All Our Sins Are Forgiven
When we receive Jesus as our Lord and Saviour, all our sins are forgiven (Acts 5:31, 10:43; Ephesians 1:7, 4:32; Colossians 1:13-14, 2:13-14) and we are reconciled to God (II Corinthians 5:18-19).
"All our sins are forgiven". Not just the sins that we committed up to the point of our salvation; but all the sins that we have committed since that time. And, any other sins that we may commit before God calls us home. According to Paul P. Enns: “Forgiveness forever solves the problem of sin in the believer’s life—all sins past, present, and future (Col. 2:13).” * God forgives "all our sins"; and reconciles us (restores our relationship) to Himself.
II Corinthians 5:17-18 reads:
“17 Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. 18 All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; 19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 20 Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.” **
When we became believers, we apparently had nothing to do with it. It appears that it was all God’s doing. He reconciled us to himself through Christ. According to the Biblical passage above, God was in Christ personally reconciling the world to himself – not counting their (our) sins against them (us). He has also made us agents of the reconciliation and has commissioned us with the message of reconciliation. We are now Christ’s ambassadors and God is appealing directly to the world through us. For Christ’s sake I beg you “Make your peace with God.” For God caused Christ, who himself knew nothing of sin, actually to be sin for our sakes, so that in Christ we might be made good with the goodness of God.
“This new creation is not of any human doing. God himself has begun the work. Only God can allow people to approach him. Only God can satisfy his own righteous demands. Only God can save. God is the Author and Finisher of salvation (see Hebrews 12:2). God brought his people to himself—in other words, reconciled us—by blotting out our sins (see also Ephesians 2:13–18) and making us righteous. When they trust in Christ, believers are no longer God’s enemies. Through Christ’s self-sacrificial work on the cross, God has made believers part of his family. Jesus died in our place so that we might enjoy fellowship with God (1 Corinthians 15:3).” ***
After quoting 2 Corinthians 5:21, what he calls the heart of the gospel - "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.", John MacArthur says:
"Let me, unpack those 15 Greek words: he, God, made Jesus sin. What do you mean ‘he made Jesus sin’? Only in one sense: he treated him as if he had committed every sin ever committed by every person who would ever believe, though in fact he committed none of them. Hanging on the cross, he was holy, harmless, undefiled. Hanging on the cross, he was a spotless lamb. He was never for a split second a sinner. He is holy God on the cross. But God is treating him, I'll put it more practically, as if he lived my life. God punished Jesus for my sin, turns right around and treats me as if I lived his life. That's the great doctrine of substitution. And on that doctrine turned the whole reformation of the church. That is the heart of the gospel and what you get is complete forgiveness, covered by the righteousness of Jesus Christ. When he looks at the cross, he sees you. When he looks at you, he sees Christ." (Dr. John MacArthur) ****
This is, in fact, "The Heart of the Gospel".
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* Paul P. Enns, The Moody Handbook of Theology (Chicago, IL: Moody Press, 1989), 325–326.
** The Holy Bible: English Standard Version (Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016), 2 Co 5:17–21.
*** Bruce B. Barton and Grant R. Osborne, 1 & 2 Corinthians, Life Application Bible Commentary (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House, 1999), 356.
**** Dr. John MacArthur, (266) Kirk Cameron Interviews John MacArthur - YouTube