Only God can forgive sins. Jesus forgave sins which is compelling evidence that He is God. Some mistakenly believe that the cross somehow gave Him power to forgive sins. Because Jesus is God, He always had the power to forgive sins long before the cross. The cross was about providing access to God for covenant restoration conversation not about providing a blanket once and for all time forgiveness of sins. We must ask for forgiveness to be forgiven. Without covenant restoration, God can abandon us as we have abandoned Him.