If Our Future Sins Are Already Forgiven, Why Should Jesus And The Apostles Bring It Up Again?
Question : If God has pronounced your future sins forgiven in the same way He has pronounced your past sins forgiven, why do Paul and other New Testament writers address these very sins in their letters, and why does Jesus address them in Revelation 2-3? We know that God doesn't bring our past sins up to us, since He has forgiven and "forgotten" them. Why then does He bring our present sins up to us in the New Testament, even warning us about the dangers of walking in those sins, if they have also been forgiven and forgotten in advance?
Answer : Greetings! This is a very important question that you have asked. First of all there is a lack of understanding about the New Covenant prevalent right through out the Body of Christ which is actually bringing confusion and shakes the faith of saints many times.
Here is what God has said about His forgiveness that he has done for every believer who has believed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, "14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds,“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin." (Heb 10:16-18). In this above verses the writer of the Book of Hebrews affirms to all believers that the one offering of Jesus has made all believers worthy partakers to be forever separated for God's use and that the new promises that God has made with them through Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior is that He Himself will put His laws in to their hearts and in their spiritual mind He will write it, because their sins and lawless deeds of their past, present and future are all forgiven by God and will never be remembered by God anymore. He finally is telling us that when God has already forgiven all these sins there is no more sacrifice needed for any of it anymore time in the future.
This is the reason apostle Paul confidently writes in Eph 4:32, "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." In other words Paul was speaking about the past, present and future sins of believers as something God in Christ has already forgiven it all because he was speaking it in past tense rather than in present or future tense which shows the fact that God has indeed forgiven all our sins completely in Christ Jesus two thousand years ago itself as God in His foresight has seen that we will accept Jesus in our 20 and 21st century times. The same truth apostle Paul repeats in Col 3:13. Apostle Peter says this truth in past tense too by saying in 1 Peter 2:24, "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed." There is no clearer verse needed than what we have seen Peter the apostle speak saying, "Because we have died to sins forever as Jesus on behalf of us bore all our sins of our past, present and future in His own body on the tree, and now that we have completely died to sins, let us live for righteousness by receiving the healing power of His stripes which heals all our diseases of sins and sicknesses in the present time and future time progressively." (1 Peter 2:24, Paraphrased).
Jesus in Revelation 2-3 addresses and warns about the dangers of walking in sins, also Paul and other apostles consistently were speaking against being involved in sins because they all wanted all the believers not to miss the heavenly reward that God has promised for all those who walk in faith and live a overcoming life of victory over sin and self (Rev 22:12; Col 3:23-24; Eph 6:7-8). Apostle Peter reminded about the truth of overcoming life for fruitful growth in the faith for inheriting the heavenly inheritance that God has already prepared for us (1 Peter 1:5-11; 1 Peter 1:3-9, 13-17; 2:11-12; 3:8-12, 17; 4:17-19; 5:4). The same way apostle James also spoke about the reward for every believer who overcomes and therefore warned about the dangers of sin and the power of faith to overcome it (James 1:2, 5-8, 25; 2:18, 20, 22-23, 26; 4:5-10; 5:10-11, 16-18, 19-20).
So when the Word of God says that God doesn't bring our sins up to us anymore after we have become His children, it includes our past, present and even future sins, since He has forgiven and "forgotten" them (Psa 103:3, 12; 32:1-2; Rom 4:5-8; Isa 43:25; 44:22; Heb 10:16-18). Therefore God does not bring our present sins or even our future sins up to us in the New Testament, but rather loves us so much that He warns of the dangers of sin so that we will not miss our reward that He has prepared for us because of becoming ineffectual spiritually due to entertaining sin which God hates and thus missing the reward for it to be given to someone else who deserves it (Rev 3:11).
God has forgiven and forgotten our sins in advance and that is the reason He has become our friend forever to be for us and with us forever and ever in the Beloved Christ Jesus (John 15:14-16; Rom 8:31; Eph 1:5-7, 13-14; Heb 13:5-6; James 2:22-23). This first forgiveness that comes to us when we receive Jesus Christ in to our life as our Lord and Savior is Union-Forgiveness which means it stays the same on behalf of God towards us unchanged for all eternity through His promises in Christ Jesus made towards us.
Having said all these things, yet when we as believers sin in our daily life, we have to confess to God that we have sinned and believe that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness to maintain the fellowship we have with our Father in heaven (1 John 1:6-7, 9). God cannot fellowship with us in our sin when we sin and stay without confessing it to Him, because He is a holy God and it is against His nature to overlook sin, and so as soon as possible we should run to Him and confess it to Him and be cleansed in our conscience to again fellowship with Him in joy and serve Him as a living sacrifice to the Lord which is the only reasonable service we can provide our Father in Heaven (Heb 9:14; Rom 12:1; Eph 2:8-10; 1 John 1:3-4). This second thing that we saw is the Fellowship forgiveness that needs to be appropriated whenever we sin, so that our fellowship with God can get restored once we confess our sin to Him.
