Does God Forgive Future Sins?

There is a recent documentary that addressed the issue of future sins. As Christians, we know that are all our sins are forgiven but there are some that believe that future sins will not. One of the arguments was 1 John 1:9, which says, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." 

What some are saying is if God forgave future sins, then this verse is useless. That is not true. When we confess ours, we are doing is acknowledging that we have sinned and gone against the Spirit of God in us. We acknowledge that Christ's work is sufficient. 1 John 2:1-2 says, "My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world."

Christians know their past sins are forgiven and we can rest knowing that our future sins are forgiven because Jesus declared on the cross, "It is finished" (John 19:30). Christ's finished work on the cross covers not only our sins we have committed in the past, but the ones will commit in the future. This also includes sins we are not even aware of.

What would happen if God did not forgive future sins? Imagine a husband and wife getting into a heated argument. Both say some harsh comments to one another, and the husband walks out to cool off. The wife feels convicted by what she says and confessed her sins to God, now she needs to ask her husband for forgiveness. Time goes by and someone is knocking on her door, which the wife opens to the sight of a police officer informing her that her husband was found dead. 

As horrible as this scenario could be, the belief that God not forgiving future sins could be worse. Did the husband confess his sins to God? If he did not, what does that mean for his soul? Does that mean if he did not ask God to forgive him, does that mean he has forfeited his eternity? Does that mean this man would have to go somewhere until that sin was atoned for by someone else that is more powerful than Christ? 

If God cannot forgive our future sins, then Jesus’ death on the cross was useless. We have no hope for our sins to be forgiven. Also, what if we sin just before we die and haven’t had a chance to repent that does that mean sin has not been atoned for?

You see what despair and even heresy could lead someone if they truly believe that God does not forgive future sins. Does this mean we live however we want because God forgives future sins? Absolutely not. 1 John 3:6 says, "No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or has come to know Him." This does not mean we gain sinless perfection (wouldn't that be nice), this means what Romans 6:14 says that "sin shall not be master over you." We have been a desire to love and follow God "through the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit" (Titus 3:5).

Romans 4:25 says that Christ "was delivered over on account of our transgressions, and was raised on account of our justification." Christ died for sinners (Romans 5:8) and if Christ was not raised, "your faith is worthless; you are still in your sins" (1 Corinthians 15:17). 

We have confidence knowing that our sins are forgiven, past, present and future, all because of the finished work of Christ on the cross.

Around The Web-October 11, 2019

When Forgiveness Isn’t Woke Enough from Just Thinking

Evangelism with Dr. Tom Johnston from Covenant Podcast

How to Read 1-2 Peter Theologically by Brandon D Crowe

Can We Please Stop Saying ‘My Truth’? by Eric Geiger

Expect the Bible to Unsettle You by Scott Hubbard

11 Reasons Why You Need to Belong to a Church by Peter Adam

A Biblical View of Race(s) by Guy Richard

Around The Web-Novmeber 9, 2018

Pastors' Talk On The Pastor and Pornography (with Garrett Kell)

Common Questions Christians Ask About Forgiveness by Erik Raymond

Apostasy and How it Happens by Sinclair Ferguson

The Man in Romans 7 by Fred Malone

Christians are People of Truth by Josh Buice

Voting, Racialism, TGC Article, Chesterton’s Romanism in a Jumbo DL from James White

From Wretched Radio: Stuff Christians shouldn't say:

When We Sin

My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous (1 John 2:1).

Who doesn’t go astray at times? I and everyone else have a need for praise. But when we sin, we shouldn’t despair of not finding God’s mercy. Whoever imagines that their achievements are worth something mistrusts God’s mercy and sins in the same way. Don’t despair after you have sinned, but lift your eyes upward, where Christ intercedes for you. For he is your advocate and intercessor. He pleads for you, saying, “Father, for this person I have suffered. I am looking after this individual.” This prayer is never useless, because Christ is our high priest (Hebrews 5:10).

Even though we have Christ, our high priest, advocate, mediator, reconciler, and comforter, we have turned instead to dead saints and considered Christ our judge. That’s why we should write this passage from the apostle John in gold letters and inscribe it on our hearts. So reach out to him and say, “Lord Christ, I know of no other advocate, comforter, and mediator than you alone. I do not doubt that you are all this to me. I cling firmly to it, and I believe it.” Christ was born for us. He suffered for us. He ascended into heaven for our sake, sits at the right hand of the Father, and prays for us. Satan tries with all his might to blind our hearts so we will not believe what the Holy Spirit says in this passage.

A Christian’s condition is a source of wonder! For Christians are both sinful and righteous. They are sinful because of the sinful nature they carry with them that is contaminated by sin. They are righteous because the Spirit pulls them back from sin. With our reason, we can never understand the wonder of this condition.

Adapted from Faith Alone: A Daily Devotional by Martin Luther

Jared C Wilson On What Jesus Does With Your Sin

1. He Condemns It.

Jesus puts a curse on sin. He marks its forehead.

Romans 8:3 – “For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh.”

Jesus says to sin in no uncertain terms, “Sin, you’re going to die.”

2. He Carries It.

Like the true and better scapegoat, Jesus becomes our sin-bearer.

1 Peter 2:24 – “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”

2 Corinthians 5:21 – “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

3. He Cancels It.

He closes out the account. (Even better, he opens a new one, where we’re always in the black, having been credited with his perfect righteousness.)

1 Corinthians 13:4-5 – “Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful”

That word resentful is more directly “to count up wrongdoing,” which is why some translations of this text say, “Love keeps no record of wrongs.”

Colossians 2:13-14 – “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.”

