Results 1 - 7 of 7
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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | God forgive no matter what | 2 Cor 5:8 | ChristLifer2001 | 44401 | ||
New Creature, Your sins cannot separate you from God. Because He has forgiven them according to His blood shed under the New Covenant, as a barrier between you and God, He remembers them no more - Heb 10:17,18. While Isaiah 59:2 was true under the Old Covenant (that is why the sacrifices had to be made continually), it is not true under the New Covenant where God says He will never leave us nor forsake us. What will separate us from the love of Christ? The Holy Spirit indwells believers forever (even when they sin). This is because of the forgiveness which Christ's precious blood secured on our behalf. The same apostle who wrote 1 John 1:9 also wrote a few verses later in 1 John 2:12, "I am writing to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven (past tense - not get forgiven) you for His name's sake." Col 2:13 - "When you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us ALL our transgressions." May I ask, how many times can you be forgiven ALL your transgressions? If you keep going back for more forgiveness, then you have only been forgiven SOME of your transgressions, not ALL. Consider again 1 John 1:7, "...and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from ALL sin." May I ask, how many times can you be cleansed of ALL sin? If you go back for more cleansing, then you have only been cleansed of SOME of you sin, not ALL. Heb 9:22 makes it clear that if you require more forgiveness than what Christ provided 2000 years ago at Calvary, He would have to come and shed more blood. He is not going to do that. He did it once and it was sufficient to take away the sins of the world. Also please consider in 1 John 1:3 that John states that "indeed (surely, without a doubt ) our fellowship IS with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ. John was not sinless and this point and if he truly held to the "bouncing" fellowship view, he would have said, "Sometimes I'm in fellowship with God, and sometimes I'm not - it depends on if I have unconfessed sin or not. To the contrary, John makes it clear that the condition for fellowship is accepting the gospel that he was proclaiming - 1 John 1:1-3. Praying that you will rest in the finished work of our Lord. ChristLifer2001 |
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2 | God forgive no matter what | 2 Cor 5:8 | New Creature | 44456 | ||
ChristLifer2001 Consider what some of the commentaries say about 1 John 1:9 and how confession is for believers in the context of this verse. "Keep in mind, however, that 1 John 1:9 is written exclusively to all BELIEVERS. I have sometimes heard sincere Christian quote this verse to unconverted people, urging them to confess their sins. But this inspired epistle was addressed ONLY to saints, children in the family of God. The provision of confession and forgiveness is exclusively for them. Let us suppose for a moment that a letter has been sent to a specific church in a certain city. Would any in the town who did not belong to that church imagine that the instructions, admonitions, and exhortations were intended for them? Of course not! When the Christians who received this Spirit-inspired epistle heard the words read in their assembly, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness," they knew immediately that John meant believers. This provision of confession and forgiveness was never intended for the unbeliever. If all he needed to do to be assured of forgiveness and cleansing were to confess his sins, quite obviously he would not have to be told of Christ's death on the cross. He wouldn't have to hear of his need for faith in the crucified and risen Redeemer. But it's not that way. MY friend, this is God's family primer. It's addressed to the "little born ones," those who are ALREADY saved." (Paul R. Van Gorder - an associate teacher of the RADIO BIBLE CLASS who shares the preaching ministry with Richard De Haan on Day of Discovery - from his book "In The Family - Studies in First John - pages 38-39) J. Veron McGee in his commentary on first John says: "confess your sins. That, my friend, is one of the greatest needs in the church. This is God's way FOR A CHRISTIAN to deal with sin in his own life." (page 33 of his commentary) "confession of sins is necessary for maintaining continual fellowship with God." "BELIEVERS are to confess their sins because God says they are sinners who need forgiveness." "They don't need to confess the sins of the past all over again" "BELIEVERS should continue to confess their sins, .... so that they can enjoy maxium fellowship and joy with him." "If Christ already forgave all of our sins when he died on the cross, why does John tell us to confess our sins, so that God will forgive us? At issue here is our fellowship - not relationship with God." "a disobedient child of God cannot expect to have fellowship with God" (comments on 1 John 1:9 from the Life Application Bible Commentary of the epistles of John - pages 25-26) David who was a believer saw confession as necessary Ps 32:5 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. Daniel the great man of God saw the need to confess his sins Dan. 9:20 I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin Since you disagree with the previous comments from Greek scholar Spiros Zodhiates I sent you in my last reply, I now send you the comments of other theologians on this topic as well. Plus I am including a couple of scripture verses about past saints who saw confession as necessary. Are we better than David or Daniel and do we not also have to confess sins daily as the work of the Holy Spirit convicts us? To say confession is not intended for the believer is to deny what most commentaries and Scripture as well declare. And I feel safer siding with Scripture and these noted theologians, and I believe they agree with scripture. |
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3 | God forgive no matter what | 2 Cor 5:8 | ChristLifer2001 | 44494 | ||