The truth is, union-promises brings us in to eternal salvation (John 3:16; Heb 5:9), fellowship promises brings us in to the blessing of salvation which is our present effective spiritual lives and future reward of our inheritance that is waiting for us in heaven (Heb 6:7, 9-12). The two cannot be mixed with each other to confuse the believers to become fearful instead of being fruitful.
Much Blessings.....
Answer : Greetings! This is a very important question that you have asked. First of all there is a lack of understanding about the New Covenant prevalent right through out the Body of Christ which is actually bringing confusion and shakes the faith of saints many times.
Here is what God has said about His forgiveness that he has done for every believer who has believed Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, "14 For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds,“Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin." (Heb 10:16-18). In this above verses the writer of the Book of Hebrews affirms to all believers that the one offering of Jesus has made all believers worthy partakers to be forever separated for God's use and that the new promises that God has made with them through Jesus Christ their Lord and Savior is that He Himself will put His laws in to their hearts and in their spiritual mind He will write it, because their sins and lawless deeds of their past, present and future are all forgiven by God and will never be remembered by God anymore. He finally is telling us that when God has already forgiven all these sins there is no more sacrifice needed for any of it anymore time in the future.
This is the reason apostle Paul confidently writes in Eph 4:32, "And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you." In other words Paul was speaking about the past, present and future sins of believers as something God in Christ has already forgiven it all because he was speaking it in past tense rather than in present or future tense which shows the fact that God has indeed forgiven all our sins completely in Christ Jesus two thousand years ago itself as God in His foresight has seen that we will accept Jesus in our 20 and 21st century times. The same truth apostle Paul repeats in Col 3:13. Apostle Peter says this truth in past tense too by saying in 1 Peter 2:24, "who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed." There is no clearer verse needed than what we have seen Peter the apostle speak saying, "Because we have died to sins forever as Jesus on behalf of us bore all our sins of our past, present and future in His own body on the tree, and now that we have completely died to sins, let us live for righteousness by receiving the healing power of His stripes which heals all our diseases of sins and sicknesses in the present time and future time progressively." (1 Peter 2:24, Paraphrased).
Jesus in Revelation 2-3 addresses and warns about the dangers of walking in sins, also Paul and other apostles consistently were speaking against being involved in sins because they all wanted all the believers not to miss the heavenly reward that God has promised for all those who walk in faith and live a overcoming life of victory over sin and self (Rev 22:12; Col 3:23-24; Eph 6:7-8). Apostle Peter reminded about the truth of overcoming life for fruitful growth in the faith for inheriting the heavenly inheritance that God has already prepared for us (1 Peter 1:5-11; 1 Peter 1:3-9, 13-17; 2:11-12; 3:8-12, 17; 4:17-19; 5:4). The same way apostle James also spoke about the reward for every believer who overcomes and therefore warned about the dangers of sin and the power of faith to overcome it (James 1:2, 5-8, 25; 2:18, 20, 22-23, 26; 4:5-10; 5:10-11, 16-18, 19-20).
So when the Word of God says that God doesn't bring our sins up to us anymore after we have become His children, it includes our past, present and even future sins, since He has forgiven and "forgotten" them (Psa 103:3, 12; 32:1-2; Rom 4:5-8; Isa 43:25; 44:22; Heb 10:16-18). Therefore God does not bring our present sins or even our future sins up to us in the New Testament, but rather loves us so much that He warns of the dangers of sin so that we will not miss our reward that He has prepared for us because of becoming ineffectual spiritually due to entertaining sin which God hates and thus missing the reward for it to be given to someone else who deserves it (Rev 3:11).
God has forgiven and forgotten our sins in advance and that is the reason He has become our friend forever to be for us and with us forever and ever in the Beloved Christ Jesus (John 15:14-16; Rom 8:31; Eph 1:5-7, 13-14; Heb 13:5-6; James 2:22-23). This first forgiveness that comes to us when we receive Jesus Christ in to our life as our Lord and Savior is Union-Forgiveness which means it stays the same on behalf of God towards us unchanged for all eternity through His promises in Christ Jesus made towards us.
Having said all these things, yet when we as believers sin in our daily life, we have to confess to God that we have sinned and believe that He is faithful and just to forgive us our sin and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness to maintain the fellowship we have with our Father in heaven (1 John 1:6-7, 9). God cannot fellowship with us in our sin when we sin and stay without confessing it to Him, because He is a holy God and it is against His nature to overlook sin, and so as soon as possible we should run to Him and confess it to Him and be cleansed in our conscience to again fellowship with Him in joy and serve Him as a living sacrifice to the Lord which is the only reasonable service we can provide our Father in Heaven (Heb 9:14; Rom 12:1; Eph 2:8-10; 1 John 1:3-4). This second thing that we saw is the Fellowship forgiveness that needs to be appropriated whenever we sin, so that our fellowship with God can get restored once we confess our sin to Him.
The truth is, union-promises brings us in to eternal salvation (John 3:16; Heb 5:9), fellowship promises brings us in to the blessing of salvation which is our present effective spiritual lives and future reward of our inheritance that is waiting for us in heaven (Heb 6:7, 9-12). The two cannot be mixed with each other to confuse the believers to become fearful instead of being fruitful.
Much Blessings.....
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