Truly Forgiven
Introduction:
A.
1967 –
James Robert Ringrose – on FBI most wanted list for over a year.
1.
Wanted for
writing bad checks.
2.
Bounced
fraudulent checks all over world.
3.
Arrested in
Osaka, Japan – spent time in Japanese jail before being returned to US.
4.
When Meeting
FBI agents – he told them he had been saving an item for several years
& now he needed it.
5.
He then
presented them with a Monopoly game card – Get out of Jail Free
6.
Ringrose truly thought it was that simple.
a.
Really isn’t.
b.
When a crime is
committed, one has to pay.
B.
Now apply this
concept to mankind & the problem of sin.
1.
Commit sin
– there is a price to be paid.
2.
Isa. 59:1-2
– sin separates us from God.
3.
Rom. 6:23
– wages of sin is death.
4.
With too many
people, fear, guilt, shame, and blame are a part of human reality.
5.
No way to live.
C.
This is why
Christian living is so blessed & desirable.
1.
Fear, guilt, shame,
and blame no longer are a part of our lives.
2.
The Christian
clings to the assurance of salvation, redemption, sanctification, and
justification!
D.
This is
something we must hold near to our heart & appreciate!
1.
We’ve been
mightily blessed & have so much to be thankful for.
2.
Because of
Christ, we’re all living spiritually – even though we don’t deserve it.
E.
Today we will
talk about the true forgiveness of God.
1.
First talk of
what God’s justice demands.
2.
Then….talk of
how God, through Jesus, is willing to truly forgive us.
3.
When sin is
committed, something has to die. The justice of God demands it.
I. What God’s justice demands:
A.
God
is holy – 1 John 1:5; 1 Peter 1:15-16
1.
Hab.
1:13 – God exhibits an attitude of abhorrence and hatred to all that is
wrong.
2.
The
sin problem we all face – is a matter of our own doing.
3.
We
created the problem through our own rebellion.
B.
This
rebellion does not come without a price – death!
1.
Gen.
2:16-17; 3:2-3. We know the story.
Did Adam/Eve die? How?
2.
Spiritually.
All fellowship/communion with God gone. Relationship destroyed.
a.
3:8
– fled at the very sound of God as He passed thru the garden.
b.
Eph.
2:1 – they were dead in their trespasses and sins.
c.
Rom.
3:23 – they had fallen short of the glory of God.
3.
Physically.
They began to die physically. Gen.
3:19
C.
What
do these verses teach us? There is a price to be paid for sin.
1.
Heb.
9:22 – there is a judicial aspect to this.
2.
Our
life is payment for sin & it is required of every sinner.
3.
God’s
justice demands death as payment for sin.
a.
We
all find our self in a very desperate situation.
b.
We
have broken the laws of the God of the universe.
c.
This
has separated us from the Holy God.
d.
Price
of death hangs over our head. No way for us to pay the price.
D.
Psa.
33:4-5. God is not only a just God. He is also a loving God.
1.
God’s
love provides a way to pay the price we cannot pay.
2.
Done
through grace.
a.
Grace
is where God gives what is not deserved.
b.
Romans
3:23-26
3.
Done
through mercy.
a.
Mercy
is where God does not give what is deserved.
b.
Romans
1:18
E.
Praise
God for His grace & mercy!
II. God, through Jesus, is willing to truly forgive us.
A.
May
we truly learn to more fully understand and appreciate what it means to be
forgiven by God!
1.
Beginning
of the lesson: get out of jail free.
Doesn’t work. Commit crime. Pay the price…
2.
Unless
pardoned. How many have heard this
illustration about God’s forgiveness?
a.
Prisoner
on death row pardoned at last minute by governor.
b.
All
prisoner has to do is walk out of cell. Free. This is how pardon works.
c.
Illustration
used to show us God’s forgiveness & our need to accept it.
d.
True.
God is willing to forgive us & we need to accept it.
e.
May
I suggest there is a deeper element we need to consider?
B.
July
7, 2007 – Gov. Daniels pardoned Michael Strickler, convicted of a 1980
burglary in Adams County.
1.
Was
it legally binding? Effective? Absolutely.
2.
Did
Gov. Daniels truly forgive the prisoner?
