How Does Forgiveness Of Our Sins Reconcile Us To God And Redeem Us To Glorify God?

Good Morning Friends,

Acts of faith are often viewed as being less rational and sound than cold analytical actions.That is why many like the idea of works.  But what I am telling you is that Jesus presents the most common-sense way of living that exists, and it is born not out of madness but reason that understands who we are, what separates us from God and what makes life worth living.  So today we continue to explore another phrase from the Apostle’s Creed and the focus is on our belief in the forgiveness of sins and the reason it is so important to embrace. We all probably appreciate the fact that the wages of our sins is death and as a result find hope in the belief that our sins can be forgiven by God but there is something universal about the benefits of  forgiveness. All the world religions recognize the importance of forgiveness. But it is Jesus, out of his Jewish heritage that fully developed the concept of Atonement to address the forgiveness of sins that the Apostles’ Creed points to. All Biblical history hinges on this too…how we are redeemed. There are many redemption stories in the Bible and some of the best ones are along the common theme related to today’s question. You see God wants to communicate to us by giving us illustrations of the wonderful truth provided through Jesus in the Bible. The whole book is about what God has chosen to purchase for us and the shocking cost. Jesus’ final words in today’s Gospel parable are very instructive and chilling for those who refuse to listen regarding the importance of forgiveness from the heart. It is about not being bitter. It is about not sowing seeds of bitterness and sin. But it is also about trusting in the character of God for reconciliation requires all the parties involved to be engaged in the solution.  It reminds us that grace and truth came through Jesus Christ, but that without a sacrifice of forgiveness offered up, hard justice inflicted might well perpetuate a cycle of violence. And so, this morning we contemplate the success and sacrifice of Jesus and ask:How Does Forgiveness Of Our Sins Reconcile Us To God And Redeem Us To Glorify God?

Scripture: But now, irrespective of law, the righteousness of God has been disclosed, and is attested by the law and the prophets, the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ^* for all who believe. For there is no distinction, since all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God; they are now justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a sacrifice of atonement^* by his blood, effective through faith. He did this to show his righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over the sins previously committed; it was to prove at the present time that he himself is righteous and that he justifies the one who has faith in Jesus.

Romans 3:21-26 (NRSV)

In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace

Ephesians 1:7 (NRSV)

Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if another member of the church sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” Jesus said to him, “Not seven times, but, I tell you, seventy-seven times. “For this reason the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who wished to settle accounts with his slaves. When he began the reckoning, one who owed him ten thousand talents was brought to him; and, as he could not pay, his lord ordered him to be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, and payment to be made. So the slave fell on his knees before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you everything.’ And out of pity for him, the lord of that slave released him and forgave him the debt. But that same slave, as he went out, came upon one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and seizing him by the throat, he said, ‘Pay what you owe.’ Then his fellow slave fell down and pleaded with him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you.’ But he refused; then he went and threw him into prison until he would pay the debt. When his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and reported to their lord all that had taken place. Then his lord summoned him and said to him, ‘You wicked slave! I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not have had mercy on your fellow slave, as I had mercy on you?’ And in anger his lord handed him over to be tortured until he would pay his entire debt. So my heavenly Father will also do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother or sister from your heart.”

Matthew 18:21-35 (NRSV)

The saying is sure and worthy of full acceptance: that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the foremost.

1 Timothy 1:15 (NRSV) 

The word that came to Jeremiah from the Lord: Come, go down to the potter’s house, and there I will let you hear my words.’ So I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. The vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as seemed good to him.  Then the word of the Lord came to me: Can I not do with you, O house of Israel, just as this potter has done? Says the Lord. Just like the clay in the potter’s hand, so are you in my hand, O house of Israel. At one moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom, that I will pluck up and break down and destroy it, but if that nation, concerning which I have spoken, turns from its evil, I will change my mind about the disaster that I intended to bring on it. And at another moment I may declare concerning a nation or a kingdom that I will build and plant it, but if it does evil in my sight, not listening to my voice, then I will change my mind about the good that I had intended to do to it.

