Sermon: Forgiveness Guaranteed
Scripture: Matthew 6:12
In this week’s lessons, we see the connection between the Christian’s continuing need of forgiveness from God, and our need to forgive others who wrong us.
Theme: Assurance
Now we cannot go on to consider other parts of the Lord’s Prayer without pausing to see one other great truth about this matter of forgiveness. When a person comes to God through Jesus Christ, confessing his sin and asking for forgiveness, he need not be uncertain of the outcome. Instead, he can be absolutely certain that God will provide the forgiveness that he asks for.
You may be asking, “How can I be sure of that?” Well, in the only way that we can be sure of anything else of a spiritual nature. How can we be sure that the death of the Lord Jesus Christ was the one sufficient sacrifice for our sins? Because God says so. As the Scripture says, “For by one offering he hath perfected forever them that are sanctified” (Heb. 10:14). How can we be certain that once we have believed on Jesus Christ we will never be lost? Because God says so. Jesus said, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand” (John 10:27-28). How can we be certain that God will forgive our sin when we come to him to confess it? Once again, because God says so. In 1 John 1:9 we read, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
There cannot be a greater promise than that. For it says that we can be absolutely certain of the forgiveness of sins, and that we can have this assurance because the forgiveness is based upon the faithfulness and justice of God. To what is God faithful? To His promises. God has promised to forgive, and He does not break His word. What is more, He is just in His forgiveness. This means that because the Lord Jesus Christ has paid the full price for our sin, the justice of God necessarily requires Him to grant us full forgiveness on that basis. Full forgiveness! It is a wonderful truth, for it means that God has made provision in advance for our daily and sometimes hourly cleansing from sin, and that His faithfulness and justice stand behind these promises.
Study Questions:
How can a person have assurance that his sins have been forgiven?
Upon what is our assurance based?
Prayer: Do you or someone you know struggle with the assurance of forgiveness? Ask the Lord to give you the certainty of His forgiveness from His Word.
For Further Study: Download and listen for free to David Garner’s message, “The Power and Practice of Forgiveness.” (Discount will be applied at checkout.)
