For the Christian, when does God forgive sins?

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notmyown

Senior Member
May 26, 2016
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#21
He makes intercession, yet we still have to confess our sins to YHWH...

Hebrews 7:24-25, “but He, because He remains forever, has an unchangeable priesthood. Therefore He is also able to save completely those who draw near to YHWH through Him, ever living to make intercession for them.”

1 John 1:8-10, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His Word is not in us."

Not confessing is sociopathic.
i agree with confessing sin; it's biblical.
but i find it interesting the writer there isn't saying your sins were purged when you believed, but when Christ died.
 

SpeakTruth101

Active member
Aug 14, 2023
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#22
i agree with confessing sin; it's biblical.
but i find it interesting the writer there isn't saying your sins were purged when you believed, but when Christ died.
I'm going to explain my view as shortly as possible because I could post a whole bunch of verses and ides, but Ill keep it short

YHWH exists outside of time, His name YHWH means self existant One, as "I am" is actually I exist that I exist eyer asher eyer, derived from the word "הָיָה hayah"

So when Yahshua's Sacrifice is completed 2,000 years ago it would also need to be applied outside of time or any being born after could not partake, and we know that is not so..

Isaiah/Yeshayahu 53
1, "Who has believed our report? And to whom was the arm of יהוה revealed?"2, "For He grew up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or splendor that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should desire Him –"3, "despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and knowing sickness. And as one from whom the face is hidden, being despised, and we did not consider Him."4, "Truly, He has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains. Yet we reckoned Him smitten·, stricken by Yah, and afflicted."5, "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our crookednesses. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."

He sends יהושע Messiah, pre-appointed for you is a key part here so...

Acts 3:19-23, “Repent therefore and turn back, for the blotting out of your sins, in order that times of refreshing might come from the presence of the Master, and that He sends יהושע Messiah, pre-appointed for you, whom heaven needs to receive until the times of restoration of all matters, of which the Mighty One spoke through the mouth of all His set-apart prophets since of old. For Mosheh truly said to the fathers, ‘יהוה your Mighty One shall raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brothers. Him you shall hear according to all matters, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every being who does not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.”

The way I see it all humans have an offer of unmerited mercy, " יהושע Messiah, pre-appointed" 2,000 years ago, and YHWH exists outside of time, therefore it's hard for the mind to grasp but if we are forgiven is alraady known by Him before even Adam was created,

Isaiah 45:21-22, “Declare and bring near, let them even take counsel together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has declared it from that time? Is it not I, יהוה? And there is no mighty one besides Me, a righteous Power and Savior, there is none besides Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am Elohim, and there is none else.”

it's up to each human if they want to accept and walk in that offer or not. "Turn to Me and be saved"

John 6:37, 37 “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I shall by no means cast out."

However, and I get called names at times for this, we can not ignore what He says about enduring

Matthew 10:22, “And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Matt 24:12-13, “And because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of many shall become cold. But he who shall have endured to the end shall be saved.”
 

notmyown

Senior Member
May 26, 2016
4,927
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#23
I'm going to explain my view as shortly as possible because I could post a whole bunch of verses and ides, but Ill keep it short

YHWH exists outside of time, His name YHWH means self existant One, as "I am" is actually I exist that I exist eyer asher eyer, derived from the word "הָיָה hayah"

So when Yahshua's Sacrifice is completed 2,000 years ago it would also need to be applied outside of time or any being born after could not partake, and we know that is not so..

Isaiah/Yeshayahu 53
1, "Who has believed our report? And to whom was the arm of יהוה revealed?"2, "For He grew up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or splendor that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should desire Him –"3, "despised and rejected by men, a man of pains and knowing sickness. And as one from whom the face is hidden, being despised, and we did not consider Him."4, "Truly, He has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains. Yet we reckoned Him smitten·, stricken by Yah, and afflicted."5, "But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our crookednesses. The chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed."

He sends יהושע Messiah, pre-appointed for you is a key part here so...

