Morning, my name is Rick Aldrich. I'm another one of the elders here at Christ the King Church,
and it's my privilege to bring the word for us this morning. We're going to be looking at
Ephesians 4.32, as you see there in your bulletin, and as we're going to be dealing with what our
forgiveness is in Christ. Forgiveness is a troubling doctrine for many, and one which Jesus
spent a lot of time teaching on in the scriptures. It's a topic that all believers should endeavor
to understand. John MacArthur said that nearly all his counseling is spent dealing with wrong
thinking concerning forgiveness. A person might struggle because they don't understand their
position before God that comes from forgiveness in Christ. They find it hard to believe that promise
in 2 Corinthians 5.17, where it says, therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation.
The old has passed away. Behold, the new has come. They still have some of their old habits.
They have their old evil thoughts. There still remains from their old life that still haunt them,
and too often they believe that practice instead of believing what the scripture says
about their position in Christ. Also, a wrong understanding of biblical forgiveness can lead
to a lot of unresolved interpersonal conflicts. Biblical forgiveness is more than mere words.
It is what one who has been sinned against brings to the table to work with the one who is repenting
at the work of reconciliation. There are many other wrong ideas, but these are just a couple examples.
As I said, our framework today is going to come from Ephesians 4.32, where Paul says,
Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
Today, I want to look at that end phrase. Today, how God has forgiven us in Christ.
I want to remind us what forgiveness is and hopefully motivate us to want to be better forgivers.
When you talk about forgiveness, most people think they know what you're talking about.
And for the most part, they have a pretty good idea and would recognize true forgiveness if they saw it.
The problem is that forgiveness has grown to encompass other things that are completely foreign to the scriptures.
Psychology has taken the concept of forgiveness and corrupted it, and that perversion has found its way back into the church.
They are trying to deal with the problems of sin and guilt, which do require forgiveness,
but they are rejecting the very basis of forgiveness, the gospel.
Objective truth has taken a backseat to emotions and left us with a convoluted mess.
First, they do try to deal with guilt.
People don't want to feel guilty, so they have to get rid of it somehow.
One way is they try assigning it to someone other than the one who is truly responsible.
So they will begin to look for something that happened in the past and use that as an excuse for the way that they are.
Perhaps their parents or some other family member did something or maybe didn't do something.
Or if that fails, they look at the culture or society around them and see if there might be something there that they can blame.
Another common scapegoat is the church or religion.
They would say that the church is regularly blamed for making people feel guilty,
and it's the church's antiquated views on sin and morality that don't fit anymore and have afflicted this person with misplaced guilt.
Some go so far as to call it abuse and become very hostile towards religion.
Once they have a target to blame, they now have to deal with the anger issues that come from that.
And that's where forgiveness comes in.
But it's not the type of forgiveness the Bible talks about.
It's more of a therapeutic process by which this person learns to just let it go and not be angry anymore.
It's all about taking care of self with no thought towards whom they are angry with,
and especially no thoughts concerning God.
And this leads to other problems.
Soon, sin is being renamed and reclassified as a sickness or a disease.
This leads to other therapies and ultimately distorts people's view of true forgiveness.
True forgiveness is no longer valued and even is deemed unnecessary.
It is all about feelings.
There is no pursuit of reconciliation.
Forgiveness is a private, personal matter and allows people to avoid one another
rather than deal with offenses in a godly manner.
Another corruption arises in that people feel the need to forgive themselves.
They have done something so wrong that they can't move forward.
They just can't let it go.
Why?
Because they are not dealing rightly with the guilt.
They can't make it right and they can't be sure that they won't do it again.
They cannot bring about any change in themselves and they won't submit themselves to God,
to the God who can change them and forgive their guilt.
Another problem occurs when the distorted forgiveness is then projected back on God,
redefining how people see God's forgiveness.
One pastor even wrote recently that hell is full of forgiven people God loves,
whom Jesus died for.
Some even take it a step further and say that they may even need to forgive God.
Their new definition of forgiveness involves ceasing to feel bitterness and resentment,
sometimes causing them to deal with their anger at their circumstances in their life
by forgiving God.
