Our "belief" in Jesus is the foundation of our relationship with God. Acknowledging our sinfulness and our need for God's forgiveness is a central part of that belief. But what about after we ask God to forgive us? Why do we need to confess our sins if they are already forgiven?
Forgiveness Does Not Mean We Never Sin Again
"My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father — Jesus Christ, the Righteous One" (1 John 2:1).
John's first epistle discusses the issues of sin and forgiveness at length. His language can cause confusion about the presence of sin in believers' lives. The verse quoted above is just one example. The phrase, "I write this to you so that you will not sin," implies that "Christians are not supposed to sin." But the very next line recognizes at least the possibility of sin – "if anybody does sin." John does not say that sin disqualifies the believer. Rather, he proclaims that we have an Advocate who pleads on our behalf.
Most Christians are probably familiar with John's statement just a few verses earlier: "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9). John's language does not limit this promise to the first time that we confess our sins; instead, he proclaims God's forgiveness and cleansing for all who confess their sins.
Jesus Taught Us to Ask For God's Forgiveness
"When you pray, say: 'Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come. Give us each day our daily bread. Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation" (Luke 11:2-4). While Matthew's version of the Lord's Prayer uses the word "debts" instead of "sins," the key concept is the same — forgiveness. If Jesus taught us to ask for forgiveness — in the same prayer when we ask God to supply our daily bread — He must have had a reason! So what sorts of "sins" or "debts" does Jesus mean?
"Sins," "Trespasses," and "Debts"
Part of the confusion may result from the different words scripture uses to refer to our shortcomings – and from the way those words are translated. The theological traditions of various denominational streams of Christianity may also prompt questions.
Broadly speaking, there are two ways to think about sin. On the one hand, sin is any "missing of the mark" — in other words, any failure to achieve the absolute standard of obedience that Jesus set for us. When we think of sin in this way, we have to acknowledge that none of us can reach that standard – and so each of us "sins" regularly.
On the other hand, several passages of scripture describe sin as an intentional, willful failure to obey God. (For example, some theological traditions define sin more narrowly as a deliberate, willful violation of a known command of God.) Such willful transgression is inconsistent with a life devoted to God. This understanding is consistent with John's statement, "I write this to you so that you will not sin." Willful disobedience is still possible for the believer, but it is not inevitable, and it's certainly not acceptable.
Christ Sets Us Free From the Law of Sin and Death
"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death" (Romans 8:1-2).
It is important to remember that there is a difference between the legal aspects and the relational aspects of forgiveness. When God forgives us, our sins are forgiven: "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more" (Jeremiah 31:34). Once God forgives us, those sins are blotted out forever – we don't have to keep asking God to forgive them. But God's forgiveness does not extend to sins committed after His forgiveness; that's why Jesus taught us to pray for God's forgiveness regularly. The good news is that because "the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death," Christians are not doomed to keep rebelling against God.
"Cleansing" Does Not Make Sin Impossible; It Makes Righteousness Possible
The freedom that we receive through the Spirit is not freedom to sin, but freedom to live above sin. That's why John could write "so that you will not sin," and why Paul proclaims that we have been set free from the law of sin and death. When God "purifies us from all unrighteousness," He empowers us to stop rebelling against His sovereignty and to begin living as He created us to live.
It's important to remember that when scripture uses the word "perfect" (Matthew 5:48), it means something different from how modern English speakers understand it. Modern people understand "perfect" to mean something like "flawless." Understood in that sense, none of us can be "perfect as God is perfect." We cannot achieve that standard in this life, in these imperfect bodies. As John notes in 1 John 3:1-2, we are already children of God, but we don't know yet what we will be. "But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (emphasis added).
Can We Lose Our Forgiveness?
So we are already children of God. The only thing that could change that would be a willful decision to forsake Him and return to our rebellion. (This cannot be truly called a 'fall' from grace; rather, it is more akin to disowning our family.) Scripture makes it clear that nothing outside us can separate us from God's love (see Romans 8:38-39). Satan cannot force us to reject God; he can only try to deceive us into making that decision, much as Adam and Eve did in the Garden of Eden.
So why do we need to confess our sins if they are already forgiven? One important reason is that confession is our acknowledgment that God is always right. So if God reveals something to us and prompts us to repent, our confession is an expression of our desire to be fully surrendered to Him. As we confess, "we walk in the light, as He is in the light, [and] we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin" (1 John 1:7).
Confessing our sins is not rehashing sins that God has already forgiven. Instead, it is an expression of our desire to continue growing in Christ and to allow God to form us in His image. The One who calls us is faithful, and He will do everything we need to see His purposes formed in us (1 Thessalonians 5:24).
