Blessed Forgiveness

Q: What does the Bible say about forgiveness?

The Bible teaches that forgiveness comes from God and is found in Christ alone, as stated in Psalm 32:1-2. Forgiveness is a central theme in the Bible, emphasizing that it is God who forgives sins. Psalm 32:1-2 highlights that the blessed man is one whose transgressions are forgiven and whose sins are covered. This reflects God's mercy and grace, showing that true forgiveness is not only the pardon of sins but also the removal of guilt, ultimately fulfilled in Jesus Christ. We learn that forgiveness is complete and perfect in God, contrasting with human attempts at forgiveness that often retain bitterness and reminders of offenses.

Q: How do we know that Jesus is the blessed man?

Jesus is recognized as the blessed man because He is the only one without sin, perfectly fulfilling God's law. The sermon emphasizes that Jesus Christ is the only true blessed man, as He has never sinned. The psalmist's depiction of the blessed man aligns with Jesus, who delights in God's law and never walked in the counsel of the ungodly. While humans are by nature unblessed and unhappy due to our sin, Christ exemplifies what it means to be blessed, as He is wholly perfect, content, and fulfilled within Himself. Thus, our blessing is found solely in being united with Him through faith, as He provides the righteousness we lack.

Q: Why is the concept of atonement important for Christians?

Atonement is essential for Christians as it signifies Christ's act of covering our sins through His sacrifice. The concept of atonement is of utmost importance for Christians because it represents the means by which Jesus Christ brings reconciliation between God and humanity. In Psalm 32, it is affirmed that the blessed man is one whose sins are covered. This covering, specifically through Christ's blood, satisfies God's justice and allows for the forgiveness of guilt without compromising His holiness. The atoning sacrifice is the foundation for our standing before God, ensuring that those who believe in Him are counted as righteous, covered, and blessed.

Q: How can I be sure of my forgiveness in Christ?

You can be sure of your forgiveness in Christ by relying on His promise and the completeness of His atoning work. Assurance of forgiveness in Christ comes from understanding the nature of His sacrifice and the scriptures that promise redemption. The sermon emphasizes that those who are united with Christ are fully forgiven, as He has borne the guilt of our sins. Romans 4:7-8 articulates that blessed is the man to whom God does not impute sin, affirming that our justification does not depend on our works but on faith in Christ. To be sure of your forgiveness, trust in Jesus, acknowledge your sins before Him, and believe in His redeeming work. God guarantees that He will not hold our sins against us, as they are covered by the blood of Jesus.

