Turn back, if you will, to Matthew,
Matthew chapter 9. My text will be our Lord's words
from verse 2 that he said to this man, this man sick of the
pulse, this man that couldn't help himself, This man who was,
as we just sang, only a sinner saved by grace. Our Lord speaks
to him these blessed words, son, son. Why did he refer to him
as son? Because the captain of our salvation
knew when only he could know that this one was one of his
chosen. He referred to him as a son,
therefore. Not all men are the sons of God. Behold what manner of love, John
wrote, that God had bestowed upon us that we should be called
the sons of God. God saw this man, Christ rather,
saw this man and knew what only he could know. That's one of
my elect. That's one of my chosen. This
one right here lying before me on this stretcher, this couch,
this helpless cripple lying before me is one of those that God committed
into my hands before the foundation of the world. This is one I came
to seek and to save. He sought him and he found him.
And he spoke these blessed words, son, be of good cheer, be happy,
be happy. Why? Because I'm about to make
you healthy. It's not what he said. There's
a health and wealth gospel out today that is embraced by so
many, it's quite popular, it appeals to the flesh because
it only speaks of the flesh, not that which is spiritual,
not about everlasting salvation, a health and wealth gospel. But
our Lord said the base is a real happiness. The basis of being
cheerful, being joyful lies right here. Thy sins be forgiven thee,
O my soul. One hymn writer expressed it
this way. When justice, when God's justice called for payment,
it's more than I could give. Oh, but mercy smiled upon them,
saying, I forgive. The joy of sins forgiven. Remember, that's what David prayed
in Psalm 51, didn't he? Oh Lord, return unto me the joy
of my salvation. First of all, consider this.
Who says so? Who's the speaker here? When
we read these words, thy sins be forgiven thee, who's doing
the talking? That makes all the difference
in the world, doesn't it? I don't know how many people
told me that my sins were forgiven before God ever did. but it never
brought peace to my heart until he spoke those blessed words.
If these words are spoken by anyone, anyone, underline that,
type it out in bold letters, highlight it, capitalize every
letter. If anyone other than the Son
of God says to me these words, then they're worthless. They
don't mean nothing. The best they can do is give
me a false hope, give me a false refuge. when the scribes thought
to themselves, who is this man think he is? In Luke's account,
as I mentioned earlier, the Pharisees were also present. And they thought,
who does this man think he is? Nobody has the right, the power,
the authority to forgive sins but God Almighty. And they were
exactly right. They were exactly right. But
this one, little did they know it, but this one who spoke those
words was God. They were right, only God can
forgive sins and God just did, the God-man. It was this one,
the Lord Jesus Christ that God sent into this world to save
his people from their sins. Don't you just love that? It's
sad, isn't it, that blessed verse of scripture, that blessed promise,
that proclamation by Gabriel to Joseph concerning the mission
of the Son of Man is only considered by some once a year at Christmas
time. Oh, this is something to rejoice
in every day when we hear the angels say, Jesus, God's salvation,
the salvation of the Lord. Our Joshua, oh, he shall save
his people from their sins. Oh, my soul, what a proclamation. What a work. What a blessing. This one that got sent into the
world is that one that should save his people from their sin.
This one that spoke these words, these blessed sweet words, that
brought the joy of forgiveness to this man, this is that one
who is the only mediator between God and man. The Church of Rome
tells us that Mary is a mediator. We must go to Mary. or one of
the saints, or someone else. Oh no, there's only one mediator
between God and man, only one that can intercede for sinners
that God will accept, that God will listen to, and that's the
Lord Jesus Christ. He has that authority to forgive
sin because he is the God-man. This is the one God said to listen
to. Isn't that right? God didn't
send man to anyone other but his son. He said he spoke from
heaven. He never said this concerning
anyone else. Abraham was a friend of God.
Enoch walked with God. David was a man after God's own
heart. But only of one did the Lord
God speak from heaven and say these words, this is my beloved
son. This is him. Nobody else did.
