Incredible Dynamics of Godly Forgiveness

Well, I mentioned in the announcement period today that I hope to be able to bring you a message of encouragement. And in thinking about it, I don't think there can be any more encouraging message than the one that I hope to bring to you today. It's Genesis bonds from the Psalms. If you'll come with me, please join me if you would in Psalms 51. And I'd like to look at the words of David, words that were inspired by God to be brought down to us to this day and to this age to give us encouragement and to give us hope. In Psalm 51, let's notice beginning in verse 10 that David implored God, David just cried out, And now he asked God to restore that joy that had once been there and uphold me by your generous spirit. And then if God would do that for him, then notice what David said that he would do. And then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners shall be converted to you. Now, Psalm 51 is thought to have been written after David's sin with Bathsheba, where he committed adultery with another man's wife. And whereas for all of this, ultimately, there is also a pre-planned murder of the woman's husband, Uriah. So a lot had been going on in the life of David to separate him from God. And then when he came to his senses, as all of us do from time to time, come to our senses, he recognized that God had something very special that he needed. And first and foremost, what David needed was forgiveness. And that's what I'd like to talk to you about this afternoon is God's forgiveness of our sins. It's been said that forgiveness is man's greatest need, and also that it is God's highest achievement. It's interesting how these two are drawn together. Forgiveness is man's greatest need, and yet it's also God's highest achievement. That's what I'd like to talk to you about this afternoon, about our need to understand forgiveness, perhaps in a way that we've never understood it before. Like I said, this is going to be a very positive and a very encouraging message. We're going to talk about sin. We're going to deal with sin a little bit, but more than dealing with sin and describing sin, of which it should be described because there is such a thing as sin. But more than that, I want to, for the preponderance of this message today, to talk about God's forgiveness and how He does forgive and how we can have joy and how we can understand salvation. What we're going to talk about today is about the activity of forgiveness. What exactly happens when we, as God's child, unbended knee and with a bended heart, say, Father, forgive me. What happens? Is that just a word that goes out into space? Is it just simply an ethereal activity? Is it kind of just a spiritual blip on God's radar screen? What actually happens? I think you'll find and be amazed the number of scriptures that defines the activity of forgiveness in a way that we as human beings can understand it. God adds depth and breadth and color and action and analogies so that we can understand that when we have transgressed against God, to use the language of Psalm 51, when we've broken God's holy and righteous law to recognize once we say, Father, forgive us all the things that begin to happen to bring us back into relationship with our Father. So for those of you that are listening today and or might be listening in the future of this message, the title of this message is simply this, the activity of forgiveness. The activity of forgiveness. And it is my hope for some of us in this room today, and for those that may listen to this message in the months, the days, and that to come to recognize that if God goes to the length that He does to forgive us, then also some of us out there need to forgive ourselves.

Because that can always be a case with some individuals, that God has already forgiven them, and yet they're laboring under the heavy weight of not being able to forgive themselves.

When we look at the Bible, there is no doubt that sin and God's vocabulary is indeed a four-letter word. I'm watching some of your eyes out there and you're counting. S-I-N-T. No, it is still in God's vocabulary a four-letter word. It's not a good thing. It is a bad thing. And in fact, it does when we do sin, in that sense it does, bring a curse upon us, the curse of death, unless we ask God for His forgiveness and do accept Jesus Christ and His blood and His sacrifice for the remission of our sins. Before we move forward with what I said is going to be the preponderance of this message, I think it is important that we do for a moment center on what sin is, because today a lot of people no longer use that word sin. Some congregations don't like to bring it up. They feel that it can either divide people from God, divide people from people, or divide people from coming back and being a part of that church when you bring up something as, well, as discouraging or nasty as sin. Some people today just want to talk about a person's destiny. They want to talk about a person's future. But the Bible clearly indicates until we grapple and wrestle and deal with ourselves and recognize our separation from God, there is no destiny and there is no future. Now, once we do that, there is a destiny and there is a future, but there is such a thing as sin. Today, a lot of people talk about sin. They won't say that word. They'll talk about things like misunderstandings or, well, emotional accidents or feelings or oversights or mistakes.

Or some people might want to use a juvenile phrase like, well, I committed a boo-boo.

