Dear COA Family,
Last Sunday, I shared at our services why a balance should be brought to our Christian teaching on God’s grace. This is to prevent us from being ignorant of and neglecting what is also true – that God is a holy and righteous God who judges sin. By walking in both trust and fear of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, we will keep ourselves on the narrow path of salvation.
Yet I would like to address further the teaching that God forgives our future sins. This understanding is not scriptural (ie. not found taught in the Bible) but is a rational assumption of the words “all sins” in Colossians 2:13-14. And the reason it is not taught in this way is because we need to walk in repentance and trust in Christ daily and not assume that our future sins have no impact on the way we live our lives (1 John 1:7-9).
This does not mean, though, that Jesus has to die constantly for our sins on the cross or that our salvation is constantly in jeopardy.
When Jesus died for the sins of the whole world, he paid the price for all of our sins: past, present and future. There is therefore no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:1). This is called atonement and it is once for all time (Hebrews 10:14).
However, the work of atonement and the forgiveness of our sins is distinct from each other. The first is accomplished once for all in God’s sight and the second needs to be applied to us in our individual lives continually. This is why we still need to confess our sins as what we do at the start of our services. Therefore, we should not say that all of our future sins are already forgiven. At the most, we can say that God can and will forgive us of all of our sins (past, present and future) as we confess them to him (1 John 1:8-9).
And as for our salvation, it does not mean that whenever we sin we lose it. The Bible says that we sin in many ways (James 3:2) and that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (1 John 1:8). However, in the same passage, the Apostle John also teaches us that when we are in Christ, God continually washes our sins by the blood of Christ.
1 John 1:7 says: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” As we walk with Jesus, his blood purifies us continually. We can have confidence that Jesus will save us in future as we continually trust in him (Philippians 1:6, 2 Timothy 1:12).
So, why all the fuss about the terms being used?
The concern is that by saying “my future sins are forgiven,” it promotes a complacent attitude in the hearts of Christians. What is there to prevent Christians from continuing to sin since all of their future sins are already forgiven? It is no wonder some Christians can openly remain in adulterous affairs or actively bully others while claiming that their sins are fully forgiven and they will be saved. I am just afraid that when they see Christ on Judgment Day, the Lord will say to them “I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!” (Matthew 7:23). These words are said as a warning to his disciples, not to non-Christians.
Ultimately, we are trying to reach the goal set for us by God in Christ – which is for all believers to grow in spiritual maturity and holiness (Colossians 1:28-29) and be fully saved for God’s kingdom.
However, we should not go beyond the limits of Scripture to claim that all future sins are already forgiven. A balanced and helpful approach will help believers to continue to:
“work out your salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you to will and to act in order to fulfil his good purpose” Philippians 2:13-14, “make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ” 2 Peter 1:5-8, and “build yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in God’s love as you wait for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to bring you to eternal life” Jude 1:20-21.
Our salvation is best described as a journey where we were saved (past), are being saved (present) and will be saved (future). We are justified, are being sanctified (present) and will be glorified (future) by God (Romans 8:30). The process of salvation has begun, but is not completed yet. This will keep us walking in the straight and narrow path (Matthew 7:14) and not becoming lukewarm in our faith (Revelation 3:16).
God bless,
Revd Ian