Here’s a question we get asked fairly often: “How can I be guilty of sins I haven’t committed yet? And if I’m not guilty of them yet, how can God forgive those sins already?” This question strikes at the heart of how we understand salvation, God’s nature, and the work of Christ.

The answer to whether God forgives a believer’s future sins divides theological traditions. Arminians and Molinists typically offer qualified responses, while Reformed Calvinism provides a resounding “yes”—and for good reason.

And here’s how we might begin our reply:

All our sins, our past sins included, were future sins when Scripture was written. When the apostle Paul declared “there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1), every sin we would ever commit lay in the distant future. Yet the promise stands firm.

 

THE THEOLOGICAL FRAMEWORK

Before diving into arguments, let’s seek to understand the Reformed framework that shapes the discussion. Reformed theology emphasises:

• UNCONDITIONAL ELECTION: God chooses the saved based solely on His sovereign will, not foreseen merit
• PARTICULAR REDEMPTION: Christ’s atonement effectively secures salvation for the elect
• PERSEVERANCE OF SAINTS: God preserves believers to the end
• MONERGISTIC SALVATION: Salvation is God’s work in us—from beginning to end.

These doctrines create a theological ecosystem where the forgiveness of future sins makes perfect sense.

 

DOES GOD FORGIVE FUTURE SINS? WHY REFORMED THEOLOGY AFFIRMS IT

The Nature and Completeness of Salvation: In Reformed understanding, salvation isn’t a progressive achievement but a unitary act of God’s grace. When God justifies a sinner, that justification is complete and final. If forgiveness only covered past sins, salvation would be incomplete and unstable—a partial atonement that requires ongoing human effort to maintain.

As Spurgeon powerfully stated: “You are as much accepted in God’s sight today, with all your sinfulness, as you will be when you stand before His throne, rendered completely free from all corruption.”

God’s Eternal Perspective Transcends Time: God exists outside of time. From His eternal perspective, our “future” sins aren’t future at all—He sees our entire life in a single, eternal now. When He forgives, He forgives the whole person across their entire existence.

This is why the Reformed tradition emphasises God’s immutability in salvation. His forgiveness, once granted, cannot change because His character and decrees are unchangeable. A God who forgave yesterday but might condemn tomorrow based on sins not yet committed would be mutable in His judgements.

 

UNION WITH CHRIST IS TOTAL AND COMPLETE

Reformed theology emphasises believers are united with Christ in His death and resurrection. This union isn’t partial or progressive—it’s complete. When God looks at a believer, He sees Christ’s righteousness imputed to them, covering all sin regardless of when it occurs in human time.

As Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 5:21, God made Christ “who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” This righteousness is comprehensive, not limited to a specific timeframe of sins.

 

THE NATURE OF THE ATONEMENT

Christ’s sacrifice on the cross didn’t address sins individually or chronologically. Rather, it addressed sin categorically and completely. Hebrews 9:26 declares that Christ “has appeared once for all at the end of the ages to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself.”

The phrase “once for all” signifies the comprehensive, final nature of Christ’s work. It wasn’t a partial payment requiring future instalments but a complete settlement of the entire debt of sin.

 

DOES GOD FORGIVE FUTURE SINS? SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE 

The Bible repeatedly affirms God’s forgiveness covers the entirety of a believer’s sin:

Direct Textual Support

• Colossians 2:13-14: The comprehensive language here—“all trespasses”—makes no temporal distinctions between past, present, or future sins.
• Hebrews 10:14: Note the striking contrast: one completed action (“has perfected forever”) alongside an ongoing process (“are being sanctified”). The perfection is already accomplished while sanctification continues.
• 1 John 1:7: The present tense “cleanses” indicates an ongoing action that continually addresses all sin.

The Permanence of Salvation

• John 10:27-30: This assurance would be meaningless if future sins could void God’s forgiveness. The promise is unconditional and absolute—“never perish.”
• Romans 8:38-39: Paul explicitly includes “things to come”—future events, including future sins—as powerless to separate believers from God’s love.

God’s Promise-Keeping Nature

• Hebrews 6:17-18: God’s promises are backed by His unchangeable character. If His forgiveness were conditional or temporary, these assurances would be meaningless.
• Psalm 103:11-12: The removal of transgressions is described in absolute, not temporal terms—an infinite distance that cannot be bridged.

 

ADDRESSING COMMON OBJECTIONS

The “License to Sin” Objection: Some argue that if future sins are already forgiven, believers have no incentive for holiness. This objection misunderstands both justification and sanctification.

Reformed theology maintains that regeneration produces new desires that lead to holiness, not lawlessness. As Paul forcefully responds in Romans 6:1-2: “Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it?”

True salvation transforms the heart, creating not just freedom from sin’s penalty but a genuine desire to please God.

The Conditional Security Objection: Arminians and Molinists often cite biblical warnings against falling away as evidence against complete forgiveness. However, the Reformed tradition understands these warnings as means God uses to preserve believers, not conditions that can nullify salvation.

Warning passages serve to distinguish true believers from false professors. True believers heed these warnings and persevere precisely because God preserves them through these warnings.

The Free Will Objection: Some argue future forgiveness undermines human responsibility. Yet Reformed theology has always maintained the compatibility of divine sovereignty and human responsibility.

