Justification and Daily Forgiveness

In the PRTS's newly published theological journal are found the three speeches delivered at a special officebearers' conference held in Crete (IL) PRC in September of 2025. The general theme of the conference was justification, but the speeches addressed some specific aspects of this glorious doctrine that relate to a few practical matters, such as how justification is connected to our need for daily forgiveness, how it is related to our repentance, and how this truth is tied to the admonitions of Scripture--all of which practical matters could be viewed as jeopardizing justification by faith alone in Christ alone.

In this post we reference Rev. J. Engelsma's article on the first-mentioned practical matter--how justification relates to the believer's need for daily forgiveness. We can only quote a portion of the article, so we encourage you to read all of it at the link provided above.

Daily Forgiveness The Need

"How then do we understand definitive justification in light of the need for daily forgiveness?

"The Bible makes clear that, while justification is definitive, for the justified believer there is still an ongoing need for forgiveness. This is plain from the example of David, who was a justified believer, fell deeply into sin, and yet needed to hear that he was forgiven of those sins. This is plain from Luke 7 where a sinful woman washes Jesus’ feet while at the home of Simon the Pharisee. In verse 47 Jesus explains why she performed this act of love: 'Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much.' Her love for Jesus was proof (that is the significance of the word “for” here) that her sins had previously been forgiven. But then in verse 48 Jesus turns to the woman and says, “Thy sins are forgiven.” Jesus repeats the declaration to her that her sins are forgiven. This is especially plain from the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, where Jesus teaches us as justified believers to pray daily to God: 'Forgive us our debts.'

"What explains this ongoing need?

"Even though as believers we are in a state of justification, we still have sinful natures and still sin daily. Canons 5.2 call these 'daily sins of infirmity' and 'spots [that] adhere to the best works of the saints.' The consequence of such sins is that we have a troubled conscience and feel a sense of guilt, shame, and regret. In addition to these daily sins of infirmity, there is also the possibility of deep, lamentable falls into sin. The consequence of such deep falls is that we 'very highly offend God, incur a deadly guilt, grieve the Holy Spirit, interrupt the exercise of faith, very grievously wound [our] consciences, and sometimes lose the sense of God’s favor for a time.' The child of God is even troubled by and feels it necessary to confess again his sins of youth, even though those were long ago forgiven by God. For instance, David prays in Psalm 25:7: 'Remember not the sins of my youth.'

"The reality of our sins and their consequences makes it necessary for us as justified believers daily to know the forgiveness of those sins.

The Explanation

"How then ought we to explain theologically the relationship between definitive justification and ongoing forgiveness?

"To begin, part of the explanation is that ongoing forgiveness is an aspect of the doctrine of justification.

"This is plain from Romans 4 and its use of the examples of Abraham and David. The reference to Abraham’s justification is in Genesis 15. God had just promised to Abraham that he would have a son and that his seed would be as many as the stars in the heaven. Verse 6 says: 'And he believed in the Lord; and he counted it to him for righteousness.' This cannot be a reference to Abraham’s initial justification, since this event took place years after God called Abraham out of Ur of the Chaldees. Abraham had already been justified, and now Genesis 15 talks again of his justification. Romans 4 sets forth the history of Abraham in Genesis 15 as one of the great examples of justification given in the Bible. It is clear that what happened to Abraham in Genesis 15 is referred to as justification.

"The same is true of David. After his great fall, David was forgiven by God, and rejoiced in that forgiveness in Psalm 32. Again, Romans 4 holds this up as one of the outstanding instances of justification in the Bible. Yet, David had been initially justified years before this.

"The way in which we explain ongoing forgiveness must take into account that the Bible refers to it as justification.

"It is also worth noting that the emphasis of definitive justification and ongoing forgiveness is slightly different. To be clear, this is not intended to separate definitive justification and ongoing forgiveness; the difference is only an apparent matter of emphasis.

"The emphasis with definitive justification is on God’s positive declaration of the sinner to be righteous. This is the main emphasis of the biblical words for justification. God, having imputed to us the righteousness of Jesus Christ, definitively declares us to be righteous before Him.

"The emphasis with daily forgiveness appears to be on the element of God not imputing to us our sins. Often when the Bible has in view this daily reality it uses this word for forgiveness. Lord’s Day 51, in explaining the fifth petition of the Lord’s Prayer, reflects this same emphasis: 'be pleased for the sake of Christ’s blood, not to impute to us poor sinners our transgressions, nor that depravity which always cleaves to us.'

"This distinct emphasis of definitive justification and ongoing forgiveness seems to be reflected in the Westminster Confession of Faith in Chapter 11.5: 'God doth continue to forgive the sins of those that are justified; and although they can never fall from the state of justification, yet they may by their sins fall under God’s fatherly displeasure, and not have the light of his countenance restored unto them, until they humble themselves, confess their sins, beg pardon, and renew their faith and repentance.'”