There are two parts here the
exclamation then a testimony from David let's read Psalm 32
1 through 5 Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is
no guile. When I kept silence, my bone
waxed old through my roaring all the day long. For day and
night thy hand was heavy upon me. My moisture is turned into
the drought of summer, Sheila. I acknowledge my sin unto thee,
and mine iniquity Have I not hid? I said, I will confess my
transgression unto the Lord, and thou forgave us the iniquity
of my sin. Selah. Then Mark chapter 2 and verse
1 through 12. And again he entered into Capernaum,
by the way, The Lord did some of his greatest miracles and
works in Capernaum, a very wicked city that did not repent and
he called down fire and brimstone upon them. But again he entered
into Capernaum after some days, and it was noise that it was
in the house. And straightway many were gathered
together, insomuch that there was not room to receive them,
no, not so much as about the door. And he preached the word
unto them. And they came unto him, bringing
one sick of the palsy, which was born of four. When they could
not come nigh unto him for the press, or the multitude, they
uncovered the roof where he was, when they had broken it up, They
let down the bed wherein the sick lay a palsy. When Jesus saw their faith, he
said unto the sick of the palsy, Son, thy sins be forgiven thee. There were certain of the scribes
sitting there and reasoning in their heart. Why does this man
thus speak blasphemy? 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 hearts? Whether is it
easier to say to the sick of the palsy, Thy sins be forgiven
thee, or to say, Arise, take up thy bed, and walk? but that
ye may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive
sin. He said to the sick of the palsy,
I say unto thee, arise, 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. Now those of our techs, excuse
me for an interruption. I believe I forgot to switch
from heat to air, so if you brother would come and see that these
are switched to air, just switch it across to air right here on
air conditioning. Want somebody from this side
to switch the one flick switch. I'm sorry about that, but it
may get a little stuffy before we get through, and it won't
have anything to do with my preaching. Now we want to speak this morning
on the subject of the blessedness of the forgiveness of sin. And as we do, I think that there
are two points that ought to be considered as the subject
comes before us and we get on our way. Number one, the necessity
of forgiveness. That there is an absolute necessity
of the forgiveness of sin in the hope of one ever being saved. There is no hope. of one ever
entering into eternal life unless they have their sins put away
and forgiven by the Almighty God. And there can be no fellowship
with God unless our sins are forgiven. For unforgiveness is
like a millstone around the neck of an individual that will drag
them down unto ruin. And therefore, some will die
in their sin. John chapter 8 and verse 21. And they cannot go where Christ
is. Heaven is absolutely closed against
the unforgiven and hell waits and yawns with her mouth open
that she might receive them. Forgiveness is a necessary thing
so that if one lived even a long and a charmed life in this world
and be of a goodly or a handsome appearance as to the outwardness
of the flesh, and have the greatest and a winsome personality, and
have a multitude of influential friends as they pass their way
through this world, yet to be unforgiven trumps all else that
they might experience in their life. Now the second thing that
I want to say is the blessedness of forgiveness as stated in Psalm
32 and verse 1 and 2. Blessed is he whose transgression
is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom
the Lord will not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is
no guile. Now the Apostle Paul, you remember,
makes use of this part of the scripture in that great treatise
in Romans chapter 4 as he deals with Abraham, righteousness,
and imputed righteousness. And he quotes directly from this
passage in Psalm chapter 32. In Romans chapter 4, verse 6,
verse 7, and verse 8 is a direct reference under this passage.
