Biblical Forgiveness

“To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.” Acts 26:18 

I would like to point your attention to the word “forgiveness” once again. I have preached and written on this subject many times, because the greatest gift God gives the lost sinner is the forgiveness of their sins. This extremely gracious act on God’s part is a true blessing to all saved. This scripture says that God opened our eyes, God turned our sinfully dead darkness to light, and God turned us from Satan’s blinding power, so that we lost sinners could see Jesus Christ as our Saviour, forgiving all our sins through His blood. God did all this so that He could “sanctify us” which means - to make us holy, or to purify us from our sins -. What a blessing to us, more than we will ever realize in this lifetime, only in heaven we as children will ever understand this blessing in its fullest. Now, please understand this act of grace and mercy is only for the saved in Jesus Christ, the lost soul will never be forgiven one single sin, they will never experience what forgiveness is, they continue to live in darkness, destine for the eternal fires of hell. The lost has their hearts, eyes, and ears, darkened by Satan and he does not allow them to hear or see eternal forgiveness in Jesus Christ. However, the Christian, those whom God has brought light, should be able to see and understand this gracious act of forgiveness. Think about it, we, who were lost, sinful, blind, and our spirits were dead, have been quickened from Satan’s power of darkness. However, I must serve this warning, since the Christian can see God’s word and have a limited understanding of His word, we must abide in His word. God said, "This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. (25) If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit." Galatians 5:16, 25 As Christians, as recipients of God’s grace and mercy, as those who have been cleansed or made holy by the blood of Jesus, receiving a complete pardon or forgiveness from all our sins, we are to walk in that holiness in this life given by God. Please understand this, if we are walking in God’s word, we will never fulfill the lust of the flesh, because the lust of the flesh is ungodly. God said of Christians, “And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.” Luke 24:47 and the Lord went farther with our responsibility with these words, “And ye are witnesses of these things.” Verse 48 Meaning we are to “testify” these things to the world, not in word only but in our life actions. I believe, since forgiveness is the believer’s greatest gift in Jesus Christ blood, it should be the believer’s greatest asset in the way we live our life. Think on this, there is not one sin God will not forgive the saved, the only unpardonable or unforgivable sin, is the sin of unbelief in the gift of the Holy Spirit which is forgiveness and salvation in Jesus Christ. This is “a sin unto death” 1 John 5:16 – 19 but not for the believer, not for one who has all their sins forgiven. I also believe that as Christians there should not be any sins that we cannot forgive other believers. Our hearts should be gracious because God is gracious to us. I see a lot of Christians that have a hard time forgiving other Christians, but how would we feel if God would refuse to forgive even one of our sins? We would all be in hell for eternity, salvation would be for nothing and Jesus would have died in vain. Christian, we cannot find ourselves with unforgiving spirits because being unforgiving would be a sin, not on the sinner but yours, for not walking in the Spirit of God’s word. Jesus said, "Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times? (22) Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until seven times: but, Until seventy times seven." Matthew 18:21 – 22 Therefore, if we fail to forgive one another over sin, then we become the sinner. This is talking about believers, Christians, those who have been cleansed by the blood of the Lamb. The lost has no forgiveness, God has never pardoned their sins and therefore they will die and go to hells eternal and unquenchable flames, not one single sin has God ever forgiven a lost soul. This shows us what a blessing it is to be saved. We see these words in Luke 17:3 - 4 "Take heed to yourselves: If thy brother trespass against thee, rebuke him; and if he repent, forgive him. (4) And if he trespass against thee seven times in a day, and seven times in a day turn again to thee, saying, I repent; thou shalt forgive him." However, we also see in our time Christians often fail to rebuke one another, and if they do the responsible party gets angry, and it seems that a lot of Christians just find it hard to forgive one another, going through life angry at other Christians, how sad. Please allow me to also say this, if a Christian sins against you please tell them, it is your responsibility to tell them. Second, if someone tells you please do not commit another sin by being angry with them, they are following God’s word. Third, if your told of a sin then ask for forgiveness, and fourth, forgive the sin and move on as though it never happened. This is a revolving cycle “seventy time seventy”. As Christians we ought to be gracious to each other as God has been gracious to us, if we fail to do so then the sin is ours. Thank you Lord for forgiveness. God is our example, please let us all walk in the steps of His Son.           

Hear the Prophets.