Lewis Smedes justified this approach by saying,
Would it bother God too much if we found our peace by forgiving him for the wrongs we suffer?
What if we found a way of forgiving him without blaming him?
A special sort of forgiving for a special sort of relationship.
Would he mind?
Well, the answer to that is yes, God would mind.
God is holy and perfect and doesn't need any pardon.
He is the standard for right and wrong.
To say that God needs forgiveness is to imply that he is to blame, that he is wrong.
And this is sinful, blasphemous thinking, but unfortunately becoming all too common.
This distortion of forgiveness has led some to conclude that God has to forgive everyone automatically.
And there are many in churches today who believe that they are Christians,
even though they have never genuinely repented or believed,
and it has hampered the church's ability to discern right from wrong and allows evil to flourish.
But we must maintain the biblical concept of forgiveness.
It is essential to proper understanding of who God is and what Jesus has accomplished on behalf of his people.
And it's necessary because sin is a fatal problem for everyone.
The Bible clearly teaches that all have sinned and are worthy of God's condemnation and his wrath leading to destruction.
Beginning in Genesis chapter 3, when sin entered the world,
as Adam disobeyed God and ate from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil,
we see as history unfolds for us in Scripture that this truth is evident.
Man left to himself will be wicked continually.
And the judgment is clearly spelled out.
The soul that sins must die.
The wages of sin is death.
But I don't want to leave it at just that.
We are experts at minimizing our own sin.
We see sin in others and are quick to judge.
But when it comes to our own sin, we lose perspective.
Jesus tries to remedy this in his teaching.
In Matthew chapter 7, Jesus called the sin that we see in others a speck.
And the sin we often overlook in ourselves a log.
And then in Matthew 18, he gives a parable called the parable of the unforgiving servant.
Jesus contrasts these two debts that are owed.
One is so large, too big to ever be repaid.
And one is comparatively small.
And we are the ones with the huge debt.
And those who sinned against us have the small debt.
And this is the way Jesus wants us to see our sin.
So the problem comes when we don't rightly see our sin
and that we don't rightly see forgiveness either.
But let's take a few moments to consider our sins more.
First, we often judge our sin by degrees.
You know, lying is bad, stealing is bad, but not as bad as murder.
Then there are some sins which we barely even see as sins and even tolerate.
And to a certain extent, we can see a little support for this in the Bible
as sins are dealt with in different ways.
Certain sins do carry more severe consequences.
And while we would say there, all sins are practiced,
sometimes we suggest otherwise.
In his book, Respectable Sins, Jerry Bridges talks about certain sins
that we neglect to deal with on a consistent basis.
Things like anger and discontentment and worldliness.
And some will tend to view their sins like this
and conclude that they are not that big a sinner
and, as such, will not value forgiveness very highly.
But we need to add another component to our assessment.
Who have we sinned against?
Again, we do this somewhat on a human level.
We would view offenses against children and other innocent or helpless people
as more heinous than the sins against people who can protect themselves.
We are more disgusted when we hear of someone scamming the elderly
and even in prison with their warped sense of justice.
They reserve their harshest treatment
for those who are convicted of abuse against children.
When I explain this to my children,
we talk about how the consequences are more severe
depending on who is sinned against.
If they break one of the house rules,
they have sinned against their parents
and the consequences are proportionate to that.
If they break a law, they have sinned against society
and the consequences are more severe.
Now we get to the Bible
and the one they have sinned against is God, their creator,
the Holy One, infinite and eternal.
And that is the true measure of our sin.
It doesn't matter that it was only a little lie.
It was a sin against the infinite lawgiver.
It may have only been a piece of fruit,
but God told them not to eat it or they would die.
And if we are going to say the judgment is too harsh,
we are setting ourselves above God
and saying that we know better.
Some would say God sending people to hell is too much,
too extreme.
And either he wouldn't do that or he does that,
then he's a monster, not worthy of worship.
But let me urge you to view your sin this way.
Our creator who made us has a right to demand perfect obedience.
And when we fail, he has the right to set the consequences.
And he has decreed that the soul that sins must die.