Paul says there in verse 6, even as David described the blessedness
of the one to whom God imputes righteousness without works. And then he quotes from Psalm
chapter 32. Paul uses the word blessedness
twice in that chapter of the scripture. Romans chapter 4. He does it again in the book
of Galatians chapter 4 and verse 15. Now notice this, the blessedness
in Romans 4 and 6. And then in verse 9, this blessedness
of forgiveness of sin, the ninth verse. And it refers to being
free from sin, pardoned, justified, forgiven and set free. So he says in verse 7 of Romans
4, blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven and whose sins are
covered. And in verse 8 he said, blessed
is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. And this Paul calls blessedness. Blessedness. from a group of
words that collectively mean or express the idea or the blessedness
of this divine forgiveness of sin. The word means well off. It means happy. Fortunate is
the person or the individual. Literally, it is an attribution
of good fortune to that one who is forgiven of their sin. And Paul tells them, David also. Also, in addition to what Moses
has written about the experience of Abraham, has pronounced them
blessed, whose sins God does not impute unto them, but imputes
unto them a righteousness. Now, another point to make is,
yes, God imputed righteousness unto Abraham, but it is not a
blessing that is unique or peculiar or restricted only under the
Father of us all. It is also the blessedness of
the man, the person, the one to whom righteousness is imputed. Righteousness is put to their
account and imputed unto them. It is reckoned, it is counted
to them for righteousness in the sight of God. And then for
emphasis, Paul adds that this blessedness is without works. This blessedness is apart from
works. No consideration of works or
the deeds of the law enter in at all in this forgiveness of
sin. In Romans 3, 21. This righteousness
is apart from the law. Romans 3 and verse 28. It is
without the deeds or the works of the law. The law has, to paraphrase
the Apostle Peter, Acts 8 and 21, neither part nor lot in this
matter of making one righteous in the sight of God. He looks
in vain who seeks justification and seeks righteousness from
an observance of the law and the deeds of the law. He leans
wrong who would expect to ever be saved from sin by observing
the law or by doing good works or whatever. So let's take a
closer look first at Psalm chapter 32, first noticing four words
here that the author uses to describe the depravity of the
people. There are four words here that
are important. Number one, transgression. Number two, and they're not all
the same word. Number two, sin. Number three,
iniquity. And number four is guile. Adam Clarke wrote, transgression
signifies to trespass or to revolt, to do what is forbidden, and
to cross a boundary that is forbidden. Sin signifies a missing the mark
and an offense unto a just and a holy God. And iniquity means
to be turned off of the course of the right way and to be morally
distorted and it implies perversity on the part of the individual.
And the word guile here most likely has to do with fraud and
treachery and deceit and falsehood and things of that nature and
association. So that every aspect of human
depravity has to have a divine remedy in order to save us. And there are three remedies
that are mentioned, or three blessings that are mentioned
here in these two verses. of the 32nd Psalm, and they are,
as we look at them, number one, forgiveness, whose sin is forgiven,
and number two, covering, whose sin is covered, and number three,
non-imputation. Now there's imputation, and there's
non-imputation. And for sin to be forgiven and
not be imputed, that sin must be covered. It must have a proper
atonement. Satisfaction to the justice and
the law of God must be made and received by that just and holy
God. Now, sin is a very great evil
in the world. against a very holy God. Sin is not only a great evil,
but it is evil against a great and a holy God. And let us remember
that all sin is first and foremost against God, and that every sin
is a transgression of the law of God. Sin is again, I'll say,
like a millstone around the neck, of an individual to bring them
down to ruin. And to show the awfulness of
it, it was typified by leprosy in the scripture, particularly
in the Old Testament, as it corrupts And it works death except God
provide a healing and a remedy. So let's not miss something here
in the 32nd Psalm. That it's written by David according
to Paul in Romans chapter 4 and 6 through 8. And that the psalmist
begins to speak in the first person in verses 3 through 5. I think that's kind of important.
The psalmist speaks in the first person, and we read it. I, my, and me, in those verses
of the scripture. Spurgeon put it like this. David
now speaks from his own experience, and he bears his soul before
God and before the people. For he recalls a time, the psalmist
does, when his soul was under the darkness of sin and under
the chastening of the Lord. Look at the third verse, Psalm
32. When I kept silent, that is,
when he made no confession of his sin, he did not bring it
out and confess it fully before God, he called not upon the name
of the Lord, he sought to stifle any conviction that might have
dwelled in him. Matthew Henry said that these
present statements, quote, concern the uncomfortable condition of
an unhumbled one that even if he feels the guilt is not yet
brought to confession and to repentance, the words of Matthew
