The Apostles' Creed: 12-Day Plan Sample

The Forgiveness of Sins

Although we don’t often think about ourselves as saints, we should. God has set us apart as a holy people, the church. We’re holy, but we aren’t yet perfect in our sanctification. The Christian life is one of forgiveness. We’re justified through faith in Christ, once and for all. However, sanctification is an ongoing ethic of confession and repentance. We must continually be forgiven of our sins, and we must continually forgive those who sin against us. This is why the Apostles’ Creed affirms that we believe in—the “forgiveness of sins’. 

All who are Adam’s children (all humanity) have been diagnosed with the disease of sin. All of us are rotten branches because we were born from a rotten root. Theologically, this concept is known as the doctrine of original sin (see Ps. 51:5; Rom. 5:12-21; 1 Cor. 15:21-22). For many people, this doctrine is scandalous because they think they shouldn’t be held responsible for Adam’s sin. Yet, in your very nature you have denied God and His holiness. Yet, in Christ there is forgiveness of sins.  All who come to Jesus are freely forgiven of their sin and their shame. No person is too bad or too far God that God will not forgive them. You won’t find any exclusion from God’s forgiveness. This is the beauty of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

To experience freedom from your sin, you must admit your sin and believe you can be forgiven. There’s no iniquity, transgression, or sin that’s more powerful than the forgiveness of God in Christ. God can—and will—forgive any confessed sin of which you repent. Sin can do real damage, however, when you don’t repent, believing it’s not worth dealing with. First John makes clear that knowingly walking in sin isn’t compatible with following Jesus. It destroys fellowship with God and the church. God’s people are the stage on which His forgiveness is made visible. The people of God are never more authentic than when they ask for forgiveness and forgive others.