In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace

— Ephesians 1:7

According to the law, in fact, nearly everything must be purified with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

— Hebrews 9:22

All the prophets testify about Him that everyone who believes in Him receives forgiveness of sins through His name.”

— Acts 10:43

God exalted Him to His right hand as Prince and Savior, in order to grant repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel.

— Acts 5:31

No longer will each man teach his neighbor or his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ because they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquities and will remember their sins no more.”

— Jeremiah 31:34

13 When you were dead in your trespasses and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our trespasses,

14 having canceled the debt ascribed to us in the decrees that stood against us. He took it away, nailing it to the cross!

— Colossians 2:13-14

Thoughts on Today’s Reading

Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ.

All who believe the truth about Jesus and trust Him for salvation are counted as righteous before God and are eternally saved. Then should asking for forgiveness of sins besides believing in Jesus Christ be a part of the gospel message? The answer is no. God does not require a person to ask for forgiveness in order to be saved. This is similar to the confusion of requiring confession of sins for salvation. The truth is, the moment we believe in Christ, we are totally forgiven even without asking for forgiveness. It is that we have redemption through Jesus Christ’s blood and the forgiveness of our trespasses according to the riches of His grace.

Forgiveness comes as a result of believing the good news of Christ’s death and resurrection, not because we asked God for forgiveness. Forgiveness is a byproduct of believing the gospel. It is granted to us the moment we believe in Jesus Christ. In the past when we were dead in our transgressions, Jesus Christ made us alive together with Him. He has forgiven us all our transgressions, and canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us. He has taken it out of the way, and nailed it to the cross for releasing us from the condemnation and having saved us.