Henry. so that in verse four, day and
night, he felt the heavy hand of God upon him. His conscience
smarted for the sin that he had not forsaken or confessed. And he uses a metaphor here,
a very picturesque and a very poetic one to describe the spiritual
drought that was in his soul for a while, saying, my moisture
is turned into the drought of summer. What a picture that paints
in our mind. like the land under a season
of heat and of drought in the summer, when the rains do not
come to refresh the plants and water the ground, when the grass
turns brown and dark and is parched by the heat and is starved for
water. And that's the picture that David
is using. But then in verse 5, he is granted
repentance. He is brought to the end of himself. Conviction burns within him because
of his sin. And then he said, I will acknowledge
my sin. Now understand, it is not that
God was in any way unaware of the sin of David. They were not
secret. They were not kept from the eye
and the mind of God. He sees and he knows all, and
that's an ominous thing in our Christian life. Not only so,
he said, but I will acknowledge my sin My iniquity have I not
hid. And again, it's not that he could
hide his sin in a secret place or cover it so that God would
not know or see. But he would hold nothing back
when it came to make that confession. He would make a full and a heartfelt
confession of his iniquity, of his transgression, and of his
sin. And in the last part of verse
5, I said, I will confess my transgression unto the Lord,
and look, and thou forgave the iniquity of my sin. Here it is, David confessed,
God forgave. Now I think the author William
Gurnall right when he said that this David speaks of and hands
himself as it were into the hands of God because it was upon him
heavily mashing him down because of his sin. And Gurnall thought
and I think he's right that David has reference here to that time
of his sin with Bathsheba and the affair with her husband Uriah. It was no doubt the greatest
stain upon the life and upon the rule of the king of Israel
and a great link And he was a great link in the fleshly lineage,
David was, of the Lord Jesus Christ, that out of his loins
there might come one. We read something very interesting
about this and along this line. It's in 1 Kings chapter 15 and
verse 5. And you might not have run across
it before. It is about David, and it says
this, because David did right in the eyes of the Lord, turned
not aside from any that he commanded him all the days of his life,
and listen, saving only in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. David's life was service unto
God, But this great stain stands out against him, saving only
in the matter of Uriah the Hittite. And of course, this includes
the things that led up to the death of Uriah in battle. Again, remember the 51st Psalm
for another account heartfelt emotional account of this penitential
confession of David, King of Israel. Think on the words of
David found here in the 32nd Psalm, Thou forgave the iniquity
of my sin. He began the Psalm with extolling
the blessednesses It is plural, they say, in the Hebrew, of the
one whose sin is forgiven. Not one blessing, but blessednesses
in the plural. I confessed, and you forgave. Now, when we read that, put those
two things together, let's be careful here when confession
and forgiveness are brought together. like in 1 John 1, verse 9, Proverbs
28, and verse 13. Then we must understand, as John
Guild did put it, confession is not the moving cause of forgiveness,
for that belongs to the grace and the mercy of God. Nor is
confession the procuring or meritorious cause of forgiveness, For forgiveness
is merited by the blood and the death of Christ. And here's a
part of what Gil said about that, quote, it is not for the sake
of the sinner's confession, but for Christ's sake that sin is
forgiven, unquote. And that takes us to Ephesians
chapter 4, verse 32, that he asked for Christ's sake forgiven
you. on one hand, for the believer
Christ's blood is continually cleansing from sin. 1 John 1
and verse 7. It cannot condemn afresh that
one for whom Christ has died, who is regenerate and is converted,
as there is no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus. Romans 8 and verse 1. Nor is
there any that can lay a charge against against God's elect. Romans chapter 8 verse 33 through
verse 39. An old-time superlapsarian put
it like this, a believer need not fear that sin will condemn
them, unquote. On the other hand, on the practical
side, they do and they will sin and they will come under conviction
from the hand of God and from their conscience. and it may
be that a heavy hand of God will come upon them, and to confess
it before God and to plead forgiveness by the blood and the merit of
our Lord is what John Gill called, quote, a fresh manifestation
an application of pardon under the soul." When we have sinned,
been convicted of it, confessed it, and the Lord has sealed up
forgiveness in our consciousness. And in this forgiveness through
our Lord Jesus Christ, There is given a fresh measure of peace
and comfort and assurance unto the soul. Thou forgave us the
iniquity of my sin. And the sins of David were at
that time very great and a part and part of them worthy of death. That part, adultery and murder,
would get one stoned to death under the law in Israel. And yet, the prophet Nathan comes
and he assures the king in 2 Samuel 12 and verse 13, after David
had been granted repentance, and had confessed, I have sinned