Sin is sin. Well, a lot of people say, well, what is sin? Can we find a definition in Scripture that defines sin? And yes, we can. Join me, if you would, in 1 John 3. In 1 John 3, and let's notice verse 4. In 1 John 3 and verse 4, this is, if we want to put it that way, the classic definition of what sin is. Whoever commits sin also commits lawlessness. And sin is lawlessness. It's breaking the law. Now, for those of you, most of you in this room may have a new King James Bible. Allow me to read it out of what we call the Old King James Version and or the Authorized Version because I think it makes the point a lot clearer. In the Authorized Version, it simply says this, sin is and or equals the transgression of the law, the transgression. What does that word transgression mean? Transgression means to violate or go beyond the boundaries. So, when an individual sins, they are trespassing in a territory that God has said, don't go there. That's a bad place. And that's going to separate you from me. And that's not good. Sin is the transgression of the law.

What does happen when we do sin? The Bible, again, is very clear on that. Join me, if you would, in Ezekiel 18 and verse 4. These are verses, at times, that ministers don't turn to.

But God inspired it. He wants us to recognize the depth of what sin is, of going against his way, of moving against his kingdom law and what it does for you and for me. And in Ezekiel 18 and verse 4, God says, Behold, all souls are mine. There are no souls that are out there wandering on their own, doing their own thing. He says, All souls are mine. The soul of the Father, as well as the soul of the Son, is mine. That's why God is sovereign. He's sovereign. He says, All is mine. And then notice what he says. The soul and or from the Hebrew, the nayfesh, the living, breathing creature. Even those that are made in God's image, like man and like woman, when they sin, when they violate, when they go beyond that boundary, it says that they shall die. So, God takes sin very, very seriously. It's not just the ten suggestions. It is the ten commandments. And we recognize that when we observe those commandments as Christians in faith, we recognize that there are blessings. And blessings are a part of judgment. I don't know if you ever thought about it that way. God can judge us towards blessings. It's not always towards punishment. But also, if we break that law, there is a penalty. And we need to recognize that.

Now, when I bring this up, many of you that are in this room today are students of the Bible. You're familiar with these scriptures. But familiarity, action, and belief. Allow me to repeat myself. Familiarity, action, and belief are all three different things, three different items on the road to salvation. There are many people that are familiar with Scripture. That doesn't mean that they observe it. There are many people that, in a sense, might go through the motions. But if we don't really believe this, not only what sin is, but the power of God's loving forgiveness to cover our sins, we're not going to be able to move forward in that beautiful and wonderful future. That joy of salvation that David speaks of.

Now, sin is not something that we can compartmentalize. Kind of tuck away over here and say, I'll keep it here and deal with it later. Have you ever considered for a moment? Let's think about it for a moment, okay? Put on our thinking caps. Have you ever thought about the Lord's prayer for a moment? In the Lord's Prayer, where Jesus said, after this manner of prayer, we say, Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.

Back then, bread was the sustenance, the substance of life. And it was made daily, and you had to have that daily bread to live. It's interesting that right after that, then it says, and forgive us our deaths. I'm going to leave it right there, because I'm going to come back to the rest of the prayer at the end. But there's almost that aspect of joining together our daily bread and forgiving us our deaths, almost in the same thought that as quickly as we move towards bread, recognizing the bread is there for us to live, that it is just as important on a daily basis to consider ourselves in a relationship to God, that our willingness and our ability to go to God and say, Father, forgive me, is something just as important to have on a daily basis, just as our daily bread. None of us are going to put off tonight's meal unless you're planning to fast tonight. And in the same sense, God doesn't want us to put off the aspect of coming before Him and saying, Father, forgive me just as much as that daily bread. Why is that? And why would Christ allude to that, the importance of coming together in that aspect? Join me if you would, one more step, in Isaiah 58, because we need to recognize that if and when we do sin, transgress God's law, and in that sense, bring upon ourselves that penalty. We also recognize there's something else that occurs. In Isaiah, did I say Isaiah 58? Pardon me, Isaiah 59. Let's go over one chapter. Behold, in verse 1, Isaiah 59, verse 1, the Lord's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save. Neither is his ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he won't hear.

