Total Forgiveness and the Confession of Sin
In a sermon entitled "Total Forgiveness and the Confession of Sin," John MacArthur of Grace Community Church helps us work through the tension of being totally forgiven for all eternity and yet still confessors of present sins.
On God's Forgiveness:
"...the forgiveness that God provides for us is so comprehensive that it removes from the believer all defilement, all shame, all guilt, all punishment forever and replaces it with righteousness, security and eternal reward. This is the gift of forgiveness. It is inviolable, it is irrevocable, nothing and no one can cause the forgiveness of God granted to the believer to be taken back, to be rescinded. No one can talk God out of it, or change His mind, or successfully bring up an accusation against that believer that would cause God to cancel that forgiveness."
On Confession of Sin and Seeking Forgiveness:
"...all our sins are forgiven and yet, in spite of this gracious, merciful generosity on God's part toward all of those who repent and embrace Jesus Christ we are still, according to 1 John 1, known as Christians because we continue to confess our sins. And that is what verse 9 is saying, if we are confessing our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness...that is not a command, that is a statement of fact. True believers are habitual confessors who therefore demonstrate that their sins are continually being forgiven. We are still known as penitent. We are still known as eager to repent, as confessors of sin."
On the Tension:
"...what did Jesus teach the disciples? He taught them to pray this way, 'Forgive us our sins...' Now we have a problem here. You see where I'm going? We have a dilemma. Why would I be saying, "God, forgive my sins," when I know He's already forgiven my sins? How am I going to reconcile this?"
On a Common Error and It's Danger:
"...some teachers increasingly popular...claim that since we are already forgiven we must never ask God to forgive our sins. To do so, they tell us, is an expression of unbelief...the only way to enjoy your liberty in Christ is to forget your sin, forget about it all together and just embrace God's forgiveness as a fully accomplished reality because of the work of Christ and never again pay any attention to your sin...To say that we can sin and completely ignore it and bear no guilt and no remorse and offer no confession and ask for no forgiveness will, believe me, bring down on such a person's head the discipline and the displeasure of God.The idea that a Christian should never pray a penitent prayer seeking forgiveness is unbiblical...it's heretical."
On John 13:7-11:
"He says you're clean. You appear before God as clean and righteous. You are free from the penalty of sin in your justification. But then there's the matter of your sanctification and you need to be continually washed from the presence of sin and the power of sin. You don't need to be justified again, you just need to be being sanctified. And it is in that fatherly sense, it is in that sanctifying sense that Jesus tells us...Say to the Father...Father, forgive us our sins."
In Conclusion:
"You're not doubting justification. You have been justified before God. You have been set free from the penalty of sin. But...though you are set free from the penalty of sin, you have not been delivered from the presence and power of sin and while you don't need to be justified again, you need to be continually washed. Sin needs to be confessed and forsaken as a regular pattern of life, not before a judge who will otherwise condemn us to hell, but before a Father who will otherwise chasten us. And that too is clear from 1 John 1:9. We go on confessing, and He goes on forgiving and cleansing....The fatherly concern for our holiness and our sanctification is related to the on-going confession and forgiveness. In Christ we have forever satisfied the judge. He will never be displeased. But God as Father is displeased when we behave sinfully..."
"So the forgiveness...back to 1 John 1...the forgiveness in 1 John 1:9 is parental forgiveness, relational forgiveness, it's restorational. It's like Psalm 32, Psalm 51, "Restore to me the joy of Thy salvation." It's the kind of discipline that deals with our sin and brings us to repentance, confession, forgiveness and restored joy. It is not the washing of regeneration, that's already done. It's not the forgiveness of justification, that's already done. It isn't the bath. We need one bath and many times need our feet washed."
Read or Listen to the Whole Sermon.
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