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Then, much later, it was written,
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"...but now, once at the end of the ages, He has appeared to put away sin by the sacrifice of Himself" (Hebrews 9:26),
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and,
"But this Man, after He had offered one sacrifice for sins forever,..."
(Hebrews 10:12),
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and,
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"For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified" (Hebrews 10:14).
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Every one of us is a sinner from the day we are born until the day we die. Since we are sinners, we cannot help but commit sins. God, however, does not just see the sins of the sinner; in order that His ever-loving gaze might fall once more upon the sinner himself, He handed over His Son to be crucified, thus covering our filthy, hateful sin with the blood of Jesus Christ.
Therefore, from God's point of view, your sins, my sins, and the sins of everyone, have all been completely forgiven.
In regard to this matter, God said,
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"I will remove the iniquity of that land in one day" (Zechariah 3:9).
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What else could this verse be referring to other than Christ's death on the cross?
Not one of us was born a sinner because we wanted to be. It is simply that our forefather, Adam, through eating the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, became a sinner within the space of one day, and we are sinners from the moment we are born, having inherited the nature of sin that has been passed down to us. Since everyone is born as a sinner in this way, God has declared,
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"There is none righteous, no, not one" (Romans 3:10).
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Also, since we have become sinners, not because of something that we have done, but because of Adam, God did not want us to pay the price for our sins ourselves. This is why God removed all the sin of the whole world in one day through the crucifixion of His only begotten Son.
When Jesus Christ, bearing the sins of the whole world, offered Himself on the cross once for all in accordance with God's holy will, as He was breathing His last, His final words were,
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"It is finished!" (John 19:30)
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He was saying that the will of God to bring forgiveness for the sins of all the people in the world once for all had been accomplished. Therefore, it is only right that we should let go of the pangs of our consciences that worry and torment us and accept this tremendous love of God, entrusting ourselves entirely to Him.
If we do this, our hearts will become much lighter and happier.
If, however, we do not believe this truth entirely, and continue to have doubts, we are committing the sin of refusing the love of God that pardons our sins through the cross on which Christ paid the huge price. As a result, we disappoint Him all the more.
God said,
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But you have burdened Me with your sins, You have wearied Me with your iniquities (Isaiah 43:24).
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Nevertheless, God has mercy on us and says,
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I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins (Isaiah 43:25).
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He also said,
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...for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them, says the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more (Jeremiah 31:34).
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Each one of us needs to understand that God has already forgiven all of our sins and is calling us to believe.
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