____________________________________________________ THE GOSPEL OBSERVER "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations...teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Matthew 28:19,20). ____________________________________________________ October 1, 1995 ____________________________________________________ The Blessedness of Forgiveness by Keith M. Greer Christians enjoy many blessings. We understand that all spiritual blessings reside "in Christ" (Eph. 1:3). Blessing of God's: concern, love, care, prayer, and countless others. What is the greatest of these blessings? In my humble understanding of his word, none can match the blessing of forgiveness of sins. Man's Fall: The Need of Forgiveness When man fell in the garden, due to his disobedience to God, sin separated him from his Creator. Man lost his fellowship with and access to the Father. Sin was the reason. What became man's greatest need? To rid himself of the burden and guilt of sin. God had a plan. This plan included a payment being made for sin which God would accept. We commonly refer to this plan as the Scheme of Redemption. For the plan to work, sin must be dealt with once and for all. God had such a payment in mind (Heb. 9:25-28). Have you ever considered carrying a load of bricks on your back day in and day out with no relief, no break and no hope of the burden being lifted? Yet, that is exactly what man has done after the events in Eden. What would you give for just a short reprieve, for someone to take your place, if only for a short time? Many do not comprehend what God has offered to do for them. God has offered, not just relief, but the burden being completely lifted off our backs! Truly, we are not worthy of the consideration God extends to sinful man. What did mankind ever do to be worthy of such a wonderful blessing? If there is an answer to this question, I've yet to find it. Forgiveness Under the Law of Moses Consider those who lived under the Law of Moses. How many animal sacrifices were offered on a continual basis? How much blood was shed on altars by God's priests? Did it grant them the forgiveness they needed? "For then would they not have ceased to be offered? For the worshipers, once purified, would have had no more consciousness of sins. But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins" (Heb. 10:3,4). Atonement was not yet possible. (Yet, this was a foreshadow of the forgiveness that would become a reality.) Man's Response to Jesus Now let us move forward in time. The prophets had spoken about a Messiah. He would "save his people from their sins" (Matt. 1:21). How could he be received when he came? "He came to his own, and his own did not receive him" (John 1:11). Christ could offer mankind a way out of their greatest need. What was their answer? Remember how the Jews brought false charges against Jesus, made a mockery of his trial, and even despised all that he stood for? "And all the people answered and said, 'His blood be on us and on our children'" (Matt. 27:25). Hatred was so great that they desired to release a murderer rather than spare the life of Jesus. They rejected him who had done no wrong but only sought to love man by offering him freedom from the bondage of sin. What gratitude! Now he was nailed to the cross. What had he done? He had compassion for their suffering; he healed the sick, made the blind see, the lame walk, the dead brought to life. Simply put, "He went about doing good." How did he return their treatment of him? "Then Jesus said, 'Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they do.' And they divided his garments and cast lots" (Luke 23:34). Did they deserve such consideration? Would you have had such a forgiving heart? The Gospel's Forgiveness On the Day of Pentecost, after the apostles were given the Holy Spirit, the Jews were given the first opportunity of forgiveness of sins under the law of Christ. Of what were these Jews guilty? Many things. But Peter brought one to their attention: "Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ" (Acts 2:36). Can you comprehend the awful feeling of guilt in such a thing? They answered, "Men and brethren what shall we do?" (Acts 2:37) Nothing! What you have done deserves no forgiveness! Maybe that is what they deserved, but that is not what God offered. "Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins" (Acts 2:38). What a wonderful chance for redemption. Surely, they must have felt their unworthiness for such consideration from God. Still God's offer was genuine. What a wonderful God we serve! In discussions with many who are lost in their sins and have the same need as those on the day of Pentecost, I often hear: "My sins are too terrible and too many for God ever to grant me forgiveness. I'm not worthy to even be considered." Join the club, you're not alone! If worthiness was a requirement, none of us would make it! Saul's Forgiveness This reminds me of another case in the Scriptures--a man whose name was Saul of Tarsus. "As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house, and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison" (Acts 8:3). "Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if he found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem" (Acts 9:1,2). Saul was turning the church upside down to destroy her. Saul was zealous in his persecution of Christians. He even said he did so in good conscience (Acts 26:9-11). While Saul was on the road to obtain Christian prisoners, the Lord appeared unto him. After being told he was guilty of persecuting the Lord, Saul asked, "Lord, what do you want me to do?" (Acts 9:6) Did the Lord tell Saul his sins were too terrible to be forgiven? Certainly not! He was baptized into Christ and went on to become the great Apostle Paul. As they say, the rest is history. Your Forgiveness Have you ever done things of which you were ashamed? Things which you would like erased from your record? Of course. We have all had similar feelings. What would you give to get your record cleared? There is a way. For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more (Heb. 8:12). In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace (Eph. 1:7). "In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins" (Col. 1:14). the wonderful thing about the forgiveness of God is this: sin is not only forgiven but also forgotten, never to be brought up against us. The slate is wiped clean. What a wonderful opportunity. Could one be offered a better chance to begin again? Conclusion Sometimes I believe we don't fully appreciate this blessing of forgiveness. We are unworthy of his wonderful mercy and compassion. What a burden we would continually bear had it not been for that death on the cross. While that death was a terrible event, full of cruelty, pain, and intense suffering, it made the forgiveness of ours sins possible. No more do we need to carry that awful burden and guilt of sin. God grants us a wonderful pardon. Yet, the most wonderful thing about forgiveness is that it is offered to all the world. God wants the terrible burden of sin to be lifted from everyone's shoulders. Why would anyone want to continue to carry such a heavy load? Every child of God needs to understand what a blessing forgiveness is. Do you regret that your sins are forgiven? "And you he made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins...even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ..." (Eph. 2:1,5). What a wonderful Savior we serve! Amen! ___________________________________________ AMEN "Amen" is a transliteration from the Greek Word "Amen." It is rendered 31 times as "Amen" and 99 times as "Truly" in the New American Standard Bible. Thayer points out that when this word is used at the beginning of a discourse, it means "surely, of a truth, truly"; and that when it is repeated, as we see in the gospel of John as "truly, truly," it means "most assuredly." At the close of the sentence, it means "so it is, so be it, may it be fulfilled." In addition, Thayer comments that this term "was a custom, which passed over from the synagogues into the Christian assemblies, that when he who had read or discoursed had offered up a solemn prayer to God, the others in attendance responded 'Amen,' and thus made the substance of what was uttered their own." -- Tom ___________________________________________ "Quit the Church" One member of the church said to another, "John, we are sorry you quit the church." "I have not quit," was the quick reply. "I just haven't been coming." His friend said, "Well in that case John, what would you do if you were going to quit?" Remember, God said it was sin to forsake the assembly of the saints (Heb. 10:25-26). Have you quit? -- Robert H. Bunting (adapted) ________________________________________ Tri-State CHURCH OF CHRIST 1314 Montgomery Avenue, Ashland, Kentucky 41101 Sunday: 10:00 A.M. Bible class 10:50 A.M. Worship 6:30 P.M. Worship Wednesday: 7:30 P.M. Bible study evangelist/editor: Tom Edwards (606) 325-9742 e-mail: tedwards@zoomnet.net Gospel Observer web site: http://www.zoomnet.net/~tedwards/go ________________________________________