The Bible repeatedly shows our condition before this holy judge
of being condemned for our sin
and deserving of eternal destruction.
So work back from there.
If hell is the verdict, then our sin is that bad.
It's that big against the holy God.
But the Bible also shows us another picture.
From the beginning, God has desired to be seen as merciful and loving,
a God who forgives sin.
And he also shows that he is our only hope for forgiveness.
Right after Adam and Eve sinned,
God came and pronounced curses on them and on the serpent.
And to Satan, he prophesied that salvation would come from the woman's seed and defeat Satan.
God later clarified that the seed of the woman would be Abraham's seed
and that through this seed, all the nations of the earth would be blessed.
Through Abraham's grandson, Jacob, the nation of Israel was formed.
And we see this promise to continue to be refined as we learn of the Messiah
throughout the scriptures from the prophets of Israel.
And all the while, God is teaching us that what he wants them to,
he's teaching them and us what he wants us to know about him.
When Moses sought to know God more intimately by seeing his glory,
God revealed this about himself to Moses.
In Exodus 33, I'm going to turn there.
If you would like to turn there and follow along with me,
I'm going to be looking at a few verses throughout Exodus 33 and 34.
But in Exodus 33, in verses 18 through 19,
Moses said,
Please show me your glory.
And God said,
I will make all my goodness pass before you
and will proclaim before you my name, the Lord.
And I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious
and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
And then if we go down into chapter 34 and verses 6 through 7,
it says,
The Lord passed before him and proclaimed,
The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness,
keeping steadfast love for thousands,
forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin,
but who will by no means clear the guilty,
visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children
and the children's children to the third and fourth generation.
So I want to see several important facts that emerge from these verses.
First, in verse 7 there we see,
Forgiveness is an outworking of God's compassion and grace.
The God who forgives iniquity is the God who is merciful and gracious
and slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness.
Forgiveness is a matter of divine grace.
It is from God.
Second, because God's forgiveness is a matter of grace,
it is a gift of God's sovereign grace.
God bestows forgiveness on those whom he chooses to forgive.
None are worthy of this grace,
and thus no one has any claim on God's grace
as manifested in the forgiveness of sins.
God said to Moses,
I will be gracious on whom I will be gracious
and will show mercy on whom I will show mercy.
So God forgives those who he chooses to forgive,
and forgiveness is something which we, as guilty sinners,
have no right to expect or demand.
Third, the grace of God in forgiving sinners
in no way sets aside the justice of God,
which requires the punishment of guilty sinners.
Some may think that they are being gracious
when they overlook sin, and they might be,
but when they simply refuse,
sometimes it's just simply refusing to deal with it.
Many parents think they are gracious
when they do not punish their children for disobedience.
But notice that God's grace
does not set aside punishment for sins.
It is substituted on Jesus who was punished for our sin.
Even at this very early point
in the history of God's dealings with his people,
God makes it very clear
that his grace does not mean
he takes a soft view towards sin.
God deals severely with sin.
When he forgives men for sin,
he still punishes that sin,
and that punishment for sin, as we shall see,
is borne by our Lord Jesus Christ in our place.
Finally, note that the forgiveness of sins
in no way removes any obligation
from the object of God's grace to obey God.
Based upon God's self-revelation of his glory here
and the declaration of his grace and compassion
by which he forgives sin,
Moses goes on to appeal to God for the Israelites.
Down in verse 9 of chapter 34,
he says,
O Lord, if I have found favor in your eyes,
he said,
then let the Lord go with us.
Although this is a stiff-necked people,
forgive our wickedness and our sin.
Take us as your inheritance.
So here we see Moses pleading for divine forgiveness
for his people,
and he receives the assurance
that God will be present with his people
as he leads them into the land of Canaan.
But immediately we see the outgrowth of forgiveness
is an obligation to live in accordance
with the covenant God has established with his people.
If we continue on in 34,
they're starting in verse 10.
There we are.
And he said,
Behold, I am in making a covenant
before all your people.
I will do marvels,
such as have not been created
in all the earth or in any nation.
And all the people among whom you are
shall see the work of the Lord,
for it is an awesome thing
that I will do with you.