"Then he said, I pray thee therefore, father, that thou wouldest send him to my father's house: (28) For I have five brethren; that he may testify unto them, lest they also come into this place of torment. (29) Abraham saith unto him, They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them. (30) And he said, Nay, father Abraham: but if one went unto them from the dead, they will repent. (31) And he said unto him, If they hear not Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded, though one rose from the dead." Luke 16:27 - 31

This entire event recorded in the gospel is of great importance to the lost soul. There is a hell and people who do not obey the gospel of Jesus Christ go to hell. More souls will go to hell than the souls that enter heaven. God said, "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: (14) Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it." Matthew 7:13 – 14 The wider path proves that the greater number of souls enter hell’s flames than they are that enters heaven, what path will you walk when you die? Jesus told Nicodemus “…Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.” And “…Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.” John 3:3 & 5 Two very bold promises Jesus the Christ told this highly intelligent and very lost soul. No matter how a person defines the words “born again” - from above, and others, again or anew – a lost soul must be born again to see or to enter heaven. Since the word “born” is involved that would tell us that one cannot accomplish this task on their own, because one cannot cause themselves to be born, nor can a dead soul resurrect itself. This rich man did not go to hell because he would not help this beggar named Lazarus nor did Lazarus go to heaven because he was poor, one was born again, and the other was not. God said, “Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us…” God by His mercy saved us “…by the washing of regeneration…” or the – spiritual rebirth – is accomplished by “…renewing of the Holy Ghost” Titus 3:5 This tells us that being “born again or spiritual rebirth” is accomplished by “the power” of the Holy Spirit. A sinner must be washed by the power of the Holy Spirit in God’s word and Jesus blood to be born again and this is impossible without the power of the Holy Spirit. God never used the terms choices, decisions, baptism, or works in His description of salvation. There is nothing in this life more important than the salvation of the lost soul, because every lost soul will travel the same path to hell as the rich man did. People can ignore the prophets of the bible and listen to the preachers of today, but when they find themselves in hell at death, they will remember the prophet’s words. People refuse to believe the prophet’s, even as they did the greatest of all, Jesus the Messiah. Jesus said, "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. (17) For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. (18) He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God." John 3:16 – 18 I can certainly tell you that the rich man had wished he had heard that message, he even begged Abraham to send Lazarus from the dead to tell his five brothers about Jesus, but that would not have convinced them. Do you remember what was said to Jesus at His crucifixion, "Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said, (42) He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him." Matthew 27:41 - 42 However, think about Jesus ministry, how many miracles did He perform, how many times did He by example prove He was God’s Son, the Messiah, and for all that they called Him a devil and an imposter. If God had sent Lazarus back from the dead or if Jesus had come off of the cross it would have not caused one lost soul to repent. Abraham said to the rich man in hell, “…They have Moses and the prophets; let them hear them.” The word of God is God’s testimony, it is the only thing needed to save the lost soul, nothing else will cause one to be born again. Jesus said, “Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me.” John 5:39 That is right, the bible is the most significant tool for saving sinners. We do not need fancy PhD preachers or philosophers telling stories, lost sinners need to hear the biblical truth, never believe a preacher if they are not preaching biblical truth. But Jesus knew the lost soul’s heart and knew that without God’s Holy Spirts power, the lost would never come to Christ, “I receive not honour from men.” John 5:41 Many of so-called Christians will travel the wide road when they die, simply because they did not listen to the salvation words from the prophets. Jesus ended with this warning, “For had ye believed Moses, ye would have believed me: for he wrote of me. (4)  But if ye believe not his writings, how shall ye believe my words?” John 5:46 Do you hear Moses and the prophets as they proclaim Jesus is Saviour, or are you trusting another person’s word? "Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. (2) Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: (3) And every spirit that confesseth not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is not of God: and this is that spirit of antichrist, whereof ye have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world." 1 John 4:1 - 3

David’s Great Prayers.

"...Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. (2) Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” Psalms 51:1 – 2

I love Christians who have great prayer lives, I need prayer all the time and am thankful to those who pray for me. We should all have prayer worriers in our life, there is nothing more powerful another Christian can do for you than to pray for you. Your Pastor needs prayer, all pastors need prayers from all their church membership. If you do not pray for your Pastor every day, PLEASE START TODAY! I promise you he prays for you every day and most likely multiple times a day. A prayer worrier is someone who prays a lot, and multiple times a day, fervent in their prayer life. I remember the greatest prayer worrier I ever knew was Sister Mae Hammond, Pastor’s Harace and Charles Hammond’s mother and my grandmother – in law. Sister Mae would pray in a very moment, if she sensed that someone needed prayer, she would stop everything and pray. I can remember many times I would sit with her at her kitchen table and talk to her about things and she would tell me “I prayer about that today, or I have prayer about that a lot” and believe me, if Sister Mae said she prayed she did. I am sure as a young minister; I kept her prayer life continually active. Again, the greatest thing a Christian can do is pray a lot, and please put me and my wife on your prayer list.

