If Jesus forgave all sins, should we ask for forgiveness?

Jesus forgave all our sins, but why do we still have to ask for forgiveness?

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. I John 1:9

The answer to this question lies in a proper understanding of 2 things:

1. God’s desire for reconciliation with mankind
2. Our health throughout our relationship with Christ as Lord and Savior

Because of our sin, we are positionally disconnected from God before we place our trust in Christ. Once we have made a commitment to God, through repentance and faith, we enter into a righteous standing with God because of Jesus’ work on our behalf. This means that we cannot be made positionally unrighteous again because we have accepted Christ’s sacrifice as sufficient.

After we have made this commitment though, John talks about the importance of still confessing our sins to God (remember Christ modeled this as well in Matthew 6:9-13). John says If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. This is teaching us two things about the importance of confession of sin as a Christian:

1. The first is that it speaks to us as a reminder that we are still sinful and in need of God’s grace and forgiveness.
2. The second thing it does is help maintain a level of health in our relationship with God. The relationship exists already because of our acceptance of Christ’s work on the cross, but the relationship keeps a level of healthiness through a continuous process of confession of our sins and a continuous forgiveness from Jesus.

Think of it this way: I have entered in a marriage covenant with my wife where we have agreed to love one another through sickness, health, poverty and wealth. Those vows mean that my wife and I are in a relationship where we have committed to sticking it out no matter what happens (similar to the commitment that God makes to us). Now, if I sin against my wife in some way, shape or form, she and I are still committed to one another through our marriage vows, BUT it is still wise to confess my sin to her and ask for her forgiveness so that we can maintain healthy trust and communication with one another. In the same way, when we sin against God, we cannot destroy the covenant, but confession does assist in the healthy communication of our relationship with God.

Grace and Peace!

This entry was posted on August 31, 2011 at August 31, 2011 and is filed under Christian Living, Jesus, The Bible. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.