Would God forgive, or Has God forgiven...?

Question

What's the correct way of saying it?
For instance, a man sins, greivously, yesterday.
Do I say "Would God forgive him for that?" or do I say "Has God forgiven him for that?"
For me, it comes down to whether God, in that instance, is a dynamic (here and now, then and there) God, or a Wait until Judgement Day kind of God.
Any ideas? Opinions?
Aside from the usual sheeple bleatings about his non-existence?
I don't care if he exists or not, that is not the point of this question.
This is a question about the use of language.
(Let's see how many people don't read the whole question...).

Answer 1

This is a question about both the use of language AND about theology, so the answer depends on which doctrine you are subscribing to. In Christian theology God's forgiveness depends on the act of atonement that was achieved when Jesus died on the cross. Some verses in the New Testament say that when Jesus died and was resurrected his work was complete - in this case you could say that God's forgiveness is more dynamic and has already ocurred even for future sins because of Jesus' atoning work that has already been done. In other verses it says that if we confess our sins God will forgive our sins - in this case you could say that God is a, "Wait until Judgement Day kind of God," as you put it. So, depending on your view either phrase, "Would God forgive / Has God forgiven... ?" could be correct (and the answer to both could be "yes" if the person asks for forgiveness).

As someone who adheres to more of a Reformed/Calvinist interpretation of Christian theology, I would say that Jesus' work has already been done and I have been (and will continue to be) transformed by it; God is dynamic in his interaction with us and I have already been forgiven for all sins past, present and future and must now attempt to live accordingly. Therefore, I would say, "Has God forgiven...?" Hope this helps.

Answer 2

I think you lost the plot there somewhere. Yes, God is a forgiving God IF we are sincere about being repentant for the things we do wrong. If we are obedient to God's will he will blot out our sins. You seem to have the wrong idea of hell. Some churches emphasised this to try and subdue their congregations with fear. Artists have had a sort of artistic license with the idea too. HELL: There are several original words in Scripture for this. Sheol, Hades and Gehenna. The first two have to do with the place of the dead, like the grave. Gehenna, on the other hand, refers to the time when the rubbish of the city of Jerusalem was thrown outside the walls of the city into the valley where it was burnt. It is thought that perhaps the unclaimed bodies of the crucified etc were probably thrown there too. So the reference to hell at the time of Jesus would p[probably be the fires that were kept burning because those would be a commonly held idea. Nobody would want to be thrown in there. This made an ideal parable, referring to the fears of the people because they could not grasp the message of the Gospel of salvation. The real point of the message was that 'they won't believe though one rose from the dead'. Jesus had told his disciples what was to happen to him but they didn't understand. As to watching suffering, God takes no pleasure in it, neither does He necessarily intervene.

Answer 3

Imo, the question is, "Has God forgiven...?" because I tend to work on the onniscient deity model (old habits die hard) which assumes that God knew at least at the point of the sin, if not before, and so has forgiven or not per Her/His/Its will.

I am struck, however, by the number of people who assume that some kind of admission, compensation, etc. has to be in the mix before God can act, that forgiveness is not possible without recompense of some sort. Sad that, methinks, when we forgive people all the time for the minor infractions of manners, tact, and sometimes crime. At least I do.

Thanks for the question, Fud.

Answer 4

Thats easy.

Would God forgive him? would be used before the man repents and before the man has done any actions to be forgiven.

Has God forgiven him? would be used after the man repents and has worked to be forgiven but doesnt know.

Normally the second question is unanswerable.

But the first one is. God forgives under certain conditions. When youre sincere in repentance, and you make up for the bad deed, He forgives. But no one can be sure of this forgivance. We only hope and pray that its there.

Answer 5

If someone sins and doesn't do it again and are grieved about it...they can go to God in earnest prayer. God forgives in a large way. He will not remember your sin.

You can ask...
Has God forgiven him of his sins? The answer would be between the man and God. For only the man knows in his heart whether he is truly sorry and will never do it again.
God is the judge and it isn't up to us to inquire of it or judge it, unless the man is blatant in immorality or some other gross sin. Then we would steer clear of his association.

Answer 6

If the person has really tried to stop sinning and repented, God is required to forgive him because of Jesus' sacrifice for us.
The only thing there is no hope in being forgiven is denying the Holy Ghost. That is the only thing he can't forgive.

Answer 7

first it is God will forgive him,but the man need to repent for the sin he committed and ask God to forgive him and don't commit that sin again and by the way God does exist.

Answer 8

You better not talk about it (if it is not yourself)...it`s called judgemental.
The person himself ask forgiveness to God if he desires it and God forgives if He wants to forgive immediately, later, or wait for the last judgement.
Let me tell you one thing...if you sinned, don`t be afraid to ask forgiveness...or afraid to talk or get in contact with Him...or afraid to try to love/be fond/greet/question/argue with Him because He`s just like our human father/mother who is in constant watch of us, listening, talking and wants to get closer to us. If you`re close to Him then you`re easily forgiven. I`m sure of that, because you`ll then become His best friend... then ask guidance for your every minute moves....
Good luck... and Be Blessed !!!

Answer 9

It would be: would God forgive him for that? Until he goes to reconciliation and ask for forgiveness then you could use the past tense has God forgiven him for that

Answer 10

God will forgive us as long as we ask for forgiveness. But that don't mean that we can ask for forgiven today and go back out tomorrow and sin.

I think that the correct term is : Has God fofgiven him for that.