Are you completely forgiven or partly forgiven? It’s a simple question that reveals whether you appreciate all Christ did for you on the cross.

The gospel that Jesus revealed declares that God loves you like a father, he holds nothing against you, and he longs for his sons and daughters to come home. It’s the good news an orphaned world desperately needs to hear.

But some say that if you sinned this morning you are not forgiven until you confess and repent and draw upon that cross-wrought provision. In other words, between the time you sin and the time you repent, you are unforgiven. “Your account is in the red. You need to fix it.” This is not true!!!

My dear friend, the good news of the gospel declares that you are forgiven not because of your work of confession. Your confession cannot wash away your sins. You are forgiven because of the blood of Jesus shed for you. His blood alone cleanses you.

You may ask me, “Brother, if I sin I should make amends. Right?”

Yes, you should, but you’re fooling yourself if you think you can do that which Christ has done.

What happens if you forget to confess? What happens if you confess every sin but one?

Your answer would be, “It doesn’t really matter. God looks at the heart.” But my friend, it does matter, for the law tells us so. Break the law of confessing-to-be-forgiven and you will be guilty of breaking the whole thing (James 2:10).

For instance, I neglected to put money into my account before my electricity bill went out. The bill bounces and a small oversight leads to a big headache. There will be letters. There will be phone calls. There will be a bank fee. Right?

God treats sin the same way banks treat money – very seriously. (It cost him his Son’s life!) If you say forgiveness comes in installments, then you need to account for every single sin, big and small.

The truth is that God’s forgiveness is not given in installments

Forgiveness does not come in installments but is given to us as a gift! You have been completely and eternally forgiven on account of Jesus. You need to settle this in your heart otherwise you’ll be tossed and turned by every mixed-up teaching.

But don’t take my word for it. Let every matter be established in the presence of two or three witnesses. Here’s my first witness, the apostle Paul:

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His Grace. (Ephesians 1:7)

You are not forgiven in accordance with your acts of confession but His Grace! Now for my second witness:

I write to you, little children, because your sins are forgiven you for his name’s sake. (1 John 2:12)

“Are forgiven”, not will be forgiven. The cross is a done deal. Jesus died once for all to do away with all sin.

Here’s my third witness:

Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits—who forgives all your sins … (Psalm 103:2–3a)

All means all. All does not mean only those sins you have repented and confessed for Jesus carried the sins of the whole world.

And now for a surprise witness: It’s Jesus himself who, on the night he rose from the dead, said that the forgiven-ness of sins should be preached in his name to all nations.

Unconditional love = unconditional forgiveness

While He walked this earth, Jesus forgave sinners who neither repented nor confessed. He did this to show that love keeps no record of wrongs. He did it to reveal a God who loves you like a Father and who does not wait for you to get cleaned up before welcoming you with open arms.

My friend! I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. (Acts 13:38)

Forgiveness is not something to earn through acts of piety or penance, but a gift to receive and in Christ Jesus you have it!

Hebrews 10:2

…For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins.

What are you more conscious of today? Your sins or the fact that you have been forgiven? My friend, don’t be conscious of your sins. Be conscious instead of Jesus and His finished work. The Lamb of God has taken away all your sins at the cross, so count on the fact that you are a forgiven child of God!

No matter what has happened or what you have done, God wants you to know that because of His Son’s finished work, He will be merciful to your unrighteousness, and your sins and lawless deeds He will remember no more. (Hebrews 8:12)

That is why you should not be conscious of your sins. In fact, when you are sin-conscious, the devil brings in condemnation, and the more you receive it and condemn yourself

Beloved, remember that all your sins have already been paid for by Jesus on the cross. And the more you count on the fact that you have the Father’s forgiveness and that He does not condemn you because of Jesus’ finished work, the more sin and its effects—sickness, hatred, lack and so on—will lose their grip on you. You will find yourself walking in a greater measure of God’s grace and blessings!