Observe what I command you this day.
Make sure that's how far I want to go.
Observe what I command you this day.
Behold, I will drive out before you
the Amorites, the Canaanites, the Hittites,
the Perizzites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites.
Take care, lest you make a covenant
with the inhabitants of the land to which you go,
lest it become a snare in your midst.
You shall tear down their altars
and break their pillars
and cut down their ashram,
for you shall worship no other god
for the Lord, whose name is Jealous,
is a jealous God.
Lest you make a covenant
with the inhabitants of the land
and when they whore after their gods
and sacrifice to their gods
and you are invited,
you eat of his sacrifice
and you take of their daughters
for your sons and their daughters,
whore after their gods
and make your sons whore after their gods.
You shall not make a name for yourself
any gods of cast metal.
So to be God's people,
to have God dwell in their midst,
it requires a solution for sin,
but it also requires a standard of righteousness
which serves to define just what sin is.
And so we see that coming to the people here in this
and it continues on.
We go on after that
and he begins to give commandments
about the Feast of Unleavened Bread
and we begin to see some of the workings
of the Ten Commandments
concerning the Sabbath and other things.
And these things are just showing us again
that there is requirements
that go along with this grace of forgiveness
that God shows us.
That work of reconciliation is still being done there.
And we see that if sin can't be overlooked
but must be punished,
how can this be accomplished?
So under the Old Testament laws,
we continue to look into
what Moses has written down for the Israelites.
we see that men could offer sacrifices
to God for their sins.
In particular,
we think of the Day of Atonement,
this annual day,
which was an occasion
when the sins of the nation
were dealt for for the past year.
But the Day of Atonement
didn't really pay for any sin
or put away sin.
It simply put off divine judgment.
Where we liken the sins of Israel
to a financial debt,
then the sacrifice that was offered
on that Day of Atonement
would be similar to
paying off the interest
for the past year.
Sin was not put away,
but it was put off for another year.
Year after year,
the debt increased.
And someday, somehow,
there must be a payment for the sin.
And so there would be.
The nation of Israel
very quickly began to sin against God
by disobeying His covenant.
And over and over again,
we see the Israelites sin.
And over and over again,
God graciously puts up
with this willful and disobedient people.
Finally, the first generation
of Israelites was forbidden
to enter into the promised land.
They died in the wilderness.
And their sons and daughters
were about to enter that land
as the book of Deuteronomy begins.
The Mosaic covenant
is once again reiterated,
reiterated,
and the Ten Commandments
are repeated in Deuteronomy 5.
But there is no note of optimism here.
The problem underlying Israel's rebellion
is the condition of the hearts
of the Israelites.
Deuteronomy 29.4 says,
But to this day,
the Lord has not given you
a heart to understand
or eyes to see
or ears to hear.
And throughout the whole book
of Deuteronomy,
it's clear that the Israelites
will not keep God's covenant
with them
and that the nation
will experience the cursings
that are spelled out in this book,
particularly in chapter 28.
And in spite of their disobedience,
there is still hope for the nation
because God is a forgiving God.
And His forgiveness
is not based on man's worth
or merit.
Consequently,
Moses actually tells the people
that after they have been driven
out of the promised land
and lived in captivity
among the nations,
God will fulfill His promise
and bless this nation.
If you want to turn over
to Deuteronomy chapter 30,
we're going to look at a few verses
there
where Moses tells them this,
that
we see the promises.
In chapter 30
of Deuteronomy,
verses 1 through 5,
it says,
And when all these things
come upon you,
the blessing and the curse,
which I have set before you,
and you call them to mind
among all the nations
where the Lord your God
has driven you,
and return to the Lord your God,
you and your children,
and obey His voice
in all that I command you today
with all your heart
and with all your soul,
then the Lord your God
will restore your fortunes
and have mercy on you.
And He will gather you again
from all the peoples
where the Lord your God
has scattered you.
If your outcasts
are in the uttermost part of heaven,
from there the Lord your God
will gather you,
and from there He will take you.
And the Lord your God
will bring you into the land
that your fathers possess,
that you may possess it,
and He will make you
more prosperous and numerous
than your fathers.