Acts 3:19-23, “Repent therefore and turn back, for the blotting out of your sins, in order that times of refreshing might come from the presence of the Master, and that He sends יהושע Messiah, pre-appointed for you, whom heaven needs to receive until the times of restoration of all matters, of which the Mighty One spoke through the mouth of all His set-apart prophets since of old. For Mosheh truly said to the fathers, ‘יהוה your Mighty One shall raise up for you a Prophet like me from your brothers. Him you shall hear according to all matters, whatever He says to you. And it shall be that every being who does not hear that Prophet shall be utterly destroyed from among the people.”

The way I see it all humans have an offer of unmerited mercy, " יהושע Messiah, pre-appointed" 2,000 years ago, and YHWH exists outside of time, therefore it's hard for the mind to grasp but if we are forgiven is alraady known by Him before even Adam was created,

Isaiah 45:21-22, “Declare and bring near, let them even take counsel together. Who has announced this from of old? Who has declared it from that time? Is it not I, יהוה? And there is no mighty one besides Me, a righteous Power and Savior, there is none besides Me. Turn to Me and be saved, all you ends of the earth! For I am Elohim, and there is none else.”

it's up to each human if they want to accept and walk in that offer or not. "Turn to Me and be saved"

John 6:37, 37 “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I shall by no means cast out."

However, and I get called names at times for this, we can not ignore what He says about enduring

Matthew 10:22, “And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

Matt 24:12-13, “And because of the increase in lawlessness, the love of many shall become cold. But he who shall have endured to the end shall be saved.”
i don't think enduring to the end always means the same thing. depends on the context.

how do you, then, reconcile Jn 6:37 with your understanding of Mt 10:22?

we DO have need of endurance, but it's never done in our own strength or power, but in His.
 

SpeakTruth101

Active member
Aug 14, 2023
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#24
i don't think enduring to the end always means the same thing. depends on the context.

how do you, then, reconcile Jn 6:37 with your understanding of Mt 10:22?

we DO have need of endurance, but it's never done in our own strength or power, but in His.
I think He empoweres and guides, we stil have a choice to accept or reject, some people actually reject sadly.

how do you, then, reconcile Jn 6:37 with your understanding of Mt 10:22?
John 6:37, 37 “All that the Father gives Me shall come to Me, and the one who comes to Me I shall by no means cast out."

Matthew 10:22, “And you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”

The Father will not "give Him" anyone who is not going to endure. Consider the parable about the seed planted in different types of ground and then this:

He knows the end from the beginning.

Isaiah 46:10, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from of old that which has not yet been done, saying, ‘My counsel does stand, and all My delight I do.”
 

SpeakTruth101

Active member
Aug 14, 2023
874
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#25
Want to add that parable

Consider the parable about the seed planted in different types of ground and then this:

He knows the end from the beginning.

Isaiah 46:10, “Declaring the end from the beginning, and from of old that which has not yet been done, saying, ‘My counsel does stand, and all My delight I do.”
Parable of the Sower Sowing Seed

Matthew 13:1-23,

1 And on that day יהושע went out of the house and sat by the sea.

2 And large crowds were gathered together to Him, so that He went into a boat and sat down. And all the crowd stood on the beach.

3 And He spoke to them much in parables, saying, “See, the sower went out to sow.

4 And as he sowed, some indeed fell by the wayside, and the birds came and devoured them.

5 And others fell on rocky places, where they did not have much soil, and immediately they sprang up, because they had no depth of soil.

6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered.

7 And others fell among thorns, and the thorns came up and choked them.

8 And others fell on good soil and yielded a crop, some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.

9 He who has ears to hear, let him hear!”

10 And the taught ones came and said to Him, “Why do You speak to them in parables?”

11 And He answering, said to them, “Because it has been given to you to know the secrets of the reign of the heavens, but to them it has not been given

12 For whoever possesses, to him more shall be given, and he shall have overflowingly; but whoever does not possess, even what he possesses shall be taken away from him.

Luke 8:18, “Therefore take heed how you hear. For whoever possesses, to him more shall be given; and whoever does not possess, even what he thinks he possesses shall be taken from him.”

13 Because of this I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand.

14 And in them the prophecy of Yeshayahu is completely filled, which says, ‘Hearing you shall hear and by no means understand, and seeing you shall see and by no means perceive,

15 for the heart of this people has become thickened, and their ears are hard of hearing, and their eyes they have closed, lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, lest they should understand with their heart, and turn back, and I heal them.’

