Question 25 - Does Christ’s death mean all our sins can be forgiven?

Yes, because Christ’s death on the cross fully paid the penalty for our sin, God graciously imputes Christ’s righteousness to us as if it were our own and will remember our sins no more.

Answer for kids:

Yes, because Christ’s death on the cross fully paid the penalty for our sin, God will remember our sins no more.

Scripture Memorization

2 Corinthians 5:21

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Commentary (from newcitycatechism.com Web App)

Some years ago when I was diagnosed with cancer, my great concern was that the surgeon would get it all. I wasn’t really interested in a cure that was only partial. And when we think about Jesus bearing our sins, the mystery and the wonder of the gospel is that he deals with all of them. He who was absolutely perfect died in the place of sinners, identifying with us in our guilt and becoming liable to our punishment. When Paul writes to the Corinthians, he tells them that God was not counting their sins against them. And the reason for that is because he was counting them against him. Jesus died not as a martyr, but as a substitute. The invitation of the gospel is given to all, but the assurance of forgiveness is only for those who are in Christ, whose sins have been counted to him.

Augustus Toplady captured the security of this when he wrote:

Rock of ages cleft for me,

let me hide myself in Thee;

let the water and the blood,

from thy riven side which flowed,

be of sin the double cure;

cleanse me from its guilt and power.

Peter tells us that the angels, actually, long to look into this (1 Pet. 1:12). And what they have observed from a distance, the believer knows perfectly. The wonder of it all is that our disobedience is completely covered by the obedience of the Lord Jesus—all of our sins dealt with forever.

Alastair Begg (Does Christ’s death mean all our sins can be forgiven? | The New City Catechism/#25)