So we see God promises
to bring about these promises
to these people
when they have repented
and returned to Him.
He goes on to indicate
that the repentance
of the Israelites
is a result of His work
in their hearts,
giving them a new heart
which seeks to please Him
and which loves
to keep His commandments.
We see this in 6 through 10.
It says,
And the Lord your God
will circumcise your heart
and the heart of your offspring
so that you will love
the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and that you may live.
And the Lord your God
will put all these curses
on your foes
and enemies
who persecuted you.
And you shall again
obey the voice of the Lord
and keep all His commandments
that I command you today.
The Lord your God
will make you abundantly prosperous
in all the work of your hand,
in the fruit of your womb
and in the fruit of your cattle
and in the fruit of your ground.
For the Lord again
will take delight
in prospering you
as He took delight
in your fathers.
When you obey the voice
of the Lord your God
to keep His commandments
and His statutes
that are written
in this book of the law,
when you turn
to the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul.
When we look carefully
at the words there next
that He says,
I mean,
we see Him given this heart,
but we also,
I think,
need to make a crucial observation
as we go on
and read the next few verses.
Beginning in 11,
it says,
For this commandment
that I command you today
is not too hard for you,
neither is it far off.
It is not in heaven
that you should say,
Who will ascend to the heaven for us
and bring it to us
that we may hear it and do it?
Neither is it beyond the sea
that you should say,
Who will go over the sea for us
and bring it to us
that we may hear it and do it?
But the word is very near you.
It is in your mouth
and in your heart
so that you can do it.
We see here,
He calls it the commandment.
It is just one commandment.
It is not ten or more.
And this one commandment
that is being commanded,
He says that this commandment
is not too difficult.
And so what is this one commandment?
It is in effect
when you turn to the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul.
We see that in verse 10.
So if the law were to be summed up
in one commandment,
what would it be?
And we know that answer from Scripture.
Matthew 22,
Jesus is with the Pharisees
and the Sadducees
and it says in 22,
starting in verse 34 through 38,
it says,
But when the Pharisees heard
that He had silenced the Sadducees,
they gathered together.
And one of them,
a lawyer,
asked a question to test Him.
Teacher,
which is the greatest commandment
in the law?
And He said to Him,
You shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart
and with all your soul
and with all your mind.
this is the great
and first commandment.
And so when we break
this greatest of commandments,
we are the greatest of sinners.
The commandments of the Lord
found in the law here
are impossible for men to keep.
And to avoid,
it's impossible for men to keep
to avoid sin
or to bring about
the forgiveness of sins.
This is what the Israelites are told.
And history has shown
that God's people
cannot keep the law.
If they suppose
their law keeping
will bring about God's blessings
and assure them
of God's forgiveness,
they are wrong.
Attempts at law keeping
only prove men
to be guilty sinners
worthy of death.
So because the forgiveness
of sins
was not something
men could bring about,
these men of God
began to look forward
to a time
when God would accomplish
this task.
All through the rest
of the Old Testament,
this theme would be developed
as we see the outworkings
of the covenant
made with Moses
and the eventual promise
of even a new covenant.
Finally,
in the fullness of time,
God sends his son,
the one promised
in Genesis 3,
the seed who will come
to deal with the problem
of sin.
He sends the Messiah,
the promised one.
He comes to fulfill
God's promise
to forgive men's sins
and to create
a new heart within.
From the beginning
of his ministry,
Jesus showed that
his mission
was to forgive sins.
Why don't you turn
with me to Luke 5.
We're going to look
at verses 17 through 26.
Let me read that to us.
And one of those days,
as he was teaching,
Pharisees and teachers
of the law
were sitting there
who had come
from every village
of Galilee and Judea
and from Jerusalem.
And the power of the Lord
was with him to heal.
And behold,
some men were bringing
on a bed
a man who was paralyzed.
And they were seeking
to bring him in
and lay him before Jesus,
but finding no way
to bring him in
because of the crowd.
They went up on the roof
and let him down
with his bed,
through the tiles,
into the midst
before Jesus.
And when he saw
their faith,
he said,
Man,
your sins are forgiven you.
