It is a very important truth that we are dead to sin (Romans 6:2, 11) and made free from sin (Rom 6:7, 18) through the death of Christ on the cross, and, once born again we cannot repeatedly commit sin (1 John 3:9). This is because we (our “old man”) are crucified with Christ – see https://word.spiritbodysoul.com/old-self-crucified/. Through His death on the cross, Jesus has justified us and made us righteous, without works – see https://word.spiritbodysoul.com/justification/. We are therefore not called sinners any more (Rom 5:8, 19, 1 Tim 1:9, 15), but righteous (Rom 5:19) and saints (throughout most books of the New Testament). There is no scripture that calls believers sinners (see http://www.evangelicaloutreach.org/christiansinner.htm), but many scriptures that call believers saints. Note that in 1 Tim 1:15, Paul says, “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief”. This can simply be explained by saying that Paul was not now a chief sinner, but a chief saved one who had been a sinner. If he was saying he was still a sinner it would contradict everything else he ever wrote.
Who does this apply to? It was addressed to believers in Jesus, not to unbelievers, as can be seen from Rom 1:7 which makes it clear that the book of Romans is addressed to the “beloved of God, and called to be saints” and v.8 speaks of “your faith” and in v.13 calls them “brethren”. Clearly this means believers in Jesus, not to unbelievers. 1 John is written to “my little children”, clearly to believers in Jesus. So it is very clear that when you believe, then you are made free from sin.
In Col 2:13 Paul says of Christ, “having forgiven you all trespasses”. Who is Paul referring to here? In v.5 he speaks of his readers’ “faith in Christ” and in v.12 “through faith in the operation of God”. So Paul is not saying the whole world is forgiven already, no, he is very clear that only those who have faith and believe are forgiven. Eph 1:7: In Jesus Christ we have the forgiveness of sins – who is the “we”? This is answered in v.1: the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus. The Bible is very clear that forgiveness of sins applies to believers, and never says that all humanity is forgiven – which is universalism – see https://word.spiritbodysoul.com/three-views-of-salvation.
Forgiveness is possible because of what Jesus did on the cross – only by the shedding of blood is remission, cleansing or forgiveness of sin (Heb 9:22, 1 John 1:7). Also this forgiveness is of course a free gift available to everyone in the world, as Jesus died to take away the sins of the world (John 1:29). In Acts 3:19, again after the death and resurrection of Christ, Peter said “repent ye therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out”. So forgiveness of sins occurs when we repent (turn away from sin unbelief and turn to God). In Acts 8:22 Peter said “repent of this thy wickedness, and pray God that perhaps the thought of thine heart be forgiven thee”. It would be pointless for Peter to say these things if everyone were forgiven already. Romans 3 makes it very clear that righteousness (v.21) and remission of sin (v.25) are “by faith in Jesus Christ, unto all and upon all those who believe” (v.22) and “through faith in His blood” (v.25). Jesus is the justifier (which involves forgiveness) not of everyone in the world, but “of him who believeth in Jesus” (v.26). In Rom 8:29-30 again those whom God foreknew, predestined to be conformed to the image of Jesus and called, he justified and glorified. This clearly refers to those who believe and does not apply to unbelievers. For more about repentance for believers see https://word.spiritbodysoul.com/repentance-process/. In Col 2:13 Paul says “having forgiven you all trespasses”, but who is he talking to? In v.5 he speaks of his readers’ “faith in Christ” and in v.12 “through faith in the operation of God”. So Paul is not saying the whole world is forgiven already, no, he is very clear that only those who have faith and believe are forgiven. Eph 1:7: In Jesus Christ we have the forgiveness of sins – who is the “we”? This is answered in v.1: the saints and faithful in Christ Jesus. The Bible is very clear that forgiveness of sins applies to believers, and never says that all humanity is forgiven. See http://www.thirsty4truth.com/are-we-to-forgive-those-who-do-not-ask-for-forgiveness.html and http://www.heart-talks.com/forgiveness.html.
1 John 1:9 says “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” If all humanity were already forgiven and we don’t need to confess our sins, why would John say this? Confession of sins is necessary for us to be forgiven. Otherwise everyone should just carry on sinning, as they are already forgiven. But when the Holy Spirit comes in to us when we believe in Jesus Christ, He enables us to confess our sins. But the promise is there in the Bible that Jesus forgives those sins when we confess them, because of what He did on the cross.
Some people teach that there is no need to ask for forgiveness for sin, as Jesus has already shed His blood on the cross and therefore we are already forgiven. This may sound reasonable, but those who teach this ignore what Jesus Himself taught in the “Lord’s prayer” in Luke 11:4 “And forgive us our sins; for we also forgive every one that is indebted to us.” This again is similar to confession of sin, and the promise is in Scripture that God forgives us when we ask him to and confess our sin. For more information on this see http://www.letusreason.org/Biblexp246.htm. Take the case of healing, the Bible says “by his stripes we were healed” (1 Peter 2:24), which means that we were healed when Jesus died on the cross. But we still need to pray for healing, or as Jesus said “heal the sick” (Mt 10:8, Luke 10:9) – we tell the sickness to be healed using the authority Jesus has given us! We don’t simply assume the sick are already healed and do nothing. In the same way, we can say to God “forgive us our sins”, it is a declaration of what Jesus has done on the cross for us, God forgives our sins as we confess that we have sinned and ask for forgiveness.