Our text this morning is in Isaiah
43 and verse 25, where God says, I, even I, am he that blotteth
out thy transgressions for my own sake and will not remember
thy sins. Jacob and Israel, the symbolical
names of the people of God in Old Testament days, were objects
of divine grace. By which I mean, they weren't
a people who were made an offer and then decided to follow God.
No. They were the objects of divine grace. God chose them.
God chose them out from the rest of mankind. God passed by the
rest. God is a God of sovereign grace,
which means He chooses whom He will. As Jesus said to the disciples,
you have not chosen me, I have chosen you. God chose these people
to be the objects of His grace, to be a people which was a picture
or a symbol of the Church, the people of God in all ages. That's
what they were. They were the people to whom
God gave the Scriptures, the truth of God. They were the ones
who were shown things that other nations, other people were not
shown. All men and women have got the witness of creation all
around them, that things are fearfully and wonderfully made,
not least ourselves. But that in and of itself is
insufficient to show the true message of Gospel grace to the
people of God. These people were shown the truth
of God, and we have it here, the Old Testament Scriptures,
in which the Gospel is in the main implicit, and then in the
New Testament we have that gospel made absolutely explicit. Shown
the truth of God, a people shown the truth of God, favoured with
sovereign grace. And we know that justice, the
justice of God, demands a penalty for the sins of the people. Even
though these people were the people of God, they were still
sinners. In the church today, we might claim to be believers,
but that doesn't mean that we're not sinners. We all sin. We're
all sinners constantly. That is our condition. And justice
demands a penalty for that sin, the justice of God. He says,
I will in no wise clear the guilty. He cannot. He cannot overlook
it. He cannot sweep it under the carpet, as it were. but in
what the Lord Jesus Christ accomplished is propitiation. Propitiation
is the turning away of the just anger of God for sin. God's propitiation
in Christ when he died on the cross of Calvary, bearing the
sins of his people and shed his precious blood so that the law
of God was satisfied, that propitiation justly satisfies the demand of
the law that the soul that sins it shall die. His death satisfies
the demand of the law that the soul that sins all his people
who sinned, that they shall die. He died in the place of them,
therefore the law is satisfied. The law demands nothing else.
How can it demand anything else? Christ has died. Who shall bring
any charge to God's elect? Christ has died. But the people,
as I say, those who are redeemed in this flesh, as long as we're
in this flesh, remain sinners. And not only do we remain sinners
by occasionally sinning, but we remain sinners with sin abounding
all around us. But God's grace is super abounding,
abounding more than sin abounds. Romans 5, 20 and 21 says this,
the law entered, the law of God came in, it came when Moses was
given the law. Why did it come? That the offense
might abound, that the offense, that the sin might be clear,
that it might be absolutely clear. where men and women are committing
sin against the justice and truth of God, against the character
and nature of God. But it says, where sin abounded,
and it most certainly did, and is doing all down history to
this very day, where sin abounded, grace, the grace of God, did
much more abound. That as sin hath reigned unto
death, sin brings death. Sin brings God's judgment. The
soul that sins, it shall die. In the day you eat thereof, said
God to Adam and Eve, you shall surely die. Even so might grace
reign. As sin reigned to death, even
so might grace reign through righteousness unto eternal life. Not death, eternal life by Jesus
Christ our Lord. You see, the charge against sin
is clear. and the condemnation, the punishment
is deserved. But God's grace will triumph. God's grace will triumph. God
wants to talk to us about it. You know, in Isaiah chapter one
and verse 18, he says to the people that are listening, and
he says to you and me today, come now, you and me, this is
God speaking to me, come now, let us reason together, says
the Lord. Let's sit down and talk about
this. Though your sins be as scarlet, blood red in their guilt,
though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow.
Let's talk about it. Let's talk about how. Let's talk
about it. Though they be red like crimson,
glaring out in their guilt, they shall be as wool. freshly washed
wool, glistening white wool. He calls for the same consideration
here in verse 26 of chapter 43. Put me in remembrance, let us
plead together. Let's talk about these things.
