REPENTANCE & FORGIVENESS

INTRODUCTION

Psalm 32 NLT

A psalm of David. 1 Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! 2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! 3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. 4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude 5 Finally, I confessed all my sins to you and stopped trying to hide my guilt. I said to myself, “I will confess my rebellion to the Lord.” And you forgave me! All my guilt is gone. Interlude 6 Therefore, let all the godly pray to you while there is still time, that they may not drown in the floodwaters of judgment. 7 For you are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with songs of victory. Interlude 8 The Lord says, “I will guide you along the best pathway for your life. I will advise you and watch over you. 9 Do not be like a senseless horse or mule that needs a bit and bridle to keep it under control.” 10 Many sorrows come to the wicked, but unfailing love surrounds those who trust the Lord. 11 So rejoice in the Lord and be glad, all you who obey him! Shout for joy, all you whose hearts are pure!

GUILT

Psalm 32:1–4 NLT

1 Oh, what joy for those whose disobedience is forgiven, whose sin is put out of sight! 2 Yes, what joy for those whose record the Lord has cleared of guilt, whose lives are lived in complete honesty! 3 When I refused to confess my sin, my body wasted away, and I groaned all day long. 4 Day and night your hand of discipline was heavy on me. My strength evaporated like water in the summer heat. Interlude

How does the world deal with guilt?

Justification

Self-Justification or True Justification?

Blame - others, circumstances, etc

Justification - explain it away., compare yourself to others, relativize it.

Medicate - drugs, sex, Häagen-Dazs®, shopping, etc.

Criticize - gossip, celebrate the sins/failures of others.

Over Achieve - you can never do enough to justify your existence.

Penitence - try and pay the price for sin yourself; punish yourself, sabotage yourself.

Guilt vs. Conviction

Are you truly repentant?

Are you troubled by the consequences of your sin, or that you have sinned against a holy God?

No Condemnation

Romans 8:1–3 NLT

1 So now there is no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. 2 And because you belong to him, the power of the life-giving Spirit has freed you from the power of sin that leads to death. 3 The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

Romans 8:33 NLT

33 Who dares accuse us whom God has chosen for his own? No one—for God himself has given us right standing with himself.

Revelation 12:10 NLT

10 Then I heard a loud voice shouting across the heavens, “It has come at last— salvation and power and the Kingdom of our God, and the authority of his Christ. For the accuser of our brothers and sisters has been thrown down to earth— the one who accuses them before our God day and night.

THE TEST OF OUR UNDERSTANDING OF REPENTANCE IS FOUND IN FORGIVENESS TOWARDS OTHERS.

Did God wait for us to repent before He made a way of escape? No, He extended mercy that we might know grace. Grace is not mercy.

In one moment, we seek to understand and to control everything around us, then in the next moment, we concede control of some of the most critical moments of our lives by making forgiveness conditional.