The Messenger 14
Introduction
Recently, when my car was on the hoist to have its tyres replaced, I noticed the uneven wear on the two front tyres. The wheels were out of alignment. That was the problem. And I had been less than diligent in keeping a check.
It is a bit like life. When we are not aligned with the purposes of God it leaves us vulnerable to life’s stresses and strains. It can wear us down and rob us of the joy of serving the purposes of God. So if the joy has gone out of your life and the pressures are beginning to take their toll, it is time for a check-up to see if the alignment is out.
The psalmist has a word for us:
“The unfolding of your word gives light; it gives understanding to the simple” (Ps119:130).
As you go through today’s Messenger may you be encouraged to align yourself with God’s purpose for you. Come to God’s Word with an expectation that it will give you light and understanding.
Forgiveness
In this session we will continue to look at verse 7 as we explore those treasures of salvation found in our union with Christ.
“In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace…” (Eph 1:7)
I want you to notice the key words or phrases in that verse that I have underlined. Each is distinct yet each is interconnected here – redemption, His blood, forgiveness, grace. We cannot really think of the one without including one or more of the others. There is no redemption without the shedding of Christ’s blood; there is no forgiveness without redemption and the shedding of Christ’s blood, and there is no redemption, no shedding of Christ’s blood and no forgiveness without the involvement of God’s grace.
In our previous session we focused on redemption. Today our focus is on forgiveness.
John Stott writes: “Not long before she died in 1988, in a moment of surprising candour in television, Marghanita Laski, one of our best-known secular humanists and novelists, said, ‘What I envy most about you Christians is your forgiveness; I have nobody to forgive me’” (Taken from The Contemporary Christian)
“One of India’s great Christian leaders, Bakht Singh, was once asked what aspect of the gospel he stressed when preaching to those of other faiths. Did he preach the love of God? He replied, ‘No. The human mind is so polluted that if you talk about love it immediately thinks of sex.’ Did he talk about the wrath of God? ‘No. Indians believe that all the gods are angry. An extra one makes no difference.’ He was then asked what his main message was. ‘I preach the forgiveness of sins. That is what all of us deep down inside are longing for.’” (Taken from Exploring Christianity – Benefits of the Cross)
Just how relevant and important this treasure of forgiveness is becomes very clear when seen against the backdrop of Is 59:2.
“But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear”
Imagine this: we go to church, enter into the worship, say our ‘amens’ after the prayers, and all the time God isn’t even listening. Why? Because sin has driven a wedge between us and God so that He will not hear us.
Receiving God’s gift of His forgiveness has a profound impact on our life. I cannot over-emphasise its importance. Knowing that in our union with Christ, despite all we have been, all we have done and all we have said in the past, we have been forgiven is a blessing beyond measure. That which has hidden God’s face from us is now removed so that we can know Him, love Him and enjoy Him. What a wonderful treasure to be found in salvation. How glorious to be free from the guilt of the past. What could never be earned nor deserved God has freely given us in Christ.
As I think of the verses relating to forgiveness, THREE things stand out for me. I like to think of them as indications of the sincerity with which we have embraced God’s gift of forgiveness.
The first of these indications lies in a willingness to ‘come clean with God.’ The Bible speaks of it as confessing our sin before God. The Greek word for confess literally means ‘to say the same things as.’ When we truly confess our sin we are saying the same thing about our sin as God says. God says that He hates sin. When we confess our sin to God and seek His forgiveness we are saying – ‘I hate that sin. I hate it, God, because I see not only what it has done to me and others around me. I see now that it was against you that I have sinned.’
The second indication of our sincerity is seen in our willingness to forgive those who have wronged us. Please take a few minutes to read the following – Mt 6:12; 6: 14-15; 18:32-33.
An incident in Mother Teresa’s ministry illustrates the importance of our forgiving those who have wronged us:
“I once picked up a woman from a garbage dump and she was burning with fever; she was in her last days and her only lament was: ‘My son did this to me.’ I begged her: You must forgive your son. In a moment of madness, when he was not himself, he did a thing he regrets. Be a mother to him, forgive him. It took me a long time to make her say: ‘I forgive my son.’ Just before she died in my arms, she was able to say that with a real forgiveness.”
The third indication of our sincerity in embracing God’s forgiveness is a willingness on our part to make restitution. Restitution is defined as the act of making amends; the act of returning or restoring to someone what is his. There is a wonderful example of this in Lk 19:1-10 where Zacchaeus, the unpopular and, no doubt, unscrupulous tax-collector, meets with Jesus. The sincerity of Zacchaeus’ repentance is evident in his immediate desire to make restitution. Forgiveness of our sin is what God does – confession, forgiving others and restitution is what we do!
If you have a question or a comment about this series please feel free to write to me, Brian, at
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