The book of Luke chapter 7. We begin our reading in verse 36
of Luke chapter 7. And one of the Pharisees desired
him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's
house and sat down to meet. And behold, a woman in the city,
which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in
the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment,
and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash
his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her
head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment. Now when the Pharisee, which
had bidden him, saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This
man If he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner
of woman this is that touches him, for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering, notice Simon
didn't ask a question, but Jesus answering his thoughts said unto
him, Simon, I have somewhat to say to thee. And he saith, Master,
say I. There was a certain creditor
which had two debtors. the one owed 500 pence and the
other 50. And when they had nothing to
pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which
of them will love him the most? Simon answered and said, I suppose
that he to whom he forgave the most. And he said unto him, thou
hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman and
said unto Simon, seest thou this woman I entered into thy house,
and thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed
my feet with her tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss, but this
woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my
feet. My head with oil thou didst not
anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore,
I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she
loved much. But to whom little is forgiven,
the same loveth little. And he said unto her, thy sins
are forgiven. And they that said it meet with
him began to say within themselves, who is this that forgiveth sins
also? And he said to the woman, thy
faith has saved thee, go in peace. Let's look to the Lord in prayer. Our merciful Father, as we read
this text, we're reminded of the incredible passion, love that our Lord Jesus had and also
has this very day for sinners. Father, we thank you for that text that talks about
the whole need, not a physician, but they that are sick and the righteous need, not a
savior, but those that are wretched sinners. Father, I pray that your spirit
will accompany your word today, that you will visit us as you
have promised to do where two or three are gathered. Father, as the words of that
song, all is vain unless the spirit of the Holy One comes
down. We would ask that you would send
your spirit to accompany your word. And if you'll do that for
us, we'll be able to leave this place rejoicing in He who is
altogether lovely. We ask these things in His name
and for His namesake. Amen. Okay, let's turn back to our
text in Luke 7. I've titled this message, Two
Helpless Sinners Forgiven. I want to look at this text and
another in a few moments. But I want to just read this
and go through it kind of verse by verse and make a few comments
and hopefully the Lord will bless his word today and enable us
to see Christ in that which is preached. Verse 36, and one of
the Pharisees desired that he would eat with him. And our Lord
went into the Pharisee's house and sat down to meet and behold
a woman in the city, which was a center. When she knew that
Jesus sat at meet in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box
of ointment. Now, I looked up what this alabaster
is. It's a type of translucent gypsum,
and it can be carved and made into vases, boxes, ornaments,
and so forth. In this case, it was a small
case or a small box, and in this particular box, this woman had
put some ointment, which basically is a thick substance, and it
usually contains medicine that's used to soothe sore parts of
the body, those parts that may be injured. And in verse 38 it
says, and this woman stood at his feet, behind him weeping,
and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with
the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with
the ointment. We need to understand that in
these days, they didn't use chairs as we know them today in their
dining. They used more of a reclined
bench that the person eating, their head was facing the table,
their feet were facing away from the table. This is how it is
possible for us to read that how this woman stood behind the
Lord at his feet. If he'd have been seated in a
chair as we know it, then obviously she wouldn't have been able to
stand behind him at his feet. And apparently this woman came
in weeping and continued to weep. She came in the door weeping
and continued to weep as she stood behind him, shedding enough
tears. Now you think about this. Shedding enough tears to be able
to wash his feet with her tears. Now when a person is weeping,
many times it indicates that they're expressing overwhelming,
just crushing guilt, sometimes relief, sometimes sorrow, which
seems to be a case here, all three of those things combined.
