forgiven at that point in time? Absolutely not! Paul explains that before we knew Him, we were dead in our sins and by nature objects of wrath (Eph. 2:1–2; Col. 2:13), guilty in God’s sight, and “alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds” (Col. 1:21). This means that even though Jesus paid for our sins, until we turned to Him for salvation, our sins were still counted against us, separating us from God.9 That’s why, throughout the Book of Acts, the apostles urged their listeners to turn from