Coming To Christ For Forgiveness Series

SERIES: “DISCOVER FORGIVENESS: Finding Freedom Through Forgiveness”

TEXT: LUKE 7:36-50

TITLE: “COMING TO CHRIST FOR FORGIVENESS”

OPEN: A. A young couple was engaged to be married. The wedding day was rapidly approaching and

both of them began to get worried. They both had problems they had never shared with each other.

The groom-to-be decided to talk his problem over with his father. He said, “Dad, I’m worried.

I love my wife-to-be very much but I’ve got smelly feet. I’m afraid that she’s going to find me and

my smelly feet disgusting.”

Dad said, “No problem, son. All you have to do is wash your feet as often as possible. Always

wear socks, even to bed. But remember, you always have to be the first one out of bed in the

morning. Go right into the bathroom, wash your feet, put on fresh socks, and she’ll never know.”

The groom-to-be thought that was a good idea.

The bride-to-be took her problem to her mother. She said, “Mom, when I wake up in the

morning, my breath smells truly awful. I’m afraid that if he ever gets a whiff of my morning

breath, he’ll not want anything to do with me ever again.”

Her mother advised, “In the morning, just get straight up out of bed, head for the bathroom, and

brush your teeth. Don’t say a word until you’ve brushed them. Not a word. He’ll never know.”

The bride-to-be thought it was certainly worth a try.

The couple was finally married in a beautiful ceremony. Not forgetting the advice they had

received – he with his socks and she with her morning silence – they managed quite well.

About six months into the marriage, shortly before dawn, the husband woke up horrified to

discover that one of his sock had come off during the night. Fearful of the consequences, he

frantically started searched the bed, Of course, his search woke up his wife.

Without thinking she blurted out, “What on earth are you doing?” The husband recoiled in

shock and gasped, “Oh, no! You’ve swallowed my sock!”

1. Maybe you don’t have stinky feet or smelly breath, but chances are that you have something

you’ve done in your life that you hope nobody ever learns about.

2. Scripture teaches us about ourselves:

a. “There is none righteous, not even one.”

b. “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”

B. We’re going to finish our series “Discover Forgiveness” this morning

1. I want to conclude by telling about the availability for forgiveness through Jesus Christ

2. It’s an important message for us to hear, because like the bride and groom in the story, we’re

all in the same boat

a. As we’ll see in our scripture passage this morning, we may look different from each other

but we all have the same need

b. We all have the same problems

1). We all feel a sense of shame

2). We all carry a sense of guilt

3). We all lack the power to change

--But Christ offers us victory when we trust in Him

C. Lk. 7:36-50 – “Now one of the Pharisees invited Jesus to have dinner with him, so he went to the

Pharisee’s house and reclined at the table. When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town

learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume,

and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then

she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them. When the Pharisee who

had invited him saw this, he said to himself, ‘If this man were a prophet, he would know who is

touching him and what kind of woman she is—that she is a sinner.’ Jesus answered him, ‘Simon,

I have something to tell you.’ ‘Tell me, teacher,’ he said. ‘Two men owed money to certain

moneylender. One owed him five hundred denarii, and the other fifty. Neither of them had the

money to pay him back, so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him

more?’ Simon replied, ‘I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.’ ‘You have judged

correctly,’ Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this

woman? I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet

with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman, from

the time I entered, has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not put oil on my head, but she has

poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven—for she