This woman, who the previous verse tells us was a sinner,
was overcome with sorrow for her sins. Try as she may, she could not
contain the emotions that she felt as she came humbling herself
in the most vivid way imaginable. She washed his feet with no doubt,
dirty and dusty from his walk. She washed his feet with her
tears and also used her hair as one would use a towel to wipe
the Savior's feet, to wipe the dirt and the dust away from his
feet. And further, she actually kissed
the Savior's feet as well in the most humble manner imaginable. And when she had done all this,
She then anointed his feet with the ointment in a gesture of
giving his tired feet some relief. And as we go through these verses,
I want you to notice something. This woman never speaks a word
that is recorded in this account, making this the only place that
I know of anywhere in the four Gospels that anyone came to Christ
seeking mercy And yet you never spoke a word asking for that
mercy verbally. So we have to think, how did
the Lord even know what she wanted? We don't need to think long because
we know that He knows all things. But this woman was so overcome
with guilt and with grief that she could not even speak. Rather,
she expressed her feelings with her tears. And that brought to
mind a verse in Romans 8, 26, it tells us this. Likewise, the
spirit also helpeth our infirmities, for we know not what we should
pray for as we ought, but the spirit itself maketh intercession
for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Our gracious God
provides us with a voice, even when we lack one of our own.
Verse 39, now when the Pharisee, which had bidden him, saw it,
he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet,
would have known who and what manner of woman this is that
toucheth him, for she is a sinner. This woman apparently had a reputation
around town, and it wasn't a good one. So of course this Pharisee,
being the self-righteous hypocrite that all Pharisees were, was
disgusted at what he saw taking place. Not that he felt any pity
for this woman, but more he was repulsed that this man who claimed
to be a prophet of God did not even have the ability to discern
what type of woman this was who touched him, this wretched, vile
sinner, who should have been immediately rejected by this
so-called prophet, In this Pharisee's eyes, she was like a leper. She
was unclean. And anything that she touched,
anyone that she touched, became unclean. But what this self-righteous
Pharisee didn't know was that this man who was seated at his
table had been touched by lepers and had touched lepers himself.
and was never polluted by them. He always cured their leprosy. He never became unclean by touching
a leper. Verse 40, And Jesus answering
said unto him, Simon, I have some what to say unto thee. And
he said, Master, say I. Now what this Pharisee did not
understand that the man who was seated at his table with God
Almighty robed in human flesh. Many times in the four Gospels
we read how that the Lord perceived the thoughts of those around
him. Psalm 94, 11 tells us this, the Lord knoweth the thoughts
of man, that they are vanity. And the Lord proclaims in Isaiah
66, I know their works and their thoughts. And that's terrifying
to the self-righteous hypocrite. It truly is, that outwardly they
like the world to think that they're some good folks, but
inwardly they're like a tomb, the Lord said, full of dead man's
bones. Now it would seem from what we
read in this text that the Lord completely ignored this woman
and what she was doing. And I'm sure that she was not
very quiet in her weeping. I picture this as being a very,
very uncomfortable situation for all those that were seated
at this meal. Now, if you've ever been in a
similar situation where someone is having a breakdown, it can
be a bit disconcerting and you try to comfort this person, usually
for one of two reasons. Either you have compassion and
pity for them, or you're so uncomfortable that you just want to bring this
whole thing to a close. And we aren't told how many people
were here, but I can guarantee you they were kind of squirming
and wishing that they had gone somewhere else for dinner that
day. But not so with our Lord. Not so. The reason was that he knew this
woman from eternity past, and he knew what he was about to
do. He was about to pronounce her sins to be forgiven. And this is a way that our God
deals with lost sinners when he begins to draw them to himself. He shows them their lost, helpless
condition, and he lovingly, many times, leaves them in that condition,
some for hours and some for years. In my particular case, it was
about four years from the time I realized that I was just a
lost church member until the Lord finally, finally spoke peace
to my heart. And I can tell you from experience,
and those of you that have been there know what I'm talking about.
It is a most uncomfortable condition, a most miserable state of being
to be under the guilt of sin. You feel the wrath of God clinging
to you. You know that in any moment,
He might snuff out your life and cast you into everlasting
darkness. And you pray, Lord, just let
me live one more day, one more hour. But many times when
we're in that condition, we pray and it seems that the heavens
are made of branch. You feel that God is completely
ignoring all your prayers as he was this woman. We feel in
our heart, as David expressed in Psalm 22, when he said, my
God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? Why art thou so far from
helping me and from the words of my roaring? David said, oh
my God, I cry in the daytime, but thou hearest not, and in
the night season, and am not silent. And yet the Lord seems
to completely ignore our pleas for repentance, as he did this
woman. We cry out like David did in
Psalm 70. He said, make haste, O God, to
deliver me. Make haste to help me, O Lord. Now, David made this plea, this
same plea, make haste, O Lord, six times in the Scriptures.
