First, I would like to express
my appreciation and thanks to this congregation and to your
pastor for your love and your faithful support of the ministry
there in Mexico for all these years. We're thankful for what
the Lord is doing there. I spoke to my mother this morning. You and I are earlier. We are
down there in Mexico. I asked her how things were going
and she said they were going well. My dad came out of the
room and he said, switchboard is on early this morning. I wanted to get an update on
how things were going there. The services are going well.
The preacher's classes are going well. I got a word of when am
I going to get back. But I am thankful that he is
there preaching in the services in Merida while I am here. Anyway,
I want to just express our appreciation to you. We love you, and I know
you love us, and we are thankful for your prayers for us and for
your pastor also. I am looking forward to the day. And I want to speak this morning
about the pardon or forgiveness of sins. At the beginning of
the service, we read that verse in Ephesians chapter 1 and verse
7. We have redemption. That's not
my text, but it's a wonderful text. And here we have redemption,
the forgiveness of sins. The forgiveness of sins. Now
listen carefully. Can it be, I'm not going to say
God will forgive your sins, I'm using the word has. Can it be
that God has pardoned or forgiven your sins? If he will, it's because
he has. If he will, it's because he has.
Can it be that God has pardoned or forgiven your sins? Can it
be? Can it be that God has pardoned
or forgiven me my sin? Pardon is the act of forgiving
an offender by removing the guilt of sin so that the punishment
due to the sinner may not be inflicted. Now, the Scriptures
speak of pardon or forgiveness of sins in many different ways.
It is spoken of as a lifting up, a lifting up or taking away. is he whose transgression is
forgiven, as the word is lifted up, whose transgression is forgiven,
whose sin is covered. It is also spoken of as a covering.
Forgiven is spoken of as a covering of it. Forgiven is spoken of
also as a non-imputation of it. Blessed thou hast forgiven the
iniquity of thy people, thou hast covered their sin. Blessed
is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity. impure, if not iniquity, and
in whose spirit there is no guile. Forgiveness or pardon of sins
is spoken of as a blocking out, a blocking out. Even I, the Lord
said, I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgression for mine
own sake. And it is also spoken of as a
non-remembrance. This is a blessing to me. God
will not remember the sins of his people. Their sins and their
iniquities will I remember no more. Remember no more. Now,
I want to speak about the forgiveness of sins or the pardon of sin
and justification. Justification and pardon of sins
agree on many parts. And without a doubt, listen to
this, without a doubt, every sinner who shall be found pardoned
in that great day, likewise, is justified. But pardon and justification
may be distinguished in this way. Pardon and justification
may be distinguished this way. An innocent person, any person
in here innocent? I'm not. When falsely accused and acquitted
is justified but not pardoned. You know that lacrosse team. You all heard about that lacrosse
team who was accused. They were not pardoned. They
were declared innocent. Innocent of the charge. Innocent. A person that is innocent may
be, is justified, is declared innocent, but is not pardoned.
Justification is the pronounce of a person righteous. In other
words, they've never sinned. That's what justification is.
They've never sinned. Now, in Christ Jesus, we're justified.
But we're also pardoned. A criminal may be pardoned, though
he cannot be justified and declared innocent. A criminal may serve
a certain amount of time and he is pardoned. Someone may commit
a crime and the governor of the state may pardon that person,
but he's never justified. He's never justified. Pardon
is for men that are sinners and who remain sinners, though pardoned
sinners. Pardoned sinners. Now, pardon
frees us from punishment. Pardon frees us from punishment,
but does not bring us into everlasting life, but justification does. Therefore, being justified by
faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.
If we were only pardoned, we would indeed escape the pains
of hell, but could have no access can have no access into the presence
of God, of everlasting enjoyment of the sons of God. We could
have no access if it were only pardoned. Through pardon and
justification, though pardon and justification may be distinguished,
yet they cannot be separated. They cannot be separated. In
the Lord Jesus Christ, we have pardon for sins and justification. In reality, they go at the same
time. You can't have one without the
other. And here's the reason. Here's
the reason for that. He that is pardoned by the death
of Jesus Christ, we have redemption through his blood. He that is
pardoned by the death of the Lord Jesus Christ is at the same
time justified by his life. Look at Romans chapter 5 with
me, verse 10. Romans 5, verse 10. It says here,
so for when we were enemies, criminals, 5, verse 10 says,
for if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God by His
death, pardoned by His death, the death of His Son, much more
being reconciled we shall be saved by His life. We are saved by his life. Now,
this morning, I want to speak about the forgiveness of sin.
