Dear ...,
I hope this writeup meets you in good spirits.
Unfortunately, we couldn’t complete the discussion we started, so I decided to put my thoughts together in this writeup for you to study. I hope you read this writeup with an open mind.
I referred to Matthew 5:21-24, 38-48, Matthew 6:14,15 and Matthew 18:21ff to make the point that unforgiveness is one of the gravest sins, because it actually prevents your other sins from being forgiven. You challenged that a Christian can’t possibly need to forgive others’ sins before their own sins are forgiven because all of a Christian’s sins, past, present and future are forgiven at the time they receive Jesus Christ. That is to say, every sin a Christian will commit in the future has already been forgiven and therefore does not need to be confessed. Your idea was based on 1 Peter 3:18 and Hebrews 9 (emphasis on verse 12). Even though Jesus was unequivocal in the texts of Matthew about the need to forgive others in order to in turn receive forgiveness from God, you opined that Jesus made the statements before his death, and so they did not apply after his death. You, however, agreed that one needs to receive Jesus before their past, present and future sins are forgiven. I would like to continue the discussion from here.
- You claimed that Jesus’ teaching about the need to forgive to be forgiven only applied before his death. I want you to think deeply about this. Why would Jesus spend his time teaching about something that was applicable for just three years or less (depending on when the teaching was given)? (Jesus’ whole ministry lasted just about 3 years). Jesus was here for all generations, not just the people of his day. He must have meant for his teachings to apply to all generations.
- The followers of Jesus wrote down his teachings after his death. They must have written down what they deemed to be relevant even after his death, otherwise, they wouldn’t bother to write them after his death. You must be claiming to understand Jesus better than the people who walked with him over the three years of his ministry, and whom he trusted enough to directly hand over his ministry to. These are the people even the great Paul had to consult with to confirm his own teachings (Galatians 2:2).
- The texts of 1 Peter 3:18 and Hebrews 9:12 do not in any way preclude the need for [seeking] forgiveness of sins [on an ongoing basis after accepting Jesus] after His [sic] death. The texts tell us how Jesus won for us forgiveness of sins, that is “died once”, and the scope of that forgiveness, that is “for all”. They do not, however, tell us how this forgiveness was to be applied.
- When both Peter and Paul said “for all”, they did not give any restrictions/exclusions. We have to use texts like John 1:12, which you quoted, to understand that people have to believe in the name of Jesus in order to have that forgiveness applied to them. You also commented that one cannot use one or few verses of scripture to understand a point. Just as John 1:12 helps us to understand how the forgiveness won for us by Jesus is applied, so are other scripture texts able to help us understand it even more.
- In John 20:21-23, an encounter of Jesus with some of his disciples is reported as follows: “Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost: Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whose soever sins ye retain, they are retained” (KJV, since that is your preferred bible version). This encounter was after Jesus’ resurrection, and therefore, after his death. Jesus clearly empowered his disciples to forgive sins after his death. If all sins, past, present and future were forgiven at Jesus’ death, with no additional action needed, which sins would his disciples be forgiving? Surely if Jesus’ followers were to decide whether to forgive or retain some sins, they would have to have those sins confessed to them.
- The apostle James wrote: “Is any sick among you? let him call for the elders of the church; and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord: And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him” – James 5:14,15 (KJV). James has put the final nail in the coffin. He wrote to believers, people who had already accepted Jesus and had their sins forgiven (which by your argument would include all future sins), yet James taught that when such a person is prayed over, they could have sins which would be forgiven through that prayer.
The points above should leave you with no doubt that the forgiveness won for us by Jesus by his death is a victory won once but applied on an ongoing basis.
Texts like Romans 3:23 and Romans 5:12 teach us that we have sinned. Texts like 1 Peter 3:18 and Hebrews 9:12 teach us that Jesus died for our sins. A text like John 1:12 teaches that we need to receive Jesus to obtain forgiveness of our sins. A text like Galatians 5:19-21 teaches us that believers can still commit sins and lose their salvation. Texts like John 20:21-23 and James 5: 14,15 teach us that believers need to confess sins committed after receiving Jesus. All these different texts from different witnesses help us get the complete picture of how salvation works.