So I've got two points this morning. First of all, sin abounding to
the people of God despite gracious treatment. And secondly, grace
super abounding in the forgiveness of sin. Sin abounding despite
gracious treatment. In the first seven verses of
chapter 43, we saw it last week, God speaking to his people. He speaks to Jacob, to Israel,
the people that he's chosen, and he speaks to them and says,
fear not, I have redeemed you. I have called you by your name.
You are mine. When you pass through the waters,
I will be with you. They shall not overflow you.
When you walk through the fire, You shall not be burned, neither
shall the flame kindle upon you. I am the Lord your God, the Holy
One of Israel, your Savior. I gave Egypt for your ransom,
Ethiopia and Seba for thee, since you were precious in my sight.
You have been honorable, and I have loved you. Therefore will
I give men for you and people for your life. Fear not, for
I am with you. I will bring your seed from the
east and gather you from the west. I will say to the north,
give up, give them to me. And from the south, keep not
back. people, the people of God coming from all around. This
is a prophecy concerning the church being populated by the
Gentiles, people from every tribe and kindred. It's talking about
God's undeserved blessing of Israel. And the Israel I'm talking
about is not just that which was the picture in the Old Testament,
the Jews of that region of the world. He's talking about the
Israel of God, Galatians 6.16. The Israel of God are the sinners
the Jacob's, all of us by nature, that he makes into princes with
God, Israel. And he's blessed his people with
a call. It's a very discriminating call.
He calls the ones he chose in Christ before the foundation
of the world. I have called you. He hasn't called everybody. He
doesn't call everybody, but he calls his people. He gives them
a name as the people of God out of all the multitudes. He shows
them the blessings of God's kingdom. He shows them the blessings of
salvation. He calls his people to a bright
eternal hope when the world all around, and those without God
and without Christ and without hope in this world, have no eternal
hope. As far as they're concerned,
they don't believe anything. They're not going anywhere, death
to them is just annihilation, it's just switch off the lights
and everything gone, that's it. But no, according to the Word
of God, there is a bright eternal hope for the people of God. He
has been gracious in calling his people. We all have to admit,
if you're a child of God and you've heeded that call, or if
you're not, but yet you've heard it many times, look at what God
brings as an indictment against people in general in verse 22.
I've called you, says God, by the gospel of his grace, but
you have not called upon me, O Jacob, and you have been weary
of me, O Israel. You haven't called on him in
response to his call, You know, when man fell in the Garden of
Eden, and they were driven out of Eden, and yet God had redeemed
Adam and Eve in that very moment, and had given them the gospel
in picture and in type, and had showed them there. And of their
sons, Cain was the one who thought he could be right with God by
his own efforts, and Abel was the one who brought the Lamb
of the sacrifice, the offering of the flock, which pictured
Christ who would come. And the gospel line continued
down through Seth and others. And it says, around the time
of Seth, in Genesis 4, 26, then began men to call upon the name
of the Lord. What is it to call upon the name
of the Lord? Is it not calling upon God for
salvation from sin and its penalty? Lord, hear me. Lord, save me
from my sins. I can do nothing myself, but
you can save me. Psalm 55 verse 16 says, As for
me, I will call upon God and the Lord shall save me. What's
he calling for? He's calling for salvation from
sin. He's calling to be restored to a right relationship with
his God. I will call upon God and the
Lord shall save me. We read in Joel chapter 2 verse
32, and it's quoted again and again throughout the scriptures, as the Lord hath said, and in
the remnant whom the Lord shall call. Whosoever shall call on
the name of the Lord shall be saved. They're the ones, the
remnant, whom the Lord shall call. They are Mount Zion and
Jerusalem. Mount Zion and Jerusalem is the
church in our day where the gospel is faithfully proclaimed. Have
you, anybody listening to this, whether live or the recording,
have you heard the call of God by gospel preaching? Have you
heard that call? convincing you of the truth of
God, of the things that are stated in the Scriptures concerning
God, His creation, His justice, His righteousness, His salvation,
the Lord Jesus Christ, who He is, what He came to do. Have
you heard the call of God saying, come to me? and hear me, and
believe me, and listen, and find salvation and peace for your
souls. Have you been blessed with gospel preaching? I know
many have. Blessed with gospel preaching.