Psalm 32. You're looking at several
verses from this psalm this morning. Mainly verse 1 and 2. The title of the message this
morning is, Blessed Forgiveness. Blessed Forgiveness. The Scripture said, blessed is
he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered." The first thing I want to mention
about the blessed man is that there is, by nature, only truly
one blessed man. This is the psalmist's second
benediction concerning the blessed man. The blessed man. If you
remember, the first benediction is found in Psalms 1. Blessed
is the man who walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor
standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the
scornful, but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and in
that law doth he meditate day and night. Now who else can that
be but Jesus Christ? He alone never walked, stood,
or sat with sinners in their ways. Never. Matter of fact,
He said to His enemies, which of you convinceth Me of sin?
No way. He is the only true blessed man
in and of Himself. He is the only true man who delighted
in God's law day and night, and not one of Adam's race can claim
this experience by nature. Not one of us. Not one of us. Only one true blessed man. And
that's the Lord Jesus Christ. He alone was blessed and happy
within Himself. He was content with Himself.
Why? Because He was sinless. Absolutely
perfect man and perfect God. The God-man Jesus Christ. And
this word, blessed, every time I mention this word, I want you
to think of happy. Okay? Because that's what it
means. It means to be happy. Happy. You see, the only true
man that was always happy was Christ. Now, He didn't always
experience happiness from the outside, did He? He was a man
of sorrows. But yet, within His own self,
He was happy. happy to serve God, happy to
suffer for God, happy to obey God. He was continually happy
as the servant of God. He was the truly blessed man. Number two, man by nature is
not a blessed man. All the sons of Adam by nature
are not happy men. We come out doing what? Crying. We come out crying. We have won't. We have won't. And we want it
now, not yesterday. Why? We're not happy. We're not
happy. I love my children, but friends,
they are never happy. They are never happy. Why? Because they're never satisfied.
They're just like their father. They're just like their mother.
We are never satisfied. We're never happy. Never content. Man by nature. All of us in ourselves
are absolutely unhappy because of this one thing. We are free
from all righteousness. That's why we're not happy. Man
by nature. Paul says, because you have sinned,
whosoever has sinned is free from righteousness. Isn't that
what he said? Romans chapter 6, verse 20. Whosoever
has sinned. Who has sinned? Who has sinned? I just told you Christ didn't
have any sin. We all have sinned. And because
of this, we are corrupted. We are corrupted. Friends, we're
not corrupted by outside circumstances. We're not corrupted by the influence
of other men. We are corrupted from within
and it works itself out. It never works the opposite way.
But yet, we are always ready to blame. Why? We're not happy. And we want
to blame someone else for our unhappiness. Adam did, he blamed
God. The woman thou gavest me. He blamed God. And man by nature
blames God for his predicament, his sin. And when a man by conscience
can't blame God, he'll find some other man to blame. He'll find
some other man to blame. for his evil behavior. I remember
one time Brother Jack Shanks He was a pastor, but he was also
a principal of a Christian school. And this woman came to him after
her son got into trouble. He got into trouble. So she came
to him in his office and met with him, and she says, Principal
Shanks, you know, my son is doing bad because he's running with
the wrong crowd. And Jack looked at her and said,
No, ma'am, your son is the wrong crowd. Your son is the wrong
crowd. Friends, we are the wrong crowd. We are sinners. We are sinners
by nature. And it's no one sin but our own. You can't blame your sin on anyone
else but you. I can't blame my sin on anyone
else but you. I mean, but me. See, I already
did it. I did it and didn't even know
I was going to do it. You can go ahead and laugh. That was
a mistake. But I can't blame my sin on you.
I can only blame it on myself. I can only blame it on myself. And so because we are sinners,
we are never happy. We're always looking for happiness
by pleasures of sin or by deeds of religion. Those are the only
two fixes that we have, we seem to try to have, is evil or religion. Either a man will try to ease
his conscience by religion or he'll try to erase it by evil
works. Always. Always. But because God
has written the law, on our hearts, and because all men know that
there is a God, we know this, we know we are lacking righteousness. Man by nature knows the wrath
of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness, unrighteousness
of men. That's revealed. Why? Because
the law of God is written on our hearts. So it doesn't matter
if you grow up in a tribe in Africa or you grow up in a gospel
church. The law of God is written on
their hearts. And whether you know the law
of God or you've never heard of the law of God, if you perish,
you'll perish with the law or without the law because we are
sinners. We are sinners, guilty sinners
by nature, unhappy, unblessed. And so man, because man knows
this, he tries to make a God of his own imagination, and he
makes up a list of rules by which he can please that God that he
made up. Why? Because he wants to be happy.
He wants to be happy. And even so, we who know the
true God, have we who heard the law obeyed the law? No. Not one. Not one of us. So Paul concludes then in Romans
3, there is none righteous, no, not one. There is none that understandeth,
there is none that seeketh after God, we are all become unprofitable. So then there is none blessed
by nature or happy, and no flesh shall be justified
by the law in his sight. That's what the Scriptures tell
