Contrary to this myth being taught in church building and pulpits, the Bible teaches us that Jesus already gave us all the forgiveness we will ever need. How many churches do we see today asking members to come to the front to gain forgiveness for sins this past week? What about going to a confessional to get your sins absolved? Colossians and the Book of Hebrews tells us otherwise.
“And YE ARE COMPLETE IN HIM, which is the head of all principality and power:” (Colossians 2:10 KJV)
“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened TOGETHER WITH HIM, having forgiven you ALL TRESPASSES;” (Colossians 2:13 KJV)
This truth is so often overlooked.We need to watch the tense of these passages as well. God foreknew every sin of every person from Adam and Eve until the end of the Kingdom Age to come. He knows everyone that will be born physically. He knows even the number of hairs on each persons head (Matthew 10:30). God also foreknew each person that will accept the gift of salvation by belief on His blood atonement and His rising from the dead and who will reject God’s great gift of redemption through Christ crucified, died and risen.
“According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will,” (Ephesians 1:4-5 KJV)
It is not that God has predetermined who will go to heaven and who will go to hell. That is false. Jesus said that WHOMSOEVER believeth on Him has eternal life in John 3. When Jesus died on that cross HE did not only pay for the believers sins, He paid for all the sins of the whole world, believer and non believer,
“And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world.” (1 John 2:2 KJV)
Jesus blood atonement for all sins was given as a gift and as a gift it is either accepted or rejected by each person. When someone accepts the gift of salvation by belief on Christ, as God, who never sinned and went to the cross willingly to die and pay for our sins and then rose again, God foreknew it. Our core being is our Spirit. God is a Spirit being and so to be born again as a member of God’s family, we must be born again in The Spirit (John 3). God foreknew the acceptance of the person and placed their old Spirit of Adam (dead sin bent Spirit we are born with) and placed it on the cross WITH CHRIST 2000 years ago. When Jesus died, our old Spirit of Adam died with Him. At that moment, God made us a completely new creation in the Spirit and gave us a born again Spirit of God. Our old spirit died and rose again with Christ. This new Spirit of God we have been made into is in perfect UNION with Christ and the Holy Spirit dwells within our new born again Spirit and sealed us in salvation forever (Ephesians 1:13-14). As Jesus explained it in His prayer for all Church Age believers,
“That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:21-23 KJV)
Because God foreknew that a person will accept the gift of salvation, He also chose to predestine those who choose to accept this great gift of redemption, to all that salvation provides to the believer. This gift of salvation includes forgiveness of all of the person’s sins committed during their life (past/present/future) and literally making them, by imputation of God, the very righteousness of God, in Christ.
“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.” (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV)
We see in Colossians 2 that when Jesus died on that cross HE quickened us TOGETHER WITH HIM on the cross, that is our old Spirit of Adam, and so all our sins were judged and bore by Christ. The penalty for our sin was paid by Christ and we, together with Christ, had our sins 100% penalty paid having ALL OUR SINS PAID IN FULL. We were made alive together with Christ. Again, ALL means all. Before the very foundation of the world (Ephesians 1:4) God foreknew all that each of us would do as individuals and that is long before you or I came into physical existence right? God foreknew every sin you and I would commit. God is the alpha and omega. He sees the beginning to the very end. God created TIME itself and is outside of time. So He seen and knows all the sins we have committed or will commit in the future. Yet, Jesus Christ still died on that cross to forgive us and save us from perishing in our sins. This is the unconditional love of God.
“For Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God FOR US: Nor yet that he should offer himself often, as the high priest entereth into the holy place every year with blood of others; For then must he often have suffered since the foundation of the world: but now ONCE in the end of the world hath he appeared to PUT AWAY SIN BY THE SACRIFICE OF HIMSELF. And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was ONCE OFFERED to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time WITHOUT SIN UNTO SALVATION.” (Hebrews 9:24-28 KJV)
On that cross 2000 years ago, Christ solved our SIN PROBLEM! All our sins have been TAKEN AWAY completely from us and will no longer condemn a believer. In fact, as we see in 1 John 2:2, Christ paid for the sins OF THE WHOLE WORLD (not just for believers but for ALL people in ALL AGES). And God then OFFERS this FREE GIFT of Salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9) to all people. And whosoever BELIEVETH on Christ for the atonement of sins then RECEIVE the GIFT of Salvation . Free will is important to God. We each have a free will to choose to accept the gift of Salvation and Eternal life or to reject Christ and remain with our sins in pride; sins still to be paid for at the Great White Judgement of unbelievers. This is what Jesus said Himself in John 3:
“He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned ALREADY, because he hath NOT BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 KJV)
The Book of Hebrews cannot be denied! Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross washed away our sins and the penalty of sin against us ONCE FOR ALL. A believer is completely and utterly forgiven.