It's such a blessing. Do you know one of the curses
that God brought on His people, His nominal people, Israel the
nominal people, for their idolatry and their unbelief, was to give
them a famine. Not a famine of bread, but a
famine where there was no word of God, where there was no clear
preaching of the gospel of God. Think about yourself, compared
with everybody all around us in this world, many of whom go
through the entire period of their life and they never once
hear the gospel message that is clear in this book, they never
once hear it declared faithfully. And yet some of you have. Some
listening now have, blessed with gospel preaching. Others remain
in complete darkness and ignorance throughout their lives, but some
of you have been blessed with gospel preaching, clear gospel
preaching on how God saves sinners, and you see it so clearly, and
you know it's right so clearly, and yet will you believe him?
Will you commit to Him? Will you trust Him? Will you
say, Lord, I believe, help thou mine unbelief. Save me from my
sins. Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ
and you shall be saved. Will you heed God's call to flee
from sin? What is that? It's repentance,
rethinking, to think again about sin, to seek Christ, to seek
His righteousness. For what must we have if we're
to spend a blissful eternity with the living God in intimate
fellowship with Him, we must be righteous, follow holiness,
without which no man shall see the Lord. And where do we find
it? We find it in Christ alone. Seek His righteousness. What
must we do? That we do the works of God?
This is the work of God, that you believe on Him whom He sent. Who did He send? God sent His
Son to be the propitiation for the sins of His people. And He
calls us to find peace for our souls in the blessings of the
Gospel. How do we find peace in the blessings of the Gospel?
Because the Gospel declares forgiveness of sins. The Gospel declares
the payment of the sin debt accomplished in Christ. Have we called in
return, Lord save me? Lord, help me. He says, I called
you, but you have not called on me. You've not called on me,
O Jacob. Help me, show me your truth,
lead me in the paths of righteousness. How sinful, do you see how sinful
it is to refuse the call of God? In Matthew chapter 12, listen,
these are important words. Verse 31 of Matthew chapter 12,
Jesus speaking. He says, wherefore I say unto
you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men, but
the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto
men. And whosoever speaketh a word
against the Son of Man, Christ, it shall be forgiven him. But
whosoever speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven
him, neither in this world, neither in the world to come. What is
it? What is it to speak blasphemy against the Holy Ghost? What
is it to speak a word against the Holy Ghost? It is to decline
to respond to the invitation of the gospel that he brings.
To decline to respond to the call of God. God calls. and to decline to call, to respond
to that call, to decline in return to call on the name of the Lord,
is such blasphemy against the Holy Ghost, for He is the one
who draws and calls. But let's say you have, you claim
you have responded to God's call. Does that mean that you have
nothing to repent of? Look, secondly, verse 2, when
you pass through the waters, I will be with you. Verse 22,
but you have been weary of me, O Israel. God promised his people
companionship. I will be with you in all situations. But verse 22, but you have been
weary of me. You've been weary of me, Jacob. If God were weary of us with
our sin, that would be understandable, and he is. But for us to be weary
of the infinite God is incomprehensible, is it not? You think about it. You think about it. To be weary
of the infinite God is incomprehensible. It defies all logic. It is only
because of sin. Because in Christ, we read, dwell
all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Is that not the very
essence of life? The treasures of wisdom and knowledge
dwell in Him, and yet God rightly brings the charge against those
who claim to be His people, you've been weary of me. You've had
more than enough of me, you don't want any more of me. You say
you are not weary of God, but I ask you, I ask you, the trivia
of media in these days, is that more interesting to you than
God's Word? I speak to myself. The world's
entertainment, does that give you a thrill, more than the true
worship of God, knowing that we are hearing something, that
we are feeding on something to do with God, who is our God,
and rejoicing in Him? Are we weary of God? We are,
if the world's entertainment thrills us above the experience
of true worship. Do we prefer worldly experiences
to the fellowship of God's people and the truth of His gospel being
proclaimed? Are we more stimulated by our
worldly plans rather than the promotion of God's kingdom? Whatever
we can do that God's kingdom might be unhindered in its spread,
Is God's accusation against us not fair? Surely it is. Do you have an appetite for heaven?
