Hi, my name is George Sinclair. I'm the lead pastor of Church of the Messiah.
! It is wonderful that you would like to check out some of the sermons done by Church of the Messiah,
either by myself or some of the others. Listen, just a couple of things. First of all, would you pray for us
that we will open God's Word well to His glory and for the good of people like yourself?
The second thing is, if you aren't connected to a church and if you are a Christian,
we really, I would really like to encourage you to find a good local church where they believe the
Bible, they preach the gospel, and if you have some trouble finding that, send us an email. We will do
what we can to help connect you with a good local church wherever you are. And if you're a non-Christian,
checking us out, we're really, really, really glad you're doing that. Don't hesitate to send us
questions. It helps me actually to know, as I'm preaching, how to deal with the types of things
that you're really struggling with. So God bless.
I invite you to bow your heads in prayer. Father, I ask that the Holy Spirit would fall with gentle power
upon us at this time. Father, we give you thanks and praise that your Word written is both on one hand
a mirror for us to see and understand ourselves better, and it's also, Father, a window that opens
us up to see who you are and what you have promised and what you have said and what you will do and have
done. And so we ask, Father, that you would bring your Word deep into our hearts, you would bring the
Gospel deep into our hearts that it might form us, so that we will perfectly love you and worthily
magnify your holy name. And we ask this in Jesus' name. Amen. Please be seated.
So one of the features of relationships is, of course, we want to have good relationships. That's
one of the things we really desire. But it's often the case that in a relationship, one of the people
has almost a supernatural ability to say something to the other person that deeply wounds them. Now,
if it's a supernatural ability, in this case, it would be probably demonic. But you know what I
mean. It's as if... And how the wound works is this. So I'm going along, or you're going along,
and there's a whole pile of things that somebody could say about me that I just go, yeah, whatever.
Yeah, you know, whatever. Yeah, yeah, whatever. And you're thinking that in your own mind.
But then in the midst of a couple of those things of criticism, you know, the yeah, whatever,
the whatever, that then there's the boom, boom. The one that actually really you're worried about,
you're afraid of. And this isn't just in like marriages, and it can be husbands and wives,
it can be mothers and fathers and their kids, it can be churches, it often is in churches,
where, you know, there's all sorts of things people might say to criticize me that I might be,
you know, whatever. But then there's that, they say that one thing, and whoa, that really goes deep
inside the heart and really wounds. And it's not just that other people have that ability. If we're
honest, we've done that as well. There's been times that we've said something that really just
hurts the other person. Sometimes you can recognize almost instantly on their face that you really hurt
them. And other times you can't, but you find out later that you've that one word really, really,
really, really damaged the relationship. And made even the relationship, in some cases,
the relationship can't recover. And even if it does recover, it's very, very, very difficult to
reconcile. The Bible text that we're going to look at today, which Josiah read just a few moments ago,
and we're going to go back and look at, believe it or not, it's not like a magic bullet that will
automatically help you with that. But it's actually provides the building blocks in the ground
for us to have a type of resiliency with those things. But not just a resiliency, because sometimes
we have done those wrong things, right? It's not just a character attack, but a way to have a type of
balance and equilibrium and a secure emotional and intellectual place to deal with those things
and be resilient. And believe it or not, the scripture text today has some very profound truths
to say about this. So it would be very helpful to me and to you if you take out your own Bibles
and turn in them to Romans chapter 5, verses 6 to 11, which is what we're looking at today.
We're going through the book of Romans slowly. Towards the end of June, we'll get to chapter 7.
And I'm not sure if we're going to take the summer off and the fall and then come back in January to
finish the book or if we'll finish the book in September. But we're going through the book slowly.
And it begins in a way which is profoundly unpromising for many people in our culture. It begins by saying
this, for while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. And you know,
sometimes I'll say, if you actually know the original language, it's not quite as like it says something
a little bit different. And in this case, it can also be translated as powerless,
powerless. Like not just weak, but powerless. It's actually far more blunt in one of the senses. So weak's a good translation.
For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Now I know for some people
it's a bit of an insult, but for those of us who've come to learn our weakness, it's actually a profoundly
helpful thing. When I was studying this text this week, I was thinking of a fellow that I know that I
see all the time at one of the coffee shops I frequent, not all the time, but fairly regularly.
