Forgiven - September 5, 2021
Psa 103… “let all that I am praise the Lord… may I never forget the good things He does for me… He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases… He redeems me from death… crowns me with love and tender mercies… fills my life with good things… gives righteousness and justice to all… slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love… not punish us for all our sins… does not deal harshly with us, as we deserve… His unfailing love is as great as the heights of the heavens… removed our sins as far from us as the east is from the west… His love remains forever…”
Today we are focusing on one area - the fact that you are forgiven.
No religion preaches complete forgiveness of sins like Christianity. Yet, when we talk to people about forgiveness, it ends up being about all the things we have to do to be or stay forgiven. Forgiveness is a gift.
Isa 55:7-12… “God will have compassion… He will freely forgive… My thoughts are not your thoughts… My word will prosper in what I send it to do… you will live in joy and peace… mountains and hills will burst into song… trees clap for joy…”
Luke 7:42… “neither could repay… so he freely forgave them both…”
Rom 5:12-21… “great difference between Adam’s sin and God’s gift… sin brought death… even greater is God’s wonderful grace and his gift of forgiveness…”
Telling people they have to work for forgiveness is not good news. Yet, that’s what most churches tell people. Forgiveness can be either a noun or verb in NT.
Matt 9:5-6… “your sins are forgiven… Son of Man has authority to forgive sins…”
aphiemi (v)… to send away; to depart; to let go; to forgive or remit; to keep no longer…
Eph 4:32… “be kind… forgiving others, just as God forgave you in Christ…”
charizomai (v)… show favor or kindness; grant forgiveness, to pardon; give freely…
Col 1:14… “in Him we have redemption… the forgiveness of sins…”
aphesis (n)… release from bondage; letting sins go as if they have never been committed…
Before the cross, Jesus preached conditional forgivness to people living under the Old Covenant.
Matt 6:9-15… “forgive us as we forgive… if you forgive, God will forgive you…”
Mark 11:25… “when you pray… forgive others… so your Father will forgive you…”
Compare that to what He sais was coming after the cross. Jesus both preached and demonstrated the unconditional forgiveness that His death would usher in.
Matt 9:2… “be encouraged, My child… your sins are forgiven…”
Matt 18:21-27… “be patient, I will pay… master had compassion… forgave him…”
Luke 7:47… “her many sins have been forgiven… that’s why she loves much…”
Luke 15:11-32… “I have sinned… bring best robe, ring, sandals… celebrate…”
Luke 23:34… “Father, forgive them… they don’t know what they are doing…”
John 8:11… “neither do I condemn you… go and sin no more (promise, not threat)…”
On the cross, Jesus bore the sins of the entire world. All of your sins - past, present, and future - have been forgiven. If you’re not forgiven of all, you’re not forgiven at all.
John 1:29… “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world…”
2Cor 5:19… “God… reconciling world… no longer counting people’s sins against them…”
1John 2:2… “He is sacrifice for our sins… not only ours… but whole world…”
kosmos… ungodly multitude; whole mass of men alienated from God and hostile to Christ…
The cross changed everything. We are no longer under the Old Covenant, but we are under a new and better one.
Matt 26:28… “My blood of new covenant… shed for forgiveness of sins…”
Heb 8… “Jesus has given superior ministry… better covenant… better promises… day is coming when I will make a new covenant… OC is obsolete, out of date…”
When Jesus rose, He told disciples to preach a new message - the good news of complete forgiveness. Forgiveness what no longer a future dream, but a past reality.
Luke 24:47… “preach this… repentance and forgiveness of sins in His name…”
Acts 10:43… “all who believe in Him receive forgiveness of sins…”
Rom 4:7… “blessed are those whose sins are forgiven… never charge with sin…”
Eph 1:7… “have redemption… forgiveness of sins… according to His grace…”
Col 2:13… “made you alive with Him and forgave us of all our sins…”
God’s forgiveness is
Psa 103:3… “He forgives all my sins…”
Mark 3:28… “people will be forgiven for all sins and blasphemies (future tense)…”
Heb 9… “Jesus is mediator of NC… offered once to bear the sins of many…”
God’s forgiveness is
Isa 43:25… “I alone… will blot out sins for My sake… never think of them again…”
1Cor 13… “love does not keep a record of wrongs…”
Heb 10:17… “I will never again remember their sins…”
God’s forgiveness is
Heb 4:16… “let us approach the throne of grace with boldness… to help us…”
1Tim 2:4… “God wants everyone to be saved and come to a knowledge of truth…”
2Pet 3:9… “doesn’t want anyone to perish… but all to come to repentance…”
God’s forgiveness is a gift received by faith. There is nothing you have to do to get God to forgive you because He already has. Forgiveness is freely given. Our part is simply to repent (change our mind) and accept the gift Jesus died to give us.
John 3:16… “for God so loved the world… He gave His only Son… so everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life…”
Acts 13:38-39… “thru this Man forgiveness of sins is being proclaimed… everyone who believes in Him is justified from everything…”
Are there any sins which aren’t forgiven? Yes - rejection of Jesus.
Matt 12:31… “forgiven for every sin… but blasphemy against HS not forgiven…”
Mark 3:28-29… “people forgiven for all sins… except blasphemy against HS…”
John 3:16-36… “the one who rejects the Son will not see life… but wrath…”
God loves you more than you know. Jesus forgave people who did nothing to deserve it, even those who put Him on the cross. The same is true today - that’s the Good News that God wants us sharing with the world.