Today, I want to talk about the forgiveness of sins. I want to talk about the forgiveness of sins being difficult for God. The forgiveness of sins is God’s most amazing miracle and unforgiven sin in your life is probably your worst tragedy and must be dealt with.
READ Mark 2:1-12
This is a sermon for sinners. If you’ve never sinned, if the red light in your soul has never flashed a warning signal, if you’ve never felt sorry about something you did or said before God or to someone else, then this is not for you. I’ve learned through the years that, sometimes, people make their own little list of sins which is amazingly short. When they say sin, they mean things like murder, adultery, theft, and maybe blasphemy and a few others.
A Lengthy List
Well, before you bolt for the door, I’d like to add some other sins to that list. Would you think about the sins of temperament and bad attitudes ... anger, sullenness, lack of faith. There are so many ways in which our temper hurts other people. We sin against them just by the way we treat them and the way we talk.
In Jesus’ famous story of the prodigal son, the prodigal represents all those sins of the flesh, and they are, indeed, serious. But he did come home.
However, the brother represents the sins of temperament. When the house was alive with light, music, and laughter and the smell of barbecue beef was extending its invitation to the whole village, he was outside. The Bible says he was the only one not enjoying that night. He was angry and would not go in.
These were sins that made him farther from his father’s heart at that moment than his brother was, by far.
You can stay at home in the Father’s house. Yet, by your attitudes and your sins of temperament ... complaints, the little digs and snide comments made, the rude and crass jabs you take and cloak under the shadow of humor, all of those things better left unsaid, you can stray far, far from the Father’s heart and life.
What about sins of society, those of the social life away from the church setting. Some man has said that most of the sins of this day are sins connected with money making. "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you" is a word from God to us in business and commerce, as well as in church. The sins of lying, not telling the whole truth, cheating, stealing, being dishonest with people ... these things are sins, too, and cannot be filed under shrewd business.
What about sins of neglect. Many of our lives are clouded by sin ... not because of the bad things we have done, but because of the good things we have left undone. We’ve simply left undone all the many things we could have done to help and all the many ways we could have been an encouragement. That is why God saved us and put us here. Our Lord talked a lot about those kinds of sins.
The priest and the Levite were the real thieves in the story of the good Samaritan. This was not because they did anything to the injured man, but simply because they stole from him their love, compassion, and help. They didn’t do anything.
We recall there are many times when Christ presents this kind of situation.
There was a man He called wicked. This was the only time He ever did that. That’s a strong word. The Greek word for it is the one from which we derive our English word "malignant." He called him this because he did nothing. He was left with a sum of money, and instead of investing or using it to the glory of God, he simply dug a hole and lived by that hole. His soul shrunk to the dimensions of that hole. He didn’t steal it or misspend it. He just simply did nothing, and Jesus said the man was a wicked and slothful servant. We can be wicked (malignant like a tumor) without really trying.
As we make our list of the sins ... the sins of the flesh, temperament, society, and neglect, I think for all of us need to understand the Bible is right on target when it says, "for all have sinned and come short of the glory of God..." (Romans 3:23). All of us are in need of forgiveness of sins.
Today, I’d like for us to think about how difficult it is to forgive sins. If you think that forgiving sins is a light, easy, and simple thing, then you’ve just not been paying attention to God. So often, I fear that we try to make our church look like bargain outlets for the kingdom of God. We sell a cheap grace to people, saying, "Everybody come and let your sins be forgiven. It’s fun and easy." But forgiving sins is hard.
When they broke through the roof at the church meeting that day and the debris began to fall, I’m sure Jesus looked up and watched in amazement as they lowered that young man on him mat. Jesus looked at him and said, "My son, your sins are forgiven." The most religious among them began to murmur, saying,"...who can forgive sins but God alone?" They were right. Only God can forgive sins. They just didn’t recognize that God was among them, forgiving sins.
Jesus read their minds and said in response to them, "I know what you’re thinking. Let me ask you this: Which do you think is easier: to tell a paralyzed man to get up and walk or to say, ’My son, your sins are forgiven’?"
Do you catch the thrust of that?
