Fail-proof forgiveness....

God’s forgiveness is far-reaching. God’s forgiveness is final. But maybe it’s even more important to victorious living to understand that God’s forgiveness is fail-proof.

God’s forgiveness would not be sufficient if there was anything I could do to diminish it in the future. But He has safeguarded His forgiveness against my failures. When I received His forgiveness it wasn’t because of my performance, and God does not base the continual and continuous maintenance of His forgiveness on my performance either.

The truths of the last two blog entries may have prompted questions in your mind. You may be asking, “But what about those times when I sin? Don’t I have to go back then and ask forgiveness for it? Doesn’t the Bible say I have to confess each sin or I will be held accountable for it?”

Well, let’s look closely at the verse that most people use to teach that confession is required of Christians in order to receive forgiveness for particular sins.

“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” I John 1:9 (NKJV)

In interpreting Scripture, it’s always important to determine to whom the writing is addressed and what was going on in the day it was written. In this passage, it is likely that John was dealing with a group of people who believed that they could work their way into righteousness by doing the right things. The message of their belief system was that they could live a life without sin and therefore earn salvation. John was calling them liars and pointing out that they must confess (admit) that they are sinners, receive Christ, and then “walk” (live) in Him. Once they confessed, they would be forgiven.

In this passage, John was addressing unbelievers who must confess in order to be saved. In verses 8 and 10 that surround this verse, John refers to their claims to be without sin and he calls them liars. If someone never confesses (admits) that they are sinners, then they cannot experience salvation. That’s the point John is making.

But in the next chapter, John begins addressing Christians. In I John 2:12 John writes, “Your sins HAVE BEEN forgiven.” Now think about this reasoning logically. If John had been addressing believers in chapter one when he was talking about the requirement of confession in order to receive forgiveness, then he would have been contradicting himself to say that their sins had already been forgiven in chapter two. He has to be addressing two entirely different groups of people; unforgiven unbelievers in chapter one and forgiven believers in chapter two.

The sentence structure of I John 1:9 implies that the forgiveness that follows confession of sin as prescribed in the verse, is a one-time package deal. ALL of a person’s sin is forgiven at the point of their confession and at the same time they are cleansed of ALL unrighteousness.

How many times have you heard that you can come to Jesus just like you are, get saved, and from then on you have to confess your sins so that you can stay forgiven? Well, if that’s true then we have a problem. Are you completely forgiven or not? Was the sacrifice of Christ enough or not? Was Jesus really telling the truth or not when He said, “It is finished”?

What if you somehow miss a sin and fail to confess it? Praise God, we are already forgiven so it’s not a problem. Our forgiveness is not based on whether we confess or not. If it was, then it would be based on our works – something we have to do. Our forgiveness is based entirely on the atoning work of Jesus Christ on the cross. If that wasn’t enough, we’re in serious trouble.

For some reason, Christians have a hard time getting over the perceived need to ask forgiveness for individual sins and they often want to continue doing so. They often ask, “Can I continue to confess my sin and ask for forgiveness?” Sure they can, as long as they fully realize it’s not a requirement for forgiveness.

Please understand the humility that comes with the following statement. I do not say this arrogantly or presumptiously. I say it in complete awe of God's work.

Personally, I have stopped asking God to forgive me for my sins because I don’t want to ever appear as if I believe the death of Christ alone was not enough to purchase my forgiveness. I often confess (agree with God that something is a sin) because if I don’t agree with Him that something is a sin, then I will never turn away from it and like all sin, it will eventually destroy something beautiful in my life.

But I now understand that I know longer need to “ask for forgiveness” because to do so would be to ask God to give me something I already have!! I And it would diminish what Christ's death on the cross accomplished in my life. When I received Christ for salvation I received His forgiveness; full, free, final, and forever. Instead, I submite to His conviction, agree with Him that something is a sin, thank Him that He has already forgiven me for it, and then ask Him to live His life through me in that area so that I will never commit that particular sin again.

God's forgiveness is so precious to me and I believe that it has been short-changed in many traditional teachings. When we teach that there is something Christians must "do" to get God to forgive their sins after salvation, then we are saying that Jesus didn't really "finish" His work on the cross.

He said, "It is finished." And I have chosen to believe Him.