Total Forgiveness: Understanding Christ’s Sacrifice

You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins. He canceled the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross.

Colossians 2:13–14 NLT

When my pastor preaches about our total forgiveness in Christ, someone often asks, “If all my sins are forgiven, does that include my future sins too? How can my future sins be forgiven?”

What a wonderful question. The truth is that all of our sins were future when Jesus died on the cross two millennia ago.

Some argue that there is no Scripture explicitly stating that all our future sins are forgiven. They believe that when we receive Jesus, all our past sins are forgiven, but our future sins are only forgiven if we confess them and ask God for forgiveness.

First of all, in response to those who claim that there is no Bible scripture that says only our past sins are forgiven, there is also no verse that says our future crimes are pardoned! Nevertheless, Ephesians 1:7 makes it quite evident that, “According to the riches of His grace, in Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins.” The verb “have” in the original Greek text is in the present tense, signifying that the action is continuing. This implies that we are continuously forgiven for all of our sins, including those we will ever do.

Believe in full forgiveness; it sets you free.

Furthermore, “I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for His name’s sake,” according to 1 John 2:12. Here, “are forgiven” is expressed in the Greek perfect tense, which denotes a specific action that was finished in the past and had consequences that are still felt now. This implies that you can continue to benefit from God’s pardon in the now and the future.

Next, consider Colossians 2:13–14, which declares that Jesus forgave all our sins. The word “all” is the Greek pas, meaning “every kind or variety… the totality of the persons or things referred to.” It refers to “all, any, every, the whole.” So “all” means all. God’s forgiveness of our sins covers every sin—past, present, and future! When we received Jesus as our Savior, we received the total and complete forgiveness of all our sins.

Hebrews 10:11–14 says, “And every priest stands ministering daily and offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever, sat down at the right hand of God, from that time waiting till His enemies are made His footstool. For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified.”

According to this Scripture, as a believer, how long are you perfected? Forever! How can you be perfected forever if your future sins are not forgiven? Clearly, they are!