Forgiven of EVERYTHING

Q: Where in the Bible does it actually say that our Lord God will forgive us of ALL our sins? I just want to be sure that God would even forgive me of EVERYTHING. I have done some bad things that I dare not even speak of to any human, for I believe that not one human would even understand, but me, myself and God, our Lord Jesus. I do not even trust anyone to talk about anything that I`ve done because no one would probably even want to hang out with me, or even mutter one word to me, or glance at me for that matter? So please, could you share with me something in our God`s Holy Word. Thank you.

A: God prophesied through the prophet Jeremiah that He would forgive all our sins. “"This is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after that time," declares the LORD… "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more (Jeremiah 31:33a, 34b).”" The fulfillment of this promise was realized when Jesus Christ died on the Cross. With His last breath the Lord said, “it is finished (John 19:30).” The death of Jesus ushered in the New Covenant. Now, in Christ, we can rest in the fact that God has forgiven us of all our sins. “All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation (2 Corinthians 5:18-19).” Your sins were forgiven before you were even born. Because of your faith in Christ you have forgiveness of sins as an inheritance from God. “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace (Ephesians 1:7).” If you are in Christ you have forgiveness. It is crucial to your growth as a Christian to believe that your sins no longer come between you and God.

It does not matter what “bad things” you have done. If you “dare not even speak” of them to any human than that is alright. Actually, your unwillingness to share them with anybody else should serve as a reminder that God does not remember your sins or speak of them any longer. Many Christians live in fear that they have committed the one or two sins that God has not forgiven. There is no sin you have committed or will commit that was not paid for in full for eternity by the death of Jesus Christ. Would I be wrong in assuming that you have asked God to forgive you numerous times? Christians, who do not believe their sins are forgiven, have invented countless sacrifices for their sins that do two things. First, the sacrifices are not required by God nor are they accepted by Him. “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).” What this says to Christians is that our confession booths, our altar calls, our keeping short accounts, our repetitive prayers or whatever sacrifice we engage in to keep ourselves forgiven is not supported by the Bible. Secondly, what we are saying to Jesus Christ when we continually seek forgiveness of sins is that His death was in vain and we would rather insult God by asking Jesus to die again then rest in the forgiveness we already have been given. “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace (Hebrews 10:29)?”

Imagine if your fear about how others would treat you if they knew what sins you have committed is how God would treat you over your sins. Would you trust God enough to talk about everything you have done? Do you think God would want to hang out with you because of the sins you have committed? Can you imagine Him muttering one word to you? How often would He glance at you if your sins were still separating you from Him? Let me ask you one more question. The Bible says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16).” My question to you is this, “How could we confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and find grace in our time of need if our sins were not forgiven?” You will never be able to approach God in confidence without believing your sins are forgiven. Christians cannot mature in our faith, receive God’s love or enter the Sabbath rest promised to us if we do not believe all of our sins are forgiven. You are absolutely right that “not one human would even understand.” However, God understood the human condition which resulted in His one and only provision in Jesus Christ.

Your struggle is an indication that you do not have peace with God. How could you if you believe your sins are not forgiven? However, the Bible says, “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).” We cannot have peace with God if our sins were still an issue between us and Him. If you do not believe your sins are forgiven, you will not only be unable to grow in your relationship with God, it will be impossible for you to forgive others who have sinned against you. On more than one occasion the Bible says for us to forgive others because God has forgiven us, Ephesians 4:32 and Colossians 3:13. You can only give to others that which you have to give to them. It is no different when it comes to forgiveness. One of the attributes of God’s love for us is “it keeps no record of wrongs (1 Corinthians 13:5).” A wrong is a sin. If there is no record of it being kept, it means it is not being held against you. You cannot have a relationship with God or anybody else for that matter if you owe them a debt that you cannot pay. The debt we owed God could only be paid by God Himself. Thanks to Jesus Christ that sin debt was paid in full for all eternity. “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).” Jesus Christ died once, for all and for eternity. Are you going to believe what He did for you and put faith in it? As Paul said to the Church in Corinth, I say to you, “We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:20).” Be blessed.