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The Life of the Early Christians  /  Our Lord's Prayer  /  Discussion Questions
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Question 3
David describes being corrected in an evangelical church for praying, “forgive us our sins,” because “all of our sins were forgiven” at conversion and forgiveness is “not based on whether or not we forgive”; how do Jesus’ words in the prayer and His follow-up (“neither will your Father forgive your trespasses”) challenge common evangelical assumptions about assurance, ongoing repentance, and conditional forgiveness?
Another way to ask: David was told not to pray “forgive us our sins” because all sins were forgiven at conversion. How do Jesus’ words about forgiving—and His warning about God not forgiving—challenge common evangelical ideas about assurance, ongoing repentance, and forgiveness having conditions?

Direct Answer Based on David’s teaching, Jesus’ prayer assumes ongoing confession and real conditions: we must ask forgiveness, and God’s forgiving us is tied to our forgiving others. That challenges the idea that forgiveness is fully settled at conversion in a way that makes continued repentance unnecessary or makes forgiveness unconditional.

Support from Transcript:

  • David recounts being told, “born again Christians shouldn’t be praying” for forgiveness because sins were forgiven when you “invited Jesus into your heart,” and forgiveness is “not based” on forgiving others.
  • He then argues from the prayer itself: “Jesus shows that we can’t automatically assume our sins are forgiven just because we’re a Christian…we’re to confess our sins to God and seek forgiveness.”
  • He quotes Jesus’ follow-up: “If you do not forgive men…neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”
  • He stresses the condition: “we should only ask forgiveness to the extent we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.”
  • He explicitly rejects “pre-forgiven” future sins as contrary to Jesus’ teaching and says, “If our sins aren’t forgiven, then there’s no salvation.”
Discussion Follow-ups How do you hold together Christian confidence with Jesus’ warnings about unforgiveness? What would it look like to build assurance on obeying Jesus rather than on theological slogans?

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