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coram_deo 27-Jul-21, 13:42	How Many Sins Did Jesus Christ Forgive? I debated a fellow Christian on the Internet a few years back who said Jesus Christ forgave sins of people up until the moment he or she accepted Christ and believed in Him, but after that, any sin they committed was not automatically forgiven by Christ’s finished work on the Cross - they *had to* ask for forgiveness. To me, that makes no sense and is neither logical nor Biblical. Let’s look at it logically first. 1) Suppose someone accepts and believes in Christ, and, from that point forward, dutifully confesses each and every sin and asks for forgiveness for decades, but then commits a sin moments before he dies. Is that sin not forgiven? Does that one unforgiven sin mean that person loses his salvation (can’t go to Heaven?) 2) Jesus exponentially ramped up the definition of sin in His Sermon on the Mount to include looking at a woman with lust as well as calling someone a fool. Not to mention coveting is also a sin (and was back when God gave the Ten Commandments to Moses.) Is it reasonable to think God wants us constantly and perpetually asking for forgiveness? 3) Also, remember how Jesus answered this question posed to Him by a Pharisee, which is included in this passage from the Gospel of Matthew: “But when the Pharisees had heard that he had put the Sadducees to silence, they were gathered together. Then one of them, which was a lawyer, asked him a question, tempting him, and saying, Master, which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.” (Matthew 22:34-40) Is anyone capable of loving God with all of his heart, soul and mind? Is anyone really capable of loving his neighbor as himself? I believe the answer to both those questions is “No.” So if that’s correct, everyone (including those who have accepted Christ) is constantly sinning by not obeying those commandments. Are they therefore supposed to be constantly confessing those sins and asking for forgiveness? And if someone is forgiven only of their sins prior to their acceptance and belief in Jesus Christ, wouldn’t that cause people to put off accepting Christ for as long as possible? Is that something God would want? Because very few people know when they’re going to die. 4) The Christian I debated pointed to the woman caught in adultery, an account in the Gospel of John chapter 8, as a reason why someone’s sins in their entirety - past, present and future - were not forgiven once they accepted Christ. He noted that Jesus said to the woman, “Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.” But Jesus saying, “go, and sin no more” is not the same as Him saying her future sins are not forgiven. I think Jesus said “go, and sin no more” because he doesn’t want people to think they have carte blanche to sin once they have accepted Him. I think Jesus was saying avoiding sin is still important. 5) The Christian then suggested that if someone’s future sins were forgiven, they could commit murder and all kinds of other heinous crimes and still go to Heaven (i.e. not lose their salvation.) But once someone accepts and believes in Christ, God’s Holy Spirit indwells him or her and begins the process of sanctification (or making someone more and more like Christ.) That person was justified before God (obtained salvation) immediately and irrevocably, but the process of sanctification lasts for the rest of his or her life. And I don’t think it’s possible for someone to have the desire to commit murder or another heinous crime once God’s Holy Spirit has indwelt them. 6) Does God want believers to be Christ conscious or sin conscious? Because someone who thinks they have to confess and seek forgiveness for each and every sin after they accept Christ will be sin conscious and not Christ conscious. 7) In Galatians, Paul says believers in Christ are no longer under the Law. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. But after that faith is come, we are no longer under a schoolmaster. For ye are all the children of God by faith in Christ Jesus.” (Galatians 3:24-26) Notice Paul doesn’t say the Galatians are children of God by faith in Christ Jesus and confessing sins. Paul in another chapter of Galatians says, “Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.” (Galatians 5:1) What is bondage if not being perpetually sin conscious and thinking you have to confess each and every sin? Now, I’m not saying confessing sins isn’t important. I personally think it’s important from a fellowship standpoint. But one’s salvation certainly doesn’t depend on it based on my understanding of the Holy Bible (I’ll start a thread in the future on eternal vs. conditional salvation - I think the Bible supports the former.) Once someone becomes a child of God, he or she is always a child of God, in the same way that someone remains in their earthly family after they make a mistake (if I’m not mistaken, sin means to miss the mark.) I realize there are verses in the Bible that seem to support the idea that someone’s future sins are not forgiven once they accept Christ and that they must seek forgiveness for future sins. But as this post is getting long, I’ll look at that in the future. <<BTW, I’m not saying I’m right. I’m just offering my opinion and thoughts. But rather than write “in my opinion” or “imo” after every sentence, I’m assuming people realize I’m stating my opinion.>>