Isaiah 6:9-10, 9 And He said, “Go, and you shall say to this people, ‘Hearing, you hear, but do not understand; and seeing, you see, but do not know.’ 10 “Make the heart of this people fat, and their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and shall turn and be healed.”

16 And blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear,

17 for truly I say to you, that many prophets and righteous ones longed to see what you see, and did not see it, and to hear what you hear, and did not hear it.

18 You, then, hear the parable of the sower:

19 “When anyone hears the word of the reign, and does not understand it, then the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is that sown by the wayside.

20 “And that sown on rocky places, this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy,

21 yet he has no root in himself, but is short-lived, and when pressure or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.

22 “And that sown among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the worry of this age and the deceit of riches choke the word, and it becomes fruitless.

Luke 21:34, 34 “And take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down by gluttony, and drunkenness, and worries of this life, and that day come on you suddenly."

23 “And that sown on the good soil is he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and yields – some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”


Matthew 7:24-27, “Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does them, shall be like a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of Mine, and does not do them, shall be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand, and the rain came down, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and they beat on that house, and it fell, and great was its fall.”
 
Aug 28, 2023
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#26
To repent is to admit hatred and regret toward sin. Repentance is first felt, than spoken.
If you don't repent, you aren't forgiven; because you can't buy something without money either.
The feeling of repentance comes as genuine if the person's perception fits the morale, so the Father knows, therefore, that you hate sin and that you are aware of the situation; thus, you ask for forgiveness (hopefully with a good reason to not repeat the same sin) and you are forgiven.
 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
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#27
The Christian who is believing in Jesus and His atoning work on Calvary may commit an act of sin - but when he does, that sin is forgiven because of the blood of Jesus. God does not wait to forgive the sin until the person can say some of prayer of confession. If this was the case, then between the time of committing the sin and saying the prayer, this person would go to hell if he died (because he had unforgiven sin).
Where does what jesus on whom we believe said about forgivness fit ?

should we learn what the lord said about being forgiven and believe that ? Or should we try to figure it out without what he said ?

So for instance is this relevant to forgivness ? Or just is this true ?

“Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.”
‭‭Luke‬ ‭6:36-38‬ ‭KJV‬‬

remembering who said that

“For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5:22, 24‬ ‭KJV‬‬

We have to accept his word out things like forgivness that’s true faith part

“So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10:17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

can we be forgiven or know the truth about it without believing what the lord said about forgivness ?

My point is the way is to find out what our lord and savior taught about forgivness and believe it so we will follow. God has always been telling mankind how to live but we keep saying hmmm I wonder how I can live ….
 

Dino246

Senior Member
Jun 30, 2015
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#29
When is the blood applied? The moment of belief? Before believing? I agree, all sin was paid for at the cross, but when is the payment applied?

1 Timothy 4:10 For therefore we both labour and suffer reproach, because we trust in the living God, who is the Saviour of all men, specially of those that believe.
We know from Scripture that not all are or will be saved, so even though Christ died for all sin, not all persons apply His atoning death by faith. It is faith that makes everything ‘click’ into place.

And no, obviously I don’t hold to ‘limited atonement’.
 

PennEd

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2013
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#30
(1) Those who believe that at the new birth all of a person's sins already committed and those yet in the future are forgiven at the moment of being born again.
(2) Those who believe that a Christian must confess/repent to God after committing a sin, and then the sin is forgiven.
(3) Those who believe that a Christian who sins is immediately forgiven of the sin at the moment that it is forgiven because of the Christian's faith in the atoning of the blood of Christ
Pencil me in ALL 3, although the wording is a little off on number 2.
 

PennEd

Senior Member
Apr 22, 2013
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#31
I meant to point out (in my last post) that in the above example, that while God continues to forgive the sins of Christians, that Christians need to continue to confess their sins to Him as well (as the above excerpt from the Westminster Confession of Faith points out). See the second phrase in bold above, the phrase that I meant to put in bold in my last post, but did not :(

~Deuteronomy
Yes. 1 John 1:9, The Christian bar of soap. A Christian remains a saved Christian without the soap, but becomes ineffective in his primary function of spreading the Gospel.

