Exoneration, Why And How?

Illustration:

Forgive others

not because they deserve forgiveness

but because you deserve peace.

Jonathan Lockwood Hule

For the choir director: A psalm of David, regarding the time Nathan the prophet came to him after David had committed adultery with Bathsheba.

-David sent his Army’s off to fight a war but he stayed home. He should have gone with them.

-While wandering around at night he was out on the roof and he looked over and saw a beautiful woman bathing.

-Lust for her got a strong hold on him and he ordered her to come to him and they committed adultery.

-She became pregnant

-David had her husband come to him from the battle that was raging. His goal was to get this ardent soldier to go home to his wife. But he didn't go home because his men were still in the field without their families.

-David sent him back to the front carrying a message to put him in the forefront of the battle and he was killed.

-God sent Nathan to David with a story about a sheep herder with only one beautiful sheep. Another man with plenty of sheep took this mans one sheep and sacrificed it.

-David was very angry – He said bring this man to me!

-Nathan looked at David and said: You are that man.

-It hit David hard.

Now read some of what David’s conversation with God was about:

Psalm 51 NLT

1 Have mercy on me, O God,

because of your unfailing love.

Because of your great compassion,

blot out the stain of my sins.

2 Wash me clean from my guilt.

(Wash-perform the work of a fuller/Scrub him down)

Purify me from my sin.

(Purify-to be clean (physically - of disease)

3 For I recognize my rebellion;

it haunts me day and night.

4 Against you, and you alone, have I sinned;

I have done what is evil in your sight.

You will be proved right in what you say,

and your judgment against me is just.

5 For I was born a sinner—

yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.

6 But you desire honesty from the womb,

teaching me wisdom even there.

7 Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean;

wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.

8 Oh, give me back my joy again;

you have broken me—

now let me rejoice.

9 Don’t keep looking at my sins.

Remove the stain of my guilt.

10 Create in me a clean heart, O God.

Renew a loyal spirit within me.

11 Do not banish me from your presence,

and don’t take your Holy Spirit from me.

(In David’s day God gave the Holy Spirit to/for special purposes to individuals)

12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation,

and make me willing to obey you.

-We know that God forgave David.

-Most believe David was punished because the child that was conceived died as an infant.

---God forgave then and he forgives today.

Romans 4:

4 When people work, their wages are not a gift, but something they have earned. 5 But people are counted as righteous, not because of their work, but because of their faith in God who forgives sinners.

Romans 3:

22 We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are.

23 For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24 Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

-Jesus is the way to Salvation. It’s faith in Him and what he did (died on the old rugged cross) that determines our salvation and should dictate the way we live our lives when we truly know Him.

Romans 5:

1 Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. 2 Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory.

-Undeserved privilege. We get that by faith in Jesus and what he did for us:

-What do we get:

3 We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. 4 And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. 5 And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love.

Forgiveness and endurance for the long haul.