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Bible Answers

Q.
Whenwe come to Christ, does He really

forgive all our sins—even future ones?

A.
Whenwe accept Jesus into our lives, He promises to wash away all of our
sins. Some teach that by making just one confession at one moment in our

lives, Jesus also forgives all future sins. It is the belief that if a person repents that

one time, he forever secure in his salvation and that nothing can change that—a
teaching called “once saved, always saved.” I don’t believe the Bible supports this

view. While we can always be assured of God’s undying love toward us, we have the

freedom to turn away.

“If we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no
longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (Hebrews 10:26). This text affirms that we must

guard against the idea that we can willfully sin after receiving knowledge of God’s

truth. The problem here is not with the all-sufficient sacrifice of Christ; the problem

is with our choosing to turn away from what we know is true. If the Lord removed
our choice once we came to Him, we would become like robots programmed to

respond out of duty, not from a heart of devotion, trust, and love.

Another way to think about God’s grace is as a bank account. If we sin, we
may come to our heavenly Father and, through Jesus’ sacrifice, confess and receive

forgiveness (1 John 1:9). There are sufficient funds in God’s account to cover all our

sins. By faith, we receive these funds through confession and repentance. But we

don’t get to make early withdrawals on sins, especially if we plan to commit them!

Q.
Doesthe Bible teach that people can

forgive sins?

A.
TheBible makes many statements that show only Christ can cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.We must go to Jesus to receive forgiveness.“The next

day John saw Jesus coming toward him, and said,‘Behold! The Lamb of God who

takes away the sin of the world!’”(John 1:29; see also Hebrews 4:16).
The Bible also defines blasphemy as man claiming to forgive sins. The scribes

asked,“Who is this who speaks blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”

(Luke 5:21). If a human claims the power to forgive sins, he stands, as it were, in the

place of God, which is blasphemy (see John 10:33).
Some churches claim that certain religious leaders have the power to forgive

sins. This action is not presented as acknowledging the work of God but standing

in the place of God. They teach that a priest really and truly forgives sins because

Christ has given him that power. But there are to be no humans standing between
ourselves and God,“For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men,

the Man Christ Jesus” (1 Timothy 2:5).

Tune in to Bible Answers Live, So how are we to understand the words of Christ in John 20:23, which says,“If
Amazing Facts’ live, nationwide call- you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they

in radio program, and listen to Pastor are retained.” The text is given to Jesus’ disciples as representatives of His church
Doug give biblical, straightforward
on Earth. If a person has genuinely confessed and repented of sin before God, the
answers to difficult Bible questions.
church acknowledges and receives that individual into fellowship. But if there is a
To get times and stations in your area, lack of genuine repentance, then the charges brought against an erring member are
or to listen to answers online, visit
“retained.” God gives authority to the church body, not to an individual, to receive
www.amazingfacts.org.
this person into membership.

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Inside Report 2Q 2016