And he's a self-made man. He's probably about 70, very, very strong, very, very healthy, and a successful
businessman. Not in the success in the sense that he'd count his wealth in tens of millions of dollars,
but he would count his wealth in the millions, at least. So a successful guy, a strong guy, a
self-made man, in quotation marks, but truly not a guy. You know, sometimes, you know what's that saying
about some people? They think, you know, you know, I got up to base and hit a triple and not realize
they were born on third base. They didn't do anything. They're just nepotism. This was a guy who really has.
And I think if he was to be honest, he would listen to this and says, for a while we were still weak.
And he would think, okay, well, why is the Bible insulting me? Because I'm not weak.
And, in fact, actually, he also said, why are you calling me ungodly? Now, interestingly enough,
this fellow, he'd probably be offended if he heard the text that said he was ungodly.
But at the same time, if you asked him about his life, he'd say, well, I give no attention to God
whatsoever. I don't pay any, I don't give him any thought. I just go ahead and do it myself,
which is actually how you define ungodly. Somebody who has no time whatsoever for the triune
and God wants to live their own life, you know, couldn't give a hoot about God. They hear about
what God, you know, says about certain things. They just go, yeah, whatever, yeah, whatever,
whatever, whatever. And not only whatever, whatever, whatever, there's no way God could
actually say something that might pierce me and hurt me, like just whatever, right? And that's how he
would understand himself. But on the other hand, there might be some here hearing this text for the
first time. And you go, wow, this text is speaking about me. I really feel right now in my situation
that I'm really weak and powerless. Like I'm really struggling with a disability that I have. I'm
really struggling maybe with alcohol. I'm really struggling in relationships. You know, my credit
card debt is just really breaking me and bending and, and, and, you know, my relate, like there, you
might hear that and say, yeah, you know what that I am weak. And even the ungodly part, they might say,
you know what, that's not really that far off. I really, up until very recently, haven't actually
given two seconds thought about God whatsoever, what he would say. So there's two different ways
to hear this text, you know. But I'll just say one thing. I wouldn't say it to my friend unless
the conversation moved in a very particular direction. But I said my friend is probably about
70 and very strong and a self-made man, but he's actually living in a delusion. Isn't he?
Like I just finished reading 1st and 2nd Chronicles and 1st and 2nd Kings. And I, you know, I think
maybe there's just a one or two kings out of all of those that are listed that hit 70.
I was just looking up a philosopher that was important in a novel that I read, a very famous
philosopher, if you're into philosophy, he died at 44. C.S. Lewis died at 62 or something like that,
right? Like you think about it, a lot of people don't make it to 70. And the one thing for sure is that
he's close to death.
So,
my mechanic just died at 71, dropped dead of a heart attack.
So, it's in a sense an illusory world to think that you're self-made and you're strong. Because
the fact is, even if you have been very strong your entire life, you began weak, you were weak for many,
many years, and your latter days will be weak and you will die. Now, I'm not saying that if you're
here thinking those things as an insult. But what I am saying is that the hard part about the Bible for
many people is that they think, the average Canadian would think that they're, or the typical
Canadian would think that they're realistic and the Bible is unrealistic. And the problems they
have with the Bible is often because the Bible is more realistic than they are.
That, I mean, weakness is really a thing about human beings. We are completely and utterly dependent on
them. Electricity working, all of these other things working that we can't control, we're completely
dependent upon them. But this isn't, but my friend I think would say, and probably validly, but George,
even if I come to accept this, I mean, why do I need to hear that? That doesn't help me. It doesn't
help me to be reminded that I'm weak or that I should have some thoughts about God. And it just still
does seem like a little bit of a put down. And it seems like it's just one of those things that
religions do. But they put it down. And often when religions put people down, they exclude themselves.
But just before we go any further as to why it's not just an insult, look again at verse 6 again,
because it says, while we were still weak. In other words, I can never read this text as if it's referring
to my friend and not to me. And Paul, who wrote this, didn't write it as if it applied to everybody
in the world except him, or all the people outside of Christ except Christians. He says, we were still
weak. It includes us. And it actually has something very hopeful, which you're going to see more in a
second when we read verses 6 to 8. And it's in that very simple little word. Look again at verse 6.
For while we were still weak, at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.