AFTER John 1:9


 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
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#32
i agree with confessing sin; it's biblical.
but i find it interesting the writer there isn't saying your sins were purged when you believed, but when Christ died.
it’s not only biblical it’s necassary to come to acknowledgement of what we’ve done and repent, if we don’t is different from if we do


“but if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.

If we say that we have not sinned, ( when we know we have ) we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭1:7-10‬ ‭

sin in Christ has become subjective to the person and their own knowledge of right and wrong it’s between the. Eli ever and thier lord and it has this understanding

“Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and doeth it not, to him it is sin.”
‭‭James‬ ‭4:17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Anytime we know the right thing to do and we choose not to do it this is sin in Christ. If we don’t know what’s right and don’t do it it’s not taken into account we have to live by what we know is right and when we violate that it should bring sorrow and guilt whoch is the reason a person confesses and repents and Jesus washes away thoer guilty stain. Confession of sin is about the persons conscience it’s God telling them how to rod themselves of the guilt and have faith in his mercy towards us when we get real with him

Do you agree the New Testament is based upon the mercy given to David ?

“Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.”
‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭55:3‬ ‭KJV‬‬

here’s what David learned about confessing sin after he had been chosen by God , and after commiting several sins of death by the law of Moses

Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, Whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, And in whose spirit there is no guile.

When I kept silence, my bones waxed old Through my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: My moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah.

I acknowledged my sin unto thee, And mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; And thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah. For this shall every one that is godly pray unto thee in a time when thou mayest be found: Surely in the floods of great waters they shall not come nigh unto him.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭32:1-6‬ ‭KJV‬‬

david made some huge errors in judgement we all know but for a time he was trying to ignore it hide it not acknowledge what hed done to the lord

this ruined David’s heart and mknd and crushed his spirit but when he acknowledged his sins and plead with the lord in repentance God forgave the iniquity of his sins

a later after David has died God speaks of him as if he’s never sinned at all even though he had connotes many sins of death regarding Uriah the Hittites wife and uriahs own life snatched by David’s guile all to cover David’s sins so no one would know what the king did

God already knew so David not confessing is lind of like when someone robs your house and you have then on video then they come over to visit and watch football with you pretending it wasn’t them it’s an insult to try to disregard sin in our relationship with God he knows we mess up sometimes and he calls for truth and sincerity of heart that’s where forgiveness comes from the compassionate and merciful heart of God but we have to be real with him and not hide anything we have to. Ring our worst into the light not just our best face
 
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#33
Bible says to "confess your sins," not assume because we can reason.
 

Chester

Senior Member
May 23, 2016
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#34
As an Arminian, I would go with 1 John 1:9, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness." I guess that makes me fall into number 2 category.

With this view, what would you say happens to a Christian who commits a sin, but then is killed/dies before he says a prayer of confession to God for that sin?
 
Jun 20, 2022
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#35
With this view, what would you say happens to a Christian who commits a sin, but then is killed/dies before he says a prayer of confession to God for that sin?
that's Grace, but while you're alive, you are to CONFESS your sins to God, not just go on and assume His Shed Blood covers it by proxy and commit your next sin and continue the same process. That's totally ABUSING God's Work on the Cross!
 

Chester

Senior Member
May 23, 2016
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#36
I choose door #4: our sins were forgiven when Jesus died on the cross.
You definitely hit the nail on the head here as far as the basis for forgiveness: it is the blood of Christ shed on Calvary - "without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin."

Maybe you can view my question as trying to make sense of whose sins then are the ones that are forgiven? If everyone in the world has their sins forgiven when Jesus died on Calvary, then everyone who ever lived will get to heaven.

I would say it this way perhaps: Jesus' death makes the offer of forgiveness open to all who come by faith. When you come by faith in Jesus, then all your sins are forgiven. And as you live by faith in Jesus, that blood of Christ continues to cover and forgive you of all sin committed (I John 1:7). God (Jesus) being outside of time, and yet stepping into time at Calvary, complicates our understanding of this question of the time of forgiveness.
 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
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#37
We know from Scripture that not all are or will be saved, so even though Christ died for all sin, not all persons apply His atoning death by faith. It is faith that makes everything ‘click’ into place.

