God’s Complete Forgiveness

When sports fan speak of sports dynasties, a team that almost always comes up is the New York Yankees, when they seemed unbeatable. My dad would sometimes say that when he was a boy, he thought they were the only team in baseball that was supposed to always win the World Series. I was never really a fan of them as a youngster, except for one slugger. His name was Mickey Mantle. Maybe it was because he was originally from Oklahoma. Somehow that gave him credibility since he belonged to a state next to Kansas.

Sadly, the route he took through a large amount of his life was not one we want to follow. He abused his body terribly with alcohol, which ended up destroying his liver and probably shortening his life. However, even knowing this, there is good news. Bobby Richardson, a former teammate, who became a preacher, shared how Mantle had received Jesus Christ as his personal Savior, shortly before he died.

There is more to life than the pleasures and pursuits in which we find ourselves. In all of the negative in which Mantle participated, God still was able to forgive and to provide salvation.

Sometimes it seems as though people, whether they be outwardly good or bad, think that we’re here to do as much as we can for ourselves, since we all will eventually die. If that’s the case, we’ve got it all backwards.

Paul Azinger, a famous golfer who was the team captain for the 2008 Ryder Cup U.S. Team, was diagnosed with cancer at the height of his career on the PGA tour. He shared how the chaplain made a comment that caused him to realize his need for Jesus Christ. The chaplain stated, We think that we are in the land of the living headed for the land of the dying, when in reality we are in the land of the dying headed for the land of the living.

Today, my desire is that everyone listening would understand the following simple truth:

God is willing and able to take you and transform you into a new creation.

When God Forgives Us, Sin Is Not to Be Found.

There are many people that struggle to remember appointments. Thus, there are multiple styles of paper calendars, as well as electronic calendars to help us remember those things. However, we don’t seem to have too much of a problem remembering when we have been offended or hurt by someone else.

We sometimes cannot remember where we placed something. It has become a joke in many households that it was so much easier when the phone was attached to the wall. That way there wasn’t the problem of carrying it around, then setting it down, forgetting the location. Yet, it sees so easy to remember the time we were ridiculed or attacked.

A lot of people struggle to memorize Scripture. Yet, they have no problem recalling, word for word, what was said during a discussion in which someone else had an opposing viewpoint.

There are those who have no time to visit the widows, the shut-ins or the discouraged, but still have time to go from house to house, either in person, over the telephone, or on Facebook, spreading their criticism, gossip, and slander.

Many folks have their theology correct, but their practice in their personal lives is often quite wrong. Many people will claim the wonderful promises of God, but choose to apply those promises only to themselves. How wonderful it is to believe the truth that “my sins are removed as far as the east is from the west.” Yet, when we are supposed to “forgive others as God in Christ Jesus for gave you…,” many can invent all kinds of stipulations.

It seems to me that there are many people in our society who are attending churches that claim to be born again, but are not genuinely saved. There are many people who can converse in a fine spiritual, doctrinally correct, theologically sound manner, yet be so busy doing the work of Satan, that they do not realize they are actually lost.

We see many similarities here in the book of Jeremiah. The people of Judah and Israel had been playing these games for an incredibly long time with God. As we have seen, God was not interested in playing their game. When a person rejects God, there is going to be judgment. I understand that the people did not blatantly say, “we hate God,” but rather chose to live out their defiance, along with their anti-God attitude.

Yet, even with all this negative behavior, it did not matter what the past was, God can still forgive. It doesn’t matter how horrible or how small the sin may be, God can forgive.

This is similar to some people in our world today. They will choose to base their forgiveness upon how intense the pain was, which they experienced. If it was too painful, the comment is often to the effect that the one asking for forgiveness needs to wait until the offended party feels like they can forgive. The Bible presents a different picture. We are told in Ephesians 4:32 “Be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you.”

Let me share with you some more good news. We find it in Jeremiah 50:20 “‘In those days and at that time,’ declares the Lord, ‘search will be made for the iniquity of Israel, but there will be none; and for the sins of Judah, but they will not be found; for I will pardon those whom I leave as a remnant.’”

You see, God takes care of the sin in such a way that nobody is able to find it, no matter how hard they search. There is no longer any guilt that needs to be washed clean. The guilt and sin are totally obliterated. It will never again be brought up as a basis for guilt or an accusation by God again.

My friends, don’t you wish that this were true today? Of course, we recognize this truth from God’s perspective, but I want to take some time to look at it practically from today’s viewpoint.

Are we not to be living as Jesus lived?

Are we not to be “holy as I am holy “?

Are we not to “forgive as Christ forgave us”?

Then how is it that there are individuals who choose to try to tear each other apart by being critical of another person?

Why is it that people choose to bring up something from the past after they say that they have forgiven that person?

Why, in heaven’s name, are those who claim to be Christians, involved in divisiveness, slander, and gossip, if they themselves have actually experienced God’s forgiveness?

