Past, Present and Future

Q: Did the Lord Jesus forgive all sins past, present and future?

A: Absolutely! The death of Jesus Christ did forgive all sins, past, present and future. When I was coming to understand God's forgiveness, I had this same question. The question to ask yourself is "How many of your sins were in the future when Jesus Christ died on the cross?" The answer is obvious. All of your sins were in the future when Jesus died. That is, unless you are 2,000 years old. Scripture says, "He did not enter by means of the blood of goats and calves; but he entered the Most Holy Place once for all by his own blood, having obtained eternal redemption (Hebrews 9:12)." Eternal redemption means that all future sins have been paid for in full by Christ's one sacrifice. This truth can lead to the misconception that God has given us a license to sin. Some Christians will wonder that if all our sins are forgiven, past, present and future, there is nothing stopping them from continuing a life of sin. Therefore, they become vulnerable to being deceived into believing that they must find ways to continue to get their sins forgiven. Perhaps you, or Christians you know, participate in activities designed to get more forgiveness for sins. Do any of the following sound familiar? Confession booths. Answering an altar call to rededicate yourself to God. Keeping short accounts with God. Reciting the "Lord's Prayer." If you do any of these things, or something similar, in order to keep getting forgiven by God, it is evidence that you do not believe Jesus took away all your sins.

All these activities amount to nothing more than sacrifices for sin. The Bible says, "Then he adds: "Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more."And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin (Hebrews 10:17-18)." There are two things to notice in this passage. One, the passage says that our sins "have been forgiven." This is past tense, meaning that forgiveness of sins has already occurred. Second, because our sins have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. The death of Jesus Christ is the only sacrifice for sins God will accept and has accepted. Therefore, no matter how sincere one may be in their attempts to get their sins forgiven, they are not accepted by God. There is one more thing that must be addressed in order to realize that Christ's sacrifice was once and for all. "In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness (Hebrews 9:22)." Is there anywhere in all these sacrifices, we involve ourselves in, the shedding of blood? Of course not. And even if there was the shedding of blood, it would still not be acceptable to God. Yet, many Christians continue to participate in them as though there is nothing wrong with doing so. They may say that they believe all their sins have been forgiven, but their actions betray them. It is hypocrisy in its greatest form.

"If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God (Hebrews 10:26-27)." God reminds us how He feels about those who deny the once and for all sacrifice of Jesus Christ as sufficient for the payment for their sins. If we don't believe our sins have been forgiven, past, present and future, there is no sacrifice for sins left. Jesus is not going to die again for our sins. And every time we ask God to forgive us for the sins He has already forgiven, we are putting Jesus back on the cross. We are, in effect, asking Him to do what He has already done. That is not an act of faith. In fact, "Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him (Hebrews 9:28)." Jesus could not come back to bring salvation for those waiting for Him, if there was more sin to deal with. The sin issue is over between man and God. If it were not, He could not have given us eternal life and have a relationship with us. There is no way we can grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord if our sins still came between us and God. But, I know the question will remain, how then do we live as Christians and what do we do when we sin. A Christian lives by faith in the indwelling Holy Spirit to live His life in and through us. And when we sin, we acknowledge that we have sinned, but, more importantly, we acknowledge what God has done with that sin. He has taken it away for all eternity, in Christ.

Without our sins being taken away for eternity, we could not have salvation. Salvation is the restoration of the life of God. When Adam was created, God "breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being (Genesis 2:7)." That breath of life was the actual Spirit of God. God warned Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil because "when you eat of it you will surely die (Genesis 2:17)." Adam disobeyed God, ate from the tree, and died. He didn't die physically. He died spiritually. The life of God was removed and Adam and he died. Because of Adam's sin, all mankind has been born into this world, in the image of Adam, spiritually dead to God in our sins. God desired to indwell mankind the way He did back at creation. But, before He could do so, He had to deal with the sin that caused Him to remove His life from Adam. That is why Jesus Christ came into the world. He, being born spiritually alive, is the only one who had a life to give that would satisfy God as payment for our sins. "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins (1 John 4:10)." Since God was satisfied with the sacrifice of Jesus, as payment for our sins, He was now able to once again offer His life to mankind, as a free gift to all who believe, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ. Because of the cross there is no sin that will ever cause the life of God to leave a believer. That is why it is called an eternal life. A life that indwells a believer and will carry them through the rest of this life and on into eternity, even after we physically die. So, yes, all our sins are forgiven, past, present and future. If they weren't we could not be saved!