an appetite for intimate, endless communion with God? We should
have, as the people of God. Thirdly, sacrifice of worship. God gave Egypt for Israel's ransom. You know, what it's specifically
talking about is the Red Sea, when Israel went through on dry
land and the Egyptians who sought to pursue them were drowned as
the sea came back. God gave Egypt for Israel's ransom. What about us in return? In Hebrews
13 verse 15, we're implored to offer the sacrifice of praise
to God continually. Is our worship a tedious duty,
or is it a spiritual delight? Is it something that, oh, I suppose
we've got to get that out of the way, and then we can get
on with what we really want to do, or is it a spiritual delight
to be in the presence of God's people, hearing the word of God
proclaimed, looking to Him and feeding on the truth of the Gospel
and rejoicing in it, are the thoughts of God and the Gospel
of His grace sweet nourishment to our souls. And then fourthly,
honouring Him, in verse 4 he says, God says to his nominal
people, you were precious in my sight, you have been honorable
and I have loved you, therefore I will give men for you. You
sinners have been honorable and I have loved you. Verse 23, you
have not brought me the small cattle of your burnt offerings,
neither have you honored me with your sacrifices. I have not caused
you to serve with an offering, nor wearied you. I haven't twisted
your arm, but you haven't done it willingly, have you? God has
placed no legal demands on us whereby we must honor him. In
the New Testament particularly, there are no New Testament tithes. You know, you must, you're under
this legal obligation to give a tenth of this or whatever.
But what will we do if and when we're called to give sacrificially
to the cause of Christ? Here's something that is really
needed in the cause of Christ. What comes first? Our own material
prosperity or the blessings of the gospel of grace? Doing that
which is for the purpose of serving the cause of Christ in this world.
You know the The rich young ruler that we read about, I think it's
Matthew 19, came to Jesus and said, what must I do to inherit
eternal life? And Jesus told him, obey the
commandments. Of course, he was uncovering his sin. And he said
to him, go and sell all that you have, because his major sin
was the sin of covetousness. He loved his wealth more than
anything else. And he went away sorrowful. And then Jesus pointed
out in the temple to the disciples the offering whatever it was,
box or treasury or whatever it was. And he saw the people coming
and the rich people coming and giving what looked like significant
amounts of money. And the widow came who had nothing. And she threw in the smallest
of coins, a widow's mite, just the little tiny coin. And Jesus
said to his disciples, I tell you, look, that woman, that widow,
she's given more than all the rest of them. Why? Because she's
given everything. For her, the cause of the kingdom
of God meant everything. She's given everything. They've
just given a little bit out of the abundance that they had,
but she's given everything. I know this speaks to us all,
but I'm sure this is what the Word is saying to us. The Old
Testament tithe was 10%, but those who loved God brought sweet
cane that they bought with money. Why did they bring it? To enhance.
to make the incense better. They brought sweet cane to enhance
the incense. Do we love our God enough to
give sacrificially to His cause, of our time, of our money, of
our efforts, that the gospel might be upheld, that the gospel
might be lifted up, that the gospel might prosper? God can
do all things without us. He owns the cattle on a thousand
hills. He doesn't need us. He doesn't need us to do anything.