And the right time there, in the original language, there's two different types of words for time. One is
just chronos, which is just chronological. This, then this, then this, then this. This 10 minute block,
then this 10 minute block, then this 10 minute block, then this 10 minute block. Chronos time would be the
hour and a half you spent doom scrolling on Instagram or Twitter or some other type of thing. That's just
chronos time. Kairos time is something completely different. Kairos time implies that we live in a
world that God exists in and that our lives have meaning. And it's like there's a significant time,
a meaningful time, a time that touches on eternity, a time that is touching transcendence and imminence,
a very, very, very significant time. And not just significant in terms of it's significant for me
that this happened on a certain day, but significant in not only the whole big meaning and shape of your
life, but in some type of almost cosmological and transcendent sense. And that's what the text is
saying. For while we were still weak at the Kairos moment, Christ actually died for the weak and the
ungodly. And then it continues, verse 7. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person, though perhaps for a
good person, one would dare even to die. But God shows his love for us, demonstrates his love for us, in that
while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. That's a very, very packed thing. And what it's saying
is that, you know, all sorts of people will die doing things. But, you know, like, so, you know, for instance,
when Hamas dies, they die because they want to kill as many of us as possible.
Right? That's why they die. They're actively engaged in trying to kill as many of people like us as
possible. And if they could kill us, they probably would, until they get their way. And then in wars,
you're in wars and people die, and there's obviously acts of heroism. And I'm not saying that all wars are
wrong. There are just wars. There really are. And praise God for those in our armed forces who at
different times have volunteered to stand and defend our country and defend freedom and to deliver people
from totalitarian bondage and power and death cults. Praise God for them. And some will die as a result of
that. But there's a cause which is going on there, and they get, and most people don't go in thinking,
I'm going there to die. They go there to live, and they die as a consequence. And obviously,
we can see that, and this is getting closer to what Paul is saying here, is that it might very
well be that a mother would willingly die for their child, or a father for their child, or a father,
a husband for his wife, or vice versa. But this is not talking about that. This is just talking about
how, if you were just to take the people who are going outside there, how many of the people walking by
this, the building this way or that, or driving by, how many of them would you die for? Well, the answer is none.
Zero. Nada. Not going to do it. Like, don't even think about it. And then maybe if you found out that one of
those people was really, really, really, really, really, really, really good, or they'd been really, really,
really, really, really a kind benefactor and done lots of charity work and are continuing to do it, would you die for them?
Would you die for them? Well, maybe one of us would. One in a thousand, one in a hundred thousand,
one in a million, but still, no, somebody else could do that type of thing. There must be some
other work around. That's just not going to happen. And what this Bible text is saying is that,
if you look at it again, verse seven and eight, for no, for one will scarcely die for a righteous person,
though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die, but God shows his love for us.
And the word shows means demonstrates, proves, makes public. His love for us, that in that while we
were still sinners, and sinner is a relationship type of word, it's saying, in a sense, we say to God,
we're not interested. It's a little bit like the rebellious 15 or 16 year old whose parents say,
yes, you can go out tonight and you can borrow, there's 16 or 17, and you can borrow the car,
but you got to be back by 10. And the 16 or 17 year old says, just to show my parents they can't tell me
what I should do, I'm going to come back at one in the morning, or two in the morning, just to show them
they can't tell me what to do. That's capturing the idea of sin. It's a more relational type of defiance
against God and what he said. And it's, but notice in all of this, that God shows his love for us,
demonstrate, proves that he actually loves us, in that while we were weak, while we were ungodly,
while we were sinners, he died for us. He died for us. And the word there, for us, it, there's some
nuances in it, but primarily it's saying that he died in my place. He died in my stead. It's not as if
he died, you know, tragically trying to defend me or accomplish something for me. No, no, the whole
reason he came is he looked down the corridors of history and he saw George, and he saw that George
is weak, and he saw that George fundamentally doesn't really care about God and God's ways,
and that in fact George has often been like that 17 year old and just said, I'm going to show you,
Kent Bosmira, I'm going to do whatever I want. And God saw all of those things for me, and out of love,
not out of weakness, not out of guilt, not out of shame, not out of some sense that he needs to prove
himself, because he had nothing to prove, he doesn't need anything, and completely and utterly out of love,
he decided to take my place.
He decided to take my place and die.
And, and you know, the thing, one of the things which is so, there's many things which are wonderful
about, about, about Christianity, but
one of the things which is just so wonderful about this is that Christianity is completely
and utterly unique amongst all of the religions in the world.
