As Far As the East Is From the West – The Issue of Forgiveness
Various Scriptures
Introduction
Today we look at a topic that doesn’t get much press in the pulpit nowadays, but we can’t neglect it. It is all-important in that it affects our relationship with God and with each other.
The issue is forgiveness. Forgiveness of God, and forgiveness of others. The reason it doesn’t get enough attention is because we are too afraid sometimes to tell people they need forgiveness, esp. from God. That calls attention to their sinfulness. We also don’t like to tell others of their need to forgive someone else for whatever reason.
Forgiveness is something we like to think we have a handle on. We would like to think we live under God’s forgiveness, and that we are free with our forgiveness of others, but do we really?
We are going to examine this today, although we won’t exhaust the subject. It is very possible we will take more time next week to get a better grasp of this whole issue of forgiveness. We’ll see how the Lord leads.
My purpose today is to help us move a big step forward in how we understand and apply forgiveness.
We are going to look at a few passages of Scriptures relating to the forgiveness of God and how that relates to our forgiveness of each other.
May we leave here today excited about growing in this essential area of Christlikeness.
The Forgiveness of God Is…
I. Complete
Please turn with me to Psalm 103, on page ______ of the Bibles in the racks in front of you.
We begin reading in verse 1:
-Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name.
Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits –
Who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
Who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
Who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is like the eagle’s.-
Verse 3 carries the key – He forgives ALL your sin. How much? All! Is there any sin His forgiveness does not cover? No!
Right now guys like former slave trader John Newton and serial killer Ted Bundy are in heaven, because when they gave their lives to Christ, their sins were wiped away. Hard to believe, I know, but it’s true.
But that’s not all! Let’s continue in verse 8:
-The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in love.
He will not always accuse, nor will He harbor His anger forever;
He does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities.
For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is His love for those who fear Him;
As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear Him;
For He knows how we are formed, He remembers that we are dust.-
Not only does He forgive, He removes them from the equation. Think for just a minute about a globe. You are travelling north, up through Canada, and up to the Arctic Circle.
At what point do you begin going south? When you get to the North Pole.
Now think about going west through California, to Hawaii, on to Japan, then China, past Australia, through Africa, across the Atlantic Ocean, back to the United States.
At what point did you begin going east? You didn’t, did you? You can keep going west forever. The same with going east.
You get the picture? God has removed your sins as far as the east is from the west. That’s a long way away, baby.
Isaiah 43:25 says this:
-“I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more.”-
He chooses to not remember them. In other words, He won’t be bringing them up in the future reminding you of them.
That is good news!
But some of you are wondering about Jesus’ words in Mark 3:29 where Jesus says that whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven – he is guilty of an eternal sin.
The issue here is that the teachers of the Law were accusing Jesus of using evil spirits to drive out demons.
If you are concerned about whether or not you have committed this unforgivable sin, don’t worry – you haven’t. God wouldn’t bother with convicting you about it if you had.
Let’s recap: God’s forgiveness is complete, and He chooses to not remember them.
The Forgiveness of God is…
II. Continuous
Please turn with me to 1 John 1, which is on page _______ of the Bibles.
We begin in verse 5, reading through verse 2 of chapter 2 –
-This is the message we have heard from Him and declare to you: God is light; in Him there is no darkness at all. If we claim to have fellowship with Him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, His Son, purifies us from all sin.
If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.
My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense – Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world.-
Did you know that if you possess the Spirit of God, you have the power to walk away from sin?
The Holy Spirit of God enables us to turn away totally. Some of you are saying, “No one can quit sinning entirely.” And on your own, you are absolutely correct. But you are not on your own. The Holy Spirit dwells within you.
Unfortunately, we don’t choose to do that. We keep thinking that we know better. “I know what Your word says, Lord, but I’ve thought it out, and I think I’ve got a handle on it.”
Can I be blunt here? That’s awful stupid, folks. We don’t have the capacity within ourselves to make right decisions on our own. That’s why it is so important that we spend time in the Word and prayer.
By the way, I’m right there with you. As Red Green says, “We’re in this thing together.”
Well, that’s the bad news.
The good news is that when we do blow it, we have access to forgiveness.
Look back at verse 9 of chapter 1: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all unrighteousness.
We have forgiveness as we confess. When we recognize our sin and ask His forgiveness, He is ready and waiting!
I’m not a big fan of bumper stickers. Some are alright, but you probably won’t find one on one of my vehicles unless it mentions the Minnesota Twins or something.
But there is one bumper sticker that I think is all right. It says, “Christians aren’t perfect – they’re just forgiven.”
Kind of says it all, doesn’t it?
A friend of mine tells the story of how one day - have you ever driven off in your car only to realize that you left something on the roof of the car? You’re driving down the world without a care in the world, until someone pulls up next to you and says something like, “Hey buddy! You left your Diet Coke on your car!”