But oh, he looks for that willing heart, that willing heart that
wants to give him everything. Verse 24, he says at the end
of it, you haven't given me these love gifts, if you like, for
worship, but you have made me to serve with your sins. In their
day, it was the sin of idolatry above all else. You have wearied
me with your iniquities. Have we wearied God with our
sin? Surely, as believers, claiming
to be believers, surely we all have. Are we not all like Romans
7 to some extent? You know, we have to confess
that the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. The flesh
is constantly falling into doing what the spirit doesn't want
it to do. We're always like that. We always... We think we want to live for
God, but then, in no time, this flesh seems to get the ascendancy
again, and we fail. But there is deliverance. This
is the message of Scripture, there is deliverance from sin. And this is our second point,
grace superabounding in the forgiveness of sin. Verse 25, God says this,
right in the middle of this indictment against the nominal people of
God, where he tells them, you've not called on me, you haven't
honoured me, you haven't brought me sweet cane. He says, I, even
I, God speaking, I am he that blots out your transgressions. For my own sake, the sins of
his people that would separate them from God, he blots them
out so that they're not there in his reckoning anymore. So
much so that he says, I will not remember thy sins. Of course, The infinite God cannot
forget. But he says, I will not remember
in legal judgment against you these sins. I will not remember
it. Put me in remembrance. Let us plead together. He says,
I will not remember your sins, you all sinners. Verse 27, from
Adam down, your first father has sinned, and all your teachers
have transgressed against me. And it's exactly the same today. But God is the one who blocks
out the transgressions of his people. And why does he do it?
He does it for his own sake. Why? Because God must be glorified. Unlike everything else in creation,
which should not get the glory, God must get the glory. And God
is glorified in the forgiveness of the sins of His people. God
is glorified in His grace, in His being compassionate to those
who do not deserve compassion because of their sin. God, in
His grace, blots out their sins. He says in Malachi chapter 3
verse 6, he says, I am the Lord, I change not. And because he's
the Lord who changes not, because he's the Lord who blots out the
transgressions of his people, he says, therefore you sons of
Jacob are not consumed. Therefore you sinners who deserve
condemnation are not judged and not condemned. because I have
blotted out your sins and I will not remember them. Despite what
we are as sinners in the flesh, until the day that we die, and
don't think for one moment you go on getting holier and holier
the more you try to follow the gospel of Jesus Christ. Read
one of the articles, I think it's by Frank Tate that I've
put in the bulletin, Progressive Sanctification. is a false teaching
of legalists who want to bring those who claim to be believers
back under the dominion, under the bondage of the law. And that's
not what the scriptures teach at all. That is not gospel truth
at all. No. We're sinners always till
the day we die. And those who know more, those
who grow in grace and the knowledge of God, as Peter encourages,
2 Peter 2, sorry, 2 Peter 3, verse 18, the last words in the
scripture written by Peter, grow in grace and the knowledge of
our God and save. As we grow in grace, do you know, those
who grow most in grace become ever more conscious that in the
flesh, There dwells no good thing. They're sinners. They're sinners.
If it were not for the grace of God, we would go to hell justly
condemned for our sin. But God says, for His own sake,
for the glory of His gracious name, He blots out the sins of
His people. Do you feel like a lost cause
in the service of God? I know you do, often. I do, often. You feel weak in the flesh. You
feel totally undeserving of the grace of God, deserving banishment
for eternity. You know what the law says, and
you know that you're guilty of it, and you know that you're
guilty of transgression, and God must punish sin. But hear
what He says. Even I am he that blotteth out
thy transgressions, for mine own sake, and will not remember
your sins. You are incapable of removing
your sins, I am. If you look to yourself to try
and get better, you will only despair. This is what Romans
7 says at the end of it, verse 24 and 25. O wretched man that
I am, says Paul. When he's looked at what he really
is, what he really wants to be, what he really wants to do, and
what he always turns out doing, O wretched man that I am! How
am I going to be delivered from this? Who shall deliver me from
the body of this death? The body of this flesh, which
can do nothing other than sin in the flesh, is always going
to be there. The body of this death, he says,
I thank God. through Jesus Christ our Lord.