If the Quran, I don't know if the Quran actually says that God loves you,
but if it did, you could say
to those who believe the Quran, well, prove it.
Why should I believe that?
In fact, there's good reasons for me not to believe it.
Some of the things it says,
and some of the things I know about Muhammad, there's good reasons not to believe it.
Like, why should I believe that?
It would be the same with anything. It would be the same with, you know, Buddhism,
it would be the same with Hinduism. If they say that God is love,
you say, well, why should I believe that?
But Christianity is all, you can't, you know, you could have Buddhism without Buddha.
In fact, Buddhas would say that because there can be other gurus.
There could have been somebody else who had an enlightenment other than the Ketama.
And, and in a sense, Muhammad was just God's final prophet.
There were other prophets and there could have been some other one other than Muhammad
to deliver the, the, the Quran to the human race.
And the same with Hinduism. There's been many sages,
but you can't have Christianity without Jesus.
And the very heart of the Christian faith is his death upon a cross and his resurrection.
And the resurrection changes everything.
The resurrection after his crucifixion changes everything.
So when I say these things about this demonstrates God's love,
it's not just like me talking about Santa Claus or the Easter bunny or the great pumpkin,
if you're like the peanuts.
This actually something that happened like in history.
I was just listening to an interview with Molly Werther a little while ago.
She teaches at an elite university in the States and she writes for elite publications like the Atlantic
and the New York or the New York Times.
And she's, I think she's in her mid to late forties.
She became a Christian just a couple of years ago as an adult.
And, and she's a history professor.
And one of the things is that she got challenged about this.
She's actually, believe it or not, her specialization was the history of Christianity.
And she got confronted by a guy who said, you know, you're a professor,
an expert in the history of Christianity,
but you've never actually studied the origin of Christianity
in this central Christian belief that Jesus died on a cross and rose from the dead.
She ended up being convicted by it.
And so she looked into it and as, as she was sharing the interview,
one of the things is that it shocked her.
It shocked her for how much evidence there was that he actually rose from the dead.
Like it shocked her.
It's not compelling evidence that you can't, you can look at it,
not come up with any other explanation,
but it was just very, very shockingly strong.
And she began, as she says, from an atheistic perspective,
just looking at the historical documents,
giving them no credence as to having any type of special value
or holy significance whatsoever.
And that was part, of course, of her whole becoming a Christian.
But the point is that when they say here that Christ died for us,
that we're talking about this way that what Christians understand
is that when Jesus died on the cross,
he died in our place, in our stead.
And he died knowing that people did not care about God.
He knew there are weaknesses.
He knew our rebellion.
And in a moment, we're going to see another image of being reconciled.
We didn't want to reconcile with God.
And God, knowing all of this, God, the Son of God,
took into himself our human nature,
and Jesus actually died on the cross.
You see, here's the thing.
You can never do anything to make God love you more.
I'll say that again.
You can never do anything to make God love you more.
Because God is love.
He is love.
I'll say it again.
You can never do anything to make God love you more.
Because God is love.
He is love.
He doesn't have love.
He's not loving.
I mean, he is loving, but he's loving because he is love.
And you don't have to, you can't say love itself.
It's love himself.
That's who he is.
Now, some might hear this and say, well, George, I'm not.
So you're saying that you put your faith in Christ
and somehow you're made right with God.
And George, okay, George, I'm not entirely like you.
You know, George, I'm actually way weaker than you are, maybe.
That's why maybe I'm not a Christian and you can be.
And you know what?
I'm actually way more uninterested in religious and spiritual things than you are.
And I actually, I can really screw up relationships.
And I'm sure that given how good I am at screwing up relationships,
that if I was to actually see God, I'd screw up that relationship as well.
And I'm definitely, you said something about reconciliation,
and I definitely am not good at reconciling.
So I don't know if things like this are for me.
And the next part is just so unbelievably beautiful and precious.
Look what it says next.
It's as if God, and not as if he does, in fact,
anticipate those problems that we have.
And he says in verse 9, the Bible says in verse 9,
since therefore, look at the double therefores,
since, since, therefore, therefore.
Sorry, I chuckle over things like that.
And therefore, therefore, since, since, we have now been justified by his blood,
that is, by his death, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God.