Our Lord is saying, "It’s much easier for Me to tell a paralyzed man to get up and walk than it is to say, ’Your sins are forgiven.’"
Forgiving Sins Versus Condoning Sins
Forgiving sins is hard; condoning sins is not. If you say, "Sin doesn’t matter. It doesn’t make any difference or bother anybody at all. It’s okay to sin,"
you’re not forgiving sins, you’re condoning sin. Forgiving sin is a very hard thing to do. It’s hard for us and hard for God.
You say, "Why? Why is it hard for Him to forgive sins? He talked about it so much. He forgave sins every time He had the opportunity. He told the woman caught in adultery, ’I don’t condemn you. Go and sin no more.’ He kept saying to people, ’I will forgive you all of your sins. I am here to forgive sins.’
He forgave sins so much and so quickly."
But people ... listen ... it never says anywhere in the Bible that it was easy for Jesus to do that. It never was. It wasn’t easy because He took sin seriously. If you don’t take sin seriously, I guess it’s easy to forgive sin.
Suppose someone is an expert in art. Can you imagine them walking into a museum and seeing some thugs ruining a priceless Picasso? It would be hard for them to forgive that because they take art seriously and they are destroying something that cannot be replaced. They know that these people are ruining something that’s worth a king’s fortune. It cannot be replaced or done again. For them, that would be hard to forgive.
But I suppose, for someone who didn’t care about art or had no appreciation of art or understanding of the value, if they saw these people destroying this work of art, they could laugh at it or take it easily. It wouldn’t be any problem to them because they didn’t know the value of the piece.
God Takes Sin Seriously
You see, God knows the value of your life and heart. When He sees it being destroyed or hurt like that, He takes it seriously. It’s hard for Him to forgive sin because He knows that sin is a very serious thing.
What about in the field of morals? We can go to a play or a movie or almost any night on television (and certainly every day on television) and see sexual sin made light of as though it made no difference, as though loyalty between husband and wife is something that’s laughed at. We can see that all around us in our society in what we read and see, and we can laugh at that.
Suppose you heard someone plotting to seduce, use and throw away someone you loved very much … your daughter, wife, sister or someone you cared about very much. That would not be something you would find easy to condone. You’d take that seriously. There would be a fury about you because you knew someone you loved very much is being used and abused and something wonderful will be taken out of their life by such an action. You’d take that seriously.
God takes sin seriously. Please, understand that when we talk about forgiving sin, we’re not talking about condoning sin. Our Lord never condoned sin. He never said, "It’s all right. It doesn’t make any difference." It makes a vast difference, and it was hard for Him to forgive sin because He takes sin seriously.
Through the years, it’s amazed me. I don’t want to be too judgmental because you never know what’s truly in everybody’s heart. It seems to me there are two kinds of mothers that I’ve dealt with in life. There’s a certain kind of mother who has an affection for her children like a bear for its cub or a bird for its fledglings. She’s attracted to it and takes care of the child with a motherly instinct. When that child goes off and becomes a prodigal, does all sorts of tragic things, destroys his life, and then returns, the mother acts as though there’s nothing to it. It doesn’t make any difference. She can make more excuses for that child than they can make for themselves.
Some of us had mothers that were not quite like that. They would have followed us to the doorway of any hell we chose to enter. They would have stood by that door, weeping and crying and praying, until we came out. They would have borne upon their innocence the guilt of everything we did. They would have forgiven us, all right, but it would turn their hair gray. Because you see, forgiveness always is a burden. Forgiveness always involves a cross. It’s hard for God to forgive sins because He takes sin seriously.
God Loves People
It’s hard for Him to forgive sin because He loves people. You say, "Wait a minute, preacher. If you love people, then surely, it’s an easy thing to forgive sin." No, you don’t understand what I’m saying. Sin always hurts people.
When your sin hurts other people, it’s hard for God to forgive that because He loves people and cares for them.
In the Old Testament story, when Joseph was taken by his brothers and put in a cistern to die and then sold as a slave to some merchants going to Egypt. They took his famous coat and dipped it in the blood of goats and convinced their father that Joseph was dead and buried on the plains somewhere.
