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The forgiveness of our sins – What a wonderful blessing this is! God invites us to come to Him and be forgiven by Him – “Come now, let us reason together, says the Lord, Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow” (Isaiah 1:18). As we think together about the forgiveness of our sins, may we join with the Psalmist in praying, “Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow” (Psalm 51:7).
The forgiveness of our sins – This is the great theme which stands at the heart of this marvellous story of divine healing. We read about a miracle of healing. We also read the precious and treasured words of Luke 5:20 – “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” The forgiveness of sins lies at the very heart of the Good News of Jesus Christ. What a wonderful blessing it is to hear the Word of the Lord, which says to us, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” The story opf the healing of the paaralyzed man teaches us about the forgiveness of our sins. It also speaks to us about bringing others to Jesus so that they also may hear His Word of forgiveness. We don’t need to remove the tiles from the roof! We can bring our friends through the front door of God’s House, praying that they will come to the Lord Jesus Christ and receive His great blessing – the forgiveness of their sins.
“Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus wants to speak these gracious words to every one of us. “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” Jesus wants us to bring others to Him so that they also may hear these wonderful words of love. The Good News of God’s forgiveness is for all. The love of God is reaching out to all people. Each and every one of us is invited by the God of love to come to him and enjoy the wonderful blessing described for us by the Psalmist in Psalm 103:12 – “as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our sins from us.”
“As far as the east is from the west so far has He removed our sins from us” – What a wonderful way to describe God’s forgiving love. Jesus spoke about the coming together of the east and the west, as well as the coming together of the north and the south, the coming together of God’s people, the gathering together of all who love the Lord and worship Him. Jesus gives us a vision of hope for the future. He says that “many will come from east and west, and from north and south, and sit at table in the Kingdom of God” (Luke 13:29). Let us pray that this place of worship, at the centre of our community, will be a place of welcome for people, coming from east and west, and people, coming from north and south. The Church is to hold out the Lord’s welcoming hand to all people. The Church is not to be like a private property with the poster which says, “No entry. Trespassers will be prosecuted.” The Church’s message must be very different from that. We are to say to the people of our community, “Come right in. Trespassers will be forgiven.” What a wonderful message we have to bring to the people of our community. As the Church at the centre of our community, we have the great privilege of letting the people of our area hear the wonderfyul words of Jesus: “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” This is not only a great privilege. It is also a great responsibility. We must pray for the people of our community. we must ask God to give us opportunities to share the love of Christ with our neighbours. We must pray for opportunities to bring our neighbours with us to the House of the Lord, the place where they will hear of the Saviour’s love, the place where they will come to know Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord.
How does God’s forgiveness come to us? How will the people of our community come to know God’s forgiveness? In Jesus’ words about many coming, from east and west and north and south, to sit at table in the Kingdom of God, we are reminded of the way in which God’s forgiveness reaches us. Sitting at the Lord’s Table, we think of the wonderful thing that Jesus has done for us so that we might be forgiven by God: “He died that we might be forgiven.” It is because Jesus died for us that we can now receive the forgiveness of sins from God. He died for you. He died for me. he died for all of us.
What does God’s Word teach us about forgiveness? Here are four lessons – (1) The fact of forgiveness; (2) Our response to God’s forgiveness; (3) Forgiveness changes us; (4) The warning which comes from God to those who refuse to come to Him for forgiveness.
(1) The fact of forgiveness
The sixteenth-century Reformer, Martin Luther, tells of a dream he had. he dreamt of a book in which all of his sins were recorded. He dreamt of the devil, pointing to the book and saying to him, “Martin, here is one of your sins, here is another of your sins.” In his dream, Luther replied to the devil, “Take a pen and write, ‘The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son cleanses us from all sin’.”
(2) Our response to God’s forgiveness
This is summed up well by another voice from the distant past. St Augustine (354-430) prayed, “I will love You, O Lord and thank You … You have forgiven me my evil deeds.” Love for God – This is to be our response to God’s forgiveness.
(3) Forgiveness changes us.
The opening verse of the hymn, “Dear Lord and Father of mankind”, sums up the way in which forgiveness changes us: “Dear Lord and Father of mankind, forgive our foolish ways. Reclothe us in our rightful mind, in purer lives Thy service find, in deeper reverence, praise.” Praisinng the Lord and serving the Lord – This is the way of life woards which God calls those who have received from Him the forgiveness of their sins. We must always remember the words spoken by Jesus when he was tempted by the devil in the wilderness; “Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only” (Luke 4:8).
(4) God’s Word of warning for those who refuse His gift of forgiveness
God’s Word tells us that the only person who will not receive forgiveness is the person who refuses to confess his/her sins to the Lord, the person who refuses to pray to God, asking for His forgiveness.
May God help us to hear Christ’s words, “Friend, your sins are forgiven.” May God help us to live as those whom He has forgiven. May God help us to love Him, to worship Him and to serve Him.