"Forgive Us Our Sins!" Part One

Do we need to continually ask God to forgive our sins? The idea that we need to ask God to forgive our sins daily (or even more often) is so ingrained and taken for granted that people look at you as if you were an out-of-your-mind heretic for even questioning it. It is considered self-evident in the modern church. But it’s not at all what the Bible teaches.

“Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world!” said John the Baptist (John 1:29). The Lamb of God came to do what? Did John really believe that Jesus came to do that? Do you? Did He succeed?

The New Testament consistently teaches that Jesus Christ came to take way our sin. Do you accept that? The Bible says that the problem of sin has been completely dealt with by Christ’s death on the cross.

Following Jesus’ death and resurrection, forgiveness of sins is announced as a done deal. Notice how Paul preached the gospel to a synagogue of people who were hearing of Christ for the first time: “Let it be known to you, brethren, that through Him forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you, and through Him everyone who believes is freed from all things, from which you could not be freed through the Law of Moses” (Acts 13:38-39). Did Paul proclaim that their sins COULD be forgiven? No, the gospel is that their sins WERE forgiven, and their only need was to believe the good news! The potential for having their sins forgiven was present in the Old Testament sacrifices, but they could never be permanently freed under the Law of Moses. However, through Jesus Christ we can believe that we are forever freed from our sins because He is the perfect sacrifice.

Today, Christ lives in the Christian in a living union and we are now totally forgiven – not occasionally, not sometimes, not IF we do something. Forgiveness is simply found in Him.

Ephesians 1:7 says that “In Him…we have the forgiveness of our sins…” Colossians 1:14 says “…we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins…”. These are examples of the New Testament’s constant teaching. Why would people struggle to accept it? Mainly it’s because of two objections those who resist this good news typically raise.

One is this petition from the Lord’s Prayer: “Forgive us our debts as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12). The answer to this objection is to take a look at the context of that prayer. Jesus taught this prayer before His own death and resurrection. That fact can’t be stressed too much. When we study the Bible, it’s not only important to consider what was said, but also WHO said it and WHEN it was said.

The Bible is clear that the new covenant didn’t begin until the death of Jesus. So when Jesus spoke those words, which covenant was He speaking under? The old covenant, of course. While Jesus was full of grace in His dealings with people, His teaching existed within the context of the old covenant. If we fail to recognize that fact when we read the Scriptures, we will be filled with confusion about what He said at times.

In the same context where Jesus taught the disciples the “model prayer”, He also talked about how that if you don’t forgive others, God won’t forgive you. Do you apply that one to your life personally NOW? Based on that statement, anybody who remains unforgiving toward someone else is not forgiven by God at this very moment. I wonder how many Christians who have trusted Christ and profess to be forgiven by Him are withholding any degree of forgiveness toward any other person in the world. It’s food for thought, to say the least. We’d better hope we’re completely forgiven now (and we are), or a lot of people who profess to be believers are in reality in deep trouble.

The second major objection about the complete forgiveness truth comes from the way many people understand 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Let’s begin with an elementary and obvious fact. If you believe that this verse teaches you have to continually ask God to forgive your sins, then you are interpreting that verse in a way that contradicts what all of the rest of the New Testament has to say. There are dozens of verses that clearly teach the results of Christ’s finished work on the cross, and how we are forgiven.

There is a clear answer that explains the confusion about 1 John 1:9. John was writing to a church containing both believers and unbelievers. False teachers who were bringing ideas contradictory to our faith were also infiltrating this church. They were later known as the Gnostics, people who were confusing the Christians about what constituted sin among them.

John indicates the problem when he writes, “These things I have written to you concerning those who are trying to deceive you” (1 John 2:26).

What does it all mean then? Do we just ignore the times we sin? Am I suggesting that sin doesn’t matter? Of course not! It’s the nature of the person who follows Jesus to acknowledge when we sin. The important thing is to realize that when we do, we should admit it before the Lord. We don’t do it IN ORDER TO BE FORGIVEN. We do it BECAUSE WE HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN!

Don’t get bogged down in a faulty understanding of 1 John 1:9 when the rest of the New Testament teaches that our sins have been absolutely forgiven – past, present, and future. Here is the key:

Confessing your sin will bring an experiential awareness of forgiveness, but it isn’t confession that brings forgiveness. The work of Jesus Christ on the cross did that! If you believe you have to constantly ask God to forgive your sins, you’re believing a lie that will keep you in bondage. You will be sin-conscious all the time. But if you believe that all of your sins have been wiped out and carried away by the finished work of Christ, you will live focused on Jesus Christ within you and the truth that you are already 100 percent totally forgiven. And THAT is a truth that will set you free!