. Praise Him. Thus, we see that we can say: I have the forgiveness of all my sins. If I sin as a believer, I need to confess my sins in order to experience the joy of my relationship with my heavenly Father. And notice too, that if I confess the sins that He brings to my conscious awareness, He then cleanses me of all my unrighteousness – 1 John 1:9. If this were not the case, I could only wait for heaven to know the full joy of knowing Him, for who knows all their sins? Normally, God directs your attention to the sin or sins which first occurred to take you away from your communion with Him. Once these are confessed, the others that followed upon these are also cleansed away. Fellowship is restored. Your conscience is again clear. Your soul is again at rest in the presence of God.

This forgiveness is between a Father and a son. It does not affect our standing before God, our Father.

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Forgiven