3.
Governors
& Presidents often pardon people they do not know.
a.
The
pardon isn’t personal.
b.
Mr.
Strickler did not personally offend/harm the governor.
4.
When
Gov. Daniels pardons a state prisoner – does that mean the prisoner may
now come over to the governor’s home, have a meal together, and put their
grievances and hurts behind them?
5.
None
of that happens. The governor is not truly forgiving the prisoner.
6.
This
is why we know there is much more going on in true forgiveness.
C.
Lk.
15:11-32
1.
15:11-12
– man had 2 sons.
a.
Younger
son disrespectful, greedy, dishonorable.
b.
Essentially
saying: no interest in continuing his life as his father’s son, wished his
father dead & that they were reading his will.
c.
Father
gave him what he wanted.
2.
15:13
– wastes inheritance with loose
living.
a.
Left
people who truly cared for him.
b.
Uses
fathers money to satisfy basest desires:
1.
Pays
for food/drink
2.
Pays
for women to satisfy his lusts
3.
Pays
for others to be his friends
c.
No
time…his family fortune is gone
3.
15:14-16
– takes work feeding another man’s swine.
a.
Sort
of labor his family would find shameful
b.
Not
working for family – working for a wage among unclean animals.
c.
This
was not the life he was meant to live.
4.
15:17-18
– finally comes to senses, makes decision to return to his father.
a.
Knew
that hired hand at the lowest pay grade on his family farm had it better than
he did.
b.
Knew
that it would never be the same between him & his father
1.
Brought
shame to his father. Insulted & shamed his family
2.
Everyone
back home would know he was dishonorable, greedy, and selfish.
c.
But
for the sake of his survival, he would confess his sin & offer himself as a
slave.
5.
15:20
– father sees him approaching home
a.
Tradition
dictated father regard his son as dead to him.
b.
Did
something unusual. Runs to greet
returning son.
1.
Men
of importance did not run
c.
Father
lavished love on son who hurt the family so deeply.
d.
Overwhelming
display of forgiveness.
e.
15:25-28
– older son dumbfounded by his father’s kindness.
1.
His
perspective: one thing to accept younger brothers confession of guilt…but was
it necessary to celebrate?
D.
The
father knew what it means to truly forgive.
1.
He
wasn’t just pardoning the son.
2.
He
wasn’t just erasing the debt or overlooking his shame
3.
He
truly forgave his son so he could have his son back.
4.
He
truly forgave so he could maintain a relationship with him.
5.
Ever
wondered how the younger son felt about being truly forgiven?
a.
Last
thing he expected?
b.
Younger
son didn’t know what it is like to be pardoned or get out of jail free.
c.
He
only knew what it is like to be truly forgiven – and it something he will
live with for the rest of his life.
d.
May we come to know the true forgiveness
of God!
E.
Forgiveness
is not as simple as a pardon or reprieve.
1.
Unlike
pardon, forgiveness seeks to reconcile the relationship between offender and
offended.
2.
Forgiveness
strives for love and fellowship.
3.
Not
as simple as a truce…or forgetting the past & ignoring what was done.
a.
If
forgiveness is not practiced, then the sins & injuries are on the table.
b.
15:19,
21 – the son confesses his sin & names himself “slave.”
c.
15:24
– father acknowledged his offenses – buy renamed him “son.”
Conclusion:
A.
Isn’t
this what God does for us?
1.
He
had adopted us as His sons & daughters.
2.
Through
Jesus, He has worked through the cross & in our lives to forgive.
B.
Eph.
1:3-8a; 2:1-10
C.
God
says, I do not care about where you have
been. I care about where you are right now.
1.
It
is not about the messes you have made in your life in the past, it is about
living responsibly now.
2.
God
wants to forgive people who want forgiveness!
a.
He
forgives people who realize they need forgiveness.
b.
He
forgives people who truly feel unworthy of forgiveness.
D.
Repent/Confess
your sins.
1.
Make
commitment to refuse to allow your past to determine who you are.
2.
Trust
in the power of God to cleanse you and forgive you of all sin through waters of
baptism.
E.
You
can be truly forgiven. Will you
accept God’s forgiveness?
F.
I N
V I T A T I O N