Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Because of the radical gift of righteousness, you are completely forgiven, not partly forgiven, but completely!
Romans 5:17 says that it is by the abundant grace of God and the gift of righteousness that we reign in life through Christ Jesus. It is the same abundant grace and the gift of righteousness that positions you to receive the gift of eternal life declared in Romans 6:23.
What you need to understand is as soon as you receive this radical gift of righteousness, you are completely forgiven of sin. Even after salvation, when you continue to sin – internally (e.g. worry, fears, passive-aggressive attitudes, complaining, criticism, wrong thoughts) and externally (e.g. wrong behaviors, wrong language, etc), you are still completely forgiven and you still have the gift of righteousness.
That gift of righteousness is not taken off you every time you sin.
Once you have received Christ you are always righteous! Righteousness is a noun, not a verb – it describes the new identity of a Believer – they are a new creation in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17). Carry a “righteousness consciousness” every day! The last thing you want to become is “sin conscious”.
Whenever we tell people to think of every sin and to repent and confess it, we are training them to become more and more sin conscious. This is only going to lead to a life of condemnation and Christianity through works. The truth is, it’s impossible for you to remember every sin. You might be conscious of some sins that you commit on the outside, but then there are all the sins that are hidden, those on the inside through thoughts, attitudes, and fears. And then there are those sins you don’t even know about.
But when we remind people to carry a “righteousness consciousness” – this is building the truth of the power of the cross within them. Remember this every day and when you do sin or fail, say: “thank you, Jesus, for your forgiveness through the blood and the gift of your righteousness”.
You are completely forgiven, always forgiven and eternally forgiven. There is no unpardonable sin or any sin that can ever separate you as a Believer from your position of righteousness in Christ.
Now here is the bonus. The more you grow in your revelation that you are righteous in Christ, the more you will begin to effortlessly outwork that righteousness through your lifestyle – by grace!