Do I Need to Repent If Christ Died for All My Sins?
Chapters
0:00:59 Psalm 32 Blessed Is the One Whose Transgression Is Forgiven
7:11 Should We Pray for Forgiveness of Ongoing Sins
7:59 Must I Confess every Sin
00:00:00.000 | (upbeat music)
00:00:02.580 | - Lee writes in to ask this,
00:00:06.800 | Pastor John, as a Christian, I'm often confused
00:00:09.320 | on how to respond to God when I sin.
00:00:11.520 | On one hand, I believe that Jesus paid all my debts,
00:00:13.620 | once for all, past, present, and future,
00:00:15.820 | so that I don't need to ask for forgiveness
00:00:17.360 | when I ask God to restore me and help me to walk with him.
00:00:20.660 | On the other hand, I feel the need to ask for forgiveness,
00:00:23.100 | that I might be forgiven once again.
00:00:24.680 | So my question is, should a Christian ask
00:00:26.440 | for God's forgiveness every time he sins or not?
00:00:30.240 | - Excellent question.
00:00:31.440 | I've wrestled with it over and over again,
00:00:34.180 | over the years, trying to not only think,
00:00:36.200 | what does the Bible say about it,
00:00:37.400 | but what's the best way to talk about it?
00:00:39.880 | So let's establish first that the death of Jesus
00:00:43.920 | in our place as a substitute is the cancellation
00:00:48.920 | of all our sins, not just the past ones,
00:00:53.660 | when we get converted.
00:00:54.960 | And the best way to show it would be,
00:00:56.320 | start with the definition,
00:00:57.360 | and then go into the New Testament.
00:00:59.560 | Here's the definition from Psalm 32.
00:01:02.480 | "Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven."
00:01:06.640 | What does that mean?
00:01:07.460 | "Whose sin is covered.
00:01:08.840 | "Blessed is the man against whom
00:01:10.680 | "the Lord counts no iniquity."
00:01:13.900 | So to be forgiven is to have sin covered,
00:01:18.400 | that is, God's not attending to it
00:01:20.480 | as a ground of condemnation, and he's not counting it.
00:01:24.520 | He's letting it go.
00:01:26.000 | That's forgiveness.
00:01:27.480 | Now, Paul quotes that in Romans 4,
00:01:31.720 | four through eight, like this.
00:01:33.820 | "Now to the one who works,
00:01:35.580 | "his wages are not counted as a gift, but as is due.
00:01:39.060 | "And to the one who does not work,
00:01:41.680 | "but believes in him who justifies the ungodly,
00:01:44.920 | "his faith is counted as righteousness."
00:01:48.760 | In other words, through our faith, not our works,
00:01:52.460 | God counts us righteous.
00:01:55.400 | And then he quotes Psalm 32,
00:01:57.460 | "Just as David also speaks of the blessing
00:02:00.400 | "of the one to whom God counts righteousness
00:02:03.000 | "apart from works,
00:02:04.600 | "blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven,
00:02:08.180 | "whose sins are covered.
00:02:09.460 | "Blessed is the man against whom
00:02:11.100 | "the Lord will not count sin."
00:02:12.900 | So in Paul's mind, being counted righteous
00:02:18.560 | is the flip side of not being counted a sinner.
00:02:23.560 | And here's the important thing.
00:02:24.980 | This is a once for all event in Paul's mind
00:02:29.100 | that establishes our identity with God once for all.
00:02:33.640 | We don't drop in and out of justification.
00:02:36.640 | The declaration of our righteousness happens by faith
00:02:40.320 | when we're united to Christ,
00:02:42.160 | so that as Philippians 3, 9 says,
00:02:44.780 | "We have a righteousness, not our own,
00:02:47.700 | "but the righteousness that comes from God through faith."
00:02:50.580 | And forgiveness of sins is inextricably connected
00:02:54.820 | with that once for all imputation of righteousness.
00:02:59.660 | Same thing in the book of Hebrews in chapter 10.
00:03:03.380 | "This is the covenant that I will make with them.
00:03:05.580 | "I will remember their sins
00:03:07.060 | "and their lawless deeds no more.
00:03:08.900 | "Where there is forgiveness of these,"
00:03:11.320 | that is through the death of Jesus,
00:03:12.740 | "there is no longer any offering for sin."
00:03:15.980 | So the point there is when Christ dies for sins,
00:03:19.820 | the whole sacrificial system stops
00:03:21.820 | because that event covers all our sins
00:03:25.620 | and there is no need for any recurrent sacrifice.
00:03:29.500 | So there's a once for allness about it
00:03:32.380 | because according to Colossians 2, 14,
00:03:35.300 | he canceled the record of debt that stood against us
00:03:38.700 | with its legal demands, 2, 14 of Colossians.
00:03:42.860 | Now, when we put our faith in Jesus, this becomes ours.
00:03:47.860 | The whole accomplishment becomes ours.
00:03:50.940 | Acts 10, 43, "Everyone who believes in him
00:03:53.460 | "receives forgiveness of sins through his name."
00:03:57.340 | Gets the whole package.
00:03:59.900 | And so the question now becomes,
00:04:02.020 | this is what's being asked,
00:04:03.540 | should we then pray for forgiveness
00:04:07.100 | if we sin as a Christian?
00:04:09.900 | Because didn't Christ cover them all
00:04:12.700 | so why would we pray for forgiveness?
00:04:15.780 | And I'm just gonna go to one place to answer this
00:04:18.660 | and that's 1 John because no book is clearer
00:04:22.540 | that Christians do sin and what to do about it.