This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Christ said,
I do always those things that please the Father. And God said,
hear. ye him, hear ye him. Anyone else who claims to be
rather to give forgiveness of sins is a deceiver. No priest,
no preacher, no man but that man who is himself God can forgive
sin. So when the Son of God says to
a sinner these blessed wondrous words, oh can you recall, oh
God would you, I've prayed that much, I spent more time praying
about this than I did actually in the preparation of it. Perhaps
that is the best preparation. That God would bless it to our
hearts by reminding us, giving us a fresh remembrance and understanding
and appreciation of those blessed words when he came to where we
were, when the great shepherd found us, where we were lost,
undone, helpless, dead in trespasses and sins and said, thy sins. which are many, are all forgiven
thee, O my soul." What a blessed, blessed time. They're forgiven. They're all forgiven. And they're
forgiven forever. I love that hymn by old John
Newton. Amazing grace. I think they sang
it there. I believe I heard it from the
broadcast in Danville this morning. Newton wrote, "'Twas grace that
taught my heart to fear." Now that's a forgotten teaching in
our day, isn't it? Where's conviction? Is conviction
of sin no longer necessary? I mean, is it necessary for God
to strip you before He clothes you, to bring you down before
He lifts you up? That's what Newton was talking about. It
was grace that taught my heart to fear. You remember that? Remember
that? Oh, can God have mercy on me? Can God save me? Oh, depth of
mercy can there be, mercy still reserved for me? It was grace
that taught my heart to fear, but grace my fears relieved. Oh, what a relief that was. What
a blessed relief that was. God had stripped me. God had
brought me down. God got me lost. God did what
grandmother tried to do and couldn't. What preacher tried to do and
couldn't. What friends tried to do but couldn't. God did what
only he could do. He got me lost. Oh, he made me confess for the
first time in my life, I'm the sinner. I'm the sinner. Oh, God, have mercy upon me.
I'm the sinner. God, save me. We're going to
sing to him as we close, not the one that's in your bulletin,
but rather another. Pass me not. Oh, he in his great
mercy taught me the fear. I didn't realize it was grace
at the time. Oh, but he was being gracious to me. Anyone that God
gets lost, he's going to save. He's going to save. Anyone that
God strips, It's so that he can clothe them in the righteousness
of his own Son. If he brings down, he's going
to lift up. If he gets you lost, he'll find
you. O God, depth of mercy, can there
be mercy still reserved for me? O King, my God, his wrath forbear,
and me the chief of sinners spare. O pass me not, O gentle Savior. Son, be of good cheer, and well
he might. Well, he might. When his sins
were forgiven, this mercy is enough to make a man be of good
cheer, isn't it? Everlasting joy. Did you hear
what Jesus said to me? Oh, when he spoke these words.
Did you hear what Jesus said to me? They're all taken away. Oh, how precious did that grace
appear the hour I first believed. how I stood in absolute wonder. Can this be so? Is this too good
to be true? He saved me. He forgave me. He forgave me of all my sins.
Oh, did you hear what Jesus said to me? They're all taken away. Your sins are pardoned and you
are free. They're all taken away. They're
all taken away. They're all taken away. My sins
are all taken away. This is much as, this is the
same tune that the Psalmist David sung, wasn't it? In Psalm 32
verse 1, he wrote, blessed, blessed. Now, I understand that Psalm
32 followed Psalm 51. where David cried out, oh, Lord,
have mercy upon me, purge me from my sins, forgive me of my
sins, wash me thoroughly, restore unto me the joy of my salvation.
And when Nathan came to him and said, David, God has put away
your sin, then David wrote Psalm 32. He wrote blessed, blessed,
happy, happy. is he whose transgression is
forgiven, whose sin is covered. No man knows the blessedness
of pardoned sin, but the man who has felt the weight of guilt
upon his conscience has been lost. If you've never been burdened
and crushed under a load of sin, it will be a joy worth more than
10,000 worlds for you to get the burden lifted from off your
shoulders. You'll be like Bunyan's Christians. When that load drops off, he
said, I felt lightsome, lightsome, and I went on my way rejoicing. Oh, blessed, blessed beyond description
is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. You lie down in your bed tonight,
and you can't claim you don't have pains, physical pains, mental
pain. Oh, Spiritual struggles. All but
child of God, the foundation for our joy lies here. We have
peace with God. What's that worth? What's that
worth? Peace with God. The self-righteous
Pharisee, as we mentioned a moment ago, has no portion in this blessedness. The Lord told him down there
in verse 12 of Matthew 9, you don't need me. I'm the great
physician. I've come to heal the sick. You're
not sick. You don't need me. Oh, the Pharisee
has no lot in this matter over the returning prodigal. Oh, that's
the one. It's pronounced over his head,
thy sins are forgiven thee. It's when he returns home by
the grace of God, returns to the father's house because he
was the father's son. He had nowhere else to go. That's
when music and dancing is heard. That's when the Father proclaims,
this my son was lost and is found, he was dead and he's alive again. It's only right that we should
rejoice and make merry. A full, instantaneous, irreversible
part of transgressions turns the poor sinner's hell into heaven
and makes the air of wrath a partaker in blessing. The word rendered
forgiven, there in Psalm 32 and 1, is in the original it means
taken off. Blessed is the man whose sin
is taken off or taken away. It's as a picture of a bird that's
lifted off the shoulders and carried away to be seen again
no more. What a lift that was. Whose sin
is covered. Whose sin is covered. Hmm. Covered by God. Covered as the
ark was covered by the mercy sea. as Noah was covered from
the flood, as the Egyptians were covered by the depths of the
sea. What cover must that be which hides away all the sins
of God's people from the eye of God Almighty himself? Oh,
what a cover that must be. That's the cover that Paul rejoiced
in. That's the cover that Paul said
he counted everything done that he might be found in Christ,
wrapped up in him, clothed in his perfect righteousness. That's
what makes a sinner rejoice. Christ atonement is the propitiation,
the covering, the making an end of sin where this is seen and
trusted in, the soul knows in itself, accepted in the beloved,
and therefore enjoys a conscious blessedness, which is the foretaste
of heaven. Is anything better this side
of heaven than knowing God, having peace with God, knowing that
it's well with my soul. It's clear from the text, there
in Psalm 32, that a man may know he's pardoned. Of course, where
would be the blessedness of an unknown forgiveness? Oh, this
is the ground of our comfort. They're all taken away. Yes,
my sins are gone. I have good reason to be of good
cheer. If my sins are gone, that means
I must have been redeemed. I must have been redeemed, Billy.