Complete forgiveness doesn’t eliminate the necessity of faith and repentance; rather, it guarantees God will produce these responses in His people through the work of the Holy Spirit.

 

CONCLUSION: DOES GOD FORGIVE FUTURE SINS?

Reformed Calvinism’s affirmation that God forgives future sins rests on solid biblical and theological ground. This teaching doesn’t minimise sin’s seriousness but magnifies Christ’s sufficient work and God’s sovereign grace.

When Jesus declared “It is finished” from the cross, He announced the completion of an atonement that addresses all sin—past, present, and future. To suggest otherwise would imply His work was incomplete or insufficient.

So yes, if we’re in Christ, our future sins are already forgiven. This truth doesn’t grant license to sin but gives freedom to serve, love, and worship the God whose grace is greater than all our sin—whenever it occurs.

”He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far does he remove our transgressions from us.”—Psalm 103:10-12

 

DOES GOD FORGIVE FUTURE SINS? RELATED FAQs

How did John Calvin himself address the forgiveness of future sins? Calvin addressed this issue directly in his Institutes (3.14.11), stating that God “receives us into his favour as righteous when our sins have been covered with his righteousness.” Calvin emphasised justification is complete and not partial. Believers “obtain pardon of their sins, not once only, but that by this remedy they may constantly enjoy it throughout their lives.” His emphasis on permanent imputation of Christ’s righteousness logically extends to all sins, regardless of timing.

• If future sins are already forgiven, why does the Lord’s Prayer teach us to ask for forgiveness daily? Reformed theologians like Louis Berkhof distinguish between judicial forgiveness (justification) and parental forgiveness (ongoing relationship). The Lord’s Prayer reflects our need for continual cleansing in our daily walk with God, not because our judicial standing is in question, but because sin disrupts fellowship. As John Owen wrote, “Though God’s judicial pardon is complete, our experience of forgiveness must be renewed as we confess our sins.” Daily confession acknowledges the reality of sin’s effects on communion with God, while resting in the certainty of our justified status.
• Doesn’t the doctrine of future sins forgiveness contradict passages like 1 John 2:1-2 that speak about Jesus advocating for us when we sin? Jesus’ advocacy in 1 John 2:1-2 doesn’t contradict the forgiveness of future sins but actually supports it. As Reformed theologian RC Sproul explains, “Christ’s continued intercession doesn’t secure new forgiveness, but applies the benefits of His once-for-all atonement to each particular sin.” Christ’s ongoing advocacy ensures the forgiveness already secured at the cross is experienced in the believer’s life through the continual application of His blood. His advocacy doesn’t add to His finished work but brings its benefits to bear on our ongoing experience.
• What about apostasy? If someone abandons the faith, weren’t their future sins really forgiven? Reformed theology addresses this through the doctrine of perseverance, summarised in the Westminster Confession: “They whom God hath accepted…can neither totally nor finally fall away from the state of grace.” Those who truly abandon the faith demonstrate they were never truly in Christ, as 1 John 2:19 states: “They went out from us, but they were not of us.” Herman Bavinck explains, “The elect cannot fall away finally because God’s counsel cannot fail, Christ’s intercession cannot be ineffectual, and the Spirit’s seal cannot be broken.” Apparent apostasy reveals such individuals never experienced genuine saving faith.
• How do Reformed theologians respond to the objection that forgiving future sins makes church discipline meaningless? Church discipline remains essential even with complete forgiveness of sins, serving different purposes than securing forgiveness. As John Frame explains, “Discipline serves to maintain the church’s witness, restore the wayward believer to fellowship, and protect the flock—not to secure or maintain justification.” The Westminster Confession affirms that while the justified cannot fall from grace, they may “incur God’s fatherly displeasure” and require discipline. Jonathan Edwards noted church discipline operates in the realm of visible church membership and fellowship, not eternal justification.
• How does the Reformed view of future sins forgiveness differ from the Roman Catholic doctrine of penance? The Roman Catholic sacrament of penance treats post-baptism sins as requiring new acts of satisfaction and absolution, while Reformed theology sees all sins as completely covered by Christ’s finished work. Michael Horton explains, “Roman Catholicism divides sins into temporal categories requiring different remedies, whereas Reformed theology sees all sins—past, present and future—as addressed by the singular remedy of Christ’s atonement.” Catholics distinguish between eternal punishment (removed in baptism) and temporal punishment (requiring penance), while the Reformed position maintains Christ’s atonement removes all punishment, with no additional satisfaction required for post-conversion sins.

How do we respond to the criticism that this doctrine makes sanctification optional? Far from making sanctification optional, the complete forgiveness of future sins actually provides the only solid foundation for genuine transformation. As JI Packer wrote, “Sanctification is not the basis of justification, but it is the inevitable fruit of it.” The Reformed tradition has consistently taught that those whom God justifies, He also sanctifies—not as a condition of forgiveness, but as its certain result. Kevin DeYoung explains “the pursuit of holiness springs from grateful joy in God’s complete acceptance, not fear that such acceptance might be withdrawn.” God’s Spirit ensures that those truly forgiven will inevitably grow in holiness.

 

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