Are we forgiven because of what we do or because of what Christ did?
We are forgiven not because of anything we have done, but entirely because of what Christ accomplished on our behalf. His death for sins, burial, and resurrection provide complete forgiveness—past, present, and future—so no one will come into God's presence with sin still charged to them.
Les explains that when we come under that forgiveness, we are forgiven everything—past, present, and future. He emphasizes that this is beyond human comprehension; he cannot understand it but believes it because the Book teaches that we have been forgiven all our trespasses, not because of anything we have done, but all because of what Christ accomplished on our behalf. Les also notes this is the very function of the Gospel: Christ died for the sins of the world, was buried, and rose from the dead. In Galatians 2:20, Paul makes the classic statement that he is crucified with Christ; even though he is identified with Christ's death, yet he lives, and the life he now lives in the flesh is lived by faith—or, as Les prefers, the faithfulness of the Son of God. The completed work of Christ, not human effort, is the sole basis of forgiveness.