Forgiveness must follow redemption. Unless God ceases to be just,
unless He ceases to be God, then forgiveness must follow redemption. Look, if you will, in Ephesians
chapter 1. You know these verses almost
by heart. Let's look at them again. Oh,
redeemed we sing. How I love to proclaim it. Ephesians
chapter 1. Paul begins in verse three, blessed,
blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who
has blessed us with all A-double-L spiritual blessings in heavenly
places in Christ, according as he has chosen us. Oh, he has
chosen us, what a wonder, in him before the foundation of
the world that we should be holy and without blame before him
in love. having predestinated us unto the adoption of children
by Jesus Christ to himself according to the good pleasure of his will,
to the praise of the glory of his grace wherein he hath made
us accepted in to be loved." In to be loved. Oh, I like that,
don't you? In to be loved. In whom? It's all in him. In whom? That is to be loved. The Lord
Jesus Christ, he chose us in Christ. in whom we have redemption
through his blood, the forgiveness of sins according to the riches
of his grace. If my sins were put away by Christ
on the cross, God is faithful and just to forgive me of those
sins. He would not be otherwise. We
have this as a present possession. A present possession. I may not
have much of this world's riches. There's no maybe about that.
Oh, but I'm rich in grace. I'm a child of the king. A child
of the king. How valuable is that? How valuable
is that grace that calls a sinner out of darkness and translates,
puts him in the kingdom of God's own son? What's that worth? How rich is that sinner who has
tasted the preciousness of Christ, that one who is mighty to save? How valuable is that? To say,
I know him, and He knows me. I am His and He is mine. And
that can never change. That can never change. Once I'm
His, I'm His forever. Nothing from His love shall sever. How rich in grace is that man
to whom God will not impute sin. He will not impute sin. Who has
Christ in Him? The hope of glory. Who has a
good hope through grace. How priceless is that? How priceless
to hear the Lord Jesus Christ himself say, Son, be of good
cheer. Thy sins are forgiven thee. This
glorious truth of redemption is the song of the redeemed sinners
in glory. Is it not Revelation 5 and 9? And they sung a new song saying,
Thou art worthy. Who's worthy? The Lamb. The Lamb that took the book and
opened the seals thereof. Thou art worthy to take the book
and to open the seals thereof for you were slain. For what? What did it accomplish? What
did it produce? What was the fruit of the travail
that he endured and has redeemed us to God? has redeemed us, past
tense, has redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred
and tongue and people and nation. Redemption was obtained by Jesus
Christ for his people. It wasn't attempted, it was obtained. He didn't take a stab at it,
he obtained eternal redemption for us. He accomplished everlasting
redemption. He by himself purged our sin. Oh, glory to his name. He got
the job done. All my life, if I would even
take time to listen, really it wasn't worth hearing, preachers
talk about, oh, God wants to, God tried to, Jesus died for
everybody, but even though he died for you, you might still
go to hell. That's redemption? You mean to tell me Jesus Christ
redeemed Judas, the same as he did Peter? Then redemption ain't
worth nothing. If one through whom Christ died
can end up in hell, then they all might. Oh, no, no, no. That's
not redemption. No, scriptural redemption is
this. He entered one time into the
holy place and he got the job done. Finished. He redeemed his
people. That's why forgiveness must follow
redemption. Because Christ already put away
the sins of his people. Oh, the bliss of this glorious
thought. My sins, not in part but the
whole, are nailed to his cross, and I bear them no more. That
burns gone, that burns gone. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord,
O my soul. But now thus saith the Lord that
created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel, fear
not, fear not, be of good cheer, for I have redeemed thee. I have
redeemed thee. I have called you by name. You
are mine. You belong to me. You're my property. You've been purchased by the
precious blood of Christ. When you pass through the waters,
I'll be with you. I won't forsake you. And through
the rivers, they won't overflow you. When you walk through the
fire, you won't even be burned. Neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. Why? Because I've redeemed you.
