The Gift Of Forgiveness

I believe all of us has taken this trip before – a guilt trip – probably more often than we like. The feeling of guilt comes when we do something we know is wrong.

• It need not be a serious crime. It can be something careless, unethical, rude or immoral.

• Yet this thing call GUILT latches onto our heart after it happens. We may look alright on the outside, but then we know something has change on the inside.

Guilt messes with our feelings and with our mind. We feel lousy, remorseful and sometimes, fearful - afraid of being found out. We feel alienated and judged by God.

• We want to undo the past but that’s impossible, so we make the second mistake of just leaving it untouched. We bury it hoping that it will go away over time.

• It won’t. Guilt has a way of keeping you stuck in the past. It surfaces at any time.

The truth is, God wants you to live a guilt-free life. He knows you and your sin, and He is eager and willing to forgive you.

• How am I so sure? Jesus Christ is proof of that. God is willing to sacrifice His Son in order to free us from the guilt of sin.

• The very first words that Jesus uttered on the cross was: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” (Luke 23:34)

• In the midst of all the torture and pain, He made the most important cry, which echoed the Father’s heart – forgiveness!

The people mocked him then and said, “Let Him save Himself if He is the Christ of God, the Chosen One.” (Luke 23:35)

• That is precisely what He does NOT WANT to do – save Himself. He is here to SAVE YOU AND ME. He stayed to make forgiveness possible.

• The guilt of sin is not in God’s plan for our lives. He has done all He needs to do to eradicate it. Therefore we must not allow guilt to linger.

Be quick to confess. Forgiveness is available to all who turns to God.

• King David knows the forgiveness of God. He confesses his sin and struggles, quite openly in a couple of the psalms – psalm 6, 32, 38, 51, 102, 130 and 143.

• He was a great King and walked with God for much of his life, but he did also commit adultery and murder. When he writes, he does so as a sinner who has been forgiven.

We want to look at one of these psalms - Psalm 32, and understand God’s forgiveness.

GOD’S FORGIVENESS UNLOCKS HIS BLESSINGS

The first word in this psalm is BLESSED. This is the 2nd psalm that begins with this word. The first one is Psalm 1.

• Note the contrast. Psalm 1:1 “Blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked or stand in the way of sinners or sit in the seat of mockers.”

• If you sin not, that’s a blessing. You ought to be congratulated. That’s obvious.

Yet Psalm 32 says even if you do sin and mess up your life, you can still be BLESSED.

• Your failure is not the end of you. Your fall into sin need not condemn you for life. There can still be blessing after you sin, David found out.

• Turn to God and confess our sin. You will receive His forgiveness.

• 32:1-2 “Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord does not count against him….”

Sin is to be forgiven! There is nothing you can do about it, except to bring it to God.

• You cannot undo it. You cannot eradicate it. You cannot make yourself righteous.

• But God can restore you, David says, and bless you again, when “your transgressions are forgiven”, your “sins are covered” and when God does not hold them against you.

David uses 3 different lines to express the same result – you can be restored completely.

No matter what we’ve done, no matter how big our sin, there is forgiveness in God.

David ends the line by saying God does all this for the one in “whose spirit is no deceit”.

• In other words, come honestly before God. Don’t pretend, don’t hide. Be real and authentic before God. He is not going to judge you.

• When we repent, we will surely receive His forgiveness. Blessings flow when sin is dwelt with.

David speaks from experience. He tasted the blessings of a forgiven soul.

• And the sense here is, he wants us to confess them before God quickly.

• He did made the mistake of keeping it quiet. Psalm 32:3-3 “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.”