And no, obviously I don’t hold to ‘limited atonement’.
“It is faith that makes everything ‘click’ into place. “

“But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭10:16-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

arhats a perfect way to say it Jesus blood is sufficient to cover all sin forever. But without his words there is no testament to be redeemed by the blood he shed. Jesus blood and Jesus words are the covenant of eternal life we have to accept this to have faith

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life. ( this is the word covered by and enjoined his blood the words Jesus taught believers belong to his blood we don’t choose one or the other they are the same covenant word and blood )


Verily, verily, I say unto you, The hour is coming, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of God: and they that hear shall live. Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, and shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.”
‭‭John‬ ‭5:24-25, 28-29‬ ‭KJV‬‬

we try to choose just the blood without the word that negate faith repentance and life

moses gave his covenant like this this is the old covenant Moses words in his book and the blood of animals he shed for this reason

“And he took the book of the covenant, and read in the audience of the people: and they said, All that the LORD hath said will we do, and be obedient.( they have made a covenant with the book of the law )

And Moses took the blood, and sprinkled it on the people, and said, Behold the blood of the covenant, which the LORD hath made with you concerning all these words.”
‭‭Exodus‬ ‭24:7-8‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The covenant is all Moses said and the blood Moses shed according to all his words spoken to the people who agreed


The new covenant follows the same pattern forst jesus is annointed and preached the gospel , then he sheds th e blood of the covenant that is according to all his words just as the old was Moses words and animal blood the new is Jesus words and Jesus blood

awe can say he shed his blood for the worlds sin and reject his teachings and we’re just healing wrath upon ourselves if we accept his sacrifice and his word we have a promise of salvation the blessing of doesn’t save people who reject Jesus and the gospel he preached sayong “ this word is life everlasting believe me “

many try to cut out what Jesus said and claim Jesus death and resurrection only this removes what he said gives life and isn’t mysterious the result when we do that

He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.


For I have not spoken of myself; but the Father which sent me, he gave me a commandment, what I should say, and what I should speak. And I know that his commandment is life everlasting: whatsoever I speak therefore, even as the Father said unto me, so I speak.”
‭‭John‬ ‭12:48-50‬ ‭KJV‬‬

But we sometimes hear it and we don’t want to hear it because we know it’s gonna lead us to change . Without the word of life we can’t live
 
Jun 20, 2022
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#38
12 and forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.

14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you,

15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

This is a Prayer for the SAVED PEOPLE COVERED in JESUS BLOOD!
 

Chester

Senior Member
May 23, 2016
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#39
Bible says to "confess your sins," not assume because we can reason.
I at one point in my life interpreted "confess" in I John 1:9 as saying the right words of sorrow/grief/ et. to God. I thought that if I got angry at my brother, and then that evening in a prayer told God that I was sorry, that then God would forgive me. But this approach makes forgiveness depend upon my external actions (words in fact!). Forgiveness is because of what Jesus has done, not because of what I might be able to do.

A key in understanding here is what the Biblical word "confess" means: it means literally = to say the same thing as - or "to agree with". So confession is at the root a heart attitude toward God. When this heart attitude is present, it should and will be expressed in proper words, but the words are not the proof of confession.

Thus in I John 1:9 - "if we confess our sins" does not require the correct external words before God forgives. The requirement is a heart of agreeing with God (believing in the need for His Son's atonement).
 
Jun 20, 2022
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#40
I at one point in my life interpreted "confess" in I John 1:9 as saying the right words of sorrow/grief/ et. to God. I thought that if I got angry at my brother, and then that evening in a prayer told God that I was sorry, that then God would forgive me. But this approach makes forgiveness depend upon my external actions (words in fact!). Forgiveness is because of what Jesus has done, not because of what I might be able to do.

A key in understanding here is what the Biblical word "confess" means: it means literally = to say the same thing as - or "to agree with". So confession is at the root a heart attitude toward God. When this heart attitude is present, it should and will be expressed in proper words, but the words are not the proof of confession.

Thus in I John 1:9 - "if we confess our sins" does not require the correct external words before God forgives. The requirement is a heart of agreeing with God (believing in the need for His Son's atonement).
no Confessions is [as you said] "begins in the heart," but it will be truly expressed when you Speak it from Your Mouth unto God, as He Commanded!