Last week, we began to look at
the last story we have in the first chapter of the Gospel of
Mark. Let's read again this passage,
which is found in the Bible, the New Testament, in the Gospel
of Mark, the first chapter, and from verse 40. A leper came to
him, that is to say to Jesus, and he knelt down and said to
him in a pleading tone, «Si tu le veux, tu peux me rendre pur.»
Jésus, ému de compassion, étendit la main, le toucha et dit, «Je
le veux, sois pur.» Aussitôt la lèpre le quitta et il fut
purifié. Jésus le renvoya sur le champ
avec de sévères recommandations et lui dit, «Garde-toi de dire
rien à personne.» but go and show the sacrificers and offer
for the purification what Moses has prescribed, so that it may
serve as a testimony to them. But this man, having gone, began
to openly publish the thing and to disclose it, so that Jesus
could no longer enter publicly into a city. He stood outside,
in deserted places, and people came to him from everywhere. Like this leper in the biblical
story, we are all affected by a disease called sin, and we
all need to come to the Lord Jesus to ask him to purify us.
Let us look at three things today. First of all, what can a repentant
sinner expect from Jesus when he comes in this attitude of
repentance and faith to implore the forgiveness of God? First
of all, he can expect from the Lord Jesus compassion. I know that there are people
in the world who think that since they have committed such grave
sins, God will never forgive them. But this is not true. Because we can tell you with
all certainty that if you really repent to God in Jesus Christ,
He will manifest Himself as a God of compassion towards you. He
will not put you out, because He said, The one who comes to
Me, I will not put him out. God's compassion is certain for
those who come to Him in this attitude of repentance and faith. Do not hesitate. Do not think
that you are a great sinner. This is not true. Then we see in this verse 41
that the Lord Jesus extends His hand, touches the leper, and
says to him, I want him to be pure. He gives him healing. This is what the sinner can expect
from the Lord Jesus, the healing of his illness, which is sin. In other words, forgiveness. We have a glorious message to
announce to you today, that forgiveness will be granted to you by Jesus
Christ if you come to Him to ask for it. You do not have to
work to have it. You only have to receive it as
a free gift from God. So, what can the repentant sinner
expect from Christ? His compassion and his forgiveness. Then, in this passage, we see
in the second place what Christ expects from the purified sinner. We see it in the second part
of verse 44. He says, Go and show to the sacrificers and offer
for your purification what Moses prescribed so that it may serve
as a testimony to them. When a leper was pronounced pure,
he had to submit to the requirements of the law of God. He had to
take two birds, and one of them had to be sacrificed above pure
and fresh water taken in a stream. The other bird was released to
join the others. Then the leper, washed and shaved,
could enter the city. but he did not yet have to return
home for seven days. And then, after the seven days,
he could return to his family. There were, thus, very strict
ordinances that had to be observed by this man after his healing
by the Lord Jesus. He was healed, but in order to
be obedient to the Lord Jesus, he had to observe these things. Thus, when we are forgiven of
sin, there are things that we must do if we want to be obedient
to God who has forgiven us, and these things are prescribed in
the Bible. First, there is baptism, because
the Bible says very clearly that after conversion we must be baptized
by immersion in water. Baptism is important. It is true
that baptism does not save us, and it is not because we have
been baptized that we are, in fact, children of God, but baptism
is important because it is an ordinance of God, and we must
observe it. All those who have received from
the Lord Jesus the forgiveness of their sins must be baptized,
and this baptism follows conversion. It does not precede it. The second
thing that the new convert must do is to associate himself with
a faithful church. And by faithful church, I mean
a church that submits itself to the teaching of the Word of
God, and where the Word of God is faithfully preached and put
into practice. A church like this is important. because it is there that we will
be taught in the things of God, and that we will find brothers
and sisters who will help us to grow in the knowledge of God. It is important to be part of
such a Church, because the Church was founded by God Himself. I
know that it is not because we are members of a Church, whatever
it is, that we are children of God. It is not the Church that
saves us, but the Church was founded by God Himself, and so
it is not superfluous. We must not ignore it. Then the
third thing that the new convert must do is to participate regularly
in the Holy Saint. She is part of the normal life
of the Church. This is where the children of
God gather around this table with bread and wine, which speaks
to us of the broken body of the Lord Jesus and of the spilled
blood of the Lord Jesus. And by participating in these
elements, bread and wine, they remember the work of Jesus in
his place on the cross of Calvary. The last thing we see in this
story at the end of the first chapter of Mark It is the joy
of the purified man. We see it in verse 45. This man,
having gone, began to openly publish the thing and to divulge
it, so that Jesus could no longer enter publicly into a city. He
was standing outside, in deserted places, and people were coming
to him from everywhere. Jesus did not want this man to
speak publicly of what had happened to him, for he had a ministry
to accomplish, a message to present, for the three and a half years
that God had entrusted him with this task, and he did not want
the praise of the crowd. His time had not yet come to
be condemned to death and crucified. But this man, we see, could not
contain himself. He went into the city, he went
everywhere, and he began to openly publish what had happened to
him, so that Jesus could no longer enter the city publicly. You see, the joy of man was great. Even if he did not have to do
it, he could not prevent himself from proclaiming what Jesus had
done for him. It is the same for the sinner
who was purified by the Lord Jesus of his iniquity. He cannot
contain himself. He must say it to others. But
there is a difference. It is that the sinner who was
purified must publish it to others. And he wants to do it. I exhort you, if you are children
of God, do not be afraid. Go into the world and publish
everywhere, in your workplace, in your family, to your friends. Tell them that Jesus has purified
you and show them the way so that they too may have the forgiveness
of their sins. What a privilege to bring this
message to the lost world! We are always very happy to receive
letters from our listeners. If you have a problem, or if
you think that we can help you, write to us and we will be very
happy to answer you. Here is the address to which
you must write. Echo of the truth Post Box 505
71322 Chalon-sur-Saône It's written C-H-A-L-O-N, France. I repeat this address. Echo of
the truth, postal box 505, 71322, Jalon-sur-Saône, France. Jésus-Sauve aujourd'hui. Jésus-Sauve
aujourd'hui. Qu'un garçon à l'autre cône Ouvre
là chaque parole, foreign