Make haste, make haste. Lord, I'm miserable. I need help. And the Lord seems to completely
ignore us. But sometimes the God of heaven,
who we have offended, He ignores our cries for relief
from the burden of sin, so that sometimes you despair of life
yourself. You're miserable, but you're
terrified of dying. We feel that we must be such
a one as Esau, who was hated of God before he was ever born. Hebrews 12, verses 15 and 16
say this about Esau, For one morsel of meat sold his
birthright. For we know how that afterward,
when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected
and he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully
with tears." Now, before our God speaks forgiveness to the
grieving sinner, we're brought to a place where we have absolutely
no hope. We are convinced that we are
as sure of hell as if we were already there. We feel like Paul
and his companions when they were caught in that shipwreck
in Acts 27. In verse 20 of Acts 27, it says
this, Paul wrote, and when neither sun nor stars in many days appeared
and no small tempest lay on us, all hope that we should be saved
was taken away. So Christ Jesus completely ignores
this woman in her sad display of remorse, and instead, he turns
to his host, Simon, and he says, Simon, I need to talk to you
about something. And Simon, being the hypocrite that he was, who
had just thought that this man was a fraud, says to him, Master,
go ahead, what's on your mind? And the Lord tells him in verses
41, 42, and 43, there was a certain creditor which had two debtors,
the one owed 500 pence, The other 50. And when they had nothing
to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which
of them will love him the most? And Simon the hypocrite answered
and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave the most. And
the Lord said unto him, thou hast rightly judged. So after saying this and baiting
this Pharisee, the Lord Jesus finally acknowledges the presence
of this woman. but he does not actually address
her. He just simply acknowledges her presence. Verse 44, and he
turned to the woman and said unto Simon, seest thou this woman? And as I read that, I thought, that seems to be a bit of an
absurd question because there's nobody in this room that couldn't
have noticed this woman. But he asked Simon, seest thou
this woman? I entered into thy house and
thou gavest me no water for my feet, but she has washed my feet
with tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head." And the
Lord begins to chastise this man for his lack of hospitality,
because it was a custom in those days that when you had a guest,
you offered them water to wash their feet. This is what the
Lord did with his disciples at that time when he washed their
feet. But the Lord pointed out that
this woman, who Simon deemed in his mind to be a repulsive
sinner, had indeed washed his feet, not with water, but with
her tears. And the Lord continues in verse
45, thou gavest me no kiss, but this woman, since the time that
I came in, has not ceased to kiss my feet. Now, apparently
from the wording here, this woman had been following Jesus and
came in shortly after he did. We know this because the Lord
said from the time I came in, not from the time she came in.
And also a custom in those days was to greet each other with
a kiss. This is still practiced in many Middle Eastern countries.
But again, Simon failed to do this because deep down, he had
no regard for this man. I honestly believe he brought
him into his house just to see if they could track him. in some
sort of his speech. But this woman have repeatedly
kissed his feet, showing forth an unimaginable humility. The
Lord continues in verse 46. My head with oil thou didst not
anoint, but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Simon,
this woman that you look down on once again outdid your hospitality. Verse 47, wherefore I say unto
thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much,
but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. Now here the Lord drops the bomb,
but he still does not directly speak to this woman. Instead,
he continues to address this sorry excuse for a host. And he pronounces her vast multitude
of sins are, right now, the Lord said, forgiven. He said her sins,
which are many, are forgiven. But since you, Simon, think yourself
to be just fine when it comes to righteousness, you need no
forgiveness. Therefore, you have little love
for me, rather contempt. Simon is a good picture of most
modern day so-called Christians. They have little to no love for
this one who is Christ. Because really, deep down, he
didn't forgive them that much. I mean, they really weren't that
bad to begin with. Therefore, they love this man
little, if at all. But when the Spirit of God begins
a work in the heart of God's elect, they feel that crushing
weight of their sin. And they know in their heart
that they have much, much to be forgiven. They feel the unbearable
guilt of their transgression against the Holy God. They know
that God would be just if he cast them into everlasting suffering.
But these words spoken by the Savior in John 3.36, they become
our constant reality when we are under the conviction of sin.
