Our Future Sins Forgiven?
I think the question can be answered with yes and no.
Yes, because from God’s perspective, He sees the future as a completed event (e.g., judgment day, etc.). In that sense, God has already forgiven the future sins of repentant sinners through the once for all sacrifice of Jesus on the cross. This does not include the future unbelieving/unrepentant.
No, because from a human perspective, as believers in Christ, our sins in the future are not yet committed. At present, God does not want us to sin anymore, yet, in time, we deliberately and repeatedly commit sins though not in a way that it becomes a habit. Now, as we commit sin and confess it to God, He fulfills His inspired word in 1 John 1:9–He forgives our sins and cleanses us from all our unrighteousness.
Propositional statement: The blood of Jesus is sufficient for all time–forgiving the sins of those who repented in the past and those who will repent today and in the future.
Related Arguments
God is immutable (unchanging). He forgives those who repent in the past, at present, and in the future. He remains as is in dealing with sin. Repent and be forgiven!
The concept of “already and not yet:” already, God has forgiven our future sins based on the foreknown acts of repentance and confession we make, but, at present, we are yet to be forgiven for the sins committed as soon as we repent and confess to Him our sins.
Matthew 6:15 ESV but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.
Why withhold forgiveness, and why teach this if, for all we know, God has forgiven even our future sins?
1 John 2:1-2 Williams My dear children, I am writing you this so that you may not sin; yet if anyone ever sins, we have One who pleads our case with the Father, Jesus Christ, One who is righteous. (2) And He is Himself the atoning sacrifice for our sins; and not for ours alone, but also for the whole world.
When we commit a sin, upon confessing it to God, Jesus points the Father back to the cross where atonement was made for the repentant sinners through His shed blood. God then forgives the repentant sinner on the account of Jesus' once for all time sacrifice.
What about our unconfessed sins?
No sins we shall ever commit will simply pass by without us being convicted by the Holy Spirit either by His direct confrontation or indirectly through the corrections of witnesses. In this case, we ought to be humble, repent, and confess to God our sins and to those whom we have offended.
In cases of unknown sins, God’s mercy and grace abounds!
To be continued…
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