I believe that forgiveness of all sin I ever sinned or ever will sin has already been forgiven and the payment for my sins was completed by Jesus on the cross before He died. My acceptance of Jesus's offer of salvation is permanent and covers all the sins I committed before and after I accepted His offer. My sins were all "future" to Him on the cross, he knows them all, even the ones I haven't committed yet.
While I would ask forgiveness of my brothers and sisters in Christ if I sinned against them, my sins in God's sight are already all dealt with.
There's another component to this: salvation changes a person. We recieve a new life. Our old life was rebellious to God and could only sin, no matter how hard we tried (Romans chapters 1-7). Our new life has the ability to do God's will, please God, and not sin (Romans 8 and onwards). Jesus died for our sins, plural, and also died for our sinful nature, to give us a new life that is able to live without sinning. (All of us mess up from time to time, we own it before God knowing we are loved and forgiven, and we own it before our brothers and sisters in Christ so they can help us.)
I believe this verse is talking about not individual sins but "the sins" ie "all sins" ie salvation.
So if a diciple says, based on the Holy Spirit, "your sins are forgiven you" then all your sins are forgiven - not because the diciple said it but because the Holy Spirit completed the work and the diciple can see that.
Read Acts 8:9-24. The apostles were very careful in what they did and needed to see genuineness. The Apostle Peter told the man (Simon) to pray to God for forgiveness. Peter didn't forgive him, but God could.
I believe that forgiveness of all sin I ever sinned or ever will sin has already been forgiven and the payment for my sins was completed by Jesus on the cross before He died. My acceptance of Jesus's offer of salvation is permanent and covers all the sins I committed before and after I accepted His offer. My sins were all "future" to Him on the cross, he knows them all, even the ones I haven't committed yet.
While I would ask forgiveness of my brothers and sisters in Christ if I sinned against them, my sins in God's sight are already all dealt with.
There's another component to this: salvation changes a person. We recieve a new life. Our old life was rebellious to God and could only sin, no matter how hard we tried (Romans chapters 1-7). Our new life has the ability to do God's will, please God, and not sin (Romans 8 and onwards). Jesus died for our sins, plural, and also died for our sinful nature, to give us a new life that is able to live without sinning. (All of us mess up from time to time, we own it before God knowing we are loved and forgiven, and we own it before our brothers and sisters in Christ so they can help us.)
I believe this verse is talking about not individual sins but "the sins" ie "all sins" ie salvation.
So if a diciple says, based on the Holy Spirit, "your sins are forgiven you" then all your sins are forgiven - not because the diciple said it but because the Holy Spirit completed the work and the diciple can see that.
Read Acts 8:9-24. The apostles were very careful in what they did and needed to see genuineness. The Apostle Peter told the man (Simon) to pray to God for forgiveness. Peter didn't forgive him, but God could.