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For those who beleive in the doctrine of Once Saved Always Saved (OSAS). How does one reconcile our need to not only confess our sins, but to ask God for forgiveness for those sins?

Forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us

Some might say that in Mathew 6 the word should be translated as "debts" which are not necessarily "sins." Yet the parallel passage in Luke 11 uses the word "ἁμαρτία" which clearly speaks of sin.

Question:

If we have received forgiveness in full, and it is completed as many would suggest, why would the Lord have us petition (Pray) for our forgiveness when it has already, according to the OSAS doctrine, been freely given and can never be taken away?

This question are for the Faith Practices that adhere to 'assurance of salvation' which includes most but not all the ecclesial bodies that broke and continue to break away from the Catholic Church.

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    You should spell out what OSAS is and not use an acronym.
    – curiousdannii ♦
    Sep 14, 2016 at 21:45
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    Once Saved Always Saved . So many acronyms these days lololool
    – Hani Goc
    Sep 14, 2016 at 21:47
  • Are you familiar with the idea, contextual to eastern Mediterranean culture, about debts of honor being a contextual meaning of that line in the Lord's prayer? Sometimes when a term or word crosses both time and a language barrier, some nuances of meaning can be lost. This keeps biblical scholars busy.
    – KorvinStarmast
    Sep 14, 2016 at 21:51
  • second clarification bit: do you and the groups that hold to OSAS believe, or not believe, that the Lord's Prayer was given to the faithful by Him, possibly with a particular purpose? I ask that because a lot of scripture suffers losses in meaning when taken out of context/cherry picked.
    – KorvinStarmast
    Sep 14, 2016 at 21:55
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    There are plenty of passages that serve as a basis for asking forgiveness. Is your question specific to the Lord's Prayer, or, more generally asking about all such scriptures? Something like, "According to OSAS, why must Christians continue to ask for forgiveness?" I think the answer to this question will be pretty consistent across the various OSAS groups, but if you are specifically asking about the purpose of the Lord's Prayer the answers will have a different focus.
    – Nathaniel is protesting
    Sep 14, 2016 at 23:01

3 Answers 3

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The issue you raised is rooted in the concept of justification.

Through the fulfillment of the will of the Father in His Son, Jesus Christ, the Father declared us righteous in His sight. That is, the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ is our justification, the declaration of God that we are free of guilt and penalty of sin and acceptable to Him (Romans 4:25, NIV):

He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.

Our justification also marks the beginning of sanctification, a continual process of being made holy by the power of the Holy Spirit, a lifelong process that makes us more and more like Jesus Christ.

We can argue that the Lord’s Prayer is the foremost declaration of our faith in the fulfillment of the will of the Father in His Son. Therefore, it is a means to justify ourselves to the Father. Via the Lord’s Prayer, prayed daily, we are led by the Holy Spirit in our daily lives and become more like Jesus Christ – the precise outcome of sanctification!

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  • This does not seem to answer the question at all. Additionally, I'm very curious as to which bible version has Romans 6:25. The questions ask why a Christion must continually ask for forgiveness when all their sins have been forgiven. Not only does it sound like a work (denying the perfect sacrifice on the cross and in so, rejecting the Gospel ** protestant position**) but it seems like a pointless activity to ask for something you have already received. Did God word the Lords prayer incorrectly?
    – Marc
    Nov 22, 2018 at 13:37
  • My apology. It is Romans 4:25, not 6:25. I have corrected that in the main text above.
    – Jito Vanualailai
    Nov 22, 2018 at 20:29
  • Forgiveness of sin by the Blood of Jesus is conditional. This is clear from 1 John 1:6-7. "If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth; but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin."
    – Jito Vanualailai
    Nov 22, 2018 at 21:04
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I am one of the OSAS you speak about.

So when a person confesses his sin to God and repents of his sinful life for the first time he is born again.

In John 3 Jesus says that we must be born again to see God's kingdom.

We are saved because Christ suffered in our place.

He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

2 Corinthians 5:21 New American Standard Bible

However, we still have a sinful nature. We will still sin, but we will keep God's law more by his grace. Since sin is an offense against God we must repent of it and turn back to him. However, no Christian who has repented will ever, ever be lost.

In John 10 Jesus says no one can snatch his sheep out of his hand.

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    – Lee Woofenden
    Oct 8, 2016 at 2:40
  • Those are the Bible sound bites. They simply ignore all the other scripture that indicate views contrary to those you have been taught. That's when stretching and bending of the word of God takes place, its like forcing a puzzle price into a place that it does not fit creating not only one problem with the overall picture but many, as the continuity of the word of God is distorted in many places not just the one. Imagine moving some notes in Mozart's concerto's how it would sound to those who know the original beauty.
    – Marc
    Oct 8, 2016 at 12:29
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    I was answering as one of the OSAS. Someone else may answer differently. I was not addressing the other verses here, however I believe OSAS because Jesus said no one can snatch his sheep out of his hand.
    – mozart mario
    Oct 9, 2016 at 19:01
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The way I best can explain it is once you are born again (Jesus)he becomes your father . Just like you have a earthly father if you are disobedient you break a bond or fellowship with your earthly father ( does not mean that your dad stops loving you or caring for you ) but in order to restore that good relationship one must apologize for your short comings and in doing so it restores your relationship . Or if you don't he may chasten you as a child and in that you may repent and restor back your fellowship . Has nothing to do with salvation . So to repent is because you are a child of the king and you want to maintain a good relationship . Not because you will lose your salvation . Ephesians 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: 9 Not of works, lest any man should boast

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