Why is begging for forgiveness unnecessary?
Begging for forgiveness is unnecessary because all the mercy of God was poured out on the cross, and every human being's sin has already been forgiven and paid for in full. The world has already been reconciled to God. He does not expect anyone to beg; He declares, "You are forgiven," and asks them to believe it.
Les teaches that if a person still had to beg for forgiveness, then the Book would be a lie, because it says all the mercy of God was poured out on that cross. God has already forgiven every human being all his sin, and it was paid for in full. Therefore, He does not expect someone to beg to be forgiven; He says, "You are forgiven," and the only thing He asks is that they believe it. The word used in 2 Corinthians 5 is "reconciled": the world has already been reconciled to God. Les also stresses that for every human being from Adam to the end of time, every sin has already been paid for, so the issue now is believing that finished work. He later points to Hebrews chapter 2, verse 9, where it says, "But we see Jesus, who was made a..."