When we sin, which means to miss the mark, it separates us from God. God is moving in one direction. What He is saying is, you're moving in a different direction. It separates us. It cuts us off. And in that sense, He's not going to listen to us until we come to Him in full acknowledgment and say, Father, I understand now. I get it. I realize where you are. I realize where I am. I also recognize what Jesus Christ has done for me. Father, forgive me. Now, when we do that, this is where we want to go with the rest of the sermon. What happens then when we recognize the gravity of sin, when we recognize our responsibility to approach God's throne of grace and mercy, and we come before God and we say, Father, forgive me.

Now we go to the second stage. What happens? And why is it that we can experience that same joy of salvation as David did? Allow me to go down a line of thought, give you some points. If I haven't engaged you enough in today's message, you might want to take out a piece of paper, because I'm going to kind of give you some verses to look over, verses that are full of color, full of action, defining and showing what the activity of forgiveness is that God demonstrates towards us. Why? Because He loves us. Because He made us in His image and after His likeness for a future in His kingdom forever and ever. Therefore, we need to know what happens. Join me if you would as we begin to unfold what is the activity of forgiveness. Join me if you would in the Gospel of John, John 1. In John 1, and let's pick up the thought in verse 29. The Gospel of John, chapter 1, verse 29. This is at the very beginning of the story. That's where you always want to pick it up. In John 1.29, we notice the next day, John saw Jesus coming towards them and said, Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. The first point I want to share with you in the activity of forgiveness is when we say, Father, forgive us. The first point is this. God takes away our sin. He takes away our sin. Let's notice here for a moment some of the language that is being used. It's very interesting that as we look at John 1.29, and it talks about the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, we might say that sacrificial language is being used. Sacrificial language is being used.

Jesus is being termed as the Lamb of God. Let's understand that in ancient Israel, from the days of the tabernacle to the days of the temple, a Lamb was slain in the morning, and a Lamb was slain in the evening for the sins of the people. Now we come to understand that this was all pointing to this moment as Jesus came to this earth, that He would take on that sacrificial realm, and that He would be the Lamb of God. In fact, it's very interesting when you look at it, and you might want to maybe never consider this before, it's very important where this is placed in the story of John. John is an apostle. John is a writer of the gospel, of the good news of what God was doing, always focused on the glory of God. If you consider the book of John, it's always about the glory of God. And the glory of God is revealed in that He sent His Son to be the sacrificial Lamb. In fact, it's recorded at the front of the story. This is not something that Jesus grew into down the line, thinking, well, three and a half years have gone by, but He started thinking about being a sacrifice. This is recorded up front to show that, friends, this was the primary mission for Him to come into this world, to be the Lamb of God, to be the sacrifice, and one that God would provide. It's interesting when you think back in Isaiah 53. Join me if you would for a moment. Keep your hands there in John, but in Isaiah 53. And let's notice the messianic prophecy regarding Christ. In Isaiah 53 and verse 7, or should I say the one that would become Christ, He was oppressed and He was afflicted. And yet He did not open His mouth, and He was led as a lamb to the slaughter. That sacrificial lamb. That was sacrificed in the morning. That was sacrificed in the evening. And as a sheep before it shears, it's silent. And so this was the fulfillment of prophecy. As John saw Jesus walking towards Him in the River Jordan, He said, Behold, there is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world. When we just think of the word for a moment, take, what does it mean to take away? To take, at face value, means it is no longer in place. When I take this book off of this podium, what happens? It has been taken away. Do you notice the absence here? A presence. There's nothing here. When God takes away our sin, nothing, nothing remains if we believe and if we have repented. I have a question for you, friends.

How important is that to you? And how wonderful is that for us to recognize that no matter what we have done, that God takes away our sins. It's interesting, other definitions, if you go to a dictionary, if you go to a thesaurus, other definitions or synonyms or thoughts about taking away is to get possession of, to receive, to absorb, to swallow willingly. In other words, I'll take it. I'll just take it and you swallow it. Remember how your mother used to try to make you eat broccoli when you were young? Then you finally gave up because she wouldn't give in. And so you had to, what? You had to take it. You had to swallow it. You had to absorb it.