I spoke about the forgiveness of pardon for sin and justification
and how you can have one without the other. We're justified by
the life of the Lord Jesus Christ. He was raised for our justification.
But I want to talk this morning about the forgiveness of sins.
Do you know how it is? that God can forgive your sins. Can it be that He has forgiven
our sins? Forgiveness is an act, first
of all, is an act of grace. Forgiveness, we sure can't merit
it. There's nothing we can do to
merit it, to deserve forgiveness. We can't deserve it. David, the
psalmist, when he came In prayer, after Nathan came to him and
told him of his sin with Bathsheba, he realized he needed to die.
He said, The man, he needs to die. That man shall die. And Nathan said, Thou art the
man. And Nathan said, Have mercy on
me, O Lord. Have mercy. Have mercy on me,
O God. According to Thy loving kindness,
according to Thy grace, according to the multitude of Thy tender
mercies, blot out. blot out my transgressions."
Well, that's the first thing. It's grace. No man can merit
it. God's forgiveness also, God's
forgiveness must be done in a way that He is just. God's forgiveness,
secondly, must be done in a way that He is just. How can He justly
forgive sins? We know this. He does so. The
Scriptures plainly tell us there in 1 John chapter 1. If we confess
our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins. In the blood of Jesus Christ
cleanses us of all our sins. He is faithful and He is just.
And the forgiveness of God must be complete. It must be every
sin. Not 99.9% of our sins, but every
one of them. Bless God, sins past, sins present,
and sins future. since past, since present, and
since future. The psalmist said, Bless the
Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgiveth
all thine iniquities, all thine iniquities, and healeth all thy
diseases. He cleanses us from all sin.
And God's forgiveness must be forever. That is, never repealed,
never taken back, never repealed. He, as we read there in the class
this morning or in the office, our sins are cast into the depths
of the sea. It's forever. And never to be
repealed, never to be brought up again, never to be dug up
again. And there's nothing a man can do to procure this forgiveness. It is the grace of God. Now,
I want us to look this morning at four passages. Now, the question
I ask is, can it be that God has forgiven us our sins? I want
us to look at four passages in the New Testament where the phrase
spared not. In each one of these passages,
you'll find the word spared not. Spared not is used showing that
God did not forgive. God did not forgive. And it is
my prayer that after seeing these four passages, you may be able
to see how it is that God can forgive sins. How it is that
God can forgive sins. And seeing how He may forgive
sins, you may have hope that He has forgiven your sins. Forgiven
your sins. Now, the word used is did not
spare, for when God does not spare, When God does not forgive,
he does not spare. When God does not forgive, he
does not spare. Here's the first text. It's found
in 2 Peter 2. 2 Peter 2. Verse 4, For if God spared not
the angels that sinned, but cast them down into hell, and delivered
them up into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment."
Here is the first time we have, I want us to consider, God did
not spare the angels that sinned. The Scriptures tell us that Satan,
the archangel, was lifted up in pride. This is the sin that
the apostle Paul is telling Timothy there in 1 Timothy 3, when laying
hands on a man for the ministry, he says, ìDonít do it soon. Donít
do it soon.î He says in verse 6, ìNot a novice. Donít lay hands
on any novice. lest being lifted up in the pride,
he fall in the condemnation of the devil. This was the sin of
Satan. Pride. Pride. And Satan's rebellion
was against God's Christ. We have there in Isaiah chapter
14, here's what Satan said. I will ascend above the heights
of the clouds. I will be like the Most High. Here is what God says, you will
be brought down to hell in the size of a pit. He lifted himself
up. Let's look at that, Isaiah 14.
It says, Isaiah 14, verse 12, How art thou falling from heaven,
O Lucifer, son of the morning? How art thou cut down to the
ground which did weaken the nations? For thou hast said in thy heart,
I will ascend into heaven. I will exalt my throne above
the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount
of the congregation of the sides of the north. I will ascend above
the heights of the clouds. I will be like the Most High."
Here is what he is saying, I will be like Jesus Christ. He is the
Most High. He is the only one sitting on
that throne. There is a man sitting in glory,
the man Christ Jesus. But here is a creation lower
than the creation of the angels. Made him a little lower than
the angels. But God has crowned him with glory and with honor.
And Satan said, I won't bow to him. I won't bow to him. He was lifted up with pride.
