Salvation does not require being smart, nor knowing it all, nor getting it all right. The thief on the cross was saved on the spot – while hanging there dying. But if we examine what the thief acknowledged… he got it right, and Jesus saved him on the spot. But others went away from Him without salvation. So what’s with that? What does Jesus require?
I’ve been “declared free of guilt”
For the guilty criminal standing there guilty before the judge, there are no better words to hear than the judge’s declaration: “Not guilty.” That is what Jesus says to the guilty-as-sin sinner who comes to Him in repentance.