Forgiveness Continued

Joke:  A woman meant to call a record store but dialed the wrong number and got a private home instead.   When the owner picks up he’s asked the question, “Do you have ‘Eyes of Blue’ and ‘A Love Supreme’?”

“Well, no,” answered the puzzled homeowner. “But I have a wife and eleven children.”

“Is that a record?” she inquired.

“I don’t think so,” replied the man, “but it’s as close as I want to get.”

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I ended last week with a verse out of James.

But before I pick that up watch this. . .

show Jeff Foxworthy video

James 5:16 (NIV): Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

I mentioned the Greek word used is homologeo and it means saying the same thing as someone else or agreeing with them.

So, confession is agreeing with God about things.

And in this verse James is simply telling us to share with others so that we will know how to pray for them.   Not confessing to God so he can forgive us more.  We are forgiven because of the blood of Jesus.  Remember without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.  He died once for all so that forgiveness is ours fir the taking.

Today a want to look at few verses that seem to say something different then what I shared about once for all forgiveness.   They are Matt. 6:12 and 14-15.  And their found in what is called the Lord’s prayer.  And then we will look at one in 1 John as well.

Matthew 6:12 (NLT): and forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who sin against us.

Continuing with verses 14 and 15 we read. . .

Matthew 6:14–15 (NLT): 14 “If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. 15 But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins.

As I mentioned, those seem like a contradiction from what I shared about once for all forgiveness and the truth is they are.

What you need to remember and I mentioned this a couple weeks ago is that Jesus was born under the law. And it’s Him trying to tell the Jews what they deserve under a law based system.

Think about this, Jesus also said, pluck out your eye, cut off your hand, sell everything you have, and be perfect like God.  And if that was what we were to do when we messed up we would have a lot of maimed folks in the church house.  And as for being perfect like God, how’s that going for you?

So, what was Jesus’s motivation in presenting these impossible teachings? Jesus amplified the law to show that it couldn’t possibly be obeyed.   Try as you may you could not keep ever aspect of the law.

And so, to make his point He told some to sever body parts. He told others to sell everything they owned. And he even called some “snakes.”  And what was the result? The rich man went away sad. The Pharisees went away mad.

And here’s the thing when you tell people that they can or will ever do enough to earn.  They get mad because they thought it was all about measuring up.   But it’s by grace you have been saved and not by works.  Then you go to the religious folks and tell them their rules isn’t it either they get mad because now you’re taking away their power to control what it is you do.

And so, this was Jesus teaching before the cross, before His blood was shed for our sins to an audience who were still under the law.   And his goal was to expose them to the true spirit of the law – a perfect and impossible standard so they would see their need for God’s grace that was going to be offered on the cross.

Now let me talk about the verse that many will use to argue the point of once for all forgiveness.  It’s found in 1 John. . .

1 John 1:9 (NIV): 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

If that verse is quoted by itself, or taken out of context everything I said up to this point of God’s unconditional forgiveness can fall to pieces.  So let me spend a few minutes with it.

It’s true the passage includes a conditional “if” that indicates an uncertainty about whether someone will decide to confess.  Also we see they’ll be forgiven if they do confess, but they will not be forgiven if they don’t.

But, let me ask with everything we have talked about so far can this really be true for us Christians?

If it is, then we must throw every other passage on forgiveness out the window. And we need to begin first-John-one-nining weekly, daily, even hourly so that we don’t accidentally miss a sin.

See here’s the thing church so often when we crack open our Bibles, we assume that the verses we read must be addressing only Christians.

But what you need to understand is that the early church was composed of believers, unbelievers, those on the verge of believing, and outright heretics.   Oh by the way that should be how the church looks today as well.

Back in the days when all this was being written, there weren’t a dozen denominations to choose from in a given city. There was one church, and it contained everyone remotely interested in the gospel, along with all their right and wrong beliefs that they had.

Today, if we don’t like what we hear, even if it’s the truth, I dare say especially if it’s the truth, we just find a different church that better reflects our beliefs.

So in writing to the early church, they would often say things directed at unbelievers with the hope that they’d come to faith in Jesus.

John’s first chapter is one of these cases.

How can I be so sure, let’s back up a few verses and notice what John’s hope is for them:

1 John 1:3 (NIV): 3 We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us. And our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ.

We proclaim to you what we have seen and heard, so that you also may have fellowship with us.

The audience John is addressing does not have fellowship with the Father and the Son yet. John is proclaiming these things to them so that they may come to do just that.

Why don’t they have it yet?  What’s preventing them?

As we read further, we find out:

1 John 1:6–10 (NIV): If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

What John is addressing is early Gnostic heretics who claimed to be sinless.  Another Gnostic heresy that was being presented was that Jesus didn’t come in the flesh.

They claimed that God would never take on a lower form and that God is only spirit, and he would never appear in real human flesh. So, Jesus was simply an illusion of sorts.