Jeremiah 18:1-10 (NRSV)

Thus said the Lord: Go and buy a potter’s earthenware jug. Take with you^* some of the elders of the people and some of the senior priests,

Jeremiah 19:1 (NRSV)

Message: So, do you have a favorite redemption story? There are so many in the Bible for it is part of God’s character.  One of the greatest stories of redemption is the story of Noah and it has the tension of a massive storm. The whole world was on track to be destroyed. But redemption was offered to all who were willing to repent and believe. Unfortunately, only a few accepted. Only eight were saved on the Ark even though there was room for many more. And they got to view the most beautiful rainbow in the history of the world…a new covenant.Then there is the story of Abraham and his only son. The whole process of the preparation for the sacrifice of Isaac was about the hope that God could raise a child from the dead. After all, God had promised to make Abraham a great nation. But the story changes from what Abraham was anticipating…again something new. God redeems Isaac with a ram. That is some drama.The story of the Hebrew nation’s redemption from slavery in Egypt is one of the greatest of stories as well, for it is told and retold by so many. The Exodus has such amazing characters and the plot of the plagues and the Passover…the sign of the cross on the door post and the parting of the waters. Then the journey to the Promised Land.I hope you see Jesus in all of these stories.And then there is the book of Ruth, it reads as if the Christ character is.present. The overall story of the book is one of redemption. It is a love story too. Under the law Ruth and Naomi, who had lost their husbands, were the responsibility of the nearest kinsman, but this man was not interested. So Boaz approached this man to purchase the right to care for and to love these women. The man accepted the offer and Ruth joined Boaz in marriage, putting them in the lineage of King David and the Lord Jesus Christ.  But today we ask a tough question about what connects our lives and defines our relationships making redemption possible, and makes glorifying God possible. And you may be thinking works… but no, it is faith in Christ that once we have received forgiveness we are empowered to share the love of Jesus experienced in the fullness of our own repentance by forgiving others. So, it is a little bit sad if we have not submitted to receiving and offering up forgiveness from our hearts for all those things that need forgiveness. For without that our connection to the love of God is not complete and our seperation and sin remains.. Sometimes we need to dive into the deep water and out of the shallows to realize the relationship lived in the fullness of life. To help us understand this we have a Gospel passage about Jesus training Peter in leadership with a focus on the need for forgiveness to complete our lives. And when we combine today’s passage from Romans, we begin to see the role of forgiveness in freeing us from our past and also freeing us to our future because of Christ’s actions. Here forgiveness with faith frees up space within us to create the life and the love we really want and that is what makes our lives reconciled in Jesus as we hope our actions glorify God. And now today we have a call to cross over into a land of unlimited forgiveness. The juncture is at the corner of Peter’s question about forgiveness and the Gospel story demonstrating that social good comes before individual gain. So too for us, only when our hearts forgive will we be freed to love and discover a completeness of glorifying God. Friends, Jesus teaches us that asking forgiveness is not a simple apology, it is to be an active awareness of the sin, of the idolatry that we commit when we close the door to God’s forgiveness. Even at Calvary the case for Christ is presented with the grace of a King who loves abundantly. In this place of three crosses, we see rebellion, repentance, and redemption. We see the gift of second chances. At the very moment that Jesus was dying for that criminal’s sins on the cross, He was offering all of us an unconditional pardon. Here a symbol of shame and terror and death is replaced with a symbol of God’s profound love for us. Jesus invites us home and is waiting to see if we will extend grace to others. Here forgiveness of our sins reconciles us to God by allowing us to experience His immense love and grace. Here redemption is the restored relationship with God through Jesus Christ that exists because all the parties are involved actively participating in the process.