John 3.36 says this, this is our Lord speaking. He that believeth
on the Son hath everlasting life, and he that believeth not the
Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him. When we're in that miserable,
miserable condition conviction for sin and carrying that guilt
with us. We feel almost like the wrath
of God is clinging to us like a second skin. But after God
leaves us in that condition for a while, thankfully, thankfully,
he finally speaks peace through his spirit to our heart like
he did this woman. Verse 48, and he said unto her,
he finally addresses this woman, And he said unto her, thy sins
are forgiven. He speaks the most blessed words
that any lost man or woman who knows their lost condition can
ever hear. Thy sins are forgiven. Forgiveness of her sins were
finally acknowledged from the very mouth of the only one who
can forgive sin, because he's the only one who paid the price
for that sin. And the scripture doesn't tell
us, but I would almost bet that she wept even more, even harder,
because of an overwhelming sense of guilt that was now lifted
off her soul and her heart. She had just experienced blessed
forgiveness. I don't know if you Remember
that time when the Lord spoke the forgiveness to your heart,
but it is like Bunyan described in his Pilgrim's Progress. It's
like a massive load that falls off your back. He described that
Christian, his main character in Pilgrim's Progress, was climbing
a hill, carrying that load of sin, and he looked up and saw
the Savior. He said that that weight fell off
his back, and rolled down that hill never to be seen again. In verse 49, and they that sat
at meat with him began to say within themselves, who is this
that forgiveth sins also? Now it sounds like the great
majority of those present were like Simon, self-righteous hypocrites,
probably Pharisees. And this is indicated by their
reaction to the words of the Lord Jesus when he pronounced
this woman's sins forgiven. They did not believe that this
carpenter's son had any authority to do such a thing. That was
something that only God himself could do, forgive sin. And our
Lord didn't even bother to waste his breath on him. He simply
gives a word of comfort and assurance to this woman. In verse 50, he
says to the woman, thy faith hath saved thee, go in peace."
Now, our Lord speaks a final word of assurance to this woman
and tells her, thy faith has saved thee. Now, he made similar
statements a lot of times, several times in the gospels. He said
to the woman with the issue of blood, the woman who touched
the hem of his garment and was healed, he said to her, daughter,
be of good comfort. Thy faith hath made thee whole. The woman who came to him, whose
daughter was grievously vexed with the devil, he told her,
O woman, great is thy faith, be it unto thee even as thou
wilt. And her daughter was made whole
from that very hour. He told old blind Bartimaeus,
he said, go thy way. Thy faith hath made thee whole. And immediately he received his
sight and followed him in the waves. And he said to that leper,
who was the only one of the 10 who were cleansed, who came back
to give the Lord thanks, he said to that leper, arise, go thy
way, thy faith hath made thee whole. Now we know that simply
having faith does not save someone. That faith, if it is in a false
god, cannot save. Our faith must be in the one
who's mighty to save, who the scriptures tell us is mighty
to save, and that one whose name is the only name under heaven
given among men, whereby we must be saved. Now, we've looked at
one account of a sinner forgiven. Turn with me over to Mark chapter
2, and we'll look at one more. Mark chapter 2. Again, this is a story I'm sure
that you're all familiar with. Mark chapter 2, beginning in verse
1. We'll read through verse 9. I'm sorry, through verse 12.
Mark chapter 2, verse 1. And again, he entered into Capernaum
after some days, and it was noise that he was in the house. And
straightway many were gathered together, insomuch that there
was no room to receive them, no, not so much as at the door. And he preached the word unto
them. And they come unto him, bringing one sick of the palsy,
which was born of four. And when they could not come
nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered the roof where
he was. And when they had broken it up, they let down the bed
wherein the sick of the palsy lay. And when Jesus saw their
faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be
forgiven thee. But there were certain of the
scribes there, and reasoning in their hearts, why doth this
man thus speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
only? And immediately when Jesus perceived
in his spirit that they so reasoned within themselves, he said unto
them, Why reason ye these things in your heart, whether it is
easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven
thee, or to say, Arise, and take up thy bed, and walk? But that
ye may know that the Son of Man hath power on earth to forgive
sins, he saith to the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, Arise,
and take up thy bed, and go thy way into thy house. And immediately
he arose and took up the bed and went forth before them all
insomuch that they were all amazed and glorified God saying, we
never saw it on this fashion. The Lord visited this town of
Capernaum several times through the scriptures. But later he
was to pronounce a curse upon this city, which we read of in
Matthew, 11.23, it says, And thou, Capernaum, which are exalted
unto heaven, shall be brought down to hell. For if the mighty
works which had been done in thee, one of which we're about
to read or we just read about, for if the mighty works which
have been done in thee had been done in Sodom, it would have
remained until this day. That's an amazing scripture.
