We Are Forgiven!

WE ARE FORGIVEN!

Rom. 5:8-11

INTRO.- Forgiveness if a beautiful thing, but not everyone expresses it or demonstrates it.

ILL.- A couple had been married for 15 years. They were having more than the usual marital disagreements. They wanted to make their

marriage work, however, and agreed on an idea the wife had. For one month they planned to drop a slip of paper in what they called

“the fault box.” Each would have their own “fault box.” They would simply write their “irritations” on a slip of paper and drop it in the

respective box.

And the wife was very diligent in writing her “irritations.” Some read: “Left the lid off the jelly jar.” “Wet towels on the shower floor.”

“Dirty socks left in the floor.” On and on until the end of the month came.

At the end of the month, after dinner one evening, they exchanged boxes and began reading one another’s “irritations.” The husband

read and reflected on what he had done wrong in his wife’s eyes. Then his wife opened her box and began reading. TO HER AMAZEMENT,

ALL THE SLIPS OF PAPER READ THE SAME THING: “I LOVE YOU!”

Brethren, that’s what I call “forgiveness” and not everybody expresses it or demonstrates it. But God does.

ILL.- Washington D.C., Sept. 9, 1974. Pres. Gerald Ford granted Richard M. Nixon “a free, full and absolute pardon” for any criminal

conduct during his presidency. Ford said, “I feel that Richard Nixon and his loved ones have suffered enough.”

Brethren, regardless of whether or not we think Gerald Ford should have pardoned Richard Nixon is not the question. The point is: it was very gracious deed! It was an act of gracious forgiveness!

But as great as Gerald Ford’s forgiveness was, it is nothing in comparison to the forgiveness that we’ve been granted through Jesus

Christ!

Rom. 3:10-12 “There is no one righteous, not even one; there is no one who understands, no one who seeks God. All have turned away, they have together become worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one.”

Wow! That’s quite an indictment, isn’t it? NO ONE WHO DOES GOOD!

Rom. 3:23 “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”

Brethren, let’s be honest and admit it. WE’VE ALL BLOWN IT BEFORE GOD! Think, for example, of the worst sin you’ve ever committed.

I know you’ve tried to forget it, but think of it just for a moment.

Do you realize that in Jesus Christ that terrible sin that you committed is completely forgiven? GOD WILL NEVER HOLD THAT SIN AGAINST YOU AND IT’S ALL BECAUSE OF JESUS!

Perhaps we can think of it this way.

ILL.- I read a true story about a priest, a beloved man of God, in the Philippines who always carried the burden of a secret sin he had

committed many years before. He had repented of the sin but still had no peace, no sense of God’s forgiveness.

In his church was a woman who loved the Lord and claimed to have visions in which she spoke with Christ. The priest, however, was

skeptical. To test her he said, “The next time you speak with Christ I want you to ask him what sin your priest committed while he was in

seminary.” The woman agreed.

A few days later the priest asked, “Well, did Christ visit you in your dreams?” “Yes, he did,” she replied.

“And did you ask him what sin I committed in seminary?”

“Yes.”

“Well, what did he say?”

“He said, ‘I DON’T REMEMBER.’”

Brothers and sisters, when God forgives us our sins, He also forgets them!

Heb. 10:17 “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” Hey! What do you say to this? Thank you, Lord! Bless you!

Praise you!

What forgiveness! What grace! What love! We are forgiven in Jesus Christ!

PROP.- I want to share three thoughts about our forgiveness in Christ.

1- Forgiveness is a fact

2- Forgiveness is a gift

3- Forgiveness is a treasure

I. FORGIVENESS IS A FACT - BELIEVE IT!

ILL.- While walking by a plastic factory in Hungary, a man named Mr. Rubik caught a unique little plastic cube that hurled into the air by a

factory explosion. After some investigation, it was found that the factory had not manufactured the “cube,” not was it on the drawing board. It just came into existence by itself in that factory explosion.

Mr. Rubik examined the “cube” and found that it was composed of 27 smaller cubes of six different colors totaling 54 squares.

Mathematicians calculated that thousands, even millions of different patterns could be arranged on that one cube. And, of course, that

cube came to be known as the “Rubik’s Cube.”

What I want to know is this? Do you believe this story? Do you believe that the Rubik’s Cube was formed by an explosion in a plastic