THE WONDER OF FORGIVENESS
Ps. 32:1-11
INTRODUCTION
A. HUMOR: Forgive Your Enemies
1. Preacher preached on “Forgiving Your Enemies.” Halfway through the service, He asked his congregation, “How many of you have forgiven their enemies?” About half held up their hands.
2. He then preached his sermon over and then asked “How many have forgiven your enemies?” As it was past lunchtime, this time about 80 percent held up their hands.
3. He then reemphasized the message and asked them again. All responded, except one elderly lady.
4. "Mrs. Jones?" inquired the preacher, “Aren’t you willing to forgive your enemies?” “I don't have any.” she replied, smiling.
5. “Oh, Mrs. Jones, what an example you are to all of us. Would you please come down in front and tell us all how a person can live as many years as you have and not have an enemy in the world."
6. The sweet little lady tottered down the aisle, faced the congregation, and said "I outlived all the old hags."
B. TEXT
1“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him….4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me….5 Then I acknowledged my sin to You and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord”— and You forgave the guilt of my sin. 11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!” Ps. 32:1-2, 4-5,11.
C. THESIS
1. WRONG IDEAS OF BLESSEDNESS. Most people think that those who are rich or famous are “blessed,” or maybe those with excellent health or those with great
2. But the truth is that those things alone don’t bring happiness or fulfillment. Often those very people are plagued with problems and insecurities which we never hear about.
3. But the all-wise God tells us today what is really the source of inner joy and satisfaction; “Blessed is he whose
transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
4. Today, let’s look at 1). The Value of being forgiven, 2). The Origin of Forgiveness & 3).the 3 Effects of pardon.
5. The title of this message is “The Wonder of Forgiveness.”
I. WHY IS FORGIVENESS SO VALUABLE?
A. IT CAN’T BE BOUGHT
1. If we possessed the entire amount of the national debt – 16.4 trillion dollars – we still wouldn’t possess enough wealth to buy it!
2. If we owned all the oil wells of Saudi Arabia, all the gold and diamond mines of South Africa, and all the resources of Brazil, we still couldn’t buy our pardon from sin; it’s beyond price!
3. God says, “The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,”“Every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills…” There’s nothing we can offer God that’s not already His. Nothing that man can present to God can ever purchase the blessing of forgiveness.
B. IT CAN’T BE EARNED
1. Next we might say, “If I can’t buy a pardon, then I will seek to EARN my way to heaven by good works.”
2. But we read in the Scriptures, “By the deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight” R. 3:20.
3. RIGHTEOUSNESS = HIGH JUMPING
a. The world high jump record is 2.45 meters (that’s 8 feet ½ inch). That’s the greatest height anyone has ever cleared with their body. One person did it in 1993, and it hasn’t been done again since. It’s the standard by which all great jumps are measured.
b. The Pharisees in Jesus’ day were almost universally respected for their righteous attention to the
laws of God. They were, in a sense, “world record holders at law keeping.” Their righteousness was the standard by which everyone else was judged.
c. But the righteousness of the Pharisees was still not good enough to save them. God’s standard was infinitely higher than they could attain.
4. You see, “Good People Don’t Go to Heaven,” only forgiven ones do!
C. IT’S INSTANTANEOUS
1. In a world where most court dockets are backed up for years, it’s amazing that this pardon is granted instantly.
2. The moment we trust in Jesus as our sacrifice for sin, we’re justified before God, by faith. It takes only a moment to accomplish this miracle of mercy.
3. Sanctification is a lifelong work, continuously effected by the Holy Spirit, but justification is done in an instant!
D. IT’S PERMANENT
1. Forgiveness, once granted, is yours forevermore. Not only are our sins forgiven, but they are remembered no more by God; they’re forgotten!
2. We don’t ever have to worry about our sins being re-dug up. Once forgiven, they’re forgotten forever.
3. We are justified. It doesn’t matter how bad our past! Our sins, once imputed to Christ, cannot be imputed back to us.
4. On the Day of Judgment, Christ Jesus will stand and say, “Father, I died for that one. They are pardoned!” When He justifies, He justifies forever and nothing can separate us from His love!