“And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ ONCE FOR ALL.” (Hebrews 10:10 KJV)
“For by ONE OFFERING he hath PERFECTED FOR EVER them that are sanctified.” (Hebrews 10:14 KJV)
Brothers and sisters in Christ, let that sink in to your belief. We have been PERFECTED FOREVER by the sacrifice of Jesus Christ on the cross. Yes, we have that Fleshly stinking thinking in our minds just after Salvation; the remnants of the old sin nature until our bodily resurrection in the future. Right now, only our Spirit has been redeemed and our body is still corrupt with this thing called sin. It is not ready nor can inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Cor. 15:50) which is why one day we will have a bodily resurrection at the Rapture. Yes, we still fall into sin and stumble. Yet, we have been given a newly created spirit. This spirit is the NEW US whereas the Flesh is the OLD US wanting to sin continually. It is a struggle Apostle Paul describes as a war within ourselves in Romans 7. As believers on Christ, God now sees us in the newly created spirit. Our sins are not a barrier anymore to God as God is indwelling us right? If the Holy Spirit is sealed and lives within us that means our sins have been paid for. God sees us through Christ because we are in Christ and Christ is in us as we see Jesus prayed for us,
“Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word; That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.” (John 17:20-23 KJV)
Jesus prayed this. Jesus is God (John 1). Do you think it will happen then as believers? YES! WHAT A PROMISE! One with Christ and one with the Father. Amazing grace indeed!
Christ came and died on the cross, wiping out the penalty for sins Himself. We did not do it by being a good person. We did not do this by doing good deeds. We did not do it by our religious rituals. We did not do this by following the Ten Commandments. We do not keep it by our good works after Salvation. We do not keep it by never sinning again after Salvation. (we strive to not sin of course as Apostle Paul in Romans 7). Will anything we have done, nor will do, give us or keep our Salvation? NO! God alone did this for us! Christ Alone did this for us. Jesus ONCE FOR ALL took all our sins away in full payment that was sufficient. Jesus replaced the Old Covenant with the New Covenant and when you believe on Christ alone for Salvation this is what God Himself has to say about it:
“For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I REMEMBER NO MORE.” (Hebrews 8:12 KJV)
“This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them; And their sins and iniquities will I REMEMBER NO MORE.” (Hebrews 10:16-17 KJV)
In fact, as a believer we should not have a sin consciousness. We should not be focusing on not sinning as a way to remain saved. That is no different that Law following for righteousness and it will cause a person to sin more because “…the strength of sin is the law.” (1 Cor, 15:56) Yes, we strive to not sin but our minds have not been renewed fully yet and we will at times sin as a believer. When we do, we thank God that He forgave our sin on that cross and we confess our sin as wrong. We ask God to help us overcome the temptation in the future. We ask God to give us more faith. Believers need not walk around feeling condemned all the time because we sometimes blow it and sin.
If you have accepted the FREE GIFT of eternal life and Salvation, by faith and belief on Christ alone, and the atonement for sin HE provided as God in the flesh then you have been set free from the penalty of your sins COMPLETELY and UTTERLY and are no longer condemned.
YOU ARE FORGIVEN.
FOREVER FORGIVEN.
God no longer remembers your sins nor holds them against you. He seen them all from the foundation of the world and seen Christ die and take the punishment for them crying out on the cross “IT IS FINISHED” which in the Greek it was penned literally means “debt paid in full!”. And He seen you one day receiving His free gift of Salvation from your debt of sins and no longer remembers them.
THAT is the unconditional love of God. That is utter forgiveness. Amen! Do not let ANYONE take this from you as a believer teaching otherwise.
What Should Be Focusing On
REST IN CHRIST, WHERE YOU NOW ABIDE
“Let us therefore fear, lest, a promise being left us of entering into his rest, any of you should seem to come short of it.” (Hebrews 4:1 KJV)
“Now ye are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you. Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me. I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without me ye can do nothing.” (John 15:3-5 KJV)
Know who God has made you, in Christ!
Believe it and then walk in life knowing it.
RENEW OUR MIND BY GOD’S WORD
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.” (John 17:17 KJV)
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2 KJV)
Read the Bible. Believe what it say and who it says God made you at your conversion in salvation. This is what repentance is for a born again believer. It is renewing the old sin bent beliefs and thoughts ion the mind and replacing them with the truth from the Bible, by guidance of the indwelling Holy Spirit. The word REPENT is defined by the Bible as ‘change your mind’. Before salvation is is changing your mind about how to be justified and righteous with God; not by works but by faith on the Messiah, The Christ who bore our sins in death and rose again. Once born again we still REPENT, that is change our mind about many things. It is a changing of our world view to God’s view, by God’s Word.
We live outwardly by what we believe in our MIND.
“For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he…” (Proverbs 23:7 KJV)
By renewing our MIND with God’s truth from the Bible, we make better decisions. As we understand and believe who God made us, in Christ, it impacts our life. As we abide more and more in Christ by truth, our sanctification (John 17:17), our new creation in Christ changes our minds and we produce good works in love for others outwardly into our lives. This is ‘walking in the Spirit’ and it helps us to avoid the lusts of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
If you have a strong sin consciousness and are always worried that God is just waiting to punish you, you are in wring belief and the devil will use those false beliefs from the Old, now dead, Spirit of Adam you once were. The old thoughts are in your MIND, but your Spirit is born again. Hebrews 10 tells us that Christ paid fro all your sins. God no longer remembers your sins against you. God is FOR YOU. God is WITHIN YOU. Believe it and have no more consciousness of sins and start renewing your mind to the truth of who God has made you, in Christ.
We will never be ‘sinless’ until our bodily resurrection
at the Rapture but we will ‘sin less’
as we renew our mind to the truth of
who we now are in Christ!
God bless.