Suppose later on they got remorseful and decided to admit this to their father, telling him the entire story. Can you imagine Jacob saying, "Well, what about Joseph? What’s he going through right now? What’s happening to my son Joseph? He’s in slavery. He may be mistreated. Somebody may be making his life the most miserable of all lives. How can I forgive you until I know that everything is all right with Joseph?"
Remember ... when you sin ... your sins always hurt other people, and it’s hard for God to forgive sin because He loves people.
Do you remember how hard Jesus was on the scribes and Pharisees? It’s almost amazing. He was so very hard on them. Do you remember verses like "scribes and Pharisees, like whitewashed tombs"? "They devour widows’ houses and make a show of making lengthy prayers." He said to beware of those people. I think the key statement is: "They devour widows’ houses..." You know we don’t hear anything about Joseph after Jesus’ boyhood.
I suppose that he died, and I guess that Jesus lives in the home of a widow. He saw how hard it was for the widow to raise those children, how difficult it was to be taken advantage of by the bureaucracy and the religious people who kept on taking from them. Every time Jesus told a story about God’s grace, a lot of those stories had to do with widows.
An unjust judge was visited by a widow. Then there was the time when the widow showed up to Him, crying over her son being lost. He had great love and compassion and brought him back from death. Jesus always had a special kind of love for the widows, and it was hard for Him to forgive these people who put great burdens on them. He cared so much because those sins had hurt other people.
George Eliot wrote a book about Adam Bede. Adam was a stalwart carpenter, a solid man, and he was in love with a woman who was pretty, vain, and superficial. There comes into their lives an author who is a wealthy playboy. He took advantage of this woman, and the rest of the story is about her hapless child, frenzied wandering, and the agony that came into her life because of all these things. There comes a time when the playboy wants to repent and straighten up his life, and he goes to Adam Bede and asks for his forgiveness. He got it, but it was hard, as Adam said to him, "There’s a kind of sin that can’t quite be made up for."
We need to remember that. Our sins hurt people. We need to remember that it’s hard for God to forgive sin because He loves people and our sins always hurt people.
If you’re saying, "Man, I’m not an adulterer. I don’t do these kinds of things."
please realize that any sin in your life hurts people. As you harbor any festering sinfulness in your life, the fumes from your life poison the waters of other lives that are drinking from you and are around you. It affects your spirit and your life. Everyone is affected when there’s sin in your life. It always hurts other people.
The No. 1 Greatest Miracle of All
So we’re beginning to see something now. The most amazing thing, the greatest miracle is that our Lord would forgive sins. That is because He does take them seriously and because He does love people and our sins always hurt people. The fact that He would forgive them is amazing.
No one ever hated sin as much as Jesus. No one ever fought sin so hard as He fought sin. No one ever hated what it did to people as much as Jesus hated it, and He fought it all the way to the cross. Yet, He could forgive. That’s the amazing thing.
The Word of God talks about it. "As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us" (Psalm 103:12). Like a father pities his children, He pities those who come to Him, and He forgives them. In Isaiah 44, Isaiah said, "My sins were like a cloud above me. I was under it, and it was dark and depressing. He came and forgave my sins and wiped them away." David, who had committed the great sin and had come through repentance and faith back to God, says, "How great and blessed is the man whose sins are forgiven." The Bible says that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just. That means that He will never one time fail to forgive us.
Wherever Jesus went, He was forgiving sin, and that’s a miracle. The most amazing thing of all is that He would forgive us our sins. It was hard for Him to forgive sins because it’s a hard thing for the one who is forgiven.
You may say, "Oh no, if you’ve ever been forgive, that’s a wonderful thing. It’s a great thing to be forgiven." My friend, if you say that earnestly, would you question in your heart whether you’ve ever been forgiven or not? Because you see, it’s not cheap. It is not easy. Sin destroys relationships.
That’s what it is all about. Our Christian faith is not about obeying some rules and passing tests and saying some things and showing up at some meetings. Our religion is about your knowing Jesus Christ and through Him knowing God in a very personal way. You call Him Father. In fact, you call him Daddy. You get to know Him and love Him. Sin has ruined all of that. Sin in your life separates you from Him. To get that relationship restored again is a very serious matter.
