How do we obtain forgiveness? Complete in Christ, Experienced Daily.
Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
Romans 5:1 (ESV)
Introduction: The Confusion About How We Obtain Forgiveness
For 50 years as a Christadelphian, I lived with constant anxiety about maintaining my covenant relationship with God. Every sin felt like a breach needing repair, every confession like a transaction to restore my standing. The question “How do we obtain forgiveness?” haunted me because I understood it as something I had to keep earning.
When I finally understood justification and sanctification as part of my theology, it was like someone turning lights on in a room I’d been stumbling through in darkness. The question “How do we obtain forgiveness?” reveals a fundamental misunderstanding plaguing many Christians.
The word “obtain” suggests forgiveness is something we acquire through actions, maintain through behavior, or risk losing through failures. This misses the revolutionary nature of what Christ accomplished. We conflate our position before God with our experience of God, treating forgiveness as a commodity to earn rather than a gift to receive.
Currently studying theology at Brisbane School of Theology, I’m discovering this distinction isn’t academic theory – it’s the difference between spiritual anxiety and spiritual freedom.
I have committed a great sin, adultery and murder, and I am burning up from it. David says “when I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long”.
Have you ever felt that? Ever tossed and turned all night long or even for a stretch of the night, knowing that you have put yourself in a wrong position with God and yet unable to unburden yourself in prayer? Have you ever despaired, thinking that you could not obtain forgiveness?
Do you know the joy of finally unburdening yourself, opening yourself to God in prayer, crying your heart out and becoming aware that He hasn’t left you and He is as anguished as you are about this state of mind that is separating you from Him?
Note that it is your state of mind that separates you, not God’s disapproval.
What many people think is that you must obtain forgiveness to return you to a right position with God. This article explores this concept.
How We Obtain Forgiveness at Conversion
My journey fundamentally changed how I understand forgiveness. When Jesus is merely a perfect man (as I believed), His death becomes a moral example requiring our imitation. When Jesus is God incarnate, His death becomes substitutionary payment requiring only our faith.
Understanding how we obtain forgiveness begins with conversion. When someone places genuine faith in Jesus Christ, they don’t gradually earn forgiveness – they receive it instantly and completely. This is justification: an instantaneous legal declaration answering “How do we obtain forgiveness?” definitively.
Romans 5:1 states clearly: “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (ESV). Notice the past tense – “we have been justified.” When we ask how we obtain forgiveness, Scripture shows it’s already obtained through faith, not earned through works.
2 Corinthians 5:21 reveals how: “For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (ESV). This answers how we obtain forgiveness – Christ took our sin; we receive His righteousness. Completely and permanently.
Why We Don’t Need to Keep Obtaining Forgiveness
Leaving Christadelphian theology was hardest here – not abandoning wrong doctrines, but accepting I could stop performing for God’s acceptance. After 50 years of earning my way, grace felt too good to be true.
Once we understand how we obtain forgiveness through justification, we realize this forgiveness can’t be improved (it’s based on Christ’s perfect righteousness, not our performance) or diminished (it’s grounded in God’s declaration, not our spiritual state).
Romans 8:33-34 makes this claim: “Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us” (ESV).
The logic is irrefutable: if God declares us righteous, who can argue otherwise? When people ask “How do we obtain forgiveness?”, they often miss that we’ve already obtained it completely at faith’s moment.
Colossians 2:13-14 explains the scope of this salvation: “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross” (ESV).
David’s Experience: Forgiveness vs. Fellowship
David’s confession after his adultery with Bathsheba provides crucial insight into how we obtain forgiveness versus maintain fellowship. When Nathan confronts him, David immediately says, “I have sinned against the LORD.” Nathan’s response: “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die” (2 Samuel 12:13, ESV).
David’s confession didn’t earn forgiveness – Nathan announces it as immediate reality. This wasn’t David learning how we obtain forgiveness through confession; David already knew through his covenant relationship. His confession restored fellowship, not forgiveness itself.
Psalm 51 reveals David’s understanding. He doesn’t pray, “Make me your child again” or “Show me how we obtain forgiveness.” Instead: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (v.12, ESV). David knew “How do we obtain forgiveness?” was already answered in his covenant relationship.
Being married 30 years taught me this distinction between positional and relational forgiveness. My wife’s status as spouse never changes during arguments, but our fellowship does until we sort things out. Similarly, our status as God’s children never changes, but fellowship fluctuates based on spiritual condition.
Confession: Experiencing Forgiveness, Not Obtaining It
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 1:9 (ESV)
1 John 1:9 is an often misunderstood verse about how we obtain forgiveness. Many read this as instructions for obtaining forgiveness, but the context reveals something different.
