From our Pastor

You Are Forgiven!

2 Sam. 11:26-12:14, Lk 7:36-8:3, Gal. 2:14-21, 3:10-14          June 16/17, 2007

          No body likes to be criticized.  But during a lifetime everyone goes through plenty of criticism.  As you go through criticism by different people, you notice that some people are better at criticizing than others.  Those who are the best at criticizing are those who know you best.  Why is that?  Well they know you.  Those who know you best, are those who also know your shortcomings.  No one knows you better than God. 

          God knows you so well that he can zero in on exactly what you’ve done wrong.  He is also perfect at defining what’s wrong with you.  His commandments are made with great clarity.  He focuses his spotlight on your sins and makes them known to you.  God knows exactly what you have done that is wrong. 

          But sometimes we live as if oblivious to what God has pointed out to us.  You’ve probably heard someone say, “I’m my own worst critic.”  For some people there is truth in that.  Sometimes it seems like they can’t ever be satisfied with what they do.  There is certainly the tendency by some people to be overly critical of themselves.  That’s not good.  We need to appreciate that we are God’s creation, loved by him.  Though we are not perfect, yet we are forgiven and redeemed by our Lord Jesus Christ.  Take it easy on yourself.  Lighten up. 

          More often it seems we have the opposite problem.  Sometimes we just don’t recognize our own sins, or we think too highly of ourselves.  We think somehow that we’re really pretty good, we remind ourselves of the good things we’ve done and we think that because of what we’ve done, we ought to be in pretty good stead with God.  Such thoughts separate us, not draw us near to God.  That’s the way the Pharisee who invited Jesus to his home thought. 

          Jesus comes into the Pharisees house.  A sinful woman comes there, probably well known as a prostitute.  She had been fawning all over Jesus.  She has been crying tears all over his feet.  She’s been using her hair to wipe his feet.  She has not stopped kissing his feet.  She has bought expensive perfume that she pours on his feet.  What was Jesus’ host to think about what’s going on here?  The Pharisee thought Jesus should keep his distance from this sinful woman.  But the Pharisee thought it was perfectly fine for Jesus to be a guest in his house.  He thought he was worthy to be in Jesus’ presence.  He did not recognize himself to be a terrible sinner.  This man had a need to see what was separating him from God. 

          Even leaders in the church fall for such nonsense.  King David was God’s man in Israel, God’s hand-chosen king.  It’s clear that he knew that what he did was wrong because he tried to cover it up.  King David has a one night stand with Bathsheba.  Later he finds out she’s pregnant.  With her husband out of town, away at war, it’s clear this is not her husband’s child.  David wants to cover up what he’s done.  He tries to get her husband to sleep with Bathsheba.  That doesn’t work.  So David has the guy killed.  David has gone to great lengths to cover up his sin.  After that, he marries Bathsheba, they rejoice over the birth of their child, and everything is fine, from David’s perspective.  He’s gotten away with it.  It almost seems like David just forgets about the whole thing. 

          The prophet Nathan has to come to point out David’s own sin to him.  David was not his own worst critic.  God was.  God had to send his prophet to David to help him recognize what he has done.  It was necessary so David could repent and receive forgiveness.  How far does God have to go to help you recognize your sins?  Some people need the extreme of hardship and difficulty before they’ll recognize things aren’t right.  For David, a message from Nathan did the trick.  As soon as Nathan pointed the finger at David and reminded him what he had done, David said, “I have sinned against the Lord.”  That’s all he says.  It seems pretty short.  Not much to it.  We may think it’s not enough.  But it was a confession from the heart.  It was a confession without excuses, without casting blame on others, a confession that simply admitted “I’ve sinned against the Lord.” (2 Sam 12:13) Then those beautiful words from Nathan.  “The Lord has taken away your sin.  You are not going to die.”  I didn’t think about the dying part.  That’s what David deserved for his sins, and what we deserve for our sins.  But it all seems too simple.  How could David be forgiven for such terrible sins so quickly, so easily?

          The story has been told about a religion class at a university.  I don’t know if it’s a true story or not.  It was time for the final.  As is typical, the students had been cramming for the test trying to get in every little bit of information they might need for the test.  The professor allowed them to ask questions before he passed out the test.  He spent plenty of time, answering their questions.  One question that came up was about some material that was not covered in class.  “Surely we won’t be responsible for that, will we?”  The prof answered that though it wasn’t covered in class, it was part of the assigned reading, and they were indeed responsible.  There was a groan that went up from the class.  They were worried about passing the final.  The tests were then passed out, face down.  No body could look at them until they all had the tests, to make things fair.  Finally the prof said, “begin.”  They turned their tests over and were so surprised.  Nobody wrote a thing.  They stared in disbelief.  The test questions had all been answered.  The tests were all graded.  They each received an “A”.  Someone asked about it.  I don’t get it.  What’s going on here?  The teacher said, that’s grace.  It’s a free gift to you.  I  wish I had had a teacher like that!  I do have a God like that, and so do you!

          When God forgives us, that’s grace.  God’s free gift.  Costly to God, but free to us.  King David didn’t have to do much to receive forgiveness, because it’s God’s free gift.  We can refuse the gift.  We can turn our backs on God.  We can refuse to admit we’ve done anything wrong.  Or, like David, we can confess our sins, and receive God’s free gift:  full and complete forgiveness.  That doesn’t mean there won’t be suffering anymore.  It doesn’t mean that there won’t be natural consequences which we suffer for our own sins, and for the sins of others.  But when God forgives you, it’s his free gift to you.  It opens up the door to a life with God... forever.  Recognize your sins.  Confess your sins.  Receive God’s free gift.  Live with God.  Live for God. 

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