against the Lord. Samuel the prophet tells David,
the Lord also has put away thy sin, thou shalt not surely die. He was under a guilty sentence
that deserved death, but thy sin is put away and you will
not die. Still David sinned. had serious
and lasting consequences on his house and on his family. And
you can see that in 2 Samuel chapter 12 and verse 10 through
verse 23. In Proverbs 28, 13, he that covers
his sin shall not prosper, but whosoever confesses and forsakes
them shall have mercy. Now, let's come to our passage
that we read in the New Testament. That would be Mark, the second
chapter, the gospel of Mark. And some subject matter. Again,
the forgiveness of sin. That it is a blessing of all
blessings to have sin forgiven. And it is greatly to be desired
above all blessings other and beside. Who did the scripture
pronounce to be happy, fortunate, and blessed? Not the one who
covers his sin, though he may prosper in the things of the
world, but the one who is conscious, who confesses and who forsakes
their sin and they are forgiven. Now we have the incident here
in Mark chapter 2, 1 through 12. By the way, it's in all three
of the Synoptic Gospels. It's in Matthew chapter 9, It's
in Luke chapter 5, this same incident, where a palsied man,
sort of a paralyzed man, was brought by some friends who tore
the roof off of the house and led him down into the room where
Jesus was. And the incarnate Son of God
saw the paralyzed man there, and the efforts of those that
brought him said to the poor man, thy sins be forgiven thee. Forgiven are thy sins. First thing the Lord says unto
him. Here's a man in a pitiful physical
condition and yet the Lord says unto him, thy sins be forgiven. Now his friends had not brought
him to have his sins forgiven in the initial. This was not
their original motive. They had not brought him because
of his sin or to have his soul cleansed. This was not their
first priority. They brought him because of the
bodily disease and affliction, no doubt having heard how that
Jesus had healed all manner of sickness and all manner of disease. For the fame of him spread abroad
everywhere he went. And Jesus also no doubt knew
that it was bodily health that motivated their coming with a
man to where he was. But the Lord would make this
a time and an incident of what some refer to as a, quote, teachable
moment, unquote. Here is a man sick and paralyzed
up on his couch, cannot get up, cannot walk. cannot help himself
in very many things. But Jesus uses it as a teachable
moment. So instead of saying, first,
be healed, get up, take up your bed, he says unto him, thy sins
be forgiven. Now remember, the prophets of
old, the apostles of our Lord, could work miracles. They could
heal the sick and the lame and such like, and even at times
did they raise the dead. But the Lord would set himself
apart beyond and above all of these men and give an evidence
of his deity, along that he is a great prophet of God He would
give a demonstration of his deity on this occasion, and that he
did when he said to this man, The sins of thee be forgiven,
I think is how it would be rendered. All three synoptic gospels include
this statement, thy sins be forgiven thee. And all three of the gospel
records also note the reaction of some of the Pharisees who
took what they heard to be nothing but blatant blasphemy against
God. They said, this man blasphemes. This is blasphemy for him to
pretend to forgive sin. Natural reason, therefore, they
fell back into. Preposterous, they said. Who
can forgive sins but God only? Now, in this last They speak
the truth. Perhaps they thought much of
those texts like Isaiah chapter 43 and 25. I am he. that blot out thy transgression
for mine own namesake, and will not remember thy sin. And they were used to considering
their sin to be put away by means of the bloody sacrifices made
by the high priest. By the blood of slain beast,
they were used to recognizing their sins having been put away. And yet, here is one. Jesus of
Nazareth by name, who appeared to be a man like themselves,
nothing extraordinary about his outward appearance and such like,
a man like themself, they thought, claiming the authority to forgive
sin. Why, the very idea was blasphemy
unto their ears. And they thought, who but God
can forgive sin? In other cases, their conclusion
would be a correct one, that only God can forgive sin, for
no mere man can lay claim to such a power. No preacher, no
priest, no rabbi, no religious teacher of any sort or of any
kind ever claiming to act in the name and the authority of
God can forgive or absolve one of their sin. No amount of penance
or indulgency can take away their sin. Only God can say, and it
come to pass, thy sins are forgiven. Now granted, there is such a
thing as forgiving one another. Ephesians chapter 4 and verse
32. And this is restricted, however,
to personal transgression. If one wrongs another, then confesses
and asks forgiveness, it may be forgiven. But let's notice
here how the Lord responds to them after knowing their thoughts. He asks them a question. Which is easier? Which is easier to say and I'm
sure easier to do? Which is the easiest thing to
say and the easiest thing to do? Which requires more power
on the part of the one? To cure palsy or to forgive sin? which is easier to be done and
to say. Cure palsy or to forgive sin. To save the body or to save the
soul. Remember, the man is not yet
healed. when our Lord says to him, thy
sins be forgiven. He's still on that cot or that
