2 Peter 1:2-11,
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, in order that by them you might become partakers of the divine nature, having ESCAPED the corruption that is in the world by lust.
5 Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge;
6 and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness;
7 and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love.
8 For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
9 For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his FORMER sins.
10 Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble;
11 for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you.
Paul also spoke of what sins were forgiven when we are born again:
Romans 3:21-26,
21 But now apart from the Law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets,
22 even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction;
23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
25 whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins PREVIOUSLY committed;
26 for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.
Titus 2:11-14,
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men,
12 instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age,
13 looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus;
14 who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
From these passages of the Scriptures and many more, we can see that the doctrine that our past, present, and future sins are forgiven when we are born again is a fallacy. We are not to continue sinning. We are exhorted to live godly in this present age. How can one live godly if one continues in sin? What excuses do we give ourselves for not taking the way of escape from every temptation common to man?
Many use the excuse that if we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. And if we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His truth is not in us, 1 John 1:8,10. They ignore the very next verse in 1 John 2:1 which says, My little children, I am writing these things to you that you may not sin. 1 John 1:9 says if we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Notice that the Scriptures in Titus say that God’s grace and salvation instruct us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously, and godly in the present age.
Corresponding to this, 1 John teaches us that Jesus appeared to take away sins, and in Him, there is no sin. Those who abide in Him do not sin. No one has ever sinned while abiding in Jesus.
1 John 3:3-10,
3 And everyone who has this hope fixed on Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
4 Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and sin is lawlessness.
5 And you know that He appeared in order to take away sins; and in Him there is no sin.
6 No one who abides in Him sins; no one who sins has seen Him or knows Him.
7 Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous;
8 the one who practices sin is of the devil; for the devil has sinned from the beginning. The Son of God appeared for this purpose, that He might destroy the works of the devil.
9 No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God.
10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious: anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother.
I don’t think there’s any more to say; the lovers of God will know the truth, that Jesus is a perfect Savior. His blood is much more powerful than the blood of bulls and goats. The blood of animals atoned for sin; the blood of Jesus went beyond atonement and took sin away from those who have both received and walk by the Holy Spirit.
Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
jondavidbanks.com 