If All Our Sins Are Forgiven, Do We Still Need To Confess?
Q: I’ve been told once we believe all of our sins are forgiven, so that we don’t have to confess every sin to him, or even any but that we should. What’s the biblical perspective on this?
A: On the cross, Jesus paid the penalty for every sin of His people, past, present and future. But it doesn’t mean that sin is irrelevant in the life of the believer. No, sin can still be an obstacle to our fellowship with God. In fact, one of the great themes developed in 1 John is that fellowship with God is something that can be affected by ongoing sin in the life of the believer.
It sounds to me like whoever told you this is emphasizing the idea of a judicial forgiveness, once and for all. While that is true, judicial forgiveness is not the only aspect of forgiveness that the believer has to concern themselves with. There is also a very legitimate sense of a relational forgiveness of sin. So, I can have sin in my life as a believer that won’t prevent me from going to heaven, but it could hinder my fellowship with God. I should want to have it dealt with because it hinders my fellowship with God. I should not have the attitude, “Hey, man, I’m going to heaven. Who cares?” That shows a very corrupt, unregenerate heart. That’s a heart to worry about. That’s the distinction I would make.