That last proclamation leads us into this great truth:

4. He Crucifies It.

1 Peter 3:18 – “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”

At the cross, Jesus dies and takes our sin with him. Only, the sin stays dead.

5. He Casts It Away.

Jesus takes the corpse and chucks it into the void.

Micah 7:19 – “He will again have compassion on us; he will tread our iniquities underfoot. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

Psalm 103:12 – “as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”

6. He Chooses to Un-remember It.

Jesus is omniscient. He is not forgetful. But he wills to un-remember our sin.

Jeremiah 31:34 – “And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

Hebrews 8:12 – “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Hebrews 10:17 – “I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.”

Astonishing. We bring our sin to him, repentant and in faithful confession, and he says, “What’re you talking about?”

This is how Jesus forgives sin: He condemns it, carries it, cancels it, kills it, casts it, and clean forgets it. If we’ll confess it.

1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Source: 6 Things Christ Does With Your Sin

Around The Web-June 30, 2017

15 Martin Luther Quotes on Preaching the Gospel to Ourselves by Bob Kellerman

What Does the Rainbow Really Mean? by Josh Buice

Why a Church Playground Matters for Religious Liberty by Joe Carter

Does Jeremiah 29:11 Apply to You? by Russell Moore

Religious Freedom and Discrimination: Why the Debate Continues by Albert Mohler

Fictitious Forgiveness: Why We Cannot Forgive Ourselves by Eric Davis

My 3 Big Fears In Parenting Teenagers by Trevin Wax

Complete Not in Ourselves, But in Christ by Ian Conrey

For the past week, people have been talking about Derek Carr, quarterback of the Oakland Raiders, who just signed a nice contract. At the 3 minute mark, you'll see why as he was asked about what would he splurge on and how he would use the money.

Book Review: Finding Forgiveness by Stanley D Gale

One of the most beautiful teachings of the gospel is that we have been forgiven by God through the finished work of Jesus Christ. Christians embrace this truth all over the world while, at times, we wonder why God would forgive rebellious creatures. The gospel also commands that we forgive those who have sinned against us, which at times, can be a little difficult depending on the offense.

Stanley D Gale has written a wonderful book on the theological aspect of the God's forgiveness and the forgiveness we should give others. The book is titled, Finding Forgiveness: Discovering the Healing Power of the Gospel. In this book, we see the beauty of forgiveness mapped out in the gospel. The gospel is good news because of the forgiveness God has offered to mankind.

Gale writes about forgiveness being the currency of the kingdom. I was not sure what he meant until I kept reading. Basing this teaching for the book of Colossians, where it says, we must forgive one another as Christ has forgiven us (Col. 3:13). Next, we see Christ as the model of the Christian life in every aspect including forgiveness. We must practice forgiveness even when it is hard.

One chapter I appreciate Gale writing on is addressing whether we can forgive ourselves or not. Forgiving ourselves is found nowhere in the Bible yet it is taught in some churches which echoes what the culture says in this area. Gale reminds his readers we must be rooted in the gospel and God's love never leaves us.

This book is one of those that packs a punch of gospel truth despite it not being a big one. Gale writes with clarity and as one who has experienced the forgiveness of God, which all in Christ have done so. I am delighted to recommend Finding Forgiveness.

Thanks Reformation Heritage for letting me review this book.

Podcast Wednesday: Andy Stanley (again), Heaven, Christmas Trees, and more

Andy Stanley Separates Incarnation and Redemption; Paul Falsely Accused; Tim Staples Reviewed from James White

John Piper answers the question, Can We Do Whatever We Want in Heaven?

Creating a Culture of Life from the Village Church

The Gospel for the Sad from the Sinner's League Podcast

Doctrine and Devotion on forgiveness and judging

Tim Keller on the 3 Dangers for Anyone in Ministry

When We Understand The Text on Christmas Trees, Nativity Scenes, and Baby Jesus

Tony Merida speaks with Scott Sauls on his ministry experience and the context for his new book BeFriend

Around The Web-February 5, 2016

Jared Wilson talks Ministry and Calling

5 Rookie Pastor Mistakes by Hershael York

5 Ways To Love Your Wife by Darrin Patrick

Paul Tripp on the spiritual battle with weight loss

The Reformed Pubcast talks with Joe Thorn about the Devil

The latest book from 9 Marks, The Church In Hard Places, is now available at Westminster Bookstore

Russell Moore on how to engage politics through hymns.



R.C. Sproul on true forgiveness.

Why Forgiving Yourself is Not Biblical?

We all have regrets about something. Whether or not we should have made a certain choice in our life or how we treated someone. The guilt is more than we can bear at times. We turn to someone we trust that will give us some good advice which one of them can be a pastor who can give some solid Biblical advice until they say, "You need to forgive yourself." Where is that in the Bible? I know that God forgives us and we are to forgive those who sinned against us, but I do not recall God commanding us to forgive ourselves.

Mike Wilkerson talks about self-forgiveness in his book, Redemption, where he identifies five reasons that self-forgiveness is not only unbiblical, but can lead to pride:

1. A preoccupation with self-forgiveness is to consider yourself a greater judge than God.

2. Self-forgiveness exposes a heart that still looks to an idol for justification instead of trusting God.

3. Self-forgiveness is to believe that your sin is a bigger deal to you than it is to God.

4. You may feel unforgiven because you haven't honestly confess your sin to God

5. You might enjoy the feeling that all debts against you are cancelled except for the debt you hold against yourself.

Wilkerson quotes Tim Keller from Counterfeit Gods saying, "When people say, 'I know God forgives me, but I can't forgive myself,' they mean that they have failed an idol, whose approval is more important to them than God's."