II. THE ORIGIN OF OUR FORGIVENESS
A. BEING SORRY WON’T REMOVE SIN
1. Many people around the world think, “If I just tell God I’m sorry for my sins, God will be induced to pardon me.”
2. Being sorry won’t blot out a single sin! You’ve heard of “Carved in Stone?” That’s what our sins are, and nothing can alter them.
3. If you have a car wreck, just being sorry won’t fix it. No, somebody’s going to have to pay for it. It’s the same with sin; only when there’s an prescribed sacrifice can there be pardon.
4. What’s the prescribed sacrifice? There’s only One! God’s Son!
B. ILLUSTRATION: Access to High Places
1. During the Civil War, a man’s son deserted his post in battle and was to be shot by a firing squad. So the father went to Washington DC seeking the President’s pardon.
2. But he couldn't get passed the front gate to the White House; the guards denied him access.
3. So he sat on the bench outside crying, fearing his son's death. Day after day, hundreds of people pass him, but no one noticed....
4. One day a small boy saw him crying and asked him why, what was going on. He told the boy about his son and what was going to happen. The boy was touched. He said, "Follow me."
5. He walked up to the front gate, looked up at the soldiers guarding it and said, "It's okay. He's with me." The gate opened.
6. The boy and the man marched right up to the front door of the White House, opened it and walked in. He knew exactly where the President was.
7. He knocked on the door, and entered a meeting of the President with his cabinet. The little boy nudged his way through to the President and jumped up on his lap. An intermission was called.
8. The boy said, "Daddy, I want you to meet a man. He needs your help." The man was brought and told his story. Lincoln took out his pen, signed a document and handed it to the man. "Presidential Pardon, Signed, Abraham Lincoln, President of the U.S."
9. The man's SON had been pardoned! His tears of sadness became tears of joy. As he was leaving he turned to the President and asked, "Why did you do this for me?"
Lincoln replied, "I did it because my SON took an interest in your situation!” (David A. Sargent)
C. THE ONLY SACRIFICE: THE BLOOD OF CHRIST
1. Folks, that’s the only reason God has pardoned you!
2. Listen to Rev. 1:5, “from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the firstborn from the dead, and the ruler of the kings of the earth…Who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood.”
3. Paul said, “In Him we have redemption through His
blood, the forgiveness of sins” Eph. 1:7.
4. “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven.” How was this great mercy and gift purchased for you? Go to Gethsemane and you will find bloody sweat upon the ground. Go to Gabbatha and see your Savior’s beard plucked by His persecutors, His cheeks fouled by their spittle, His back lacerated by the deep wounds of the knotted whips, and then stand at Calvary and watch His agony and death -- “the Just for the unjust.”
5. How Blessed is the man who’s been loved by Jesus and purchased with His blood! ‘Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.’”
III. BECAUSE OF ITS EFFECTS
“Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
A. PARDON ALTERS A BAD FUTURE
1. All of us were on our way to hell. But the day that we accepted Jesus, we were translated from the kingdom of darkness to the kingdom of God’s dear Son. Our names were written in the Lamb’s Book of Life.
2. All things begin to work together for them that love God! The steps of a good man/ woman are ordered of the Lord.
3. You’ve become Abraham’s seed and heirs of the Promise. All the promises of God are now yours! There’s not a verse in the Bible that’s not yours!
4. Rejoice: your future is secure. When the mountains shall be dissolved and the earth shall pass away, we shall be kept by God’s power to enter the New Heavens and New Earth.
5. After death will come the glorious resurrection! We’ll have new resurrection bodies, and live in Paradise! And whatever there is in Heaven will be yours!
6. The Heavenly City with azure light and with jasper walls—it’s all yours! The palaces of crystal and of gold, that sparkle so much they dazzle mortal eyes, they’re yours!
7. A crown that’s bright and glorious; it’s yours, for you are pardoned! Though we’ve been the chief of sinners and the vilest of the vile, if God shall justify us, all things are
ours!
8. Oh! “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
B. EFFECT NO. 2: PEACE
1. Paul said, “We have peace with God thru…Jesus.”
2. Peace is a wonderful satisfaction, a tranquility that comes from knowing that all is right between you and your Creator.
