What is the Biblical basis for "God's already forgiven you" teaching? I have recently heard many preachers and teachers, in particular Joel Osteen and Joseph Prince, say things like, "God has already forgiven you. All you have to do is accept God's free gift of salvation." Is there any biblical basis for this kind of teaching? I can only find the opposite:


  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
From a Calvinist perspective, any teaching which makes God contingent on man in any way negates the supremacy of God.  Put another way, who is man to say anything to God?  Any choice which man makes for God is the result of an election that occurred ante praevisa merita, and is thus a decision man made long before any person "decided" he or she wanted forgiveness.  In such a scheme, to say that God has "already" forgiven you makes logical sense, because God, who exists before and outside of time, would have already made the decision.  Any scripture backing predestination thus applies, such as Ephesians 1:4:


  even as he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him (ESV)


From an Arminian perspective, of course, free will is paramount, and the above argument would be nonsensical at its core. As such, for Methodists and the like, the timing of God's forgiveness could be a question - but Osteen in particular isn't Methodist. But, a Methodist would state the obvious - if Christ's death isn't sufficient for future sins, what is?  Hebrews is clear that:


  so also Christ died once for all time as a sacrifice to take away the sins of many people. He will come again, not to deal with our sins, but to bring salvation to all who are eagerly waiting for him. (Hebrews 9:28)


As such, even from the polar opposite soteriology, the timing of Christ's forgiveness would predate any individual's decision.

Finally, it should be noted that Joel Osteen has never been to seminary, nor does he profess to be "much of a theologian", so don't expect too strong of a case if you're basing it on him.