Anyway, my friend left his Bible on the car roof, and he drove away. The Bible fell off the car, and a young lady picked it up.
She took it home and found Dave’s name and phone number in it. She called to tell him she had found his Bible, and invited him to stop over to pick it up.
When Dave arrived, she had a question for Him. She was reading in that Bible, and had come across this verse – 1 John 1:9. And in the margin, Dave had written these words: “The Christian’s bar of soap.” She wanted to know what that meant.
He explained the forgiveness the Christian has because He confesses his sin.
And he got the chance to lead that young lady to a saving knowledge of Jesus as her Savior.
An interesting story, huh?
But let me finish this section by stating that just because we have this forgiveness available, it is not a license to sin. We don’t wipe the slate clean just to dirty it up again. Continuing to live a sinful lifestyle can have serious consequences in your fellowship with God.
Paul says in Romans that we died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? We are to live in the Spirit, not the flesh.
But when we sin, we have the continuous forgiveness of God.
The Forgiveness of God is…
III. Compelling
What do you mean by that, Brian? Well, let’s continue in 1 John, starting in chapter 2, verse 3, reading through verse 6:
-We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. The man who says, “I know Him, but does not do what He commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys His word, God’s love is truly made complete in Him. This is how we know we are in Him: Whoever claims to live in Him must walk as Jesus did.-
First, God’s forgiveness compels us to live for Him As I mentioned a few moments ago, God’s forgiveness is not a license to live just the way we want.
The idea here is to live a life of holiness out of thankfulness to God for that forgiveness.
To live otherwise is to basically spit in God’s face. “That’s awful blunt, don’t you think, Preacher?” Yes, I do. But it’s true, and there’s nothing I can do about it except look in the mirror in shame about my own sins.
God’s forgiveness also compels us to forgive others.
Allow me to read Ephesians 4:32-
-Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.-
The basis of our forgiving others is the forgiveness we have received from God. It is not based on anything else.
I was at a missions convention in college, and a buddy and I were wrestling around, and I got bumped or something, so we had to stop. I jokingly said, “I guess I HAVE to forgive you, don’t I?”
A guy from another campus said, “No you don’t – he didn’t repent and ask forgiveness.”
We talked about that for a few moments, and I stated that I disagreed. Later, I visited with a campus minister about it, and he said, “Boy, that’s not the model of Jesus, is it?”
Did the men who crucified Jesus ask for His forgiveness as He hung there bleeding and dying at their hands? NO!!
Yet what did Jesus say? “Father, forgive them, because they don’t know what they are doing.”
If you are withholding forgiveness for someone because they have not apologized, or asked for your forgiveness, then do both of you a favor, and forgive anyway.
I know from personal experience that it is not easy to do that. But it may just open the door for reconciliation, and will prevent the root of bitterness from getting a hold in your life.
Another aspect of this is illustrated by an incident I had with my dad.
Many of you know that I think quite highly of my dad. He’s even cooler than John Wayne, and that’s saying something!
One day when I was in high school in Mission, we had to take a quick trip to Rosebud, about 15 miles away.
It was during blizzard conditions, but my dad had something he had to take care of for work.
On the way back, we saw a man walking along the road up the hill out of town.
There was no question but to pick him up – the weather would have killed him.
He jumped in, and we got going, During the drive, my dad struck up a conversation with him.
He related that he had just been released from prison. You could tell by the way he talked that he was nervous about telling us that, because he was afraid we would throw him out into the cold.
But my dad just looked at him and said, “Well, you served your time, right? I suppose you learned your lesson,” and kept on driving. The man relaxed a bit, because he knew he had nothing to fear from my dad.
I already had a good bit of respect for my dad, but it went through the roof right then. He taught me that a man should have every chance to get back on his feet after making a mistake.
I have had the chance to meet many men who were in jail at one time or another. The question I ask now is, “How are things going for you now?” I don’t necessarily need to know why they went to jail or prison. They can tell me if they want, but it’s not a big issue for me, in, most cases.
I want them to know that I care, regardless, and more importantly, that Jesus cares, and wants them to be free not just physically, but free spiritually.
Remember what God has forgiven you, and you are less likely to look down on someone else and more likely to offer forgiveness and fellowship.
Conclusion
The forgiveness of God. It is my personal opinion that we will never fully grasp the scope of it until we are in heaven.
But that is no excuse for not living for Him, and forgiving others, just as He forgave us.
It took the blood of Christ to gain our forgiveness. We have no right to withhold it from others.
The forgiveness of God is:
Complete – it covers the vilest of sins.
Continuous – we always have access to it.
Compelling – moving us to show that forgiveness to others.
If you are living in sin today, I urge you with everything in me to repent, and ask for His forgiveness.
And as we have seen this morning, not only will He forgive, He will take those sins and remove them how far?
As far as the east is to the west.