pallet or the bed, as it is called. And then we read in Mark 2 10,
Luke 5 24, Matthew 9, and verse 6, the Lord said to those scribes
that were present there, so that ye may know that the Son of Man,
by the way, this is the most frequent way that the Lord described
himself, referred to himself in all the New Testament, the
Son of Man. He was not the Christ or the
Savior. but he referred to himself as the son of man, has power
on earth to forgive sin, that you may know. I say unto thee,
that is, to the man with a palsy, take your bed up and go to your
house. Take up your bed, walk, go into
thy dwelling, that you might know that the one dwelling among
them on earth In a fleshly tabernacle, the man, the Lord, Jesus Christ,
possess both the authority and the power to cure all manner
of disease, also has authority to forgive sin and vice versa,
which is the greatest blessing for the long term. Which is the
greatest blessing, to have health for a few years or to have salvation
for eternity? Which will do us the greater
harm, a disease or the guilt of sin resting upon us? And the incarnate Christ was
God manifest in the flesh. And there's a connection that
is not often made, that sin actually is behind Sin actually is the
cause of every misery, of every sickness, and every disease that
invades the body. These vile bodies, as Paul called
them in Philippians, yes, vile bodies, these tabernacles of
clay that are all the time falling down. I do not mean personal
sin here, but sin as it entered into the world, and works death. Sin has given us to be liable
to all manner of fleshly infirmities, which will be gone when we are
clothed upon with our house which is from heaven, as Paul said. But then, in the end, let's consider
now the theology of the forgiveness of sin, what it is based upon,
its origin, its application, and such like. Now that's through
the death of Christ. There is no forgiveness of sin
apart from the death of Christ, even though he forgave sin before
he died upon the cross. The Lord said, Thy sin be forgiven. As to the woman in John chapter
8, neither do I condemn thee, go and sin no more. To the man
given sight, go and sin no more. lest a worse thing come upon
you. Now, the theology of forgiveness.
It has been from eternity the goodwill, the good pleasure,
and the purpose of God to pardon the sin of many. But God will
not pardon sin at the expense of his justice or the slight
of his holy law. Every sin must have a just recompense
of reward, Hebrews chapter 2 and verse 2. And since the Old Testament
sacrifices could not take away sin, you'll find that Hebrews
10, 1 through 4. God prepared his son a body that
he might offer himself without spot unto God. He set him forth,
that is Christ, as a propitiation and therefore foreordained, publicly
set forth his own son, purposed him as a propitiation for sin. The same word propitiation here
is translated mercy seat in Hebrews chapter 9 and verse 5. That by the death of his son,
God's justice would receive full satisfaction and peace made between
God and the alien elect, their sin put away by the perfect atonement,
and they'd be reconciled unto God and made friends. Sin pardoned
both as to its guilt and its condemnation. Now, the forgiveness
of sin can never be disconnected from the redemption which is
in Christ Jesus. In Ephesians 1-7, in whom we
have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sin according
to the riches of his grace. Here the apostle makes a direct
connection between the blood of our Lord and the forgiveness
of sin according to the riches of his grace. He forgives our
sins, plural, our trespasses, plural. John Eady defines them
as the succession of sinful acts with which everyone is guilty,
unquote. so that there is full and free
forgiveness by the Lord Jesus Christ. Now this message of forgiveness
by Christ the apostle preached among the Jews. If you read in
the book of Acts their sermon and their ministry, you'll find
this received heavy emphasis as they preach the gospel unto
the Jew, that Jesus, Acts 5, verse 29 through 31, a prince
and a savior to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of
sin. Paul in Acts 13. And verse 38
says to them, be it known unto you that through this man is
preached unto you the forgiveness of sin. And Paul in Acts chapter
26 and 18, that the Gentiles may receive forgiveness of sin
and that they preached in connection with Christ. Now, the forgiveness
of sin and pardon is part and partial of the good news of the
gospel. It is necessary to justification. It is secured by the blood of
the Lord Jesus Christ, and except there be forgiveness of sin,
there can be no fellowship with God, no salvation, and only he
can forgive sin for it is against him that sin is committed. Only he can prescribe the terms
of forgiveness and forgive sin. How very blessed, we say again,
are they whose sins are forgiven. To whom the Lord will not impute
sin, put it to their account and require of them an accounting
and a paying. Blessed is the one to whom the
Lord will not impute sin. and their sin is covered, covered
by the blood of the atonement of our Lord Jesus Christ. It
is blotted out, Paul says, as he writes unto the Colossians,
it is put away, it is gone. It is cast behind his back to
remember it no more. Thy sins are forgiven. And blessed is the person who
stands in that relationship unto our Lord and unto our God. Blessed
indeed to have sin forgiven by the one who can forgive it with
all authority, the Lord God, his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.