But he was visiting Capernaum on this particular day because
there was one of his chosen sheep that he must save and bring to
himself. And the same thing happened here
that happened in the first account we read. Word spread quickly
that this one who could heal diseases was in a certain house.
And verse two, in straightway many were gathered together,
insomuch that there was no room to receive them. No, not so much
as about the door, and he preached the word unto them. Now, it didn't
take long for a huge crowd to gather and throng the house where
he was. And our Lord began to teach the
word unto them, our scripture tells us. But what exactly does
that mean? I grew up in a family, extended family,
aunts, uncles, cousins, almost all of whom were ultra-religious. My grandfather was an old regular
Baptist preacher in Pike County. And they like to use the word,
I've heard them say about preachers who I know, I've heard them preach
funerals, who I know preach this utter blasphemy. Oh, he preaches
the word. But Romans 10 gives us a description
and gives us some instruction where we read this. The word
is nigh thee, even in thy mouth and in thy heart. That is the
word of faith which we preach, And it's this, that if thou shalt
confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and believe in thine heart
that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. We preach the Word in truth,
it says. The Word that is spoken of in
John chapter one. In the beginning was the Word,
and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The Word who
made all things, who knows all things, who holds all power,
the Word, that is known by other names, the King of Kings, the
Lord of Lords, whose name is wonderful, Counselor, the Mighty
God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace, Emmanuel,
God with us. Verse three, and they come unto
him, bringing one sick of the palsy, which was born of four. Now, palsy, I had to look this
up. It's a medical term which refers to certain types of paralysis,
which are often accompanied, I read, by weakness from the
loss of muscle mass and also uncontrolled body movements,
such as shaking. And that sounds to me like a
most miserable condition. But thankfully, this man had
at least four friends who thought enough of him that when they
heard Christ was in this house, they put him on a bed, which
was pretty much a cot carried by four men, and brought him
to the Lord. And verse four says, and when
they could not come nigh unto him for the press, they uncovered
the roof where he was, and when they had broken it up, they let
down the bed wherein the sick of the palsy lay. Now this is
what you call some determined friends. They were determined that one
way or another, no matter what it took, They were gonna get
this man, this friend of theirs, to this man who felt, or they
felt anyway, and had heard, could cure him of his paralysis. So they went up on the roof and
began to tear it off. And I can't help but think that
caused quite a stir, those that were in the house below. There
was no doubt debris falling on them, and I can't help but imagine
that the owner of this house was probably hollering at them
to quit tearing his roof off. But they had faith in their heart
that if they could get this friend of the Lord Jesus Christ, that
he could indeed heal him of his palsy. Verse five, when Jesus saw their
faith, he said unto the sick of the palsy, apparently they
had let him down by then, son, thy sins be forgiven thee. Now
this is not exactly the result that these guys were after. And
I'm fairly sure that when the Lord spoke these words, thy sins
be forgiven thee, the four men who had gone through all this
trouble were no doubt a bit disappointed. They had brought their friend
to the Lord Jesus so that he could heal him physically, as
he had healed so many others throughout the region. But he
didn't do that. He just simply, and they didn't know the magnitude
of this, he just simply in their eyes pronounced his sin forgiven.
But he was still sick of the palsy. But these men were like
we are so many times. Sometimes we have in mind something
that we need the Lord to do, and we may not say it verbally,
but in our mind we have the steps that He ought to take, the Lord
ought to take to get these things done that we're needing Him to
do. But He never does it according
to our thoughts or our instructions. Never. And that's the case here.
