9 God saved us, and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to his own purpose and grace. He gave us this grace in King Jesus before all time and ages, 10 but has now made it visible through the appearing of our saviour King Jesus, who abolished death and, through the gospel, shone a bright light on life and immortality. 2 Timothy 1:9-10 NTE
We are on a continued journey of discovering Grace. Looking at the Grace of God and its effects on our lives. We are examining all aspects of the Father's extravagant Love and Grace.
Grace is the person of Jesus manifest on earth. Grace is the unearned, undeserved, and unmerited favor of Father God. Grace reveals our forgiveness in Christ.
Today, I want to continue examining further our complete forgiveness in Christ. We had asked some questions concerning sin in our last study. We answered what must we do if we sin. We asked and answered if it was required to confess our sins in order to receive forgiveness. You can find this study here.
We also asked how much are we forgiven of and do we lose fellowship with our Father if we sin. Let me briefly answer the loss of fellowship question. If we stay with Scripture we will see this notion of lost fellowship is not substantiated by the Word.
We have already seen how 1 John chapter 1 was addressing the lost gnostics and not believers in Jesus. The notion of confession of sins finds its roots in this chapter. What you won’t find is this confess your sins and be forgiven repeated anywhere else in the New. So it also is with this concept of broken fellowship when we sin.
Now if we sin we may see natural consequences as a direct response. Tell a lie to someone and the truth may come back and reveal your lie. That's a consequence, that's not God punishing you. Remember Jesus said He is always with us. He didn't add a clause saying the only exception is if you sin.
The idea we break fellowship with our Father when we sin is simply a misunderstood and misapplied scripture turning into a tradition and thus into some new doctrine. Grace is greater than our failures. God isn't turning His back on us. Here are some more detailed studies answering this question about broken fellowship, here and here.
Just how forgiven are we in Christ? Maybe you've heard only to the point of conversion. That your sins were forgiven only up to the point of conversion, of accepting Christ as Savior. Is this true?
The issue this raises is what happens when you sin after receiving Christ? What must you do to receive forgiveness? The same ones saying this would claim you must confess it in order to be forgiven.
We have already addressed this issue about confession. Only the shedding of blood forgives sin. Does Jesus need to shed His Blood over and over and over to bring us forgiveness? This is of course an unreasonable idea. Jesus' once for all sacrifice for sins was enough.
In light of Jesus' perfect work of Redemption, His once for all sacrifice for sin, and the Father's acceptance of this final offering for sin, we are forgiven of all our sins. Not just the sins we have committed up to the point of conversion, but all our sins. We are forgiven of all our sins. We are forgiven past and present and future.
One may say that can't be possible. That's saying we are forgiven of sins we haven't even committed yet. Let's look at what the Bible actually says;
13 You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. Colossians 2:13 NLT
12 I am writing to you, little children (believers, dear ones), because your sins have been forgiven for His name’s sake [you have been pardoned and released from spiritual debt through His name because you have confessed His name, believing in Him as Savior]. 1 John 2:12 AMP
2 He is the one who took God’s wrath against our sins upon himself and brought us into fellowship with God; and he is the forgiveness for our sins, and not only ours but all the world’s. 1 John 2:2 TLB
32 Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you. Ephesians 4:32 NLT
13 bearing graciously with one another, and willingly forgiving each other if one has a cause for complaint against another; just as the Lord has forgiven you, so should you forgive. Colossians 3:13 AMP
The Scripture is clear. We are forgiven. We are forgiven forever. Take note of how often the word all is used in conjunction with our sins.
All means all. All our sins past and present and future are forgiven in Jesus. Rejoice this is the Good News of Grace.
What about that passage in 2 Peter that mentions only past sins forgiven? What about James 5 saying sins will be forgiven us? Glad this concern was raised. Let's answer with the Word.
We can see 2 Peter 1 here. The wording here from the Greek word some translated past is actually better stated as former. This is Peter simply reminding the believer they are a New Creation in Christ. The old has passed away and the New has come.
Not considering your new nature is what Peter was warning about. He was not claiming we are only forgiven for our sins up to conversion. Peter wasn't contradicting the Scripture. What about James?
James 5, deals with an order of gathering and offering prayers one for another. While a surface reading of the passage could give credence that we aren't forgiven of all sins, we know Scripture cannot and does not contradict other Scripture. Whatever God was conveying in this passage we know what it can't mean.
The forgiveness of sins is in relation to prayers offered for healing the sick. Based on the context it can be simply seen as a sin that may have the consequence of sickness, (not claiming sickness is the result of sin), such as smoking or some poor choice, because the next passage refers to confessing our faults to other believers to find wholeness.
Whatever the purpose the passage isn't offering a doctrinal stance that forgiveness isn't once for all time. We can't take obscure passages and create doctrines all the while ignoring clear, plain Scripture.
In summation, we have discovered the Good News of Grace. We are forgiven of all our sins in Christ. Christ's perfect redemptive work, the Father's acceptance of the final offering for sin by Jesus, and the Word of God make it clear, we are forgiven of all our sins, past present, and future.
