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Answer
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” «and he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. », (1 John 2:2). When the Bible states that Christ was the sacrifice for all sins, it does not imply that all sins were automatically forgiven. It simply signifies that the offering to secure forgiveness for the entire world has been made; whether that offering actually results in the forgiveness of any individual is another matter because the offering must be accepted by faith. Our path back to God has been prepared by Christ; the question now is, will we avail ourselves of the opportunity?
Christ died for all sins; that is, His sacrifice was entirely sufficient to pay for the sins of the whole world. However, forgiveness only comes to an individual when he or she repents and believes (see Mark 1:15). Until we accept (by faith) the provision of God in Christ, then we are still in our sins. Those who die in unbelief die in all their sins—they are unforgiven liars, murderers, adulterers, etc. «But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. », (Revelation 21:8). Those who trust in Christ for their salvation do not die in sin; they die in Christ, with all sins forgiven. We are justified by faith «Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: », (Romans 5:1); without faith, we are condemned «He that believeth on
Him who believes is not condemned, but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18). Forgiveness is received through faith in Christ and comes with the promise of eternity in heaven; lack of faith keeps us unforgiven and consigned to eternity in hell.
In the Bible, belief, or faith, is more than just accepting something as a fact. Faith involves trust and personal acceptance, deliberate acts of one’s will. So, in Scripture, the sin of unbelief is not merely ignorance; rather, it is willfully rejecting God’s free gift of forgiveness of sin— including the sin of unbelief.
When God offers to forgive a person’s sin if they believe, logic dictates that their response cannot be, “No, I refuse to believe in You, but forgive my sins anyway.” Forgiveness is a conditional offer: if the required condition is met (faith), then the promised result occurs (forgiveness). Faith in Christ is the proper response to God’s offer of salvation.
The Bible emphasizes the necessity of choosing faith in Christ and the consequences of unbelief. Christ desired to gather the sinful inhabitants of Jerusalem to Himself, yet they persisted in their sin; Jesus’ condemnation places the responsibility directly on them: “You were not willing” « O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which kills the prophets, and stones those who are sent to you; how often would I have gathered your children together, as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you would not! », (Luke 13:34). Their unbelief kept them away from Christ, their only salvation.
Regarding the necessity of belief: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek him.” «But without faith it is impossible t
o please him: for he that comes to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of those who diligently seek him. », (Hebrews 11:6)
On unbelief as an act of will, a deliberate choice: “Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their presence, they still would not believe in Him.” «But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him: », (John 12:37)
On why there is no excuse for unbelief: “The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.” (Romans 1:18-20)
On the spiritual damage of unbelief: “What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death!” «What fruit had you then in those things whereof you are now ashamed? for the end of those things is death. », (Romans 6:21) “Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways;” [but] “The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel that displays the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.” (2 Corinthians 4: 2, 4)
On the justice of punishment for unbelief: “This is the verdict: Light has come into the world, but people loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” «And this is the condemnation, that light has come into the world, and men loved darknessRather than light, because their deeds were evil.” , (John 3:19)
Finally, to ensure you understand what a true believer must believe to be a forgiven Christian, here is a summary.
The Bible is clear that the only way to enter God’s perfect heaven is to be as perfect (pure and sinless) as God Himself (Matthew 5:20,48;Luke 18:18-22). Even if you sin only once in your entire life, you have broken all of God’s law, just as breaking one link in a chain breaks the whole chain “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” , (James 2:10). God’s perfect justice means that every sin must be punished. That penalty is death in the form of eternal separation from God in hell “And the LORD said unto Moses, Whosoever hath sinned against me, him will I blot out of my book.” , (Exodus 32:33).
No human can meet God’s perfect standard, so without a supernatural Savior to rescue us, we are all lost sinners (Acts 15:10;Romans 3:9-23). God loves you and wants to rescue you from hell (John 3:16;2 Peter 3:9). So He sent His own perfect Son to take your punishment on Himself—His life for yours—paying your debt to God in full by dying on the cross, and forever freeing you from God’s righteous condemnation. Every one of your sins—past, present, and future—is forgiven if you choose to accept that gift of forgiveness by faith (believing and trusting God to keep His promise) when you repent (turn away from) your sins (Luke 24:47; Acts 11:18; 2 Corinthians 7:10) and request Him to rescue you (Joel 2:32; Acts 2:21). The blood of Jesus covers your sins so that God sees you as flawless as His own Son (Isaiah 53:4-6; 2 Corinthians 5:21).
The moment you embrace God’s complimentary gift by faith, you are transformed: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation: The old has gone, the new is here!” «Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. », (2 Corinthians 5:17). You become God’s cherished child «Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not. », (1 John 3:1), an everlasting relationship that can never be severed (Romans 8:38-39; Ephesians 1:13-14). God as Father, Son, and Spirit dwell within you and make their “home” with you «even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. », (John 14:17, 23) «Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. », (John 14:17, 23). You can understand why the Gospel of Christ is referred to as Good News.
ws (Luke 2:10; Acts 5:42, 14:15)! By accepting this gift, you acknowledge that you belong to God (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). You are not your own because He redeemed you with the precious blood of His Son (1 Peter 1:18-19).
This incredible free gift of eternal salvation cannot be earned through any good deeds you perform (John 3:16; Romans 3:21-25; Ephesians 2:8-9). In fact, attempting to earn it through your own efforts, as if you could please God enough to gain His acceptance, is strongly condemned in the Bible (Galatians 1:6-9). This is the distinction between Christianity and nearly all other religions worldwide, with their human-made regulations on what individuals should or should not do in a futile bid to earn God’s favor and secure eternal life for their spirits.
Your salvation is free, an invaluable gift from God more precious than the whole world (Matthew 13:44; Matthew 16:26). Therefore, the author of Hebrews inquires, “How can we escape if we neglect such a great salvation?” «how shall we escape, if we neglect so great salvation; which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord, and was confirmed unto us by them that heard him; », (Hebrews 2:3). “Today, if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts” (Hebrews 3:7-8). “I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation” «(For he saith, I have heard thee in a ti
“For he says, ‘In the time of my favor I heard you, and in the day of salvation I helped you.’ I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.”, (2 Corinthians 6:2).
