DON’T make the mistake of thinking I’m saying people are all saved, already; that’s not so, but they stand — at this moment — forgiven. It remains for all to believe, and to repent in light of Gods immense grace toward them, but the blood of Christ was sufficient to satisfy the penalty of sin for all man, for all time, and the transaction was complete at The Cross, and Validated forever at the empty tomb.
You object, saying that unbelievers are not “pre-forgiven.”
FIRST of all, we were ALL “unbelievers” when Christ paid our death penalty in our behalf.
But, SECOND of all, St. Paul disagrees: he told the Corinthians “God WAS [PAST TENSE] in Christ reconciling the whole world to Himself, not counting men’s trespasses against them...” St. Paul also told the Colossians: “...EVEN THOUGH you were dead in your transgressions and in the uncircumcision of your flesh [being yet unbelieving and unaware of any of it], [God] NEVERTHELESS made you alive with [Christ], HAVING FORGIVEN [already, in the past] ALL YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS. He has destroyed what was against us, a certificate of indebtedness expressed in decrees opposed to us. He has taken it away by nailing it to the cross (Col. 2:13-14).”
So, Who did the forgiving? God.
When? When the Colossians [who predate us] were still dead in [their] transgressions.
How? He nailed the certificate of our condemnation to the Cross of Christ.
To what had the Colossians been condemned? DEATH (Rom. 6:23).
Who was executed by God instead of us all? Jesus.
For it was the will of God to crush him, to put him to grief (Is. 53:10).
Since God, in Christ, wrought our forgiveness in blood Holy enough to save everyone, what’s left for us to ask for?
We don’t ask; we repent, and believe with thankful hearts.
“Repenting means we are asking God for forgiveness for our sins.
Repenting and asking forgiveness are two different things; the latter is not inherent in the former.
“The definition of repentance, according to the Bible, is remorse and sorrow for the sins we have committed.”
https://www.biblestudy.org/basicart/what-is-repentance.html
Repentance is a change of heart to turn from sin, including the sin of unbelief, Which is why salvation requires believing in faith, just as st. Peter preached in Acts 2.
Look carefully at what St. Peter told the stricken crowd they had to do to be saved: “Peter said to them, “REPENT, and each one of you BE BAPTIZED in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins,...”
NOTE particularly that there is no commandment, here, to ask God for forgiveness; that the forgiveness is, instead, described as inherent in being baptized in the name of Jesus Christ.
We don’t separately ask God to be forgiven, we — inherent in our baptism into Jesus’ person and work — step into acknowledgement that, in Christ, we were already forgiven long before we ever knew we needed to be.
[Baptism has a much broader sense in the New Testament than just being dunked in water. See Mark 10:38, Acts 10:37 and Acts 19:3 for just three instances illustrating this point.
It’s about the wholehearted embrace of an entire message, the dunking in water being only an outward exhibition of the inward commitment.]
Consider this: if I showed up tomorrow at the bank and paid off your mortgage, when you found out, what would you say to me?
I’ll tell you ONE thing you certainly WOULDN’T say; you WOULD NOT say to me, “Sir, please pay off my mortgage.” That would not make sense, because the payment had already been made. The request to do what I had already done would be puzzling, if not a bit insulting, and would reflect that you didn’t fully grasp the nature of my benevolence.
In the same way, having been forgiven in Christ at the Cross, it is equally nonsensical for us to ask God to forgive us; He paid that debt in blood so precious we cannot even begin to imagine the enormity of what it cost Him.
Our response is REPENTANCE, and, by faith, BELIEVING with grateful hearts for His manifest love toward us.
but they stand — at this moment — forgiven.
Unjudged, not forgiven.
HMMMmmm...
John 3:18 kjv
He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.