Forgiveness, Part 1

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,

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

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.

Matthew 7 · chapter mention

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,

Deuteronomy 30 · chapter mention

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.