Pastor Railton would consider it a privilege to talk with anyone about the church, living the Christian life, how to become a Christian or any problem or discouragement you may be experiencing. Let him know and he will be glad to either come to your home or meet in the office.
Forgive Us Our Debts
I. LIFE NEED
A. I want you to think about forgiveness this morning. One of the reasons the gospel is such good news is that it
includes forgiveness of our sins. Our sin is such a barrier between us and God. The best person here is a sinner
before God, and that sin is ugly, offensive, and prevents him from fellowshipping with us.
B. And yet God has always yearned for a relationship with his creation. The problem has been sin. It started back in
the Garden of Eden, and has continued to this day. God hates our sin. He hates our rebellious attitudes. He hates
our inconsistency. He hates our lukewarmness. He hates our pride. He hates our lack of commitment. He hates
our wicked behavior.
C. And yet he's planning a kingdom in which we can spend eternity with him. He's designed a means by which our
sin can be forgiven, washed away, actually eliminated. This is truly good news. But let's not take forgiveness
lightly.
II. BIBLE LEARNING
A. Let's Understand The Forgiveness Concept.
1. Webster describes forgiveness as, "giving up
resentment against, or the desire to punish, to stop being angry with, to pardon, to give up all claim to
punish or exact penalty, to cancel or remit the debt, fine, or penalty."
2. The word "forgive" is the combination of two words.
The first word, "for" can mean "away." It's like God "away gives," or gives away all claim or desire to be
angry, or to punish. This is how complete his forgiveness is.
3. Now in order to understand forgiveness, I think it's
essential to know what forgiveness is not.
a.
Forgiveness isn't discounting the violation, or ignoring it. It's not disregarding, tolerating,
excusing, overlooking, or closing ones eyes to the offense. It's not saying "It's okay," or, "It
doesn't matter." It's not simply letting time pass. It's not pretending the offense didn't occur. It's
not resigning ourselves to someone's actions, thinking, "Well, that's just the way he is." God's
done none of the above in forgiving our sin.
b. Far too often though, these are the working
definitions of forgiveness. They are inaccurate. They confuse the issue. They in fact short circuit
the process and often prevent complete forgiveness from taking place.
c. It is because of these inaccurate understandings
that some have difficulty believing and accepting God's forgiveness.
B. There Is Considerable Cost Involved In Forgiveness.
1. The forgiver pays a price. If you steal a thousand
dollars from me, spend it, get caught, and there's absolutely no way you can ever repay it, and you
come begging to me to forgive that debt, someone has to pay. If I forgive the debt, I'm the one out the
thousand dollars. I have paid the price. I have absorbed the loss. The forgiver pays the price, and
he does so willingly.
2. When it comes to God's forgiveness of our sins, he
paid dearly.
a. We're all familiar with John 3:16, "For God so
loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not
perish, but have everlasting life."
b. Rom. 5:8.
c. Acts 20:28.
3. Jesus paid dearly as well.
a. Phil. 2:5-8 make this clear. Though he was the
son of God himself, he did not grasp at equality with God. He didn't lord it over his followers. He
came as a servant. He humbly and obediently went to the cross. He submitted to the plan and
will of God, even though he wished there were another way.
b. II Corinthians. 5:21 tells us Jesus "became" sin for us.
He took our sin upon himself, and literally hung on that cross a guilty man. He suffered the wrath
of God for the sins that I have committed, and
not for mine only, but for the sins of the whole world. He was forsaken by God, because of our
sin.
4. The forgiver pays the price of forgiveness, and the
price is considerable. Earlier we read that even Webster's Dictionary defines forgiveness as "to
cancel, or to remit the debt." To "remit" is to pay.
a. God doesn't discount the sin.
b. He doesn't just tolerate the sin.
c. He doesn't say, "Oh well, it doesn't really
matter."
d. He doesn't say, "We'll wait long enough, and
everyone will forget about it."
e. God himself paid the price. His wrath was spent
on his own son. His justice was satisfied on his own son. Jesus also paid the price. He was the
victim of the God's wrath. He satisfied the justice of God. He was the recipient God's
anger.
C. Consider How Sure And Complete Is God's Forgiveness.
1. We've read these verses before, but they're like
music to my ears. Why don't you just listen as I read them slowly, and realize what good news God's
forgiveness truly is. Think on these things!
2. Heb. 10:17.
3. Is. 44:22.
4. Is. 43:25.
5. Is. 55:7.
6. Is. 1:18.
7. Ps. 32:1,2.
8. Ps. 103:11-13.
9. Is. 38:17b.
10. Jeremiah. 31:34b.
11. Jeremiah. 50:20.
12. Micah 7:18,19.
III. BIBLE APPLICATION
A. God Forgives Our Sin.
1. He has paid the price. He even forgets it. He
remembers it no more. He sweeps our sins away, blots them out, pardons, forgives, covers our sin,
does not count it against us, removes our transgressions, puts them behind his back, shows
mercy, treads our sins underfoot, and hurls them into the sea.
2. It is this same God that we love and serve today. He
has not changed. What a comfort that is to a sinner. What peace that means to one who comes before
God through the Lord Jesus Christ. This offer is made to any and all who will come. This is the good
news we have for the world!
B. The Forgiver Pays The Price, But the Forgivee Has To Meet God's Conditions! You'll find this to be
true throughout the scriptures. Whenever God has offered forgiveness, there have been conditions.
1. We must accept and believe certain things. In Acts
8:12 the gospel includes two essential truths:
a. The things concerning the kingdom of God, and
b. The name of Jesus Christ.
2. One must also repent. That means to be sorry for
and to determine to forsake rebellious behavior and rebellious thinking.
3. We must also be baptized, immersed, in the name of
Jesus, as a result of this belief and repentance. As Peter put it in Acts 2:38, we do these things for the
forgiveness of sins.
4. Then we live obediently unto the Lord. Jesus must
be Lord.
C. I John 1:9 Is For Those Already In The Lord.
IV. HOW DO YOU RESPOND TO GOD'S
FORGIVENESS?
A. I Would Encourage You To Believe, Accept, And Enjoy!
B.
1. It's as though his forgiveness is good for everyone
else, "But surely it doesn't apply to me. My sin is too great. I did something awful. I'm worse than the
others!"
2. This is almost like pride in the negative form, a false
humility. In effect, this attitude calls God a liar.
C. Some Will Say They Accept God's Forgiveness, But They Can't Forgive Themselves.
1. This may be worse. Who do you think you are, if
you think God will forgive you, but you personally have higher standards?
2. I figure, we either believe God, or we don't. If we
don't believe him, we may as well give up on forgiveness anyway.
D. Some Take Advantage Of God's Forgiveness (Cheap Grace).
1. Their attitude is that I can do anything the sinful
nature in me wants, and then I'll ask forgiveness.
2. The Apostle Paul recognizes that attitude in
Romans
6:1,2,15 (KJV), and responds, "God forbid!" Don't think you can fool God. Don't confess if you have no
intention of abstaining. (Not confession.)
E. Some Are Quick To Seek God's Forgiveness, But Then Refuse To Forgive Others. (We'll talk about this next
Sunday.)