And the scribes
and the Pharisees
began to question,
saying,
Who is this
who speaks blasphemies?
Who can forgive sins
but God alone?
When Jesus perceived
their thoughts,
he answered them,
Why do you question
in your hearts?
Which is easier to say,
your sins are forgiven,
or to say,
rise and walk?
But that you may know
that the Son of Man
has authority on earth
to forgive sins,
he said to the man
who was paralyzed,
I say to you,
rise up,
pick up your bed,
and go home.
And immediately
he rose up before them
and picked up
what he had been lying on
and went home,
glorifying God.
And amazement seized
them all,
and they glorified God
and were filled with awe,
saying,
We have seen
extraordinary things today.
Jesus' actions
and words here
in Luke
are truly remarkable.
And he boggled the minds
of those who understood
the implications
of what he was doing.
If we have learned anything
from the Old Testament,
it is that God alone
can forgive sins.
God's solution for sinners
was the coming of the Messiah
who would bear the sins of men.
When Jesus was confronted
with the paralytic
lowered through the roof,
he did not deal
with his physical problem first,
but rather he dealt
with his greater spiritual dilemma,
his sins.
When Jesus told this man
that his sins were forgiven,
Jesus claimed far more
than the people expected.
A mere man,
perhaps a prophet,
might be able to cast out demons
or perform miracles of healing,
but only God
can forgive sins.
When Jesus healed this man
and forgave him
of his sins,
Jesus boldly proclaimed
that he was the Messiah,
the one who had come
to accomplish
the forgiveness of sins
and eternal salvation.
It is he who can
and will change
the hearts of men
to love God and men.
So then as we come
to the time for our Lord
to be crucified for our sins,
he spoke these words
to our disciples
which we heard earlier
as he instituted
the Lord's Supper.
In Matthew 26,
it says,
now as they were eating,
Jesus took bread
and after blessing,
he broke it
and gave it to the disciples
and said,
take, eat,
this is my body.
And he took a cup
and when he had given thanks,
he gave it to them saying,
drink of it,
all of you,
for this is my blood
of the covenant
which is poured out for many
for the forgiveness of sins.
The forgiveness of sins
has been accomplished
once and for all
by the sacrifice
of Jesus Christ
on the cross of Calvary.
He was sinless,
yet he bore our sins.
So that we might be forgiven.
God did not overlook our sins
but he punished them in Christ.
The good news of the gospel
is that those who believe
in Jesus Christ
can have their sins forgiven.
Later after he rose
from the dead,
he's walking with a couple disciples
on the road to Emmaus
in Luke 24
and it says that
he opened their minds
to understand the scriptures
and said to them,
thus it is written
that the Christ should suffer
and on the third day
rise from the dead
and that repentance
and forgiveness of sins
should be proclaimed
in his name
to all the nations
beginning from Jerusalem.
You are the witness
of these things.
And so we see Jesus
just telling us
this is what the gospel is.
Preaching repentance
and the forgiveness of sins
starting in Jerusalem
to all the nations.
And so this is the gospel
that we preach
and seek to spread.
The forgiveness of sins
is not man's work
but God's.
And in Acts 5.31,
Peter also announces
that God not only grants
the forgiveness of sins
but also repentance.
Men are to repent
but it is God
who brings men to repentance.
Salvation is wholly
the work of God
and not of men.
Forgiveness of sins
is entirely God's work
and all we must do
to receive it
is to repent
and believe in Jesus Christ
to trust in his
sacrificial death,
burial,
and resurrection.
Forgiveness of sins
is impossible
for men to accomplish.
But God has accomplished
the impossible
through Jesus Christ.
In order to receive
this forgiveness
we need to confess
our sins.
That is to agree
with God's judgment
on them
and the fact that
we are deserving
of eternal wrath.
And then when Jesus
died on the cross
to pay for our sins
we need to understand
that he did indeed
pay for them.
All of them.
1 John 2.2 says
that he is the propitiation
for our sins
and not for ours only
but also for the sins
of the whole world.
He died for every
single one of our sins
and he provided
the payment for those.