However, here we find David praying for himself, David had committed a great sin and he is asking God to forgive him. David is asking God to forgive his sin, “…according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.” Oh, how great of a God we indeed have, what mercy and grace our Father has for us, that even when we sin, He will mercifully forgive them over and over. David went on to pray these words in V. 2 “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” David needed a very much forgiveness and our Father will forgive all our sins. No Christian is above sin, and all sin is equally breaking of God’s commandments. “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.” James 2:10 Therefore we need our Fathers forgiveness all day every day. While David’s sin was great, all sin is great! David went on in V. 4 to say, “Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight…” We need to understand, as God’s children our Father see’s us, He knows our every action, but He also knows our every thought. David admitted his sins to God, he did not attempt to hide them, or to act as though he did not do them, he admitted them, and because he did, he knew God would forgive them. "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. (9) If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."1 John 1:8 - 9 Thank you dear Gracious God! David continued in V.8 “Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.” David was asking God to make His forgiveness real in his heart, because David’s burden was such on him that it would be like “crushing his bones” oh how painful David’s sins were to him. David did not forget to praise God for His glorious and merciful act of kindness of forgiving his iniquity. V. 15 “O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.” Folks, when we sin against God it is awful, that such a gracious God who saved us and adopted us as His own children must also watch us sin. But this same gracious God will also mercifully forgive those sins. Please, let us acknowledge our sins to our Father, He already knows about them, do not treat our Father as though our sins are insufficient or irrelevant. Every time we sin against our Father, we ought to all be as good of children as David was.   

 

Understanding God’s Word.

1 Corinthians 2:6 – 14
Subject: Spiritual understanding verses Natural understanding.
V. 14 “But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.”

I will begin by asking this all-important question, who among us rightly understands the “Word of God”? Well, it is most certain that there is one right understanding of God’s Word and all others are wrong. God’s Word is an “in context and without contradiction” book, there is one doctrine and one direction to God’s Word, Holy in its nature. Here in 1 Corinthians 2:6 – 14 The Apostle Paul is talking about the spiritual nature of understanding verse the natural way of understanding, one is wrong, and the other is correct, one is Truth, and the other is non-truth. The bible is a Spiritual Book unintelligible by mankind in its totality, it must be Spirit taught. This is an absolute fact; the lost will never utterly understand the contents of the bible “…because they are spiritually discerned.” The question now must be what is the meaning of being “being spiritually discerned”? A.H. Strong’s defines it this way, - they are unable to scrutinize, that is, (by implication) investigate the bible -, Thayer defined it this way – they are unable to examine or judge the excellence or defects of the bible -. This means that the bible is written like a puzzle, and no one in the natural state of mind will ever intelligibly comprehend any form of it. Even the most intelligent of God’s creation cannot comprehend and rightly assemble God’s puzzle of truth. Paul said in V. V. 10 - 11 "But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God." Please look awfully close to these words, “But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit…” God’s Spirit does not communicate with the lost or the natural person in any form in their lost state. Even with the saved He only communicates to a limited level. To the lost person the bible makes no sense, their natural understanding prevents them from seeing the truth of the bible, they simply will never put the puzzle together. Paul speaking about his lost Jewish countrymen said this, "For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God." Romans 10:2 - 3 The Gentiles are no different than the Jews, the world is full of lost and spiritually unintelligible creatures with a great zeal attempting to understand, worship, and preach God’s word, but it is all in vain. Dead spirits know nothing.

Now, let us look at the believers scriptural understanding. A Christian has two natures, their natural nature, and a spiritual nature. A Christian still lives under their natural nature until the Holy Spirit moves us in our spiritual nature to over-ride our old nature. Therefore, Christians do not in unity understand the scriptures, we are NOT one bible, one doctrine, one understanding, but we ought to be, right. While Christians have limited understanding no one among us has an infallible understanding of the puzzle called the bible. Paul wrote in 1 Corinthians 2:9 “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” God before the foundation of the world pre-ordained every single believer a predestinated life and understanding of His puzzle called the bible. Even to the believer the bible is unintelligible, if it were not then every believer would understand His word in unison and without error. All believers would be scripturally in one accord. The bible is a Spiritually written book, that means the Holy Spirit wrote the bible through men whom God chose to write it thru time. “All scripture is given by inspiration of God…” 2Tim. 3:16 This means every word of the bible, except the words in italics are absolutely the words of God. Paul said “…for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God… so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” The “no man” includes Christians, for the Christian must be taught of God by His Holy Spirit, and if they are not then they will never put the puzzle together. Note these words, “…the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” This means – the mystery or the hidden counsels or purposes of God -. The bible is a revelation and is revealed only to believers, as God has chosen for us to understand it. Just because we read and study the puzzle does not mean we have the spiritual ability to assemble the pieces in its correct form to complete the puzzle, no one will complete the puzzle completely correct. Paul wrote “Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit.” 1 Corinthians 12:4 spiritual gifts are, any gift given by the Holy Spirit and that includes scriptural understanding. God can make the weakest intelligible Christian biblically smarter than those who hold a PhD among us. Human intelligence may make one a smarter and greater speaker, but it makes them no smarter in biblical soundness. John wrote “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:” Joh 16:13 He also wrote these words, “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26 Even the Apostle Paul recognized this truth, “But by the grace of God I am what I am: and his grace which was bestowed upon me was not in vain; but I laboured more abundantly than they all: yet not I, but the grace of God which was with me. (11) Therefore whether it were I or they, so we preach, and so ye believed.” 1 Corinthians 15:10 – 11. No matter how hard we work, how hard we study, we are only what God has elected to make us, as Christians and understanding His word. We need to all pray that our understanding is correct and pray that God will continue to connect the pieces of His puzzle in our hearts.