17 The fact is that God makes every one of us who trusts in Christ to be completely different than we were before. Our old way of conducting our lives is gone. We now have a completely new way of conducting our lives. 18 This complete change in our lives is all something that God does. It is God who made it possible for us to have a peaceful relationship with him. He was able to do that because of what Christ did for us. Now God has sent me, and those who work with me, to tell people that they can have a peaceful relationship with him. 19 That is, he sent us(exc) to tell them that when Christ died, God was making it possible for everyone [MTY] in the world to have a peaceful relationship with him. He no longer keeps a record of the sinful things that we believers have done. The message that God has given to us to tell people is how we can have a peaceful relationship with him. 20 So, it is I and my companions who are Christ’s representatives in this world. When we tell people the message about Christ, it is God himself who is pleading with them by means of what we say. So, as true representatives of Christ, we plead with you: Believe God’s true message about Christ in order that you may be reconciled to {have a peaceful relationship with} him. 21 You must believe that even though Jesus never sinned, God punished him for all the sinful things that people do, just as if Jesus had done those sinful things himself. And because of our close relationship with Christ, God has erased the record of our sins/declared us no longer guilty for our sins.