That's how, through Jesus Christ our Lord, through what He has
done, through what He has accomplished for His people, God declares
the sins of His people blotted out, removed from the record
by the redemption accomplished by His Messiah, the one He sent
to be the Christ, the one to be the substitute, the surety
for His people, the one in whom He put His people in eternal
union before the beginning of time on the grounds that He,
in the covenant of grace, Christ, would come and would represent
those people and would bear their sins and the responsibility and
the guilt of those sins and the wrath of God for them and thereby
the wrath of God, the fire of God would fall on Him at Calvary
so that on them it will not fall. So that on them is only righteousness
imputed. In chapter 44 and verse 6, this
is him. Thus says the Lord, the King
of Israel, and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts. I am the first
and I am the last, and beside me there is no God. Is this not
Another hint of triune God. The Lord, the King of Israel,
and his Redeemer, the Lord of hosts, lift up your heads, O
ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting doors, and the
King of glory shall come in. Who is the King of glory? The
Lord, strong and mighty, the Lord, mighty in battle. Lift
up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up, ye everlasting
doors, and the King of glory shall come in. Who is the King
of glory? The Lord of hosts. He is the King of glory. That's
Psalm 24. You can hear it echoing, can't
you? It's one of the choruses in Handel's
Messiah. Glorious words about Christ coming
as King to defeat Satan. the Lord strong and mighty, the
Lord mighty in battle, and then coming to get his people and
take them to glory. I am the Lord of hosts. Behold,
I and the children whom he has given me. This is the redemption
accomplished by the Messiah, by the Christ whom he has sent.
And the books of God Those books that will be opened on that last
day, and all sin will be revealed, they show no sin-debt outstanding
for His Israel. Yet now here, says verse 1 of
chapter 44, yet now here, O Jacob, My servant, you who are so weak
in the flesh, you who are such wretched men in the flesh, hear
now, O Jacob, my servant, and Israel, whom I have chosen. I've
made you and I've formed you from the womb. I have chosen
you. I have done all these wonderful
gospel things for you, for my own glory. Look in verse 22 of
chapter 44. We see the same message again,
as if you might not have heard the first time, where again God
says this, I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions. You know what he means by that,
don't you? You ever been walking in the hills? You've been looking
forward to that glorious view, that beautiful view that's been
taunting you for such a long time. Stephen and Peter and I
know about this. There's a mountain in the Lake
District called Great Gable. I can't remember whether it's
two or three times that we climbed it. And we were really hopeful
of that glorious view, that best view in the Lake District. And
within about 500 feet of the top, a cloud came rolling over
and the view was blotted out as a thick cloud. If you've experienced
it, you know what that means. You can barely see the, if you
stretch your hand out in front of you, you can barely see your
fingers on the end of your hand. The mist was so thick. And as
a cloud thy sins, you see God is saying, I've blotted them
out. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. There, there's
good cause, isn't there, to come. Return to me, come to me. God
has redeemed his people from their sins in Christ. Surely,
God declares his intention to forgive the sins of his people
throughout scripture. You know, let me give you some
examples. Judgment is withheld. You know,
the judgment on sin that must surely fall on this world, Revelation
7 verse 3, the angels are there ready to roll out the judgment
of God on this creation. And he says, hold back, hold
back. Why? It tells us. Because every
one of the elect of God has not yet been called out. Wait till
they're all sealed in their foreheads. Judgment is withheld until all
the elect know their sins are forgiven. Is that not an indication
that God intends to forgive the sins of his people? He withholds
judgment. He held on in the days of Noah.
The flood didn't come the day he, you know, he could have miraculously
given Noah an ark and then just judgment fell, but 120 years
it was in the building. He held off judgment. Secondly,
the Old Testament ceremonial law, all the tabernacle laws,
the mercy seat, they all demonstrate God's intention to forgive. Do
we have warrant to say that God intends to forgive the sins of
His people, that indeed He has forgiven them? Yes, of course.
