Q:
How can you ask God to forgive all your sins when you can't even remember all the bad things you've done, and therefore you can't confess them? I worry about this, because I'm sure I've forgotten lots of things I ought to confess.
A:
It’s important to be as specific as we possibly can when we seek God’s forgiveness; sin creates a barrier between us and God, and we need to face our sins honestly and fully. Sometimes our greatest danger comes from the sins we refuse to admit.
But when Jesus Christ went to the cross, all our sins, without exception, were placed on Him, and He took upon Himself the judgment that we deserve. He was without sin, for He was fully God (as well as fully human), but when He died all our sins were transferred to Him, and He became the final sacrifice for sin. We can barely imagine this, but it’s true, and it happened because God loves us and wants us to be completely cleansed from sin’s pollution. The Bible says, “God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
What does this mean? It means that when we commit our lives to Jesus Christ and trust Him alone for our salvation, God forgives us of all our sins, even the ones we don’t remember. The Psalmist prayed, “Who can discern their own errors? Forgive my hidden faults” (Psalm 19:12).
Don’t be bound by the past; if you have given your life to Christ, thank God for forgiving all your sins. Then ask Him to help you live for Christ every day. The Bible says, “conduct yourselves in a manner worthy of the gospel of Christ” (Philippians 1:27).