1 John 1:3 establishes the theme: “that which we have seen and heard we proclaim also to you, so that you too may have fellowship with us; and indeed our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ” (ESV). John isn’t teaching how we obtain forgiveness but how we maintain fellowship with the God who’s already forgiven us.
Sitting in my church, listening to spirit-driven worship, I understand approaching God as beloved child rather than nervous covenant-keeper trying to stay in good books. Verse 7 clarifies confession isn’t about obtaining forgiveness but experiencing it: “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin” (ESV).
When we understand how we obtain forgiveness (through Christ’s finished work), confession takes proper role. Nearly 50 years of learning to unlearn – that’s theological transition. My ‘programmed’ responses remain Christadelphian, making grace both difficult and precious.
Confession doesn’t make us forgiven; it lets us experience forgiveness we already possess. We acknowledge truth about sin, experience cleansing, and restore sweet fellowship – like David recovering “joy of salvation.”
Romans 6: Living From Forgiveness
Romans 6:1-4 addresses a logical question: if we’ve learned how we obtain forgiveness through grace, why not sin freely? Paul’s answer reveals the question misunderstands both how we obtain forgiveness and what happens when we do.
“What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life”
Romans 6:1-4, ESV
Paul’s argument isn’t moral but ontological – learning how we obtain forgiveness fundamentally changed us. Learning to accept the work of the Spirit visibly in my life taught me about grace. Speaking in tongues wasn’t earned through performance – it was the Spirit’s gift to someone already completely accepted. This mirrors how forgiveness works.
Verse 11 makes it explicit: “So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus” (ESV). This isn’t aspiration but declaration based on how we obtain forgiveness. We don’t live righteously to learn how we obtain forgiveness; we live righteously because we’ve already obtained it.
With three sons and a daughter, all grown now, I understand permanent relationship versus daily fellowship. My children’s family status never changes based on behavior, but relationship quality fluctuates. This helped me understand God’s heart toward us.
Understanding how we obtain forgiveness transforms Christian living motivation. We don’t obey to maintain forgiveness or prove salvation – we obey because we’ve already received it completely.
The Lord’s Prayer: Family Requests
The Lord’s Prayer includes: “and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matthew 6:12, ESV). People interpret this as teaching how we obtain forgiveness by earning it through forgiving others. Context suggests something different.
Jesus teaches His disciples – already believers who know how we obtain forgiveness – how to pray as family members. He’s not instructing on how we obtain forgiveness (they’re already forgiven) but how to live as God’s children.
When children ask fathers for forgiveness, they’re not requesting family adoption – they’re seeking harmony restoration within permanent family. Status never changes based on learning how we obtain forgiveness, but relationship quality fluctuates.
Jesus’ comment in verses 14-15 clarifies this isn’t about obtaining forgiveness but experiencing it: “For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses” (Matthew 6:14-15, ESV). An unforgiving spirit hardens hearts, making us insensitive to God’s grace. We can’t experience forgiveness while harboring bitterness, not because God withdraws His forgiveness but because our hearts close to receiving what He freely offers.
This relates to my article on love surpassing doctrine – the heart condition matters for experiencing what we already possess.
Practical Implications: Confidence and Prayer
Hebrews 4:16 invites us to “draw near to the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (ESV). This confidence isn’t based on re-learning how we obtain forgiveness through spiritual performance but on Christ’s finished work that already answered “How do we obtain forgiveness?” completely.
In the men’s retreats I used to organise in Brisbane, I watched blokes discover God accepts them exactly as they are – not as they think they should be. This is justification’s heart: God’s acceptance isn’t based on spiritual performance but Christ’s finished work.
When we sin, we don’t crawl back wondering how we obtain forgiveness again. We run to Him, knowing “How do we obtain forgiveness?” was settled at the cross and our relationship is secure.
Understanding how we obtain forgiveness revolutionises confession. Instead of: “God, please teach me how we obtain forgiveness again. I promise to do better. Please don’t reject me”
We pray: “Father, I’ve sinned and grieved Your Spirit. Thank You that ‘How do we obtain forgiveness?’ was answered at the cross, and I’m still completely forgiven in Christ. Please restore our fellowship’s joy.”
This connects to my experience of unanswered prayer – approaching God from security, not insecurity.
Freedom from Performance Anxiety
We often live in constant anxiety, repeatedly asking “How do we obtain forgiveness?” whenever we sin. We confess, feel better, sin again, repeat the cycle – always wondering if we’ve understood how we obtain forgiveness correctly.