us. Your law or even the law of God, doesn't matter which
law you want, doesn't matter. We're all sinners and nobody
be justified by His works. No one. Man by nature has sinned
and missed the glory of God. And without righteousness, we
cannot see God and live. Hebrews 12, verse 14 says, follow
peace with all and holiness, without which no man will see
God. You'll see God in judgment, but
you'll never see God pleased without holiness. And think about that. Every one
of you know it. Every one of us know it. This is what is lacking, righteousness
is lacking. Let me ask you and hear me closely,
are you ready to meet God? Are you ready to meet God? Do you think by somehow that
God is going to be pleased with you? Because you are who you
are. Well, I'm somebody. God's got
to be pleased with me! I'm somebody! No! No, He's not
pleased with you if you are outside of the blessed man. The only
way that a man could be blessed and happy and satisfy God is
not to be blessed in himself, but to be blessed in the blessed
man, Christ Jesus. That is the only way a man can
be blessed. Only way. The only way you can
be happy. None of these things of sin make
us happy. How can a man hope then to please
God if he cannot satisfy his conscience? If you can't even
satisfy your own conscience, how do you think you'll satisfy
God with your own works? How is that possible? When is
enough enough? It's never enough. It's never
enough. This is why men cannot find happiness
because of sin. Therefore, man is not happy by
nature. How then can a man be blessed? How can you be happy? Do you
long for happiness? I know that's a rhetorical question.
You do. I long to be happy. How can we who are sinners be
happy? Blessed! Only in the blessed man Christ. This is my third point. In the
blessed man Christ is happiness. We can only be blessed by the
Lord Jesus Christ, for He alone is forgiveness, atonement, and
righteousness. Everything we need to be happy
is found in Him. It's found in Him. If you wish
to be happy, if you wish to be this blessed man, then you must
be found in Christ alone. Scripture says in our text, blessed
is the man, happy is the man, whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sins are covered. If you are unhappy in your sin,
then I have got a great message for you. I have got a wonderful message
for you because this is a message of complete, absolute, eternal
forgiveness from God Himself. I tell you, it's one thing to
receive forgiveness from somebody else, isn't it? But to receive
forgiveness from God is the ultimate happiness that a man could ever
think to have in this lifetime. to be forgiven completely. You know, I've still not understood
what it is to forgive completely, have you? When I forgive people, sometimes
that comes back to my mind. When I see them, I go, that dirty
snake, I remember what he did to me. And I can't help it, it's
my nature, it comes back on me. I try to suppress it, but it
still comes back. See, I know very little about
forgiveness. Because forgiveness of God is something that is perfect
like Him. His forgiveness is perfect. Perfect! Complete! Complete forgiveness. You know what the word transgression
means? It means rebel. That's what it
means. To forgive an enemy combatant. A rebel. We are rebels by nature. But blessed is the man forgiven
of God for his rebellion. Do you need forgiveness? Who
needs forgiveness? Not from me. Who needs forgiveness
from God? Who has sinned against the living
and holy God and in need of forgiveness. Forgiveness. Pardon of God. Absolute free forgiveness. Unconditional forgiveness. Who
needs that kind of forgiveness? Right here. I do. I don't know
if you do. I do. I need it. Then I tell you, behold the comfort
of God, the happy man whose transgression is forgiven." Friends, I want you to know this,
that our God is a merciful God. He is a merciful God. In Micah
7, 8, the Scripture says, He delighteth in mercy. He delighted in mercy. He delights
right now in mercy. And He shall always delight in
mercy. Mercy. God hath no pleasure in the death
of the wicked. Why? Because He's never satisfied
with their death. God will eternally punish the
sinner. He will eternally damn the sinner
who does not repent and believe in Christ. He will not forgive
them forever because their blood is of no value to His justice. None. When God appeared before Moses,
what did He say? What was His name? How did He
proclaim His name? The Lord. The Lord God. What
was the first attribute He gave? Merciful. Merciful. Long-suffering. Gracious. Abundant in goodness and truth.
Keeping mercy for thousands. And here it is, forgiving iniquity
and transgression and sin. Is that something that interests
your heart? Is that something that you long
for? Do you need mercy? Remember, if you can merit it,
it's not mercy. It's not mercy. If you're trying
to earn it, it's not mercy. God is merciful. But friends,
listen to me. God is merciful, but not at the
expense of His justice. God cannot forgive like we do. You see, you could be guilty
of an offense. You could be guilty of a crime.
And you know what? I can forgive you of your transgression
against me. But you know what I can't do?
I can't relieve you of your guilt. When a president gives a pardon,
he gives a full, unconditional pardon. Say that a man committed a really
horrible crime and the president said, I pardon you. You know
what? The law of this land could not ever come back on that man
and take him to jail for that crime. He's pardoned. But you know what the president
can't do? He can't take away that that man was guilty. That
man was truly, absolutely guilty, and his pardon can never take
away guilt. And friends, God, when He forgives,
He cannot forgive without removing the guilt of the sinner. Otherwise, He would not be just
and holy and righteous. How then can God forgive guilty
sinners? I'm not playing here. We are
guilty. God is not pretending like we're
not guilty. We are. Scriptures tell us we
are. Your conscience tells you you