It happens that way in life, too. Suppose a husband sins against his wife by committing adultery. He comes back to her, confesses that, and says I’m sorry. If that spouse says, "It’s all right. It’s okay. It doesn’t matter," that’s not forgiving sin. That’s condoning sin. That’s just saying the spouse doesn’t care.
If someone loves you and you wrong them and go through the agony of having to confess and repent of that, they may forgive you, but it’s going to be hard. You’ve got to work hard at restoring that relationship. You’ve got to restore the trust to experience that forgiveness, which is wonderful on the other side and makes it better than ever before. To go through it is one of life’s hardest burdens.
To come before God and say to the One who has loved you more than anyone has ever loved you in your life, and confess to Him that you have in your life things that have hurt Him so very much, that’s not easy at all. But it is wonderful to be restored. It is wonderful to be truly restored to fellowship with God, and you’ll never be free until you do it.
The Greatest Tragedy: Unconfessed Sin
Here is the most important fact of all: unconfessed sin is a tragedy in your life. It will destroy and eat at your life until it eats you away.
One of the greatest American novels ever written was The Scarlet Letter by Hawthorne. In this story is a man who has committed a sin. He is a thinker and an intellect, so he will read philosophy and study the great thoughts to find a way to relieve himself by learning to be a philosopher. But it doesn’t work. He is a minister. He will preach sermons and try to save souls, but the sin is still in him, and it doesn’t work. He is a servant. He will go from door to door, trying to make up for his sins and make things right. But it doesn’t work.
The sin is still in there eating at his soul.
The only way out of that tragedy is the way of the cross, the way of repentance, confession, faith and forgiveness. When he finds that, then he finds the release and the restoration, but that’s the only way that the tragedy can be resolved.
When we look at the cross and see His body being pierced by thorns and swords and spikes, when we see not only that but the humiliation of the death of Christ on the cross, when we hear Him saying, "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do," we get a picture of what it’s always like to forgive sin.
There has to be a cross, or there’s no forgiveness of sins.
You will either come to the cross of Jesus Christ and find forgiveness of your sins, or you will crucify yourself daily on hundreds of little crosses of your own making, for there is a law in life that’s just as sure as positive and negative electricity. Sin is always followed with punishment. If you don’t let the cross pay for the punishment of your sin, you will pay for it in many ways in your own life.
So God’s Word for you today is: Get it out. Go to that room where you’ve hidden it, covered it up, locked it up. Go down to the depths of your soul and find that unforgiven sin, and get it out and deal with it.
I know, in our world, it’s sometimes easy to get away from that sin, to make sure you’re in enough noise and activity. Many people avoid church because it reminds them of their unconfessed sin. Many people play golf, go fishing, go on trips, or do any number of other things to avoid dealing with the sin in their life. Many people keep themselves busy in order to avoid having to think about the sin in their life and having to deal with it. But it’s there, in spite of everything they do.
Your life will never be what it ought to be until you get the sin out and deal with it. I beg you this morning to do that. Then something wonderful, miraculous, and marvelous will happen to you. You will experience God’s forgiveness and you will discover that He always forgives. He will forgive you of your sins.
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. God down deep. Get it out. Confess it to Him, and let Him forgive you.
In 1962, Billy Graham was in crusade in Seattle. One night, he awoke from a sound sleep with a deep burden to pray for actress Marilyn Monroe. That burden never left him for several days. He told his associates, and they tried to get in touch with her through her agent. They said, "Mr. Graham wants to see Miss Monroe and share with her." He said, "She’s too busy. She can’t be free for at least two weeks."
Within two weeks, the suicide of Marilyn Monroe had shocked our nation. They said when they found her body she was clutching a telephone as though she was trying to call somebody. Someone mused that she was calling for help, but no one was on the other end.
Listen, any time you call to God for help, He’s always there. He will always forgive your sins, and He’s waiting for you to call on Him. Whatever is gnawing on you, whatever that thing is that won’t let you go, remember ... you can hide, and suppress it, but it’s there and it keeps coming back. The only way to deal with it is to get it out, confess it before God, and let Him forgive it.