So, he addresses this heresy.  He opens his first letter by saying this. . .

1 John 1:1–2 (NIV): That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked at and our hands have touched—this we proclaim concerning the Word of life. 2 The life appeared; we have seen it and testify to it, and we proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and has appeared to us.

He’s saying, listen I know what I saw, what I witnessed, and there is no way you can tell me I just experienced some illusion.

And I have to believe this was written to the unbelievers that were hanging around the church for in chapter 4 John tells us. . .

1 John 4:2–3 (NIV): This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world.

Notice what he says, every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God.

Another think that the Gnostic heretics claimed was that sin wasn’t real or it didn’t matter.  Therefore, they claimed to be sinless. And it’s these Gnostics that John addresses in his first chapter. And John says they don’t have the truth or God’s Word in them:

Again verses 8-10. . .

1 John 1:8–10 (NIV): 8 If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

What is the first thing we need to do to become a Christian, ask for forgiveness, believe Jesus died and rose again without believing those two things we are not saved.  We need to confess and believe.

John’s hope was that they would come to their senses. If they’d just admit their sin, then they could enjoy also enjoy  total unconditional forgiveness that we find only in Christ.

Also notice John’s use of the word all.

Verse 9 says, If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

Total, unconditional forgiveness and cleansing of all unrighteousness is what we receive in Jesus Christ.

This verse was never meant to invite a one-by-one tallying of our sins. We don’t get more and more forgiveness, progressively, throughout our lives. That would be Judaism all over again, dressed up in 1 John 1:9 clothes!

Hebrews 10:14 (NASB95): For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.

And hear this church I’m not talking about going out and sinning because you know your forgiven.  I addressed that a little a couple weeks ago.

I’m just saying God has dealt with every sin you will ever commit.  He is satisfied at what Jesus did.

Colossians 1:19–22 (NLT): For God in all his fullness was pleased to live in Christ, 20 and through him God reconciled everything to himself. He made peace with everything in heaven and on earth by means of Christ’s blood on the cross. 21 This includes you who were once far away from God. You were his enemies, separated from him by your evil thoughts and actions. 22 Yet now he has reconciled you to himself through the death of Christ in his physical body. As a result, he has brought you into his own presence, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before him without a single fault.

You are what?  Holy and blameless, without a single fault.

Real freedom is not freedom to sin. Real freedom is freedom from sin.  And it’s God’s grace that teaches us,  that empowers us to say no to sin.

Titus 2:11–12 (NIV): For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age,

So what are we to do when we sin? I mentioned this last week but it bears repeating.  We agree with God about our wrong choice. We thank God that that sin is one among the many that were already taken away by Jesus’s blood.

We turn 180 degrees away from our sin.  That’s repentance.  And then we depend on, look to, God’s Spirit for genuine change.

We are invited to be obsessed with the cross, not our sins.

And listen, maybe I’ll deal with this a little more later but I think it’s important to mention here.  I’ve not suggesting that once you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior that you are guaranteed your spot in Heaven.

You are as long as you follow Him.   I’m not talking about not sinning that is covered.   I’m talking about walking away from the faith.  No longer believing what you have heard.

I have heard some say that once you make the decision to have Jesus as Lord then your good for all eternity. And listen they might be right?  I’m just not convinced of that yet.  And in regards to that I would much rather err on the side of being sure.

And let me be clear, I think I have laid out pretty strongly, and convincingly the issue of once for all forgiveness.  And as long as Christ in the picture of your life you are completely forgiven no matter what you do and on course for Heaven.

Matthew 28:20 (NLT): Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this: I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

And in Hebrews the writer tells us the same, that He will never leave us or forsake us.

And then in John:

John 10:28–30 (NLT): 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, 29 for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. 30 The Father and I are one.”

And how about this in Roman’s. . .

Romans 8:38–39 (NIV): For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

God will always love you no matter what you do.  And he will never leave us and no one can pluck us out of His hand.  So I know I’m secure.

Listen church we are the bride of Christ and God is not going to divorce you because you do wrong.

Listen this New Covenant isn’t with you it’s with Himself and so even when are found faithless he remains faithful.

However, the Bible also says some will depart from the faith.

So, he won’t leave us, he won’t forsake us, and no one can pluck us out of His hand.  But I do believe you can choose to walk away from the faith you once held dear.    You can divorce Him.

And when you do that I’m not so sure your secure in your eternity.  And that’s where I would rather err.

I’m not talking about living in fear of what eternity holds for you.  I don’t think we need to be fearful of that as lovers of Jesus no matter how many times we mess up.

1 Timothy 6:11–12 (NIV): But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.

And John tells us. . .

1 John 5:13 (NIV): 13 I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

Look what it says. . .to you who believe in the name of the Son of God.

Listen I’m not talking about having questions in your faith, or about your faith.  I’m talking about totally denying your faith.  Saying I don’t believe in Jesus any longer.  Peter came back from denying the Lord and I will see him in heaven.  I hope that makes sense to you.