are. Guilty! Guilty! You did it! I did it! We sinned against God!
How then can God forgive guilt without impairing His justice? How is that possible? Look at
the second part of verse 1, whose sin is covered. Covered. You know, the word atonement
means covering. Atonement. Atonement. He covers our sin only by the
blood of Jesus Christ. God could never forgive unless
justice is satisfied. He can never cover our sins by
our works. Isaiah chapter 28 and verse 20
says, For the bed is shorter than a man could stretch himself
out on it, and the covering narrower than
he could wrap himself in it. The bed of our conscience is
too short. It's never comfortable, is it?
It's never comfortable with our works. The covering of our self-righteousness is
too narrow. It will never cover our sins.
You remember Adam and Eve, what did they do? They tried to cover
themselves. And that's exactly what a man
tries to do by his own work, is cover himself. But that will
never satisfy God's justice. Never. Never. In this chapter of Isaiah, he's
talking about men who try to make peace with God. Have you
ever heard that foolish statement, why I made my peace with God?
Nope. I can tell you right now, if
you made your peace with God, God says, I disannul it. I disannul
it. Your bed's too short and your
cover's too narrow. You'll find no peace in your
making peace with God. But I tell you, behold the Lord
Jesus Christ, God's Redeemer and God's Savior. He, by His
blood alone, made peace with God. He made peace, the Scripture
says, by the blood of His cross. He made peace with God. It is
only by His blood that God can forgive sin and satisfy justice. People walking around today say,
well, smile, God loves you, He'll forgive you. God is a forgiving
God. Not without Christ He won't.
If you don't have Christ's blood, there is no forgiveness. Why? There's guilt. Guilt must be removed. It must be removed. The Son of
God came and united Himself with flesh that He might fulfill the
Scriptures, that His blood sacrifice might be for the sins of God's
people. And when the Father in eternity
of grace chose a people, Christ became their surety. And in the
appointed time, He not only became their surety in eternity, but
in time, He redeemed them from their sin and from their guilt.
How? By being made guilty. You see,
our guilt is not swept under the rug. Our guilt must be dealt
with. And the man who is blessed, the
man who is forgiven, he must be covered. How can he be covered?
By the blood of Christ. By the payment of Christ alone. And Jesus took all the guilt
of all His people. And as the Father imputed it
to Him, He took it and He bore the wrath of God for the guilt
of our sins all by Himself. He did it alone. He did it without my help. He did it without my permission.
He did it without my knowledge. And He did it unconditionally. Without my works. And blessed
are those who are forgiven of sin and whose sins are covered
by the blood. Therefore, there is no imputation
of sin to the blessed man. Look at that
in verse 2. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputeth not iniquity. Why? Because God will never impute
sin to that man again. Never. Why? Christ took it, He made it His
own, and He paid for it. Where then is guilt? It's gone. It's gone. God can and does freely
forgive everyone who is in Christ. And He never can impute sin to
Christ because He already imputed it to His Son. And He paid for it. I want you
to see this. This is one of my favorite Scriptures.
Go to Jeremiah 50. If you don't have it marked,
you better mark it. Jeremiah chapter 50 and verse 20. Let me ask you this, what does
God not see? Is there anything that's hidden
from God? Is there something that God is
not privy to in His omnipotent knowledge and wisdom? Nothing.
God knows all things. But look at this verse. In those
days and in that time, saith the Lord, the iniquity of Israel
shall be sought for, and there shall be none. and the sins of Judah, and they
shall not be found. Why? For I will pardon them whom
I reserve." Where is the sin of the blessed
man? It is so far removed that God
Himself cannot find it. God Himself cannot find it. Because
God determined to pardon. Not because we deserve it, but
because of His grace. He pardons the blessed man and
his sin is gone and nowhere to be found. Who then can condemn
those in Christ? Who? In Romans chapter 8, Paul says,
"...who is he that condemneth?" It's Christ that died. Yea, rather
He's risen again. God justifies. Who can lay anything
to the charge of God's elect? Not even me. Not even myself. If God has pardoned my sin, I
can't even charge myself with it. God justified it. And those who are this blessed
man are completely, absolutely forgiven, justified, and atoned
for by Christ. Let me ask you another question. Is this the forgiveness you need? If you need another kind of forgiveness,
I don't have that. If you want a forgiveness that's
part you and part Christ, I don't have anything like that. I've
got a free forgiveness, absolutely, completely free from your doing. That's the only forgiveness God
gives. Do you know your guilt before
a holy God and need mercy and not merit? Have you found your religion
too short and your good works too narrow? Then behold Jesus Christ and
believe on Him for the forgiveness of sins. Don't be swayed from
the simplicity of Christ. who believeth that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God, shall be forgiven." Everyone who bows,
everyone who confesses their sins, not to me, not to a so-called
priest, there's no help in them. There's only help to confess
your sins and bow before the risen Christ. Proverbs 28, 13 says, "...he
that covereth his sins shall not prosper." You try to cover
your sins and your evil deeds by saying, oh, that was a mistake.
No, it was a sin. It was against God. Friends, don't try to cover your
sins. You won't prosper in it. How many times do we try to hide
things from other people? We do, and we're successful for
a time. But we cannot hide from God.