Please don’t mistake this as your pastor, ranting and raving. I am genuinely concerned for those who profess to be followers of Jesus Christ, yet choose to waste a lot of time and energy, plus destroying the reputation of Christ’s church, by spreading negative, false rumors; twisting Scripture to give an appearance of spirituality by clinging to supposed traditions and positive ideals, which have no basis in the Bible; who look for negative whenever something positive happens; who walk about giving a cold shoulder while stating that they belong to Christ.

What is happening? It is the fact that those who participate in these things are actually working for Satan. But wait! There is still good news even here with this scenario.

If there is genuine repentance, God will forgive. You see, when God forgives you, sin is not found. There is not a person alive, who has been called by God, who can deny that biblical truth.

In fact, God nowhere suggests that a follower of Jesus Christ, is supposed to bring up past garbage or create fresh garbage

There is nobody on the face of this earth, not even Satan himself, who has the capacity or ability to re-create our past, wiping out God’s forgiveness.

Brothers and sisters; that truly is good news! But wait; there is more.

When God Fights For Us, Salvation Is Found.

Forgiveness is wonderful, but there is inherent within forgiveness a deep relationship. To be told by someone that you are forgiven is wonderful. But we truly appreciate it even more if we can continue a deep relationship or be restored to an intimate relationship with that person. That is what God offers each of us through Jesus Christ.

Look at Jeremiah 50:34a, “Their Redeemer is strong, the Lord of hosts is His name . . .”

We need to understand what is meant by the term “redeemer.” A redeemer is one who purchases something to himself. You may recall in the Old Testament book ofHosea, how Hosea redeemed or purchased his wife, Gomer, back to himself. Or you might remember that romantic tragedy found in the book of Ruth, when she was redeemed by Boaz.

However, the most incredible act of redeeming was found on a Roman cross some 2000 years ago. The reason I state this is because the Bible paints a picture of who I and all humanity were or still are, and it’s not a pretty picture. First, we am told that we were “enemies of God.” We am also told in the Bible that “there is no one who seeks God, not even one.” And then, of course, there is that blanket statement of harsh truth, which states that “all have sinned.”

Folks, that is not a good scenario for anyone to think that they are going to get into heaven. You see, we were basically in Satan’s marketplace, doing whatever Satan wanted us to do. We were slaves to Satan and slaves to sin.

This morning, I have mentioned good news on several occasions. Do you want to hear some more good news? The Bible also tells us that “while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Isn’t that amazing that even when we were his enemies, Jesus died for us. The book of Hebrews tells us that “without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins. That is what the sinless Jesus did for us.

Jesus Christ is our redeemer. Jesus Christ paid the price for our sins. Jesus Christ purchased us or bought us back to be his own.

It was not God’s desire for us to spend eternity separated from him, suffering the torment and torture that was created for Satan and his demons. So Jesus paid for our lives by giving His own.

What we have to do is to humbly accept this free gift of salvation. Yes, Jesus paid the price, but we have to act upon it. We have to confess our sins and repent of them. We have to believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God and that He paid the price for the guilt of our sins. We have to surrender our lives to Him as our Lord and Savior. And if we genuinely mean business, then we will want to live in a God honoring manner, with His help.

All the forces of evil were in opposition to Christ. Satan and his allies felt they had the victory. The reality is that when God fights for us, salvation is found.

Conclusion

There may be some who know theologically that God forgives. Yet they discover that there is an area of their lives that they still hold closely because they’re not quite sure if God truly means every sin. Or maybe you may be an individual who has convinced yourself that God still holds a sign above your head, reminding you of an area of sin in your life.

Sometime back, I was reading some work by Dr. Richard Mayhue, on God’s forgiveness, as he spoke on the issue of David with Beersheba. David, directly and indirectly, broke all 10 Commandments when he committed the sin. He committed adultery, covered his neighbor’s wife, bore false witness, arranged for a murder, stole Bathsheba’s virtue, dishonored his parents, profaned the Sabbath with unholy worship, made a woman his idol, defamed God’s holy Name.

But the good news is found in summary from Psalm 51. We read that David confessed his sin, then prayed for restoration, then recommitted himself to be used by God again.

But as Dr. Mayhue points out, many believe that this was a special case, just for David. I would suggest, along with the writer, that this was not the exception, but rather the norm. You see, forgiveness is part of who God is. When God forgives, it is done so with complete forgiveness.

As we personalize what God has done for us through Jesus Christ, many of us are reminded of the beautiful hymn by Horatio Stafford, It Is Well With My Soul.”

One of the closing verses says this:

My sin - O, the bliss of this glorious thought,

My sin - not in part, but the whole,

Is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,

Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul!

How is it with your soul? Have you ever taken the opportunity to experience God’s forgiveness? Would you like to personally experience what it means to be freed from the burden of sin? Simply recognize that God’s forgiveness takes away sin and provide salvation to all who believe upon the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Could it be that you may have been playing Church all along? Could it be that you have been a member of this church or some other church, but in your heart, you know that you don’t belong to Jesus Christ? Is it possible that how you live, denies the One for Whom you say you live?

Regardless of where you might be at this time, I want to encourage you to get things right with the Lord today. Repent, confess your sin, except God’s forgiveness and come to Jesus Christ. Experience that complete forgiveness in salvation through Jesus Christ, our Lord.