This month we are considering together the Supernatural Stream of Healing & Wholeness and my title for this mornings sermon is:
Forgiveness makes you whole and saves your soul!
Easter is rapidly approaching,
the celebration of Jesus paying the price for our sin,
His suffering and death on the Cross for you and I,
His triumphant Resurrection - bringing Forgiveness, Healing and Wholeness to all who know Jesus as their personal Lord and Saviour.
We know that at the Cross, Jesus won victory over death & the grave.
But do we really understand what Christ accomplished or fully grasp what God offers to those who trust in Jesus for their salvation?
The preacher Charles Spurgeon said, “A view of Christ on Calvary is always beneficial to a Christian.”
So, this morning we are going to revisit Calvary,
the place where Jesus suffered and bled and died for you and for me.
Calvary, the place where God demonstrated just how much He so loved the world that he gave His only begotten Son.
Calvary, where Christ was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities.
Calvary, where Jesus bore the penalty for our own sins on the cross.
Calvary, where God confirmed his love for us and where Christ died for us.
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If we had been there that day on Calvary, we would have seen and heard many things.
There was a large crowd of people at Calvary on the day when Jesus the sinless, spotless Lamb of God was crucified.
Within the crowd there were indifferent onlookers,
there were some of the Jewish leaders who had rejected Jesus because he did not fit their idea of who the messiah would be.
There were also Roman soldiers there, Soldiers unconcerned about the suffering of Jesus, the agony of the cross, or the truth about who Jesus was.
Perhaps, further back in the crowd were the distressed, the desolate friends and loved ones of Jesus, standing there weeping, broken hearted, indescribably crushed by what they could see.
If we had been there that day, and listened we would have heard Jesus speak.
We would have heard his heart’s concern for sinners.
In Luke 23:32-38 we read these words:
32 Two others, both criminals, were led out to be executed with him. 33 When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. And the criminals were also crucified—one on his right and one on his left.
34 Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”And the soldiers gambled for his clothes by throwing dice.
35 The crowd watched and the leaders scoffed. “He saved others,” they said, “let him save himself if he is really God’s Messiah, the Chosen One.” 36 The soldiers mocked him, too, by offering him a drink of sour wine. 37 They called out to him, “If you are the King of the Jews, save yourself!” 38 A sign was fastened above him with these words: “This is the King of the Jews.” (Luke 23:32 – 38)
On the cross, despite the pain, despite the anguish, Jesus spoke from his heart’s and asked God the Father to forgive.
Maybe it was Jesus’ plea for forgiveness for those who crucified him was the catalyst that changed the attitude of one of the thieves who was also being crucified.
Matthew’s gospel records that at first both of the thieves ridiculed him and mocked him (Matt. 27:38 – 44).
Then something changed: Luke 23:40 – 42
One of the criminals hanging beside him scoffed, “So you’re the Messiah, are you? Prove it by saving yourself—and us, too, while you’re at it!”
40 But the other criminal protested, “Don’t you fear God even when you have been sentenced to die? 41 We deserve to die for our crimes, but this man hasn’t done anything wrong.” 42 Then he said, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your Kingdom.”
43 And Jesus replied, “I assure you, today you will be with me in paradise.” Luke 23:40 – 42
The thief’s curses and insults were changed into a prayer for mercy as he heard Christ pray, “Father, forgive them”.
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Forgiveness makes you whole and saves your soul!
There are 4 things I want us to consider about forgiveness this morning:
The complete need for forgiveness.
The context of forgiveness.
The consequences of forgiveness.
The conditions for receiving forgiveness.
1st - The complete need for forgiveness.
“Father, forgive them.”
Romans 3:23 says “For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard.”
God is Holy, perfect, righteous.
Simply put, we are not.
Ecclesiastes 7:20 says “Not a single person on earth is always good and never sins.”
We are sinful by nature, we all sin, we all fall short.
None of us can really fully comprehend the enormity of our sin, nor could those in the crowd at Calvary.
Yet they needed God’s forgiveness and so do we.
In the crowd, the Jewish leaders, so proud,
so prejudiced, so self-righteous, so gloating in success over Christ’s crucifixion, they needed forgiveness.
Herod, the puppet king who though Jesus was some kind of magician and asked him to perform a miracle, needed forgiveness.
Pilate, conniving and cowardly, a politician who had delivered an innocent man into the hands of a malicious mob, needed forgiveness.
The Roman soldiers, indifferent to Jesus, playing dice and gambling for his robe, needed forgiveness.
The howling mob who came to curse, to taunt, to revile the suffering Saviour, needed forgiveness.
Even Jesus own disciples, those who in fear of their lives had fled during the night, needed forgiveness.
Friends, all of us need forgiveness, all of us are sinners.
All of us have broken God’s holy law.
All of us have fallen short of God’s standards.
All of us are broken in some way and we need to be made whole.