1 John 1.9 says
if we confess our sins
he is faithful and just
to forgive us our sins
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
Jesus paid for all
the sins of all of us.
Just before he died
on the cross
Jesus cried out
it is finished.
He used a Greek word there
that had to do
with commerce
but the meaning of it
was the debt
has been paid
in full.
All of our sins
were atoned for
by the death
of Jesus on the cross
and this has great
implications for us.
That means when we ask
the Lord to forgive
our sins
he does.
He is faithful
and righteous
to forgive us
our sins
and he forgives us
in some marvelous ways.
Let me just detail these
as we close our time today.
First he forgives us
graciously.
That is again
we don't deserve it.
God did not forgive us
because we were good.
Romans 5.8
says that it is
while we were yet sinners
Christ died for us.
He forgives us
because he is gracious
which means that
he treats us
far better than we deserve.
He also forgives us
freely.
God does not make us
earn our forgiveness
by doing some great deed.
Forgiveness is not cheap.
It costs
the unimaginable price
of the death
of the Son of God
on the cross
but it is free to us.
We don't have to pay
anything for it.
The gift of God
is eternal life
as it tells us
in Romans 6.23.
He forgives us freely.
He also forgives us deeply.
No matter what our sin
he forgives us.
It doesn't matter
what sin you have committed
God will forgive you.
King David was an adulterer
and a murderer
and a liar
and God forgave him.
The Apostle Paul
said he was a blasphemer
and God forgave him.
Peter denied three times
that he even knew Jesus
and God forgave him.
Paul said in
1 Corinthians 6.9-11
speaking of adulterers
homosexuals
thieves and drunkards
that such were some of you
but you were washed.
He indicated that
all these sins
can be forgiven.
So do you have anything
worse on your spiritual resume?
Not likely.
He can pay for all
he has paid for all
these sins.
It says in John 1.9 again
1 John 1.9
The blood of Jesus
his son
cleanses us
from all sin.
There is no sin
you have committed
that God will not forgive
if you bring it to him.
We can take comfort
in that.
He forgives us deeply.
That means no matter
what the sin
we can thank God
for forgiving us.
And not only that
he also forgives us
repeatedly.
Again here we can claim
1 John 1.9
which says
if we confess our sins
he is faithful
and righteous
to forgive us our sins.
The word faithful
means that he will do it
every time.
He forgives us repeatedly.
Just think of it.
Jesus commanded Peter
that we are to forgive
our brothers
70 times 7
then we know
that he will do
the same thing for us.
He is not asking us
to do something
which he himself
will not do.
And that's good news.
How many of us
have had to avail
ourselves of him
as his repeated
forgiving grace
for the same sin
over and over?
How many times
do you have to ask God
to forgive you
for words that we say?
Or how many times
do you have to come back
to him in prayer
for the same anger?
Or for not doing
what you knew
you should have done
or whatever
your besetting sin is?
Thank God
that there is no limit
on his forgiveness
of us.
So as I close today
I just want to invite you
again as Ben did
if you have not already
received the forgiveness
from God
and maybe God
is showing you
that your sin
is worthy of condemnation
and even death
understand that
it's not too big.
I urge you
repent
and believe
in Jesus Christ
that Jesus Christ
paid that price
on the cross
and that if you
turn to him
God will forgive you
today.
God in Christ
has forgiven us
so let us thank him
and praise him
for this great gift.
Join me in prayer.
Dear Heavenly Father
we do confess
that we are
great sinners.
You are a great God
and we have sinned
against you
and Father
we do not even
comprehend
what that means fully
but Father
help us
to continually
understand
what a great
forgiveness
you have shown us.
Father
I just
again thank you
that you have
revealed this
to us in the word
that you have
sent your son
Jesus Christ
to die
as a payment
for sin
that you raised
him from the dead
showing that
that payment
was accepted.
Father
I pray that
even now
if you are
convicting some
of their sin
and their need
for forgiveness
I pray that you
would do that work
in their lives
and that you
would cause them
to turn to you
in repentance
today
and believe
and that you
might forgive them.
Father
continue to be
with us
as we worship
and think
on this great gift
and we pray
these things
in Jesus name
Amen.