Post by tennesseepete on Mar 29, 2009 1:41:43 GMT -5
How many times have I heard 1 John 1:9 preached at me? "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Many times I have wondered, "What if I miss asking forgiveness for a sin?" Is it not forgiven?
The Gospels give the same message. Mt. 6:15 says we have to forgive before we are forgiven. "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Mark says the same thing. Mark 11:26 says, "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
In all three cases, we have to do something first, then we can be forgiven. Suppose I were to die before realizing I should ask for forgiveness?
Thankfully, Paul gives us the answer to this dilemma. Eph 4:32 says, he has already forgiven us. "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you". Again, in Col 2:13, Paul writes, " And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all tresspasses; " Your sins are already forgiven.
Things that are different cannot be the same. The Gospels and 1 John speak of a conditional forgiveness. Paul, speaking to the Church, says our sins are already forgiven.
The Gospels give the same message. Mt. 6:15 says we have to forgive before we are forgiven. "But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses."
Mark says the same thing. Mark 11:26 says, "But if ye do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
In all three cases, we have to do something first, then we can be forgiven. Suppose I were to die before realizing I should ask for forgiveness?
Thankfully, Paul gives us the answer to this dilemma. Eph 4:32 says, he has already forgiven us. "And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you". Again, in Col 2:13, Paul writes, " And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all tresspasses; " Your sins are already forgiven.
Things that are different cannot be the same. The Gospels and 1 John speak of a conditional forgiveness. Paul, speaking to the Church, says our sins are already forgiven.