All of those things point They're all the way of God forgiving
sins. The animal sacrifices and all
the priesthood and everything to do with it is all confirming
God's intention to justly forgive sins. Thirdly, the priesthood
and the animal sacrifices for sin. All of that, down all those
hundreds of years, was for the purpose of showing that God intends
to forgive His people from their sins. He calls on His people
to repent. Why does He do that if He doesn't
intend to forgive? Why does God call on His people
to repent of their sins if He doesn't mean to forgive sin?
Why is worship called for? Why does God call for worship
from people like us who are sinners if He doesn't intend to forgive
sins? Why is there baptism to show
that sins are taken away? It's a demonstration that in
Christ sin is taken away, buried with Christ in death and rising
again to newness of life. Why communion, where we remember
Him in His broken body and shed blood if He's not teaching us
that God blots out the sins of His people justly, based on what
Christ has done? Why gospel preaching in these
days? As long as this world remains
and there is one of God's elect yet to call out, there will be
gospel preaching. to announce the truth of what
God has accomplished in Christ. Why gospel preaching if he doesn't
intend to forgive sins? Why did Jesus teach his disciples
to pray? You know, teach us to pray, Lord.
Our Father which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom
come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven, give us this
day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive
those who trespass against us. Why did Jesus teach his people
to pray, forgive us our sins, if he did not intend to forgive
their sins? You know all things are established.
It says in the mouth of two or three witnesses. Let's hear two
or three scriptural witnesses. Jeremiah 31 verse 34, God speaking
by the prophet says, I will forgive their iniquity and I will remember
their sin no more. Is that a blessing? You think
of things that you wish you'd never done. You know, there are
some things that are just excruciatingly embarrassing when we remember
them and we wish they'd never been done. And there are sins
that we know we've committed that we wish we'd never done.
And God says, I will remember that sin no more. Hebrews 8 verse
12, their sins and their iniquities, I will remember no more. Did
you hear me? Hebrews 10 verse 17, their sins and iniquities,
I will remember no more. You see, so important that he
says it twice in two chapters. Ezekiel 34, six and seven, the
Lord. The Lord God, merciful and gracious,
long-suffering, abundant in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for
thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and
that will be by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity
of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children,
unto the third and fourth generation. You see, the sin that God forgives
is entirely just. Because he will by no means clear
the guilty. So what has he done with those
that he says he won't remember their sins anymore? He's forgiven
their sins because of what Christ has done. For Christ was made
the sin of his people, and being made its sin, he was found guilty
of its sin, though he himself committed none of it. And being
guilty, by no means was he cleared, he suffered the penalty, he suffered
the wrath, the just wrath of God for that. So that God can
be merciful and gracious and long-suffering and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity
and transgression of sin. Every sin must receive its just
penalty, either in the sinner themselves or in the sinner's
substitute. To close, I'm just going to turn
to 1 John, chapter 1. 1 John chapter 1, verse 6. If we say that we have fellowship
with Him, God, and walk in darkness, walk as if we don't, we lie and
do not the truth. But if we walk in the light,
gospel light, the truth of God light, as He is in the light,
we have fellowship one with another, listen, and the blood of Jesus
Christ, His Son, cleanses us from all sin. The blood of Jesus
Christ cleanses us from all sin. If we say we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. But if we confess
our sins, He, God, is faithful and just. That's important. He's faithful and just to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If
we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar and his word
is not in us. My little children, these things
write I unto you that ye sin not. Oh, that you wouldn't sin,
but if any man sin, We have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the Righteous, and He is the propitiation for our sins,
and not for ours only, those He was immediately writing to,
but also the sins of the whole world, which doesn't mean everybody
by exception, but His people throughout the whole world. The
propitiation, the turning away of the anger of God for sin. Great sinners, but our God is
a great Savior. Will you refuse Him? Will you
give him less than your complete trust and devotion? Amen.