Does God forgive our sins before we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior?
Does God forgive our sins before we confess and repent of them?
The answer to all three questions is no, we have no evidence or examples in either the Old Testament or the New Testament that would support that.
Many people believe that Jesus Christ wasn’t involved or present under the Old Testament, but look at what God teaches us:
1Corinthians 10:1-4
“Moreover, brethren, I would not that ye should be ignorant, how that all our fathers were under the cloud, and all passed through the sea; And were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea; And did all eat the same spiritual meat; And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.”
From the very beginning God established the Everlasting Covenant and the blood of Jesus Christ is called the blood of the everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20). Jesus is called the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8), not because He died then, but because His blood stretched back that far to cover the first sins committed by Adam and Eve. Jesus is in the Old Testament too and He was always our Messiah from the beginning at creation. Paul tells us that “no flesh” has ever been justified (forgiven) by the deeds of the law and that included the Old Testament believers. The blood of bulls and goats could never take away sins, only faith in the blood of the Messiah, Yeshua, Jesus Christ could and can completely erase anyone’s sins.
There is a man-made doctrine that says under the New Testament all of our past, present and future sins, were all forgiven at the cross of Jesus at the time of His death. This is not correct and it’s not based on the bible.
Romans 4:25
“Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.”
1Corinthians 15:14-18
“And if Christ be not risen, then is our preaching vain, and your faith is also vain. Yea, and we are found false witnesses of God; because we have testified of God that He raised up Christ: whom He raised not up, if so be that the dead rise not. For if the dead rise not, then is not Christ raised: And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain; YE ARE YET IN YOUR SINS. Then they also which are fallen asleep in Christ are perished.”
Romans 3:24-25
“Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are PAST, through the forbearance of God”
These scriptures prove that Jesus Christ was delivered up to die for our sins to pay the death penalty, BUT that He had to be raised again in order for us to receive the forgiveness of our past sins (never future sins). The reason is because God the Father established His covenant of salvation based upon law. There are moral laws and there are sanctuary laws that govern justification, the forgiveness of sins.
By law, the only place God has given us the physical blood of the covenant is upon His altar.
Leviticus 17:11
“For the life of the flesh is in the blood: and I have given it to you upon the altar to make an atonement for your souls: for it is the blood that maketh an atonement for the soul.”
Jesus had to be raised up and ascend into the heavenly sanctuary to present His physical blood offering to God the Father. Jesus told Mary not to touch Him because if she had done that before He made His offering upon the altar, it would have polluted His offering.
John 20:17
“Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God.”
After Jesus made His holy perfected offering He returned and came back down and presented Himself to His disciples. Remember He later told them to touch and handle Him.
Luke 24:39-41
“Behold My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see me have. And when He had thus spoken, He shewed them His hands and His feet. And while they yet believed not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, Have ye here any meat?”
John 20:27
“Then saith He to Thomas, Reach hither thy finger, and behold My hands; and reach hither thy hand, and thrust it into My side: and be not faithless, but believing.”
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Does God forgive our sins before we believe in Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior?
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Hebrews 11:6
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him: for he that cometh to God MUST BELIEVE that He is, and that He is a rewarder of them that diligently seek Him.
Romans 10:9
“THAT IF thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, AND shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”
Galatians 3:22
“But the scripture hath concluded all under sin, that the promise by faith of Jesus Christ might be GIVEN TO THEM that believe.”
1Timothy 1:16
“Howbeit for this cause I obtained mercy, that in me first Jesus Christ might shew forth all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter BELIEVE ON HIM to life everlasting.”
1John 3:23
“And this is His commandment, That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as He gave us commandment.”
No one can be forgiven without faith in Jesus Christ, so NO ONE can be forgiven (saved) before they believe in Him – especially before they had even been born yet or before they committed a sin. Our sins were not forgiven 2000 years ago; a one time atonement was made for every man to draw on “by faith” it is called our propitiation (it’s like a bank account we draw on when we need to). If our sins were erased before we were born, then we would never have been debtors in the first place; but that’s not the case.
1John 1:8
“If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.”
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Does God forgive our sins before we confess and repent of them?
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1John 2:1
“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if ANY man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous”
1John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
This is also proof that when we sin, we become unrighteous and unclean and in need of our Savior’s mediation as our high priest in the heavenly sanctuary so that we may be forgiven of our trespasses. If our future sins had been forgiven already then we wouldn’t need a high priest or a mediator because it would be done already; but that’s not the case.
Jesus taught us how to take care of sins under the New Testament and that is also found in the Lord’s Prayer. That is a daily prayer because we find in it we are asking for our daily bread and after that we are asking for the forgiveness of any sins we committed since our last request. We are not asking God to forgive the same sins over and over again; once He forgives us those sins are completely erased and we only have need of asking for any new sins we commit – because future sins are not automatically forgiven; we MUST acknowledge them by confession and we MUST turn away from them by actively / purposefully repenting.
There are preachers who are teaching that sin no longer brings the death penalty if we as believers sin again. That is not based on scripture either.
The apostle Paul warned us that he himself was careful not to sin so that he wouldn’t lose his salvation.
1Corinthians 9:27
“But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection: lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.”
Paul who said “ye are not under the law but under grace” (which has been terribly mishandled and taken out of context) also said if those believers returned to sinning that they would do so under the penalty of death (the wages of sin is death) and that’s why we must daily continue in the Lord’s prayer asking for forgiveness of those new sins – because for the unconfessed and unrepentant sinner – the wages of sin is still death whether or not they are a believer.
Romans 6:14-17
“For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid. Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, BUT ye have OBEYED from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.”
More on what happened at Calvary in up coming posts. Thank you and may God bless you.