Verse 6, But there were certain of the scribes sitting there
and reasoning in their hearts, Verse seven, why does this man
speak blasphemies? Who can forgive sins but God
only? And they were exactly right in
their thinking. No one but God Almighty can forgive sin. He
and he alone is the only one who has the power to purge away
our sins. The problem was that they had
no idea that this one who was sitting here was indeed Emmanuel,
God with us. Verse eight, and immediately
when Jesus perceived in his spirit that they so reasoned within
themselves, he said unto them, why reason you these things in
your heart? Again, this is another case that
we looked at a few minutes ago where our Lord knew the thoughts
of those around him and he called them out on it. He said, why
reason you these things in your heart? This must have been a
shock to these guys Because this carpenter's son seemed to perceive
their very thoughts. And they thought to themselves,
how did this guy know what we were thinking? But the Lord continued,
Why reason ye these things in your heart? In verse 9, Whether
it is easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven
thee, or to say, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk. So many
times we look at things the wrong way. We're astounded. that one
can restore a man's health with simply a word, and yet we're
not nearly so amazed that God can forgive sin. Yet the restoration
of the health of one sick of the palsy only requires one thing,
a word, a simple word from the God-man. But the forgiveness
of our sins requires much more than a word, it requires his
blood, his body, and his very soul to be made an offering for
sin. So our Lord asks him, which do
you think is easier to say? Moreover, the question is, which
is easier to do? Verse 10, but that ye may know
that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, he
saith to the sick of the palsy, I say unto thee, arise, Take
up thy bed and go thy way into thy house. Now this is the only
time that I can find anywhere in the four gospels that our
Lord actually offered proof to the doubters that he was indeed
God in human flesh. This is the only time. Every
other time when they challenged his deity, he simply ignored
them and went on his way. And verse 12 tells us, and immediately
after he spoke these words, and immediately he arose, took up
his bed and went forth before them all in so much that they
were all amazed and glorified God saying, we never saw it on
this fashion. Now we need to understand that
these events took place early in the Lord's ministry. His fame
had not spread throughout the region as it did later. But none
of these folks had ever seen such a miracle take place. And
they were astounded beyond measure. They said, we've never seen this
before. But as far as we know from this scripture, as far as
we know, every other man and woman but this man sick of the
paltry, even his four friends that brought him here, left this
place still in their sins. We're told that they glorified
God, but we don't read here as we do other places in the four
gospels that many believed on his name. If indeed that was the case,
it simply proves that unless saving faith is given to a man
or woman, no matter what they see, they will not, they cannot
believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. And I thought of that story of
Lazarus and the rich man that we find in the Gospels. It says
it was a rich man and Lazarus laid his gate full of swords.
And the scripture tells us that the rich man died and Lazarus
died. The rich man found himself in
hell. Lazarus found himself in Abraham's bosom, the scripture
tells us. And the rich man begged Father
Abraham to send Lazarus to his brothers so that they would not
perish and come to this place of torment. But the reply we
find from Father Abraham was that if they did not believe
Moses and the prophets who wrote of Christ, Neither would they
believe one had risen from the dead. And I read that for many
years and I thought, surely to goodness, if they know someone
was dead and they come back and tell them about Christ, they
would have to believe. And yet, we know that faith is
a gift of God. It doesn't matter what you see.
It doesn't matter what you experience. Without the gift of faith being
given to you, you will never believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. So there is one, if there is
one, I should say, hearing this message, or may hear it in the
future, and you've not yet been brought to a saving knowledge
of the Lord Jesus Christ, I would ask you, will you be one of those
who believe on him, or will you go your way in unbelief and retain
your hatred of God? But I would say this, lost sinner,
your eternal fate is in the hands of a sovereign God. I've said
this before, and people have told me that they were surprised
to hear it. Your salvation has nothing to do with anything you
can do, pray for, or hope for. Your entire salvation is in the
hands of a sovereign God who can either damn you or save you. But there is something that you
can do, unbelieving sinner. If God will enable you, you can
petition him for mercy. You can ask him to be merciful
as he was to this one sick of the palsy. You can ask him for
forgiveness of sins because everyone sitting here that I'm looking
at that knows the Lord and saving faith as much as you are without
faith, without the ability to believe. But our God was merciful
and granted us faith in Christ. And I pray that he would do the
same for you.