And So, the list of redemption stories goes on and on. In the New Testament we have the stories of the Lost Sheep and the Prodigal Son and the whole life of Paul…the foremost of sinners. Yes, there are some amazing stories about redemption but none greater than the story of Jesus…of the birth, life, death and resurrection of Christ. And the beauty is that God is continuing to write it on our hearts and in our lives right now reforming us into something of usefulness. Yes, Jesus lives on in our lives as perhaps the greatest redemption story of all. And it starts with our submission to the offer of salvation. So, the challenge is to discover our own redemption story.  It might be about how we overcame our desire to retaliate for a person’s sin. It might be about how we repented of the anger that enrages us. Thankfully the scripture today is designed to teach us to grow in faith and not to seek an eye for an eye. The thing is that there is a relationship between love and forgiveness, and repentance that connects them and redeems us and reconciles us for a purpose. When Jesus preached the Good News, He said… “Repent for the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” It was all about love and forgiveness. So, we need to recognize the revolutionary significance of the primary demand these words bring for those seeking the Christian life. We need to realize that repentance is not a call to a remorseful way of thinking but an invitation to change one’s basic attitudes about God, self, things, and others. Sin can be of the disposition as well as a sin of omission or commission. It is a call to learn to love and forgive. Initially one might think about forgiveness being just between the two people involved in a dispute, but we need to remember that in forgiveness there are, at a minimum, three parties, the one who has been hurt, the one who caused the pain and God. But if we refuse to forgive, this causes issues for us, because none of us are perfect, and as we would want to be forgiven for things we have done, then we must also do the same. We must find forgiveness for others actions in our hearts, so that we can move on. To be a Christian means to forgive the unpardonable and the indefensible and unjustifiable actions of others because God has forgiven the inexcusable in us. The world expects us to condemn others, to do otherwise is counter-cultural and the world cannot accept that there is another, a better way. Christ and Paul remind us today that there is a better way and if we pray the prayer that Christ taught us, it is staring us right in the face.  

Pray we seek redemption in Christ through the forgiveness of our sins, by faith through grace in a belief in Jesus. Pray we experience at one ment with God. Pray we confess our sins to God, privately and to the person affected by the sin personally and in a congregation as a corporate confession.  Pray that we be agents of this redemption to the lost humanity of this world. Praythat we help each other with our spiritual stories of redemption. Pray that in sharing them we become one in the Spirit…that in sharing our love we embrace a process of healing and redemption to the life God intended for us. Pray we realize that although there are many stories there is only one plan. Pray then that we would be molded into what God would have us be and not thrown on the trash heap of broken pottery. Pray we are molded into God’s continuing plan of redemption. Pray we realize that Jesus paid the price to purchase us. Pray we realize that He paid it forward for all of us.  Pray creation itself is redeemed. Pray that we forgive. Pray we mature to accept Christian forgiveness over a demand for unlimited vengeance. Pray we pass on the mercy we have received from Jesus. Pray we crossover into an opportunity to conquer our fears. Pray that we never consider mercy a weakness. Pray we forgive from the heart. Pray we know that some of the best parts of our lives are just fragments and glimpses of God and that the completion of their effects may well extend beyond the time we are alive on earth. Pray that we realize the importance of how our hearts remember the events of our lives. Pray we realize the importance of keeping the dream alive in our hearts. Pray we have the courage and commitment to trust God. Pray that we realize we are loved. Pray that we share the love we have received. Pray we are confident in God’s care. Pray we are committed to God’s purpose. Pray we are controlled by God’s will. Pray that we pardon by faith, that we set at liberty even our enemies to enjoy peace, fellowship, joy, and the hope of God’s glory. Pray we understand the chief end of humans is to glorify God. Pray we are united under God. Pray we realize that each of us are related to God. Pray we realize that nothing can be separated from God’s love, and nothing limits God’s authority over the lives of his children. Pray that we embrace the drama of redemption and live a sanctified life of active discipleship. Pray we realize that God wants us to love.

Blessings,

John Lawson