He said, I'll be like the Most High. And he was cast down. He was cast down. Well, a third
of the angels fell. A third of the angels fell with
Lucifer that day, that time. And they're reserved. We read
in our text that they're reserved in chains of darkness. There's
no hope for them. God did not pardon. God did not pardon. Here's the second one. If you've
got your text open there again to 2 Peter, chapter 2, not only
did God not pardon the angels that fell, God did not pardon
also the old world. 2 Peter 2, verse 5, said, And spared not the old
world. He is speaking of the flood, Noah. When God, it says
there in Genesis chapter 6, if you look with me, Genesis chapter
6, God looked down and saw that the imagination of the man was
only evil continually. And this is talking about you
and I right now. This is a commentary of man by
nature. And if any man denies this, the
Lord hasn't shown him this. But this is who we are by nature. And it says, chapter 6 and verse
5, And God saw that the wickedness, the wickedness of man was great
in the earth, and that every imagination of the thought of
his heart was only evil continually. Evil continually. And God had
determined he's going to do away with this. He's going to wipe
the earth. He's going to send a flood. And
he spared not the whole world. How many millions of people lived
on the face of the earth at that time? How many were saved? He spared not the whole world.
Noah and seven others. Look here in chapter 7 and verse
11. In the 600th year of Noah's life,
in the second month, the seventh day of the month, the same day
were all the fountains of the great deep broken up." Who broke
these fountains up? God did that. God, He spared
not the whole world, the old world. They were broken up. And the windows of heaven were
open. And millions and millions of people died and perished. And are right now in hell. And are right now in hell. He
spared not the whole world. Can it be that He has forgiven
me? Can it be that He has forgiven
me? Well, look here at the third one. It's in Romans chapter 11.
The third time we see this word spared not is in Romans chapter
11. Now, the Apostle Paul here is speaking to the Gentile believers,
and he said, ìDonít puff yourself up over the Jews. Donít puff
yourself up over the Jews. Youíve been put into the vine
against nature. Youíve been put into the vine.î
And God was severe with them, but he could put them back in
the vine. The Apostle Paul said this, I am what I am by the grace
of God. Don't puff yourself up. We are
who we are. If we know the Lord Jesus Christ,
it's grace, it's grace. But it says here in Romans chapter
11, verse 21, for if God spared not the natural branches, he's
speaking about the natural descendants of Abraham. He spared not the
natural branches. Take heed, lest ye also spare
not thee. Take heed. Don't puff yourself
up. It says here, verse 18. Read verse 18. Boast not against
the branches, but if thou boast... Think about this. You don't bear
Christ up. You don't bear the root up, but
the root's holding you up. That will say then the branches
were broken off that I might be grafted in? Well, because
of unbelief they were broken off. And thou standest by faith. Well, that faith you have is
a gift of God. Be not high-minded, but fear.
For if God spared not the natural branches, take heed, lest he
also spare not thee. Behold, therefore, the goodness
and severity of God. The goodness of God manifested
to you. and that you are in the branch,
but the severity against those that believe not. Will he forgive? Will he pardon? Well, here is
the fourth one. Romans chapter 8. And I believe
right here we will see how it is that God can forgive and how
it is that God has forgiven the sins of his people. In Romans
chapter 8, verse 32. He that spared not his own son."
You see that? He spared not, he forgave not
his own son. When the sin of his people, when
the sin of his people was laid on him, the Scriptures say he
was made sin for us. When God took the sin of his
people and he was made sin for us. He suffered. God turned his back
on him. He forgave him not. And he suffered
and bled and died on Calvary. He spared not his own son, but
delivered him up. Delivered him up unto death.
The death of his people. The death of those whom he loved.
The death of those whom God the Father gave him. The death of
those who chose before the foundation of the world. He died the death. He died the death. God's justice
cried, Awake, O sword. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd,
against the man that is my fellow, said the Lord of hosts. Smite
the shepherd. The Lord Jesus Christ died in
the place, in the room of his people. He died. to put away
the sins of his people. This is how God can forgive you. This is how God can forgive his
people. Because he did not forgive his
son. He did not spare his son. You see, it says here, he that
spared not his own son, God manifest in the flesh. His own son. God spared not his own son. Who
is He? Who is He that was not spared?
His own Son. Who is He that is not spared?
It's Jehovah, God the Son, manifest in the flesh. We cannot understand
this, but what gives value to the death of the Lord Jesus Christ
is that He is God. He is God. What gives value to
what sanctified the offering of the body of the Lord Jesus
Christ was that it is His deity. He is God. He spared not his
own son. Our Lord cried, My God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? Why hast thou forsaken me? He
was forsaken of God that you will never hear these words.
