There are two sides to the forgiveness coin; receiving it and giving it. Most Christians clearly understand the necessity to forgive those who have sinned against them and that there is no limit to the number of times forgiveness is given to our fellow man. But there is considerable confusion in the body of Christ concerning the appropriation of

1. God’s forgiveness personally and
2. our role in extending or pronouncing his forgiveness over others. Confusion multiplies when spiritual leaders and pastors lead whole congregations in prayer that is asking God for his forgiveness. This model, of course, leads countless numbers of believer’s to have a tenuous relationship with God.

As a boy, and well into young manhood, I struggled with the issue of God’s forgiveness of me. Whenever I did something I knew was wrong, and even more so when it was premeditated, guilt would come over me. I knew confession was in order, but I also believed that contrition should precede confession and forgiveness. Therefore, in an attempt to not be cavilier with God, I would wait to confess until I really did feel genuine sorrow. Only then did I believe that God’s forgiveness could truly apply.

Think of the impact magnitude this practice has on marriage. Spouses waiting to decide if forgiveness will be granted until they fully know the infraction. This hardly breeds security in the relationship. Or worse yet, continuing to ask forgiveness for the same past act or issue over and over again. On the other hand, think of the secure position a spouse is in if they know that their husband or wife has already given them unconditional forgiveness. This kind of relationship transcends the natural and embraces the supernatural relationship spoken of in Ephesians 5. On the surface, I guess, a believer asking God for forgiveness seems the right thing to do, but is it? The clarifying answer is found in scripture itself.

Biblical Study

My question: Is it Biblical for believers to ask God to forgive them each and every time they sin or fail? My answer: Unequivocally, No. Confession and repentance are the means to restoring a breached relationship with God. Sorrow, to be sure, is involved, but we must be careful to not abandon faith. Failing to walk in complete, past, present and future forgiveness, creates an insecurity that actually traps a person in bondage and robs Kingdom power from the very people of God who need to function in it the most. If God, by virtue of simply being asked the question, could deny our request for forgiveness, our relationship with Him, at best, would be shallow. If he cannot say no, because of his work on the cross, then the exercise is moot and faith denying.

Notice that nowhere in the New Testament (except the Lord’s prayer which is pre-cross) does it even remotely suggest that we ask for forgiveness from God every time we fail him. To the contrary, Colossians 1:14 declares that our forgiveness is a past, single event. Hebrews 9:25 and 26 further clarify that if we continue to ask for forgiveness, we are in essence asking Christ to go back to the cross and suffer again and again to procure “new” forgiveness for each and every time we sin. This, it says, “He will not do”, because he has already paid the price “once for all”.

Romans 6 addresses the saved sinner’s posture; it ought to be overwhelming gratitude for the forgiveness he/she freely walks in.

In 1 John 1:9, God calls for confession in dealing with sin, but note that the verbs are Greek Aorist (the meaning of which has to do with a single past event). God’s forgiveness is always overarching the believer. John 20:23 addresses the believer’s commission to announce (not pronounce), God’s forgiveness. The aorist verbs (the action of an instant in the past) combined with verbs that are perfects (an abiding state that began before the action of the first verbs) demands a literal translation that reads: “Those who’s sins you forgive have already been forgiven: Those who’s sins you do not forgive have not been forgiven.” In other words, God does not decide to forgive people’s sins because we decide to do so. Nor does He withhold forgiveness, because we will not forgive, or simply fail to grant. Rather, we announce his forgiveness, not create it. This forgiveness is only applicable to those who accept Jesus as Lord and Savior and therefore is tied to the gospel of salvation. There is absolutely no precedence in Scripture for created beings forgiving the salvation-related sin of unbelievers. Jesus did not so much die for our sins (plural acts) as much as he died for our sin, that is, our condition. Matthew 16:19 is the same Greek construction. We “bind” and “loose” only what has already been bound or loosed in heaven. The best way the biblical writers could communicate that people will only know what they have been told or taught was to say it the way they said it.

So, what about the Lord’s statement in Matthew 6:12 where he teaches his disciples to “ask for forgiveness” – “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.”? The word “forgive” (2nd person singular, 2nd aorist, imperfect), breaks down this way: Aorist refers to a specific act or action in the past. The imperfect refers to a prolonged or recurrent action in past time. The word debts, is just that, what we “owe” God. The text could easily be translated as Jesus calling his disciples to ask God to “prolong His once-for-all act of forgiveness of what we owe Him”. The sentence deals not so much with the act of forgiveness as the weight of the debt of sin. It seems that humanity needs the constant reminder of God’s finished work on our behalf. And it should go without saying that it’s a bit presumptuous to think that God would automatically apply salvation forgiveness to those who refuse to forgive their fellow human beings.

An additional facet to this jewel has to do with remembering and forgetting. If a couple is having trouble in their marriage and a counselor tells them that once forgiveness is granted that they just have to forget that the infraction ever happened, that counselor is asking them to do the impossible. And when they can’t, true healing never comes. The bible speaks of God remembering and forgetting. But unlike mankind, God’s memory is perfect. When he “remembers” it’s the biblical way of saying that he took action. And when he “forgets” our sins, or “remembers them no more”, it simply means that he chooses to not act on what he knows. If husbands and wives, or any earthly relationships, functioned on this biblical practice, we’d have a lot less breach in the world.

Conclusion

The consequences of requiring people to go to God and ask for forgiveness every time they fail is enormous. It has the high potential of causing that person to stay unhealed, simply because their acceptance by God is never full and complete. They conclude that they are never really accepted by God and therefore cannot “walk” in his forgiveness – the only posture of wholeness. They cannot fully understand and embrace the truth of Romans 8 where Paul declares that there is absolutely no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Mental and spiritual health comes from knowing that you are forgiven even while you are failing. It’s knowing the complete, unconditional forgiveness of God and one another, that allows a person to truly forgive themselves. My answer to the critics who say this idea will breed “antinomianism” (lawlessness), is that my experience has shown that people’s gratitude to the Lord for unconditional acceptance actually increases their desire to live according to Biblical principles. The one who has been forgiven much, loves all the more deeply (Luke 7:43). If we want to see real spiritual health, real power and authority come back into the church and our individual lives, let’s teach and walk in the truth of God’s complete past, present, and future, once-for-all, forgiveness.

Sample Prayer

“Father, here I am once again, coming to you in the name of your son Jesus. I have acted foolishly and selfishly. I realize my sin and I am not proud. Your Spirit has convicted my spirit. I am sorry and I repent. Thank you so much for not rejecting me or pulling away.

Thank you for actually drawing me near. Most of all, thank you for your forgiveness already granted. Continue to teach me to walk in your ways and to seek your face. Your loving kindness wells up in me causing an overflow of gratitude. I love you.”