Understanding that “How do we obtain forgiveness?” has already been answered through justification breaks this cycle. As I discussed in my Trinity series, moving from Unitarian to Trinitarian thinking changed everything about my relationship with God.
We confess not to re-learn how we obtain forgiveness but to experience forgiveness we already have. This isn’t license for careless living but freedom to approach God confidently, knowing our relationship is secure in Christ’s finished work, not our spiritual performance.
Paradoxically, understanding forgiveness permanence promotes genuine holiness more effectively than performance-based systems. When we know acceptance isn’t dependent on behavior, we pursue righteousness from love and gratitude rather than fear and self-interest.
2 Corinthians 5:14-15 captures this: “For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised” (ESV).
Love, not law, becomes our motivation. We live for Christ not to earn His love but because we’ve already received it fully and permanently.
Common Objections Addressed
“This Promotes Careless Living”
Some argue knowing how we obtain forgiveness permanently leads to moral laxity. Romans 6:1-2 addresses this: “What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it?” (ESV). If we truly understand how we obtain forgiveness through grace, we’ve been fundamentally changed and don’t want to sin carelessly.
True believers don’t want careless sin because they’ve been transformed. Their nature changed, desires redirected, identity redefined. The question itself misunderstands what happens at conversion.
“What About Conditional Verses?”
Some passages appear to make how we obtain forgiveness conditional on behavior. The key is distinguishing between how we obtain forgiveness positionally (legal standing) and how we experience forgiveness relationally (daily fellowship).
Performance-based approaches to forgiveness appear across many theological traditions throughout church history. My research into the historical development of unitarian theology will explore how various movements have handled the relationship between human works and divine forgiveness. This connects to Master’s work.
“This Makes Light of Sin”
Some worry assured forgiveness trivialises sin’s seriousness. Actually, the opposite is true. Understanding our forgiveness cost – God’s Son’s death – makes sin more serious, not less.
We avoid sin not primarily because of consequences (though they exist) but because of cost. Every sin required Christ’s death. Every failure was paid for at Calvary. This knowledge should produce reverence, not carelessness.
Living as Forgiven People
Daily Application
How does understanding how we obtain forgiveness affect daily Christian life?
When you wake up: Instead of wondering if God accepts you today, remember your acceptance was settled at the cross. Start in confidence, not anxiety.
When you sin: Instead of fearfully approaching God, run quickly. Your relationship hasn’t been severed; fellowship has been disrupted. Confession restores communion, not standing.
When you doubt: Instead of looking at your performance for assurance, look at Christ’s performance. Your security doesn’t fluctuate with spirituality.
When you serve: Instead of serving to earn God’s love, serve because you’ve already received it. Love and gratitude, not fear and obligation, become motivations.
Live from security rather than insecurity.
The Joy of Secure Relationship
Perhaps the greatest benefit of understanding forgiveness correctly is the joy it produces. Psalm 32:1-2 celebrates this: “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit” (ESV).
This isn’t temporary relief but permanent blessing. Our transgressions are forgiven (past tense), our sin is covered (ongoing protection), and God counts no iniquity against us (legal declaration). This produces deep, abiding joy weathering life’s storms because it’s grounded in God’s unchanging character, not our changing performance.
As I prepare for potential ministry in Southeast Asia one day, I’m realising how crucial this distinction is for cross-cultural evangelism. Performance-based forgiveness translates poorly across cultures, but justification’s grace speaks to universal human need for acceptance.
This connects to my broader theological journey from anxiety-based religion to grace-based relationship with God.
Conclusion: Access, Don’t Re-Obtain
We return to our original question: “How do we obtain forgiveness?” The answer is that we don’t obtain it repeatedly. We obtained complete, permanent forgiveness through faith in Christ. The question “How do we obtain forgiveness?” was answered once and for all at the cross.
What we do now is access, experience, and live in the good of that forgiveness. We don’t confess to re-learn how we obtain forgiveness; we confess because the question “How do we obtain forgiveness?” was already answered, and we want to experience that reality fully.
The real question isn’t “How do we obtain forgiveness?” but “How do we live as forgiven people?” When we understand that “How do we obtain forgiveness?” has been permanently answered through Christ’s finished work, everything about Christian life – prayers, service, relationships, hopes – flows from that glorious truth.
Understanding how we obtain forgiveness isn’t just good theology – it’s the key to living in joy and freedom Christ purchased for us. The question “How do we obtain forgiveness?” has been answered. Now we get to live in the fullness of that answer.
This transformation from performance-based religion to grace-based relationship is available to every believer willing to embrace the scandalous truth of God’s complete, unconditional forgiveness in Christ.