Those of you who trust in the Lord Jesus Christ, you'll never
hear that. You'll never cry out, why hast thou forsaken me? He'll
never, never, never leave his people because he left his son. Spared not his own son, but delivered
him," look at this word, for us, for us all. Now, you see there, substitution
for us in the place of his people. He was made sin for us who knew
no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
But who is this us all? Who is this us all? Now, you
know that Christ, when He died on the cross, when the Lord Jesus
Christ died on the cross, He did not die to put away the sins
of all the people who have ever lived in this world. He died
to put away the sins of His people. Well, how does it say us all
there? Well, the us, the us all is modified. The all there is
modified by the word us. Us all. If I say us all in this
building, I'm talking about us all in this building. The all
is modified by the word us or his elect. If you look back in
verse 31. No, let's go back to 28. And we know that all things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are the
called according to His purpose. It's talking about His elect.
It's talking about those who love God. And if anybody loves
God, it's because God first loved them. For whom he did foreknow,"
that's who we're talking about, whom he loved before the foundation
of the world. Then he also did predestinate
to be conformed to his image of a son that he might be the
firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom he did predestinate,
then he also called. The us are the called ones, called
by the Holy Spirit in time by the preaching of the gospel.
And then He also justified, in whom He justified, then He also
glorified. What shall we say to these things? If God before us, who can be
against us? If God before us, God before
His people, His chosen people, those whom He loved, those for
whom He gave His life, who can be against us? He spared not
His Son. And then it says here, how shall
He not? Look over at that verse again.
He that spared not his own son. You see that? The Lord Jesus
Christ was made sin. He went to the cross and died.
Who it was, he delivered him up for us all. When he did that,
he did that for a purpose. How shall he not fulfill his
purpose? His purpose was to send his son
to redeem his people. To bring them to glory, how shall
he not do that? That's his purpose. How shall
he not do that? He's already given his son. How
shall he not give us all things that were given to us in his
son? All the things that his son did
to procure, to win this that is ours and his and in him. How shall he not also with him
freely give us All things. With Him. He's not dead. He's
alive. He's delivered. He went to the
cross and died. He was buried. On the third day
He rose. He lives forever. How shall He
not with Him? He delivered Him. Now He's going
to freely give us all things with Him who is risen. who is risen, freely give us
all things. He is risen for our justification
in Him. The Scriptures say in 1 Corinthians,
but of Him are you in Christ Jesus, who of God has made into
us wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption. And redemption. He has given us all things freely. Now, this is how God, it says
here, Four times God did not forgive. God spared not, because
where He does not spare, He did not forgive. And this last one
right here, He spared not His only Son, but delivered Him up
for us all. Do you see how God can forgive
sins? Do you see how God can forgive
sins? He has forgiven the sins of His people in the death of
His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. This is how the glory of God
This is how the glory of God is revealed. We read in the text
there at the class this morning, the glory of God is revealed.
If you turn here to Exodus chapter 34, when God... I think I'll stop right here. In
Exodus 34, when Moses asked the Lord, show
me your glory. Verse 7. Let's look at verse
6. And the Lord passed by before
him and proclaimed, this is the name of the Lord, the Lord Jehovah,
Jehovah God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering and abundant in
goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving Listen
to this. Iniquity and transgression and
sin. Forgiven. Iniquity, transgression
and sin. Visiting the iniquity of the
fathers upon the children and upon the children's children
under the third and fourth generation. I missed this. I'm going to read it again. Verse 7. Keeping
mercy for thousands. forgiven iniquity and transgression
and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty." How does he do that? How does
he do that? He cannot clear you. I am guilty. He cannot clear me. But in the Lord Jesus Christ,
he has forgiven my transgressions, my iniquity and my sins. Iniquity. That's things you do. I got this
from your pastor this morning. I got into what my dad calls
the Lexington. It's the Lexican. And I got to looking at these
words. Iniquity. Just perverseness. Wickedness.
I'm wicked. Wicked. But the wickedness men
do, or the wickedness is the things we do, the good we do.
That's the wickedness. And transgression is treason
or rebellion. That's the bad stuff we do. Rebellion
against just authority and sin. That's who we are. That's what
we are. Bless God, he says, it says here
in our text, verse 7, forgiven iniquity and transgression and
sin, and they will by no means clear the guilty. And one more
text, you could take this home with you, Ephesians 1, 7, in
whom we have forgiveness of sin, the redemption. Let's look at
that one more time, Ephesians chapter 1, verse 7. in whom we have redemption through
his blood, the forgiveness of sins. Isn't
that precious? That's precious. According to
the riches of his grace. May the Lord bless this Word.