coram_deo 27-Jul-21, 16:36	I like this view a lot, particularly the analogy of the shade and the sun and the distinction between forgiveness for salvation and forgiveness for fellowship. “When we accept Jesus as our Savior, God forgives all our sins: past, present, and future. This statement is biblical, but we must be careful about what exactly it means. The statement ‘my future sins are forgiven’ is absolutely true in this sense: Jesus died for all our sins (1 Corinthians 15:3; Hebrews 10:10; 1 John 2:2). It is biblical to say that our salvation is secure in Christ (Ephesians 1:13) and that those who are justified will also be glorified (Romans 8:30). However, we should not use the idea that ‘my future sins are forgiven’ to imply that, once we have received Christ as Savior, we have no more need to ask for forgiveness. In other words, we must distinguish between forgiveness regarding our eternal salvation and forgiveness regarding our day-to-day fellowship with God. Consider these passages, which point out our need for forgiveness, even after we are saved: ‘If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us’ (1 John 1:8–10). ‘My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous’ (1 John 2:1). In both these passages, the apostle John teaches that Christians still sin and that, when we do, God stands ready to forgive when we confess the sin to the Lord. The forgiveness is contingent upon the confession. Sin does not have to continue to separate us from fellowship with our Father. Jesus has paid for that sin, but, until it is confessed, it remains a wedge between us. Unconfessed sin in a believer’s life is a serious matter. It affects our relationship to God (1 Peter 3:7), our relationships to others (Galatians 5:15), and at times even our physical health (1 Corinthians 11:29–30; James 5:16). We should not ignore the sins we continue to commit. We should not shrug them off by saying, ‘Jesus already forgave my future sins.’ We must deal with them, and the Bible tells us how. We are saved by grace through faith, and the moment we trust in Christ, we are made right with God. Our sins were forgiven (Colossians 2:13), and we start our relationship with a clean slate (Psalm 103:12; 2 Corinthians 5:21). The power of sin is broken, and we are crucified with Christ (Romans 6:1–6; Galatians 2:20). Yet, because we are still flawed humans living in a fallen world, we still give in to temptation and damage the relationship we enjoyed with God. Confession of our sin to the Lord cleans the slate once more and restores us to God. When we are ‘in Christ,’ our position as God’s children never changes, but our ability to enjoy a clean conscience, a pure heart, and the pleasure of our Father is hindered. Consider it this way: you are sitting by a south window on a bright sunny day. It is freezing outside, but the sun through the window is deliciously warm. Then you reach up and pull down a black shade. Instantly, the warmth ceases, and all is dark. You didn’t change position, but something has come between you and your delightful experience. Sin is like that shade. It separates us from God, and it is up to us whether we remain in that darkened condition. Confession of sin lifts the shade. God has not moved. His warmth has not cooled, but our sin blocked our ability to enjoy it. Forgiveness from God is a priceless gift, but it came at great cost to our Lord Jesus. God does not take lightly the sins of His children and will bring discipline in order to restore our relationship with Him (Hebrews 12:4–11). The woman caught in adultery was brought to Jesus in John 8. Rather than condemn her, Jesus offered her forgiveness: ‘Neither do I condemn you,’ He said (John 8:11). Then He set her free, not with carte blanche to continue to sin, but with a command to cease from sinning: ‘Go now and leave your life of sin.’ In other words, her future sins had not been automatically forgiven.“ www.gotquestions.org
coram_deo 13-Aug-21, 10:53	Great preaching by Pastor Joseph Prince on this subject: www.josephprince.com This video is about 15 minutes long.

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