And I'm not going to go over the wrath of God at great length.
But what this text is saying is this.
It's mainly what we were talking about last week,
and just sort of, you know, the Bible isn't, the Bible,
Romans says that the gospel is,
for I'm not ashamed of the gospel,
for it is the power of God for salvation for everyone who believes.
The gospel is a proclamation.
It's news.
And in this news is this idea that God has done something in this,
in the mystery of what his son has done upon,
by his death upon the cross.
There's been something profound that God has done for human beings
that we cannot do for ourselves because we are weak,
because our connection with God is at best intermittent,
and our concern about what God thinks is at best intermittent.
And we actually, completely and utterly incompetent,
incompetent at actually even being reconciled to God.
And in that whole situation,
God does something for us that we can't do for ourselves.
And he does it with his son's life upon earth,
and then his death upon the cross, and his resurrection.
And when I trust, take God at his word,
when I trust what God has said that he's done in his son,
and what Jesus said he was accomplishing,
I take him at his word, and I believe it and trust into that,
I enter into union with him.
And in union with him, then these profound benefits come to me,
which I'll talk about two of them in a moment.
But then it's as if, you know, it's like receiving Christ is a little bit,
like I shared about last week,
like receiving a coin of infinite value.
And in that coin, one side of it said,
made right with God, and the other side says justified.
And what do those two things mean?
The first thing means that you're literally made right with God.
It's right, you're right.
You're in Christ, it's right with me.
And justified is this other aspect of a,
it's almost like a formal public declaration
and guarantee from all eternity.
I declare that George, who has put his faith and trust
into the Lord Jesus Christ, is right with me,
and right with the created order,
and right with eternity from this time on,
from his entire life into all eternity.
I proclaim it.
It's guaranteed by me.
I have done it.
Christ has done it.
It is guaranteed.
And it would be as if the day that I put my faith in Christ,
there was a billboard put in heaven
that God says on that billboard,
today, George put his faith and trust
in the Lord Jesus Christ.
He is right with me.
I guarantee it for all eternity.
I guarantee it.
And when I get to the new heaven and the new earth,
maybe I will see that billboard,
and we can all go around,
and I can go with Daniels.
Hey, Daniel, there's yours.
And there, Daniel, sorry, lots of Daniels.
There's yours, you know?
Marshall, Beth, there's yours.
That's what justified means.
That's what Christ accomplished for you and me
when he died on the cross.
And so, you see, it's not a matter of then,
he did that, and look what it says again, right?
It's saying that, you know,
listen to verses 6 through 9 again.
For while we were still weak,
God knew we, Christ knew we were weak,
and he died for us.
He died for the ungodly.
He knew I was ungodly when he died for me.
And then, you know, it says,
somebody will scarcely die for a righteous person
through perhaps for a good person
one would dare even to die.
You know, why is it that a parent
would be very different with their own child
than it would be for just that same parent
with the random stranger going by?
They love their child.
No way would they not die for their child
if it was a matter of their child gets to live if I die.
Yes, absolutely.
It's pointing to this profound love
that God has for us.
But God shows his love for us,
demonstrates it,
that while we were still sinners,
ungodly and weak,
Christ died for us.
Since therefore we have now been justified
by his blood,
much more will be saved
from the wrath of God from him.
And I'll explain what that means in a moment
when you look at verse 10.
Like, why death?
Why death?
Why was death required?
Well, let's look at verse 10.
Notice it begins with the word for.
For if while we were enemies,
here's another thing,
I'm weak,
I'm godly,
a sinner,
an enemy.
Sorry, just a joke, right?
God, why don't you tell us
what you really think?
You know,
he does, right?
Enemies,
read again,
for if while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God
by the death of his son,
much more,
now that we are reconciled,
shall we be saved by his life.
More than that,
we also rejoice in God
through our Lord Jesus Christ,
through whom we have now
received reconciliation.
Go back to verse 10.
For if while we were enemies,
we were reconciled to God
by the death of his son.
You know,
one of the things which is unique,
another thing which is unique
amongst,
of Christianity,
amongst all of the world's religions,
is none of the other world's religions
care about you being reconciled to God.
Quran does not teach
that God is,
that Allah is concerned
with being reconciled to you.
You being reconciled to him.
Because he's not,
doesn't desire a relationship with you.