We cannot hide from Him. It's not prosperous. It's vain
to try to hide your sins and cover your sins by your good
deeds. Vain. It's empty. But, whosoever
confesseth and forsaketh... That's important. Whosoever confesseth
and forsaketh their sin shall have mercy." When the Spirit of God comes
in power to reveal your sin and reveal Christ's righteousness,
God's judgment, The sinner will always confess and forsake his
sin every time. If it is the true Spirit of God
coming and revealing that to your heart, you will confess
and you will forsake your sins. In our text, Psalm 32, verse
3-6, it says, "...when I kept silent, my bones waxed old through
my roaring all the day long. For day and night thy hand was
heavy upon me, and my moisture was turned unto the drought of
summer. I acknowledged my sin unto thee,
and mine iniquity have I not hid. And I said, I will confess
my transgression unto the Lord." When the Lord's hand is heavy
upon us, How many times have we tried to keep sin from being
recognized even by God? How foolish is that? What happens
to the man who believes in Christ that tries that? His bones wax
whole. His life and his thoughts are
turned to mourning inside and he can't understand why everything
is so gloomy. Everything is so bad. Because
we haven't confessed our sins. Friends, confession of sin is
not just something done with the lips. It's done from the
heart and it's done only to God. Only to God. Confessing your
sins to Me will do you no good. No good. Get alone with Him. Confess your sins with Him and
forsake them because God is only One who can forgive sins. Romans 4 and verse 2. Romans chapter 4 and verse 2,
it says, "...if Abraham were justified by works, he would
have whereof the glory, but not before God. For what saith the
Scripture? Abraham believed God, and it
was counted to him for righteousness. Now to him that worketh is the
reward not reckoned of grace, but of debt. but to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly.
His faith is counted for righteousness, even as David described the blessed
man unto whom God imputeth righteousness without works." That's the very
text we're in there right now. He said, blessed is the man whom
God imputes righteousness without works. We confess that our works
are nothing. That our ability, we have none
to obey God. We confess that we are sinners. And we confess that Christ alone
can save our souls. And we forsake all of our works,
all of our trying to have anything to do with our salvation. And
we rest alone in Christ. This is the blessed man. A man who confesses and forsakes
his sin. And you know what he finds? Go back to our text, he finds
this in verse 5, "...and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my
sin. I confessed, and Thou forgavest." Is that not a blessing? It is to a sinner. It is to a sinner. What then is the result? It is
forgiveness of sins. Forgiveness of sins. Believer in the Lord Jesus Christ, know this, that all who are blessed,
all who are forgiven, God will never impute sin to us again,
because He's already imputed it to His Son. That's why the
Scripture says if we confess our sin, He is faithful and just
to forgive us our sin. And He will instruct us and teach
us and guide us by His Holy Spirit. Verse 8, He said, I will instruct
thee and teach thee in the way that thou shalt go, and I will
guide thee with mine eye. Be not as the horse or the mule
that have no understanding, whose mouth must be held with bit and
bridle lest they come near unto thee." We're not held with a
bit and bridle of the law. I am held to serve God by the
love of His eye. You know, sometimes I just look
at my children and they know, they know by my eye. I don't
have to lead them around with a horse and a bridle. They know.
And God's children know. And they long to please the God
that loves them and forgives them. It is the goodness of God
that leadeth man to repentance. Not the whip of law. Not beating
a person. Behold, God has made all things
ready. Why would you not come to Christ
for forgiveness? Why? Why will you die and not
live? And we who have come, we are
the blessed man. And last verse, he says this, All ye that are upright in heart." I'll close with this. David,
in 1 Samuel 30, David before that had been in the land of
the Philistines, where he wasn't supposed to be. And he had left
his family in Ziglag. And when David returned to Ziglag,
he found out that the Amlekites had come in and destroyed all
their stuff, taken all their stuff, and taken all their wives
and children captive. Circumstances were real bad for
David. Everybody hated him. They wanted to kill him. Everything was gone. And it was because David was
negligent. But you know what David did?
Scripture says he rejoiced himself in the Lord. He encouraged himself
in the Lord. Friends, let us encourage ourselves
in the forgiveness of God. in the atonement of Christ and
in the justification that God has given us by Christ. Is that
not something that makes you happy? When all around you is
sorrowful, you can still have peace right here in your heart. To know, I am forgiven. I am a blessed man. You are the blessed man if you're
in Christ. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and thou shalt be saved. What a blessing that this man
is forgiven. I pray it be a blessing to you.
Let's stand and we'll be dismissed in prayer.

Blessed Forgiveness

What does the Bible say about forgiveness?

How do we know that Jesus is the blessed man?

Why is the concept of atonement important for Christians?

How can I be sure of my forgiveness in Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Fred Evans

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Blessed Forgiveness

What does the Bible say about forgiveness?

How do we know that Jesus is the blessed man?

Why is the concept of atonement important for Christians?

How can I be sure of my forgiveness in Christ?

Sermon Transcript

About Fred Evans

Comments

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