It also means to move or to conduct into a different place. Bottom line, as we look at John 129, and the first thought I want to share with you in this message is Jesus came into this world so that God the Father could take away our sin. Christ swallowed our sins so that we might not drown in them. Point number two that I'd like to share with you is this.

When we say, Father, forgive me, God remits our sins. God remits our sins. That may be a phrase that we're not totally familiar with. Join me if you would in Matthew 26-28. In Matthew 26, and moving to verse 28, we move into the story of that evening of the Passover when Jesus Christ implemented the emblems of the sacrifice that those that would follow Him would partake.

In verse 27, chapter 26, then He took the cup and gave thanks, and He gave it to them. Interesting that He gave thanks, recognizing that it was going to be His sacrifice. And that's how much God and how much Christ wanted to do that for you and for me, saying, drink from it all of you, for this is my blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins. Now, what does the word remit mean? I think it's very important that we understand that. The Greek root, and there are a lot of Greek words that we could spell out and try to mention to you. I'm not going to spell them. I'm not going to try to say them. I'll let you go study that a step further. But the Greek root for remission conveys sending away. Sending away. Now, this is very important as we begin to build the understanding of the activity of forgiveness. What Jesus is saying here, this is my blood that is shed for you so that your sins will be sent away from you. We'll move away from you, no matter what you have done.

Whether it's the first, the second, the third, the fourth, the fifth, maybe skip the sixth commandment, seventh, the eighth, the ninth. Whatever you have done, of course, James says, if you've broken one, you've broken them all. So we'll go back to the sixth. But no matter what you have done when you come before God as a Father, believing in the sacrifice of Christ, and you say, Father, forgive me. I didn't want to do this. I know you've given me your spirit. I know I have that sacrifice of Christ to cover me. It is not my will. It is not my desire to do this. But I'm still in this human framework, and I know I've gone against your way.

Forgive me. When we do that, the activity forgiveness tells you and tells me upon that that our sins are sent away from us. They begin to move away from us. Allow me to take it a step further. In other words, there is a dismissal or release. When you release something, it's like releasing a pigeon. You ever thought of releasing a bird or releasing a pigeon? Maybe you've done that. I either see it in movies where you open your hands and the bird flies off.

There is a remission. There is a sending away. Another way of looking at it with dismissal or releases is it's as if full payment is rendered. In other words, when you're across a counter and you're wanting to purchase something from a store, what you do is you remit value, and then the person across the counter, the attendant, remits value. Value means value and moves the opposite way. There is an exchange. There is a release. There is a sending. What we recognize in all of this is we're talking more than quarters, nickels, and dimes. When we're talking about sin, what we're talking about is the value that is offered is the blood of Jesus Christ, our Sager. When that happens, our sins become remitted. Christ had to give us blood. That's not something that we like to think about too often. Blood tends to make most of us squeamish, ill, turned off, scary. It's red. It's warm. It's something that we don't like to see, especially when it's coming out of us. Then we run and we try to hide it. Christ gave us blood for you and for me, something that had to be sent of value, equaling the commodity purchased so that it might be released. It was the preciousness of that one sacrifice, that blood, for the remission of sin for the many. And that's something that you and I can't do. We cannot go down to Albertsons or Wal-Mart or even Parjes, even Target, and buy forgiveness for sin. Sin is not for sale. Allow me to share a story with you to bring this to point. A little boy came to Washington, D.C., and as little people will be, they are very impressionable as they look at the great monuments of our capital city. And a little boy was on the Washington Mall, and he looked up, and he saw the Washington Monument, that great obelisk, that great pillar that rises 555 feet above the national mall dedicated to our founding father, George Washington. And he looked at that, and he was just so impressed that he looked over at the old security guard that was by him, and he basically said, I want to buy it. And the guard stooped down and said, well, how much do you have? Well, the little boy got out in his pocket, you know, and dug deep, and came out, and he says, I've got 34 cents. Well, the guard said, that's not enough. The boy said, I thought you were going to say that. So he dug down a little bit deeper, looked at the other pocket, and came up with nine more cents. So he offered a total of, you know, so many cents to the guard saying, thinking that the deal was sealed. Well, the guard said, listen, young man, there's three things that you have to understand about the Washington Monument. Number one, 34 cents isn't enough. In fact, 34 million dollars isn't enough. Number two, the monument is not for sale. Never has been, and never will be.