You were created in a sense
to be a slave.
All the pagan religions,
you're fundamentally created
to be a slave
to the ancestors or the gods.
And then of course,
at the end as well,
in the Eastern religions,
in their governing myths,
the fact that human beings
exist at all
is a tragedy.
And you end up
just being merged with the all.
There's no reconciliation.
Reconciliation requires others
and assumes relationships and love.
It's a completely,
massively unusual idea.
And I think that explains
why we human beings
not only long
at our deepest levels
for reconciliation with God,
but long to be reconciled
with others.
So why this image?
Well here,
consider this example.
I decide to be a good guy one day.
I have an extra car
and so I lend it to one of you.
And because you're really stuck,
you really need to get to Toronto,
let's say,
and get back.
And you're really stuck
for some money
and I say,
here,
you can borrow my car
and here,
I'll lend you my credit card
so you can get some gas
and get some meal.
And you know,
the implication is
you'll give me the car back
and you'll give me the,
you'll pay me back later on,
right?
Maybe I'll cut it off
a little bit
because I,
you know,
I want to be a good guy
and all that.
But you know,
I'm generous.
Here's the credit card.
Here's the car.
And you take it
and you keep it
and you wreck it
and you make it all
completely and utterly filthy
inside and bang it up
and you get a whole pile
of traffic tickets
which are all going to be
in my name,
not yours.
And you rack up
a whole pile of credit card debt
almost immediately
before I can find out
what's going on
and you refuse to give
the car back.
You refuse to give me
the credit card back.
You bad mouth me publicly
for even suggesting it
and you lie about me
and you slander me
and then you claim
that in fact,
it's all your,
all my fault,
not their fault
and that in fact,
the debt really is theirs
and
well,
that would be
a terrible situation.
You could change it.
You,
you let a,
you know,
you,
you let a person
borrow your cottage
or your house.
Same type of idea
and they just wreck it
and tell everybody
it's theirs
and bad mouth you
and obviously
you want some type of,
you want them out
and let's say
you eventually get them out
but you're still stuck
with all those debts
and the wrecked cars
and everything else
and then they come
and they say
they want to be reconciled
to you.
Now let's just be honest,
most of us probably
don't love them enough
or love enough
that we want to ever
see them again
for the rest of our lives
unless it's to hear
that they're behind bars
in jail
and we just go to the jail
just to take one picture
of them behind the bars
and we keep it
as our front page
on our phone.
Now I'm probably vastly
more wicked
than all of you
but let's say
actually you decided
out of love
you did want to have
reconciliation happen
with them.
Well how on earth
is that going to work?
So what has to happen
in reconciliation?
Well in reconciliation
first of all
the person who's done
all those wrong things
to you has to actually
want to reconcile.
The second thing is
they have to acknowledge
and confess
that they've done
all of these terribly
wrong things
and you're not going
to just let them go
and say yeah yeah
a little bit uncareful
with money.
No no no no no
you weren't just
a little bit uncareful
with money.
You need to confess
the things that you
actually did
and as well as that
in some cases
you say and you have
to take the punishment.
You have to go
and say I'm not
going to have
my drivers
I'm not going
to have my
you know things
suspended
or my insurance
thing
it has yours
done
you have to
take those things
on yourself
you have to be
something
and you have to
make some type
of restitution
you have to pay
back some of the
some of the things
or all of the things
and you have to
desire to live
differently
and it's not
just a matter
of desiring
to live differently
you actually have
to accomplish
living differently.