3. When sins are gone you can enter God’s presence unafraid. Now all is well with your soul.
4. You could face the Grim Reaper today without fear; “There is no fear in love” John said. Can you say you’re not afraid to die?
5. That’s why you need this verse, “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”
C. EFFECT NO. 3: JOY
1. Justification not only gives peace, it also gives joy.
I remember the wonderful day when my sins were forgiven and I felt the tremendous burden of guilt lifted off of me. I was set free!
2. ILLUS.
a. Dr. Alexander Fletcher of 1800’s London told of seeing three or four preteen pick-pockets jumping up and down and dancing around.
b. He asked them, ‘My boys, why are you so excited?’ ‘Ah,’ they said, ‘if you had been locked up for three months, you would do the same when you got out of prison.’” That’s what it’s like.
3. Joy is one of the greatest gifts of heaven. It doesn’t depend on outward happiness, but inward – the knowledge that we are loved by God, personally.
4. When The Rich Pastor Was Audited
a. A tax assessor came one day to a poor pastor to determine the amount of taxes the pastor would have to pay. The following conversation takes place:
b. “What property do you possess?” asked the assessor. “I am a very wealthy man,” replied the minister.
“List your possessions, please,” the assessor instructed.
c. “First , I have everlasting life (John 3:16).
“Second, I have a mansion in heaven (John 14:2).
“Third, I have peace that passeth understanding.Phip. 4:7
“Fourth, I have joy unspeakable (1 Peter 1:8).
“Fifth, I have divine love which never faileth (1 Cor 13:8).
“Sixth, I have a faithful precious wife (Proverbs 31:10).
“Seventh, I have healthy, happy obedient children. Ex. 20:12
“Eighth, I have true, loyal friends (Proverbs 18:24).
“Ninth, I have songs in the night (Psalms 42:8).
“Tenth, I have a Crown of Life (James 1:12).”
d. The tax assessor closed his book, and said,“Truly you are a very rich man .. .but your property is not subject to taxation." Author unknown.
CONCLUSION
A. ILLUSTRATION: IN WHOSE PRESENCE YOU STAND
1. On March 22, 1824 an incident took place in Madison County, Indiana, which came to be known as the Fall Creek Massacre. Six men murdered nine American Indians and wounded another.
2. The six men were apprehended and tried and some were executed. On June 3, 1825, John Bridge, Jr., who was condemned, along with a large crowd, witnessed the gruesome spectacle of the hangings of his father and uncle.
3. The crowd waited expectantly for the possibility of a pardon from the governor for him. With no sign of a pardon, a sermon was preached as the crowd waited.
4. Finally, John Bridge, Jr. was lead to the gallows and the rope was lowered over his head. As they prepared to pull the trap door, a cheer arose from the back of the crowd.
5. A stranger rode forward and looked the condemned man in the face. "Sir, do you know in whose presence you stand?" Bridge shook his head.
6. "There are but two powers known to the law that can save you from hanging by the neck until you are dead, dead, dead; One is the great God of the Universe, the other is J. Brown Ray, Governor of the State of Indiana.
7. The latter stands before you..." Handing over the written pardon, the governor announced, "You are pardoned."
8. In an instant, what had looked like a hopeless situation became a door of hope. John Bridge Jr. went back home, settled down, opened a dry goods store and died peacefully, fifty-one years later!
9. Can you imagine the fear that must have gripped the heart of that young man as he watched his father and his uncle die, knowing that he was next?
10. Can you imagine the terror as he was led onto the gallows and that noose was placed around his neck? (Carl Allen)
11. If we could but see it, every one of us stand in the same desperate situation, until we get a pardon from the Lord Jesus Christ!
B. THE CALL
1. Are you here today and you can’t confidently say that you’ve received a pardon from Jesus Christ? If that’s you, raise your hand.
2. Maybe you were pardoned years ago, but you’ve done some things you need fresh grace for. If that’s you, raise your hand.
3. Maybe others are missing the peace or the joy of the Lord, and you want to get those back. Raise your hands.
4. All of you come forward for special prayer.
[This message contains some points and quotes from C.H. Spurgeon’s sermon on Ps. 32:1, “Pardon and Justification.”]
