Paul was given to be the revealer of “the mysteries of God” (1Cor 4:1) to “the Church, which is His Body” (Eph. 1:22b-23a). He gives only one condition for the forgiveness of sins and salvation — which is "belief" in his Christ-given grace gospel that is emowere by the cross-work of Jesus Christ. According to Ephesians 1:7 below, the 'forgiveness of sins' is intimately linked with our redemption, which in turn is based upon Christ’s sacrificial blood and “the riches of His grace.”

“[Christ] in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace” (Eph. 1:7).

Notice hear above that the forgiveness of our sins, as with all our spiritual blessings, was accomplished, ‘past tense,’ for the believer in Christ. “We have (not will have) redemption…. and (we presently have) the forgiveness of sins” as a present possession. We never need to regain forgiveness by asking for or it. By faith we received His forgiveness once and for all. Now, when we fail, we may be sorry for our sins and tell the Lord we are sorry for our sins, but this is not necessary for our forgiveness.

For those who need further confirmation of this wonderful news of their absolute total forgiveness of sins, please consider prayerfully the words below taken from Paul’s epistles:

“And be ye kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as (in the same way) God for Christ’s sake hath (already) forgiven you” (Eph. 4:32).

“In Whom we (already) have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins” (Col. 1:14).

“And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, hath He quickened together with Him, having (already) forgiven you ALL trespasses” (Col. 2:13).

“Forbearing one another, and forgiving one another, if any man have a quarrel against any: even as Christ (freely) forgave you, so also do ye” (Col. 3:13).

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on Him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. Even as David also describeth … Blessed are they whose iniquities (sins) are forgiven, and whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute (count his) sin” (Rom. 4:5-8).

“Be it known unto you therefore, men and brethren, that through this man [Jesus Christ] is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by Him all that ‘believe’ are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses” (Acts 13:38,39).

The above verses represent the proper teaching on forgiveness from the perspective of the present “dispensation of the grace of God” (Eph. 3:1-9). The properly instructed grace believer ‘knows’ that lost mankind is by nature dead in trespasses and sins and as such cannot of himself merit heaven with God (Eph. 2:1, 8-9). Yet, he also knows the love of God has provided forgiveness of ALL sins for fallen man through the blood of His Son alone. “Faith” in Jesus Christ and His cross death for our sins and His resurrection to be THE New Life ‘Indwelling the Believer’ is the sole responsibility, which God has placed upon fallen men in response to His love toward them.

Prior to Paul, nobody knew the meaning of the cross. At Pentecost Peter scolded Israel for killing “the Prince of life” (Act 3:15). Peter didn’t yet know the power of the death of Christ on our behalf because Paul had not yet been saved to receive the message of God’s grace. “Christ died for our sins… and rose again” is the gospel that Paul received from the glorified Lord Jesus and preached wherever he went (cf. I Cor. 15:1-4).

The Holy Spirit then takes the believing sinner and supernaturally places him into “the body of Christ,” thus establishing their unshakable, eternal union with “the Spirit of life in Christ (cf. I Cor. 6:17, 12:13). This has been testified to by Paul’s revelation that now… “…nothing can separate us from the love of Christ” because the Holy Spirit has “sealed us" securely "until the day of redemption” (cf., Rom. 8:31-39; Eph. 1:13-14; 4:30).

The knowledge of these scriptural Pauline facts, and trust in them as truth, gives the believer great peace and “joy unspeakable.”

But, as is the case with so many Bible subjects, those who homogenize the Word of God, they go back to the ‘conditional forgiveness teachings’ of "the law" that Jesus continued for Israel in the past dispensation. They arbitrarily transplant them into the present “dispensation of the Grace of God.” The result is uncertainty, fear, doubt, and a lack of boldness in our communion with the Lord.

Then we should note that not only are we forviven uneder Paul's grace gosoel, but also the Lord no longer notes or even takes account of our incidental falls to sinning, while we are learning truth and learning to walk by faith… in the indwelling “Spirit of life in Christ Jesus” as our life.

“Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. ⁵ But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his Faith Is Counted For Righteousness. ⁶ Even as David also describeth the blessedness of the man, unto whom God Imputeth Righteousness Without Works, ⁷ Saying, Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven, and whose sins are covered.” Romans 4:4-7