If we are honest, with ourselves and with God, all of us should say, “we need forgiveness.”
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2nd - The context of forgiveness.
“Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”
Perhaps Jesus was interceding to hold back the wrath of God upon those who were unjustly crucifying an innocent man.
Maybe Jesus was praying for the crowd to have a full opportunity to repent and to experience the cleansing of forgiveness.
Full forgiveness... guilt removed, penalty cancelled,
relationship restored, that which has been broken because of sin healed, restored, made whole, because of Calvary, because of Jesus.
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Think about this for a moment,
in the parable of the prodigal son,
which is in reality the parable of the waiting father, Jesus presented the meaning of forgiveness.
To receive the wayward son home with a welcome. To no longer hold his sin against him.
To restore relationship.
To make whole that which is broken.
Jesus was so concerned about the consequence of sin, he was willing to forgive those who had nailed Him to the cross.
If only we could so easily forgive the people we think have done or said something against us!
3rd - The consequences of forgiveness.
Father, forgive them
In the midst of His suffering, in the midst of His pain, our Saviour expressed the hope and the prayer that his crucifiers might experience the joy of forgiveness.
To be forgiven, to enjoy the love of the Father’s heart and home.
The father in Jesus’ parable had lovingly waited for the day when his Prodigal son would come to his senses and return home.
The father had waited for his child to forsake the way of life that disappoints and brings destruction.
And as soon as the son arrives home the father said to the servants, ‘Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet. (Luke 15:22).
When the father forgives there is restoration.
When the father forgives there is rejoicing.
In Psalm 103:1 – 4, King David rejoiced and praised God for the assurance of forgiveness following his admission and confession of sin:
Let all that I am praise the Lord; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name.
2 Let all that I am praise the Lord; may I never forget the good things he does for me.
3 He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases.
4 He redeems me from death and crowns me with love and tender mercies. (Psalm 103:1 – 4).
Forgiveness make you whole and saves your soul!
Final point - The Conditions for receiving forgiveness.
Luke’s gospel is the only one that records this prayer for forgiveness. In fact forgiveness is a major theme throughout the Gospel of Luke.
Forgiveness through repentance to God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Repentance is necessary to enjoy the blessing of forgiveness.
God is eager for people to receive forgiveness.
Throughout his ministry, Jesus had proclaimed the need for people to repent or perish. (Luke 13:3, 5).
Before people will repent, they must recognize that they are sinners and in need of forgiveness.
The scribes and Pharisees of Jesus day were guilty of believing that they had already received the favour of God and did not need to repent.
Jesus told them in Luke 5:32, “Healthy people don’t need a doctor—sick people do. I have come to call not those who think they are righteous, but those who know they are sinners and need to repent.”
In the parable of the waiting father, Jesus emphasized there is more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous people who feel no need for forgiveness.
Friends, Faith is necessary to receive the forgiveness.
In Luke 5, When four friends brought the paralyzed man through the crowd to the Great Healer,
Jesus first reaction when he saw the combined faith of the five was to say, “Young man, your sins are forgiven” (Luke 5:20).
They had faith in their hearts,
maybe He saw it in their eyes,
maybe He saw it in their attitude,
maybe it was their determination in getting their friend to Jesus by taking apart the roof and lowering him down, whatever it was,
Jesus bestowed the blessing of forgiveness on the man who was had faith in Him in his time of need.
In Luke 7 it was the faith of the prostitute and the forgiving grace of God through Jesus Christ that made it possible for her to receive the gift of forgiveness.
She brought a beautiful alabaster jar filled with expensive perfume, broke it open and annointed Jesus feet with the perfume and her own tears.
Jesus said: her sins—and they are many—have been forgiven, so she has shown me much love. But a person who is forgiven little shows only little love.” 48 Then Jesus said to the woman, “Your sins are forgiven.”
49 The men at the table said among themselves, “Who is this man, that he goes around forgiving sins?”
50 And Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”
She knew she was forgiven, do you?
Her heart was filled with joy, is yours?
Only God can forgive sin,
only faith in Jesus can save.
Faith that brings the blessing of wholeness,
of restoration, of forgiveness.
Let me close with this:
Genuine repentance and saving faith are two inseparable sides of the same coin.
They are so inseparable that at times the call to conversion comes in the form of a challenge to repent.
At other times, it may come as an invitation to trust.
Genuine repentance and saving faith —
the two parts of the human response to the good news of God’s love —
are as inseparable as a man and his shadow in the brightness of the sun.
In the midst of his agony, his brokenness on the cross, Jesus demonstrated God’s concern for sinners by praying for his crucifiers to be wholly forgiven.
Are you among those who have received the benefits of forgiveness?
Are you willing for Jesus to bring transformation into your life? Healing, wholeness, forgiveness?
This morning, listen to His prayer from the cross, believe that Jesus loves you in spite of your sin,
and know healing and forgiveness in your own life now and evermore.
Amen