And number three, if you're an American citizen, it already belongs to you. It already belongs to you.

Today, friends, there's three things that you and I also need to understand as we maybe smile through this story. Three things that we need to understand about forgiveness. Number one, we can't earn it. We can't earn it. Number two, it's not for sale. And number three, if we truly believe God and repent, it is already ours. The value has already been expended. It is the sacrifice of the one that was the Word that became Jesus that is now the Christ that sent it on high at the right hand of God. It's there for us. It's already there. We just have to believe that. We have to understand that. We also have to understand what sin is and what it does when we go down that track and we become separated from God. And then God's Holy Spirit convicts us, and then we move back towards where God wants us to be. Point number three, God has purged our sins.

A part of the activity of forgiveness is God purges our sins. Join me, if you would, in Hebrews 1. In Hebrews 1, towards the end of the New Testament, we find something very interesting about what God does. The power of forgiveness is expressed here.

Hebrews 1. And let's pick up the thought beginning in verse 1. Hebrews 1 and verse 1. God, who at various times and in various ways spoken times, passed to the fathers by the prophets, as in these last days, spoken to us by his Son, whom he has appointed heir of all things, and through whom also he made the world. Now, this is very important in the positive argument that the author of Hebrews is about to bear and lay out for us. Who, being the brightness of his glory and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power.

So, it's talking about creation, and it's talking about power. When he by himself purged our sins, he sat down at the right hand of God Almighty on high. What did we gain from this? 1. Purged We've used other words, such as taken away or remission, but now, for a moment, if you'll stay with me, let's consider purged. The word purge means to thoroughly cleanse or rid of anything undesirable. We often speak of purges, of having to rid of undesirables. We talk about purging a community, or maybe the need of purging a government of bad sorts or bad politicians or some kind of corruption. Purging is certainly a word of activity and of energy. God says that he purges our sins. The very term purge denotes a thorough scrubbing through and through of the very deepest order with nothing overlooked. When you purge something, let's say that the community is upset. They recognize that there has been corruption either in a company or in a city council and or a government. The community wants action. That means you've got to go all the way in and clean it up.

You've got to purge. Well, that's the conveyance that God wants us to understand when we say, Father, forgive me. God scrubs deeply with the blood of Jesus Christ. And he purges and deep cleans us and removes that stain from us once and forever because we have said, Father, forgive me. It's very interesting. I'm going to turn to out of this Bible, which is the New Living Translation. I'd like to read it to you for just a second if you'll bear with me because I think it offers a different thought on this, which can sometimes be illuminating. Hebrews 1 through 3 allow me to read it to you from the New Living Translation. The sun reflects God's own glory and everything about him represents God exactly. And he sustains the universe by the mighty power of his command. And after he died to cleanse us from the stain of sin, the stain of sin, he sat down in the place of honor at the right hand of God, majestic on high.

You ladies know what it's like to battle stains either on your floor in clothing. Do this. You do that. You do this. Then you get the real elbow grease out and you're gone and you're gone and you're going and you get all the things out of your laboratory up there in the cupboard. And finally, you just light a fire to the jeans. No, just teasing. But anyway, that you recognize them that you see here the aspect that God goes deep. What is important when you look at this aspect of Purge is simply this. God, stay with me. Perhaps you've never seen this before. Hebrews 1, 2, and 3 especially. God equates redemption and the power thereof with the power of ruling the universe. This same Christ in whom all things were made, in whom all things were created, that has all power, that same power, the sacrifice thereof has the ability to purge all of our sins. And yet, sometimes we'll say to ourselves, and we're beating ourselves up, I wonder if God can really forgive me. I wonder if God has forgiven me. The same God that holds the stars in His hand, keeps the moon from crashing into the earth, keeps the earth crashing from the sun, has the laws of gravity and this and that, and keeps everything in place, with such strength and such ability. When we look at Hebrews, it says that His redemptive power is the same as that creative power. It is one and the same, same author, and He grances that to purge us of our sins. But the key here, which is very interesting, is we look at Hebrews 1, is something that is very important as we look at. I see Hebrews 1. No, that's not what I want. Let's go then to number four. God simply says that He has cleansed us from our sins. Join me in 1 John. In 1 John 5, did I say 1 John 5? Pardon me. 1 John 1. Pardon me. 1 John 1. Verse 5. I've often read this to people when I am counseling them for baptism, because for some reason, sometimes there are people that will just not let go, even when God is almost up in heaven saying, let go, let go. You can. This is why my son died for you, and yet, they somehow believe, somehow, whatever they have done, that God's sacrifice cannot forgive them. This is the message that we have heard from Him and declare to you that God is light, and in Him is no darkness at all. At that time, there was a lot of fascination and philosophical thoughts in the Roman Empire about light and darkness, and John is using these themes. Now he brings it into the aspect of forgiveness, sin of which is dark. If we say that we have fellowship with Him and walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another. And notice, in the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sin. All sin. Now, the last time I looked at the definition of all, you know what it meant? This is not a trick question, some of you are looking. It means all. It means everything. It can cleanse us from all sin. Verse 8, if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and notice, and to cleanse us again from all unrighteousness. Now, very interesting, I remember an old teacher that once said, you know, when God mentions something once, stand up and take notice.