New Creature, You've misunderstood what I was saying, my friend. Confession is an attitude that the Holy Spirit fosters in every believer. But confession is not asking for forgiveness. To confess means to "agree with". Even in our court systems, a criminal may confess to a crime and never seek forgiveness or have a contrite spirit about his actions. I was simply stating that it is not our confession of sin that avails us of forgiveness. It is solely in Christ's blood - Heb 9:22. While I respect Dr. Zodhiates work and have his commentaries myself along with the Greek-Hebrew study Bible, commentaries are exactly that - comments from men - and are not inspired the way the scriptures are. I do consult commentaries AFTER I have studied the scriptures, letting scripture interpret scripture, but they are not the standard of truth - God's Word is. Did you consider my questions to you? How many times can you be forgiven and cleansed of ALL sin. "All" in the Greek means "All" :). And, finally, of course OT saints continually asked for forgiveness of sins. The price had not yet been fully paid for our sins by our Savior at Calvary. The OT sacrificial system prevailed until Jerusalem was burned in AD 70. We are, in a sense, better than David and the other OT saints. Not because of anything in ourselves but because we enjoy total forgiveness. Remember how David begged the Lord not to take the Holy Spirit from him after he sinned with Bathsheba? He knew that was a distinct possibility. He knew that God's Spirit left Saul after Saul disobeyed the Lord. We, as NT believers, do not need to pray that prayer. I already cited why in my last post. One final question, New Creature: How many sins had you committed when Christ forgave them on the cross 2000 years ago? Be blessed and rest in the total forgiveness you have in Christ, brother. Please read Heb 10:17,18 when you have time. There is no more sacrifice (shedding of blood) to provide more forgiveness that what Christ's has done. It is truly finished - paid in full! ChristLifer2001 |
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4 | God forgive no matter what | 2 Cor 5:8 | New Creature | 44501 | ||
you stated: "it is not our confession of sin that avails us of forgiveness" even that statement is in disagreement of the conditional promise of 1 John 1:9 Once again in that verse it plainly states: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. the word "IF" in this verse is a conditional word. It also carries with it the negative possible choice of the individual, which would be "If you don't confess your sins" then there remains no promise of forgiveness. How much plainer can a verse be. This verse as is the entire epistle of 1 John is written to the church not to the unchurched. If you feel you need not confess your future sins you committ thats your perogitive. As for me I will confess my sins on a daily basis as the ministry of the Holy Spirit convicts me of them so I can continual in fellowship with Him. This is going around in circles so I will respectfully agree to disagree with you on this. |
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5 | God forgive no matter what | 2 Cor 5:8 | ChristLifer2001 | 44503 | ||
New Creature, Okay, brother. Be blessed in Christ and may you grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord. ChristLifer2001 |
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6 | God forgive no matter what | 2 Cor 5:8 | Risen | 44511 | ||
Excellent Posts ChristLifer2001!!! Welcome to the Forum! I see by your posts that you believe in the finality of the cross and the reality of His resurrection. The fullness of God's grace! It's all Him and His work. When I read Colossians 2:13 "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us All our sins." the Spirit of Christ who dwells in me, speaks to my heart and shows me that He has paid for all of my sins. Past, present and future! Like you said, "All means All in the greek :)" When I read Romans 6:23 "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." and 2 Corinthians 5:21 "God made Him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that IN Him we might become the righteousness of God." the Spirit of Christ who dwells in me, speaks to my heart and shows me, that He who had no sin became sin for us. Jesus Christ died for me, and all those who believe. His blood paid the perfect price for the sins of all. Why? So that I and all who believe could become the righteousness of God. He also shows me that this eternal life, that is only in Christ, is His free gift to me, and All who believe. His gift of life, which is eternal, is not temporary. When we sin, does He take away the gift, that is eternal? No, for the debt, the wages of sin, death, has been paid for by His blood and He is not going to shed His blood again! We read in John 5:24 "I tell you the truth, whoever hears My Word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life." That verse ties in beautifully with Romans 8:1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. And 1 John 5:9-13 "We accept man's testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which He has given about His Son. Anyone who believes in the Son of God has this testimony in his heart. Anyone who does not believe God has made Him out to be a liar, because he has not believed the testimony God has given about His Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life." Christ's blood has cleansed us from all unrighteousness, He took away our sins once and for all. He gave His life for us, in order that He could give His life to us, so that He could live His life through us! I like you brother, rest in His completed work on the cross, and know that He is alive in me and all those who believe! We also know as it is written in Hebrews 13:5 "God has said, Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you." When we sin, will He leave? No, if He did, He would have to shed His blood again in order for us to receive forgiveness. Galatians 2:20 "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me." We are alive because Christ dwells in us just as it is written in Romans 5:10 "For if, when we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!" and Ephesians 2:1 "As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins." which ties in with Colossians 2:13 "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us All our sins." So all of our sins had to be dealt with once and for all, or we will die as soon as we sin again. For only by the shedding of blood is there forgiveness. YBIC Joe |
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7 | God forgive no matter what | 2 Cor 5:8 | ChristLifer2001 | 44564 | ||
Joe, thanks for the welcome! You wrote: I see by your posts that you believe in the finality of the cross and the reality of His resurrection. The fullness of God's grace! It's all Him and His work. Indeed I do, brother! It is Finished! Our sins are forgiven (all of them) and we now have new life in Jesus - Christ's very life in us! Our salvation is by grace through faith from first to last. I'm thankful for that because I don't always perform so well :). He gave His life for us, in order that He could give His life to us, so that He could live His life through us! Enjoy your blessings in Christ! ChristLifer2001 |
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