I paid the price of your redemption, you're mine. Oh, what's that
worth? What's that worth? Here's the
second thing. If our sins be forgiven, oh,
we should be of good cheer, because that means for a child of God,
there is therefore now, Romans 8 and 1, there is therefore now
no condemnation. To who? To them who are in Christ
Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the spirit. as Christ who knew no sin, was
to all legal effects made sin for us, so are we who believe
in him, made the righteousness of God in him, and thus, one
with him in the divine reckoning. Now, God says, there is no condemnation. We may cry out, but there's no
maybe about it. Oh, wretched man that I am! Oh,
yes, a child of God does. A religionist won't, just a mere
professor won't, But those who truly know the Son of God, that
have the Spirit of God in their hearts, oh yes, they know something
about that struggle. And they will cry, oh wretched
man that I am, but they'll never be condemned. They'll struggle
with this flesh, but they'll never be condemned. They may
fall away, but they'll never be condemned. They may fall rather,
but they'll never be condemned. They will sin, but they'll still
have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous. Go
tell my disciples, the Lord said, after he resurrected from the
dead, and Peter. Be sure to tell Peter. Oh, nothing's
changed. Nothing's changed. Though he
denied me, I cannot deny myself what a broad sweeping assertion
this is. There is now no condemnation
on account of original sin. though we were by nature children
of wrath, even as others. No condemnation for actual sin,
though we are all transgressors and come so far short of the
glory of God. No condemnation, though we humble
ourselves and weep and groan before God, because in thought
and word and deed we offend still, no condemnation. And child of
God, catch this, there never will be. There never will be. If you read the rest of the chapter,
that is Romans 8, you'll see how broad Paul's statement is,
how unreserved he seems to be. As we get to the end of the chapter,
Paul, as it were, mounts upon a white stallion of victor and
rides through the streets of Zion crying triumphantly, tell
me who should lay anything to the charge of God's elect? He
makes all heaven and earth and hell to ring with this challenge.
Who is he that condemns? Who is he? It is Christ that
died, yea, that is risen again. In the broadest imaginable terms,
he declares that there is no condemnation to them who are
in Christ Jesus. And where there's no condemnation,
there can be no wrath, no guilt, no punishment. On the contrary,
there's acceptance, bliss, and the forgiveness of sins. Blessed
be God, the verdict is in. in the court of heaven, the verdict
is in. Isn't it sad? And you've heard
people, people who profess to know God, profess to be believers,
talk like this, well, we can't know whether we're saved or not,
we really don't know. No wonder they're so sad, no
wonder they look like their shoes are hurting their feet, they're
too tight. No, no, they say because it won't,
we won't be sure until we get to heaven And if our good works
outweigh our bad works, we'll enter in, but if not, we'll be
cast out. Well, nobody's entering in on that basis, are they? If
that's the condition of my entrance into heaven, no one will ever
be saved. No, it's not my merit, but His
merit. I don't want what I earned, I
want what He earned. And Jesus Christ, by His grace,
that's exactly what He gives us. In the court of heaven, It's
already been declared concerning His chosen, His elect, His redeemed
ones, they're not guilty. Blessed be God, they're not guilty. No condemnation. Where there's
no guilt, there's no condemnation. And the precious blood of Christ
has so thoroughly put away our sins that we are not guilty.
You see that man, our Lord said, I love that parable, don't you?
In Luke 18. I'm telling you, who says so? Who's doing the talking? Again,
it's the Son of God. He who has power on earth to
forgive sin. That man's going home justified. Oh, glory to His name. The precious
blood of Christ has so thoroughly put away our sins that we're
not guilty. His righteousness is so completely
ours that we're made the righteousness of God in Him. There is therefore
now no condemnation. No condemnation for all my past
sins. No condemnation for all my present
sins. No condemnation for all my future
sins. Oh, my soul, don't say that.
Don't say that. People accuse me if they hear
that. Oh, you're giving people a license
to sin. You shouldn't say that. The Word
of God says it. No, no, no. And I found out,
as you well heard, and you know, your experience will bear witness
to the truth of this, we don't need a license to sin. Oh, no,
we don't need a license to sin. Oh, but bless God, if we sin,
what happens? What happens? Oh, we'll suffer.
