By Ken Yates
INTRODUCTION
It is common to hear believers say that Jesus has forgiven them of all their sins. They will often explain that this means their past, present, and future sins were washed away when they believed in Christ for eternal life. Those well-read in Christian literature will describe this as “positional” forgiveness.
However, it can become confusing when Christians then speak of the need to confess their sins after becoming believers. If all their future sins have been forgiven, why must they confess them? Confession, we are told, will result in “experiential” forgiveness. While a believer is positionally forgiven, which means that he is a child of God, experiential forgiveness is needed in order to have a close relationship with his heavenly Father.
For years, I accepted that distinction. While it’s not a battle I’m willing to die for, I’ve recently wondered whether that is really what the Bible teaches about the forgiveness of sins. Does it really say that all the believer’s future sins are forgiven at the moment of faith?
I suspect that many believe the Bible says this because they think the unbeliever will spend eternity in the lake of fire because of his sins. If all our sins are not forgiven, we will go to hell. That is not correct. The unbeliever will go to hell because he has not believed in Jesus for eternal life (Rev 20:15). The unbeliever does not have eternal life.
John is the only book in the NT that tells the unbeliever how to receive eternal life. Not once in John’s Gospel do we read of the Lord’s linking everlasting life with the forgiveness of sins. He never said, for example, “Whoever believes in Me has the forgiveness of sins.” He spoke of the forgiveness of sins only once, and then only to the Eleven (minus Thomas) after He rose from the dead. In speaking about church discipline, He said that any sins they forgave would be forgiven and that any sins they retained would be retained (John 20:23).
It would be impossible, in a short magazine article, to discuss all the issues involved with the forgiveness of sins. Instead, I will address one verse commonly cited in support of the idea of positional forgiveness.
Colossians 2:13 is often used to show that when a person believes in Jesus for eternal life, all his past, present, and future sins are forgiven.
COLOSSIANS 2:13
Paul writes to the believers at Colossae: “And you, being dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses…”
The key words for our discussion are all trespasses. Is Paul saying that when the Christians at Colossae believed, all their past and future sins were forgiven? Or was he saying that all their past sins were forgiven?
Does this verse teach positional forgiveness (option 1) or fellowship forgiveness (option 2)?
If Paul is talking about positional forgiveness in Col 2:13, we would expect the emphasis to be on the believer’s eternal security. But Paul instead stresses Christian living in this passage. This is not surprising, since Paul is writing to Christians.
In Col 2:6, Paul tells them to walk in Christ. They are to be built up in Him, just as they have been taught. Paul warns them about false teachers who would rob them of this growth (vv 7-8).
In Christ, these believers have [put] off the body of the sins of the flesh. In Him, they no longer have to serve the lusts of the flesh. Christ has set them free from that slavery. This happened when they were buried with Him (vv 11-12), a reference to the baptism of the Holy Spirit. Since the Spirit lives within the believer, he can walk (or live) by that power.
Paul reminds them that before they believed, they were dead in their trespasses. They had no choice but to walk according to the flesh. But when they believed, God forgave them all their trespasses. He does not say that all their future trespasses are forgiven. He has just mentioned the trespasses they lived in as unbelievers. The most natural way to understand what Paul says is that it was those trespasses that were forgiven when they believed.
In other words, all past sins are forgiven at the moment of faith. Those sins were committed as the unbeliever walked according to the lusts of the flesh. But Christ’s death and resurrection have broken that power. Paul says nothing about the future sins the believer will commit.
The new believer does not have to confess his past sins—those he committed as an unbeliever. At the moment of faith, he is in fellowship with the Lord. He can also walk with Him through the power of the Spirit.
The broader context of Colossians supports the view that Col 2:13 addresses Christian living. In 1:10, Paul says that he wants the believers at Colossae to walk worthy of the Lord, to please Him, and to bear spiritual fruit. This is possible as they are strengthened by His glorious power.
Then, in 1:13-14, Paul describes how that is possible. In Christ, the believer has been “delivered from the power of darkness.” Through the power of the Spirit, he no longer has to walk the way he did as an unbeliever. The Lord has provided redemption through His blood. Redemption means that a person has been bought out of slavery. The unbeliever is a slave to sin because of his sinful flesh. The believer no longer has to be a slave to his flesh. Along with that, Paul says the believer receives the forgiveness of sins.
The forgiveness of the new believer’s past sins makes fellowship with God possible. He has the power to enjoy that fellowship.
ROMANS 6:2-7
In Rom 6:2-7, Paul uses very similar phrases to discuss these truths. He says that the believer has died to sin. The Christian was baptized into Christ and buried with Him. This was done through the Spirit. In that death and burial, the body of sin was put away. The believer no longer has to be a slave of sin and the flesh. He can now walk in newness of life (v 4).
Paul says nothing about permanent positional forgiveness in either Romans 6 or Colossians 2. He says nothing about the believer’s sins being placed upon Christ or that this forgiveness saves him from hell. He is explaining why the believer can live a life that pleases God.
Once again, Paul does not say that all future sins have been forgiven. Instead, all the believer’s past sins are forgiven at the moment of faith. He is in harmony with the Lord. He can walk in a manner that pleases Him. If that fellowship is to continue, he must confess his future sins (1 John 1:9).
CONCLUSION
Many people say that the believer will be in the kingdom because all his sins were forgiven when he believed. This forgiveness of sins is what saves us from hell. Colossians 2:13 is often used to support this doctrine.
Colossians 2:13 does not teach that. The Bible does not teach that one’s sins will send him to hell. The unbeliever lacks eternal life. He receives that gift when He believes in Jesus for it.
The forgiveness of sins allows us to have fellowship with God. Fellowship with God and salvation from hell are not the same thing. When we believed, all our past sins were forgiven. We have access to God through His Son. His Spirit lives within us, and we can live in a way that pleases Him through His power. We can grow in our intimacy with Him. That is what fellowship with Him will do.
But when we sin after becoming believers, we need to be forgiven if we want that fellowship to continue. We must confess those sins to obtain that forgiveness.
It is common to explain Col 2:13 by making a distinction between positional and experiential forgiveness. This is confusing and, more importantly, does not seem Biblical. Forgiveness of sins impacts Christian living and intimacy with the Lord, but it is not the Biblical explanation of our salvation from the lake of fire.
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Ken Yates is a retired Army chaplain (Lt. Col). He has many theological degrees, including a Ph.D. from D.T.S. in New Testament. He leads the GES international ministry, cohosts the daily podcast, and assists Bob in all aspects of the GES ministry. His new book, Mark: Lessons in Discipleship, is a wonderful explanation of Christ’s call to discipleship. He and his wife, Pam, live in Columbia, SC.