But here within three verses, God tells us twice that if we come to Him, remember, not by our works, but in faith, but in faithful obedience of recognizing that perhaps we have erred in sin, and we say, Father, forgive me for what I have done. But God says that He is able to cleanse that all in all, everything. Sometimes people will come to church and perhaps they've done something and they hear a sermon like this and they say, well, you know, certainly God can forgive them. They kind of look like nice people and, you know, they just look like nice people. So probably even their sins are nice and they weren't as bad as mine. I don't know if there's such a thing as nice sin. I don't think those works should go together. But you know what I'm saying? Or, well, you know, they're a senior citizen and maybe they sinned and maybe they don't have too many years, so God's just going to let it go and they're forgiven.

No! When God says that when we come to Him in faith and we ask to be restored to the joy of His salvation, God says, whatever you have done, no matter how big it is, the sacrifice of my sin is bigger than your biggest sin. I want to share something with you. That is why faith and forgiveness go hand in hand. Faith and forgiveness go hand in hand, and that's very important to understand. Now, it's very important here, too, that we recognize in verse 9 it talks about confession of our sins. What does that mean? And why do we at times need to confess our sins? Why does it need it? Why is it required? Because the confession is very important. I'm not talking about being in the middle of an audience and confessing something emotionalistic, even though repentance itself can be emotional before our God. Why is such confession needed and required? Number one, when we confess our sins to God, we align and come into agreement with God that our sin is sin and that we have a desire to turn from it. We come into agreement with God in confession that sin is sin, that His Word is true. Number two, such confession gives us transparency before God. We're not hiding it from Him. We're not being like Father Eve, excuse me, Father Adam or Mother Eve, and hiding in the jungle, hiding in the woods. We're open, because that's how any relationship is got to exist, is one of openness. And number three, it does, as we confess our sins, bring us back to the realism that our human tendency is to sin and that we do need God's Holy Spirit to be able to overcome it. When we confess, what does that bring us back to? Maybe you've never thought about this before, friends, so stay with me for a moment. What is important as we move through the first verses of 1 John, if you'll come with me for a second. 1 John 1 verse 3. It talks about that our fellowship is with God the Father and Jesus Christ, and that's outlined in verse 1. When we come into this room, when we come into this sanctuary, this church, our fellowship is not just with the guy or the gal in front of you or in back of you, or just with your mate and that you're here like going to a movie. When we come before God, when we are members of His church, His ecclesia is called out once, He is offering us fellowship with the Godhead, with the Father and with the Son. He's opening up and saying, you and I can have fellowship. Our sins cut us off from that fellowship until we confess them. Verse 6. If we say then that we have fellowship with Him. Interesting. Verse 7. But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ, His Son cleanseth us from all sins. Redemption is the joy of salvation. The activity of forgiveness is all about fellowship with God. Now, let me make a comment here, and I think it's very important.

Such confession, when we do come before God as people of faith, should not be based on fear.

Oh yes, we're sorry that perhaps we've disappointed God, but confession should not be based upon fear. Confession should be based upon faith.