everything that exists
comes from God
we are the ones
who have trashed
his car
ridden up debt
bad mouthed him
ignored him
and now
we come to God
and say we want
to be reconciled
to him
as Jordan Peterson
would say
good luck
with that
how could you
do that
so the first thing
you'll see
that in this
particular illustration
with being
reconciled to God
it doesn't mean
that God has done
wrong things to us
and he needs to
be reconciled to us
there has never
been a time
in your life
that you have
been unloved
by God
God is love
and there is
nothing you can do
to make God
love you more
there is nothing
that God has
to repent of
or confess
or amend
he cannot change
himself
he's only good
goodness itself
beauty itself
truth and justice
there is nothing
that he has to do
it all has to
come from me
and to be honest
I'm too weak
to do any of
those things
and my heart
is way too
intermittent
to ever actually
really believe
I could accomplish
a new way of living
and there is no way
I could ever pay
that debt back
you see
in forgiveness
let's say I was
to forgive the person
just off the bat
in that particular
with the car example
somebody still has
to pay for the debt
if I actually
forgive them
I can only
forgive them
and they don't
have any money
if I pay the debt
that's what
forgiveness is
and in a sense
what the Bible
is saying
the debt
of your
the things
that you've done
wrong and
failed to do
right is so
great
that if it was
to be made
public
every single
little detail
it would mean
it would crush
you
you would die
but Jesus
was the one
who died
in my place
he paid
my debt
the punishment
that I deserved
was laid
on him
the debt
I could not
pay
he paid
by his
debt
and this is
some of this
I get from
a very brilliant
essay by C.S. Lewis
in Mere Christianity
called The Perfect Penitent
written I think
in 1942
you see
when I put
my faith
and trust
into Christ
it's not just
that he
in a sense
pays the sin
and the price
that I have to do
that I can't do
for myself
he is
the perfect
penitent
that I need
to be reconciled
to God
he desires
that
he had that
desire
to be with
his father
and he was
always with
the father
he never
did anything
wrong
he pays
the debt
he is
the one
who lived
the life
that I needed
to live
and could
not live
he is
the perfect
penitent
I need
to go
from being
God's
enemy
to his
friend
for all
eternity
and there
is no
other
and my
faith
and trust
into him
is my
faith
and trust
into him
as that
penitent
that I need
to be
reconciled
to God
and there
is no
other
and there
is no
greater
love
than what
Christ
has done
for us
by dying
on the
cross
notice
at verse
11
it's why
it says
that more
than that
we also
rejoice
in God
through our
Lord
Jesus
Christ
through whom
we have
now
received
reconciliation
just three
things
very briefly
in closing
the first
thing there
is we
rejoice
there's a
verb
there
for rejoice
and the
question
always
is what
is God
actually
asking
us
to do
and what
he's
not
asking
us
to do
is to
feel
joyful
what
he's
actually
asking
us
to do
is something
very
different
you see
it's
going
to involve
joy
but if
it's
just
actually
trying
to make
ourselves
feel
joyful
that's
not
going
to
work
what
it
actually
is
always
asking
us
to do
is to
boast
and exult
in God
to remember
to say
before God
in those
times when
we are
very
broken
and also
in the
times
when we're
very
successful
when
I'm
very
successful
I need
to say
all things
come of
you
God
and of
your
own
have
I
given
back
and when
I am
very
broken
I have
to say
God
I am
so
weak
I am
so glad
that when
I am
weak
Jesus
died
for me
on the
cross
I am
so glad
that even
though I
have had
a week
of
being
really
a
terrible
Christian
I am
so glad
that you
knew
that
and Jesus
died
on the
cross
for me
and
Father
when I
have
done
things
even
in
defiance
of you
things
that are
morally
wrong
not
just
indifferent
but morally
wrong
I am
so glad
that Jesus
knew that
and died
on the
cross
for me
and I'm
so glad
Father
that when
I've
talked
to people
not as
if I'm
a Christian
but really
as if
I'm
your
enemy
because
of the
cruel
things
that I
have
said
I
am
Father
thank
you
that
Jesus
died
for me
on the
cross
and
rejoicing
is
all
about
exalting
and
glorying
in
who
God
is
and
what
he
did
for
me
in
the
cross
and
when
you
do
that
sometimes
joy
is a
byproduct
of it
and that's
why it's
called
rejoicing
not that
you try
to psychologically
manipulate
yourself
do you
feel
joy
but you
think
of
Christ
and
what
he
has
done
this
is
part
of
what
it
means
to
preach
the
gospel
to
yourself
because
it's
this
rejoicing
is
something
that
you
can
say
in
your
own
!
