Of course all your future sins have already been forgiven! It’s impossible for them not to have been forgiven. When Jesus died on the Cross, He didn’t just die for your past sins, he died for all your sins and that included your future ones. All of our sins where in the future when Jesus died so if the Cross didn’t include your future sins then none of your sins are forgiven and you’re on your way to hell. No, when we believed in Jesus we received the complete gift package of total forgiveness of all of our past, present and future sins. This is either true or it is not. There is no in between. You either believe that all your sins, including future sins, have been forgiven – or you believe that none of your sins have been forgiven. Those are your only two options. I can’t for the life of me understand why believers have a problem with this. Surely it is fear and unbelief that drives their resistance to this truth. They don’t believe in the finished work of Christ and they fear that if believers hear their future sins are forgiven then they will just lose control and run out and sin. This is ridiculous! Their thinking is that believers will be restricted from sinning if they believe they have to confess, repent and get forgiveness after each sin. This has to be one of the biggest lies people have bought into. It sounds like truth when you put a few out of context scriptures together, but think about it. If I know I can simply go and get forgiveness after I’ve sinned, surely I can turn that into a license to sin if I want? I mean, if I wanted to I could just go out and sin sin sin and then all I have to do is go to God and confess, repent and ask for forgiveness and then I’m forgiven and all squared up with God. Honest question: How is this going to stop me from sinning more than believing that I’m already forgiven even before I sin? Is believing that you have to get forgiveness after a sin more powerful to stop someone from sinning than believing you’re already forgiven before you sin? No. Neither has the power to stop you from sinning if you are looking for a license! Our power to overcome sin doesn’t come from believing we have to get forgiveness or believing we’re already forgiven. It comes from our new nature, a renewed mind and the power of the Holy Spirit living in us. The truth is, that a true born again believer is not looking for a way to get away with more sin, they’re looking for a way to get sin away from them! Understanding grace and relating to God through grace, rather than fear and threat, will empower believers to draw near to God and live close to Him – and this is a place where it actually gets harder to sin. And if I sin, I don’t feel I have to run and hide from God, I can come boldly before Him, acknowledging my sin, apologising for my sin but continuing in unbroken fellowship with God, being refreshed and strengthened in the truth that I am still the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus, the beloved of the Father and perfectly forgiven of all my sins.
Now if I am stubbornly living in sin and not sorrowful in my heart about it to God, then perhaps I need a believer or the Holy Spirit to lovingly confront and challenge me and help me to see that my sin is not ok. It’s wrong because God says it’s wrong. The reason that sorrow would fill my heart is because my eyes are opened to see that what I’m doing is wrong in God’s eyes and grieves Him. That’s godly sorrow, but worldly sorrow that doesn’t lead to true heart repentance comes from manipulation by using the threat (of being cut off from God or losing your salvation), fear, guilt and shame.
Don’t be found trying to control people from the outside – that’s religion. Rather speak to people’s new nature and help them discover who they really are. When we challenge and hold people accountable, it’s actually holding them accountable to who they really are in Christ.
By Ryan Rufus.
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For more of my teachings about forgiveness click here.
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