Let me share one more thing about forgiveness and that is this:  We don’t need to keep running to the altar, to God, or anyone else to beg for forgiveness when we mess up and sin.  Repent yes, turn from the sin yes, the temptation yes, and any other thing yes.  And I hope I have shown that clearly we are forgiven, past, present and future when we sin.

But, how is forgiving others taught after the cross?  We looked at those earlier when Jesus addressed those under the law.  But after the cross how has it changed?

Colossians 3:13 (NLT): Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others.

Ephesians 4:32 (NLT): Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, just as God through Christ has forgiven you.

Paul is saying forgive others because God has already forgiven you.

Truth is your simply called to share the grace and love you have received.

And when we do that others can taste and see that the Lord is good.  They too can come to experience His grace that is sufficient.  His love that is everlasting.  His forgiveness that He has for them.  And trust in Him that gives us eternal life.

So again, what is the response when we sin? Thank God for our forgiveness. Turn from it.  Act differently.  Move away from the temptation.

Remember your not made for sin. It’s unfulfilling, unhealthy, and your miserable when you do it.  It only makes since that you run from it.

It just so happens that a Christian can be forgiven and miserable at the same time.  When you choose to walk by the flesh and not the spirit you will not be fulfilled.

And hear this church, If we walk according to the flesh, it doesn’t change the fact that our nature is new.  It just means we’re acting like someone we’re not.

Also when you walk by the Spirit there isn’t any negative consequences for the choices that you make.  I can’t say the same when we choose sin over what is right.

There are consequences for our bad choices, but even with that God can use all things for our good and His glory.

And let me say this.  And church this is of utmost importance as a new creation you begin to love what God loves, do what God desires. It just in your heart to please Papa.   And if you never care about what God cares about then I would question your faith experience.

Because when we accept Christ, and I’m not talking about saying some sinners prayer.  That was never in the Bible.  Those started maybe 200 years ago in tent revival meetings.

I’m talking about your heart truly given to God.  That experience of knowing that you did, not just feeling like you did.  It’s about knowing not a feeling.

And let me pause to say this.  So many I have met in the Body of Christ are running after some feeling.  God doesn’t allows send holy ghost goose bumps.

There are times I feel Him so strongly I can almost touch Him.  Other times I’m like where are you God?  And if you’re always chasing after feelings your not going to be somewhere very long.  Because your going to run to the next big move.   And that isn’t what God desires for your life.  Listen I love feeling Him as much as the next guy. But it’s not a feeling it’s a knowing.

Job 13:15 (KJV 1900): Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him:

Habakkuk 3:17–18 (NLT): Even though the fig trees have no blossoms, and there are no grapes on the vines; even though the olive crop fails, and the fields lie empty and barren; even though the flocks die in the fields, and the cattle barns are empty, 18 yet I will rejoice in the Lord! I will be joyful in the God of my salvation!

Habakkuk is telling us even when I don’t have anything yet I will rejoice.  Why?  Because he knew.

I’m talking about knowing not feeling.  If you know that you know that you know your going to want to do what God wants.  And you will not feel like doing anything except walking by the Spirit.

Listen, turning from sin makes you more fulfilled, but not more forgiven.  You are forgiven and new.

Your more fulfilled because your loving what God loves, living the best life that God has for you.

Let me close with this.  This is Paul writhing to the church in Philippi while in prison for the sake of the gospel.  It’s my prayer for you as well.

Philippians 1:3–11 (NLT): Every time I think of you, I give thanks to my God. 4 Whenever I pray, I make my requests for all of you with joy, 5 for you have been my partners in spreading the Good News about Christ from the time you first heard it until now. 6 And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns. 7 So it is right that I should feel as I do about all of you, for you have a special place in my heart. You share with me the special favor of God, both in my imprisonment and in defending and confirming the truth of the Good News. 8 God knows how much I love you and long for you with the tender compassion of Christ Jesus. 9 I pray that your love will overflow more and more, and that you will keep on growing in knowledge and understanding. 10 For I want you to understand what really matters, so that you may live pure and blameless lives until the day of Christ’s return. 11 May you always be filled with the fruit of your salvation—the righteous character produced in your life by Jesus Christ—for this will bring much glory and praise to God.

And then he closes the chapter with this. . .

Philippians 1:27–30 (NLT): Above all, you must live as citizens of heaven, conducting yourselves in a manner worthy of the Good News about Christ. Then, whether I come and see you again or only hear about you, I will know that you are standing together with one spirit and one purpose, fighting together for the faith, which is the Good News. 28 Don’t be intimidated in any way by your enemies. This will be a sign to them that they are going to be destroyed, but that you are going to be saved, even by God himself. 29 For you have been given not only the privilege of trusting in Christ but also the privilege of suffering for him. 30 We are in this struggle together. You have seen my struggle in the past, and you know that I am still in the midst of it.