self
talk
in
your
prayers
and
one
of
the
things
we
get
to
do
is
to
come
together
on
a
Sunday
morning
and
remember
it
at
the
Lord's
table
we
remember
that
Christ
knowing
that
his
disciples
were
going
to
flee
knowing
that
Judas
was
betraying
him
knowing
that
he
would
have
to
drink
the
cup
of
God's
wrath
and
our
sins
and
knowing
that
he
would
die
on
the
cross
he
institutes
a
new
as
these
truths
of
the
gospel
become
more
real
to
our
heart
that
person
says
about
George
yeah
you know
whatever
yeah
whatever
yeah
whatever
whoa
that
really
stung
as
truths
like
this
become
more
real
to
our
heart
and
we
preach
the
gospel
to
ourselves
remembering
what
Christ
has
done
for
us
on
the
cross
I
can
hear
that
criticism
and
say
that's
true
and
boy
they
don't
even
the
half
of
it
I'm
actually
way
worse
than
that
I'm
actually
way
worse
than
that
I
am
just
so
grateful
that
Christ
died
for
me
knowing
all
of
that
and
you
see
it
starts
to
create
an
emotionally
and
effectively
and
intellectually
secure
place
for you
to hear
such
criticisms
and
to
acknowledge
them
and to
repent
and to
deal
with
them
because
once
again
there
has
never
been
a
time
in
your
life
that
you
have
been
unloved
by
God
and
God
shows
his
love
and
demonstrates
and
proves
it
by
Jesus
death
upon
the
cross
and
he
did
it
when
you
were
sick
when
you
were
weak
when
you
were
sinful
and
finally
as
this
truth
of
God
doing
all
that's
required
to
reconcile
me
to
him
as
that
becomes
more
real
to
and
a
place
upon
which
you
stand
and
you
can
look
at
your
own
life
it
starts
to
form
you
to
desire
reconciliation
and
that
means
maybe
to
be
willing
to
extend
it
to
the
person
who's
profoundly
wronged
you
and
being
willing
to
extend
it
because
it's
important
and
it
also
is
the
place
by
which
when
you
realize
that
you're
the
one
who's
mainly
done
the
wrong
that
there's
a
and
you
need
to
deal
with
it
the
story
isn't
just
a
story
it's
true
it's
true
in
eternity
it's
transcendent
it's
true
in
history
it is
deeply
true
and
as
it
becomes
more
deeply
true
to
your
heart
it
forms
you
it
forms
you
in a
way
that
you
want
to
be
formed
don't
you
don't
you
want
to
be
one
who's
!
able
to
deal
with
the
crap
in
your
life
don't
you
want
to
be
one
who's
willing
to
extend
the
olive
branch
the
other
direction
don't
you
want
to
be
emotionally
and
spiritually
secure
enough
to
have
that
be
what
characterizes
you
that
you
can
be
humble
and
grounded
in
times
of
huge
success
and
that
you
can
stand
and
grow
and
deal
with
things
when
you're
very
weak
!
The
gospel
begins
by
subverting
you
by saying
these
things
about
you
but
it's
all
so
you
can
stand
and
grow
and
be
free
and
rejoice
in
the
Lord
Jesus
Christ
I
invite
you
to
stand
let's
bow our heads
in prayer
Father we
give you
thanks and
praise that
you know
our
weakness
you know
our
lack
of
care
about
you
know
our
defiance
of
you
know
even
those
times
that
we
really
acted
like
enemies
of
you
and
you
knew
all
of
that
you
knew
every
single
act
from
beginning
to
end
and
still
Jesus
came
to
die
for
us
God
the
Son
of
God
our
Lord
Jesus
Christ
came
to
die
for
us
and
this
really
does
show
that
you
are
the
only
God
of
love
that
you
are
love
that
you
really
do
love
us
you
really
not
just
love
us
in
the
abstract
but
that
you
love
me
in
my
concrete
particular
historical
story
and
that
you
love
each
one
who
is
here
and
hears
these
words
and
we
ask
Father
that
for
those
of
us
who
have
not
yet
given
their
lives
to
Christ
that
you
will
Father
Holy
Spirit
will
move
in
their
lives
that
they
might
call
out
even
today
even
now
Jesus
please
be
my
Savior
and
my
Lord
thank
you
for
taking
my
place
and
dying
on
the
cross
thank
you
that
you
want
me
to
be
!
you
!
thank
you
!
you
are
my
may
the
gospel
become
more
and
more
real
to
our
heart
and
in
times
of
great
triumph
and
in
times
of
great
need
and
weakness
and
failure
Father
may
our
hearts
remember
may
our
mind
and
our
lips
recount
what
you
have
done
for
us
in
the
person
of
your
son
and
that
is
now
declared
in
the
heavens
forever
and
guaranteed
so
Father
please
do
this
work
in
!
and
help
us
to