He'll chastise us as He does children. If we be without it,
we're not a child, we're not a son. Oh, but He'll never cast
us off. He'll never cast us off. When
that son, that prodigal son left his father's house, he was still
the father's son. The father never quit loving
him. Never quit looking out for him. Never a day, nothing, the
last thing he would do before he retired to bed that night,
would go up on the roof of that house and look out to see if
that son of his might be coming home. Oh no, we have an advocate
with the father, which is Jesus Christ the righteous. Christ
is my ark. And Christ is my God who put
me in that ark. The floodwaters of God's wrath
shall never touch me while they already fell on Jesus Christ,
my substitute. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
Our Lord said, He that heareth my word, and believeth on him
that sent me hath everlasting life, listen to this, and shall
not come into condemnation, shall never come into condemnation,
but is passed from death unto life. Do you believe on the Son
of God? You believe that Jesus is the
Christ, you have eternal life, and shall never come in to condemnation.
Here's the last thing. There are so many things we could
think of, but here's the last one we'll consider now. If my
sins are forgiven, that means, Billy, I've got a home in heaven. How about that? I have a home
in heaven. 1 Peter 1, verse 3. Blessed be the God and Father,
of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy
hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by Jesus Christ from the
dead, to an inheritance." To an inheritance. Oh, what an inheritance. Listen how he describes our inheritance. It's incorruptible, unlike anything
here, undefiled, that fadeth not away. reserved in heaven
for you. God made the reservation. The
Son of God secured it. Who are kept, in the meantime,
until we arrive there, who are kept by the power of God through
faith unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time. This inheritance is reserved,
reserved in heaven for all his people. And while we wait to
be there, we are kept by the power of God. Our inheritance
is prepared and kept for us, and we are kept for it. We are
kept for it. If ye then be risen with Christ,
seek those things which are above, where Christ setteth on the right
hand of God. Set your affection on things
above, not on things on the earth. For you're dead, and your life
is hid with Christ in God. When Christ, who is our life,
shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him, with him, in
glory. It will be glory to have his
redeemed with him. And he will be glorified in his
saints when he comes. And it will be their glory to
be with him and to be with him forever. Our head is in heaven. Our home is there. Our treasure
is there. Our heart is there. And we hope
to be there soon and to be there forever. And here's the reason
that that must be so. This is one of those must be
things. You remember the angel told Joseph I'm sorry, John the
Apostle in Revelation 4. John, come up hither. I'm going
to show you some things that must be hereafter. They must
be. If God is almighty, they must
be. If the sun didn't die in vain,
then they must be. If God's purpose can be thwarted
unless it can, then they are must-be things. And here's one
of those. Father, here's our great high
priest. John 17 and 24, I love this verse. Father, I will also that those
whom thou hast given me be with me where I am. There's heaven
to be with me where I am that they may behold my glory with
unsinning eyes. Which thou hast given me for
thou lovest me before the foundation of the world. Oh, Rutherford
put it this way. Oh, I am my beloved's and my
beloved's mine. He brings a poor, vile sinner
into his house of wine. I stand upon his merit. I know
no other stand, not even where glory dwelleth in Emmanuel's
land. The bride eyes not her garment,
but her dear bridegroom's face. I will not gaze at glory, but
on my king of grace. Oh, can you imagine that? It
won't reach that high. Not at the crown he giveth, but
on his pierced hand. The Lamb is all the glory of
Immanuel's Lamb. May God enable us to take these
words with us as we go through this world. When storms arise,
when heartaches come, when you're being tossed to and fro, may
God bring these sweet words to our hearts once again. Be of
good cheer. Be of good cheer. Thy sins are
forgiven thee. In the ransom of the Lord, the
ransom of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and
everlasting joy upon their heads." Everlasting joy. They shall obtain
joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away. Bobby, I know you'll remember
these lines. He giveth more grace as the burdens
grow greater, He sendeth more strength as our labors increase.
To added afflictions he addeth his mercy. To multiplied trials
his multiplied grace, peace. For not that they need shall
exceed his provision. Our God ever yearns his resources
to share. Lean hard on the arm everlasting
availing. The Father both thee and thy
loaves shall upbear. I can witness to that, so can
every child of God. His love has no limits, His grace
has no measure, His power no boundary known unto men. For
out of His infinite riches in Jesus He giveth and He giveth
and He giveth again. Amen. Amen. Thanks to God for
His amazing grace through the Lord Jesus Christ. God bless
you.