00:04:25.900 | So here's 1 John 1, 7, "If we walk in the light
00:04:29.700 | "as he is in the light,
00:04:30.980 | "we have fellowship with one another
00:04:32.620 | "and the blood of Jesus his son cleanses us from all sin."
00:04:35.940 | Now notice, that's huge.
00:04:37.700 | "If we walk in the light,
00:04:40.060 | "the blood of Jesus his son is cleansing us from all sin."
00:04:45.060 | Well, what's walking in the light mean?
00:04:48.220 | Verse eight, "If we say we have no sin,
00:04:51.800 | "we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."
00:04:53.940 | So walking in the light can't mean sinlessness.
00:04:57.340 | Walking in the light must mean that you are aware
00:05:00.340 | when you do sin, you're not blind and dark to it,
00:05:02.940 | you see it.
00:05:04.100 | Verse nine, "If we confess our sins,
00:05:07.980 | "he is faithful and just to forgive our sins."
00:05:10.100 | And he's just said, if we walk in the light,
00:05:12.140 | you get cleansed from your sin.
00:05:13.980 | And now he's saying, if you confess your sins,
00:05:16.300 | he's faithful and just to forgive your sins
00:05:18.280 | and cleanse you from all unrighteousness.
00:05:20.260 | So confessing sins must be a part of walking in the light.
00:05:25.260 | So the blood of Jesus continually is cleansing us from sin
00:05:30.580 | while we're walking in the light
00:05:32.780 | and walking in the light means being aware when we do sin,
00:05:35.980 | confessing it and confessing means I admit it,
00:05:38.100 | I did it, I hate it, I don't want it.
00:05:40.780 | It's telling the truth about our sin
00:05:44.140 | and if we do that, we're walking with God in the light.
00:05:48.940 | We're not dropping in and out of our relationship with God
00:05:52.900 | or light, we are walking in the light.
00:05:55.900 | We see our sin as sin, we hate our sin, we confess our sin
00:05:59.380 | and thus we are enjoying the promise of verse seven
00:06:02.780 | that when we walk in the light,
00:06:04.340 | we are being cleansed of our sin.
00:06:07.420 | So how does John connect the blood of Jesus
00:06:11.820 | with our ongoing sin?
00:06:13.260 | Seems to me he makes it clear,
00:06:14.820 | your sins are forgiven for his namesake,
00:06:17.920 | once for all, chapter two, verse 12,
00:06:20.660 | but here we must walk in the light,
00:06:22.820 | go on enjoying the cleansing forgiveness
00:06:27.020 | that he has purchased once and for all.
00:06:30.860 | So what does it mean to go on enjoying like this?
00:06:34.180 | It means confessing, not denying,
00:06:36.780 | agreeing that our sin is there and hating it.
00:06:40.580 | First John 2, one says, if anyone does sin,
00:06:44.420 | we have an advocate with the Father,
00:06:46.540 | Jesus Christ the righteous.
00:06:47.860 | In other words, there is a heavenly
00:06:50.060 | and an earthly confession of our sin.
00:06:52.660 | We confess it and fly to the blood of Jesus that covers it
00:06:55.980 | and Jesus in heaven confesses it
00:06:58.340 | and applies his own blood to it.
00:07:00.500 | He's our advocate.
00:07:01.580 | He continually takes his finished work
00:07:04.380 | and applies it to us day by day
00:07:07.020 | as we continually apply his work to us day by day.
00:07:10.580 | So my answer to the question,
00:07:12.840 | should we pray for forgiveness of ongoing sins is yes,
00:07:16.880 | if we mean, Father, I confess I have sinned.
00:07:21.300 | I am sorry for it.
00:07:22.620 | I hate to dishonor you in this way.
00:07:25.420 | Have mercy on me now and cover my sin
00:07:29.180 | by the blood of your Son for this is why he died.
00:07:33.820 | I hold fast to him as my only hope.
00:07:37.700 | So when Jesus tells us in the Sermon on the Mount,
00:07:40.620 | pray like this, forgive us our debts
00:07:42.620 | as we forgive our debtors.
00:07:44.740 | I think that's what he means.
00:07:46.220 | I think he means I'm going to the cross for you.
00:07:48.820 | I will pour out my blood of the covenant
00:07:50.860 | for the forgiveness of sins.
00:07:52.420 | Go to the Father every day,
00:07:54.540 | lay hold on what I will purchase for you.
00:07:58.320 | And if Lee asks, must I confess every sin?
00:08:03.180 | My answer is no, because you can't even remember them all.
00:08:07.020 | You don't know them all.
00:08:08.540 | Rather, join the psalmist in Psalm 19 and pray like this.
00:08:13.540 | Who can discern his errors?
00:08:16.580 | Declare me innocent of hidden faults.
00:08:20.580 | Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins.
00:08:24.840 | Let them not have dominion over me.
00:08:27.420 | Then I will be blameless and innocent
00:08:30.560 | of great transgression.
00:08:32.120 | - Excellent, thank you, Pastor John.
00:08:34.700 | And thank you, Lee, for the very good question.
00:08:36.640 | If you have a question for Pastor John Piper,
00:08:39.000 | please email it in to us at askpastorjohn@desiringgod.org.
00:08:43.280 | Please visit us online at desiringgod.org
00:08:45.860 | to find thousands of books, articles, sermons,
00:08:47.800 | and other resources, all free of charge from John Piper.
00:08:50.940 | I'm your host, Tony Ranke.
00:08:51.780 | We'll see you tomorrow.
00:08:52.840 | (upbeat music)
00:08:55.420 | (upbeat music)
00:08:58.000 | [BLANK_AUDIO]