Sometimes we can be afraid that somehow we've forgotten something, overlooked something.

Well, I shared this with God, and I shared this with God, and I shared this with God. Oh no! I forgot about this. I'm going to be zapped. God got to get me. Weber said, the soul that sins dies. I'm a goner. Not talking about that.

How about the faith that incorporates what it says in John 3 verses 16 through 17, that God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on Him should not perish, but have life, and that that same Son came into this earth, into this world, not to condemn. Some of us condemn ourselves, and not, frankly, not to condemn, but to save us, to move us toward salvation and alignment. Faith, that reminds us of Psalm 86 and verse 5, found in the middle of the Bible that it says that God is good. Why is God good? Because that's Psalm 86 and verse 5 says, because He is ready to forgive. He's poised. Can you imagine worshiping a God and giving your life to somebody that is poised in forward motion and ready to forgive us?

Is it any wonder why David spoke about the joy of salvation? Let's take it a step further here.

Let's look at Psalm 32 and verse 1 and recognize that God covers our sins when we say, Father, forgive us. Psalm 32 and verse 1. In Psalm 32 and beginning of verse 1, blessed is He whose transgression is forgiven, and that is a blessing, and that's a benefit of being a part of God's family, whose sin is covered, and blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit.

Number one, God says that our sins are forgiven. It says that He covers them, covered, buried. You know, sometimes there are things that are so stinky. Can I say it that way? Stinky, because that's exactly how they make you feel.

Stinky. You don't want to even put it in the trash can. So you say, Harry, go and bury it, at least till the trashman comes next Thursday. They're just some things that are stinky. No matter how stinky our sins are, God says that He forgives them, covers them, buries them. In other words, when you bury something, let's understand, they're no longer in view. They're no longer in view. They're no longer if they are stinky, coming up into either your nostrils or somebody else's.

And or if I can use this analogy for a second, it's like, think of this, if you want to look up here for a second, friends, it's like when it's saying this is the sin right here, and then God's hands cover it, or Christ's sacrifice covers it with His hands. It's no longer in view. It's covered. And the one thing again we want to remember when it comes to the aspect of forgiveness, the hands that are covering that sin have holes in them.

Yom Kippur, Kippur, covering, covered. No longer in sight. And not only that, but notice what it says in verse 2, it says that God does not impute them to us. God not only covers them, but the next stage is Psalm 32 in verse 2, it says God doesn't impute those sins to us. The term impute in English conveys to attribute something as a mistake, thus making a charge. We often use the term impute like imputing motives, where we kind of charge or move allegations towards somebody. The Hebrew root conveys devising or reckoning.

You know, there are there are people sometimes that have devisonings or reckonings to to put something against us. Well, God is saying that when we look at this, it says that blesses the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity. He's no longer thinking about it. He's no longer devising in his mind or reckoning or saying, hmm, there's that individual down there. One plus one reckoning equals that's apart from God. He's no longer. Have you ever thought about this when you just say those three words?

Father, forgive me. All of this activity. The reason I'm showing you this is because when God says he's going to do something, he's going to do something. And it is a miracle. Isaiah 38 verse 17, come with me please. Let's continue to, shall we say, power up to the end of this message of what God does through the activity of forgiveness. Isaiah 38 verse 17, breaking into thought, indeed, it was for my own peace that I had great bitterness, but you have lovingly delivered my soul from the pit of corruption, from the pit of corruption.

For you have cast all my sins behind your back. When we say, Father, forgive me, God cast our sins behind his back. Now, when we cast something behind our back, I don't have something to cast right now, but if I cast something behind my back and it's in back of me, or it's like this behind me, it's not it. It's no longer in my view. I'm no longer thinking about it. In other words, God is no longer looking at that baggage. He's not interested where we've come from. He's more interested where he wants to take us. But we have to recognize that we have to give up something for him to give something, and we must give to him our sins through confession.

Psalm 103 in verse 2, again dealing with the activity of sin. Psalm 103 in verse 12. As far as east is from the west, so far he has removed our transgressions from us. As the Father petties his children, so the Lord petties those who fear him. For he knows our frame, and he remembers that we are dust. And even so, he recognizes our condition so much more so because Jesus, after all, is the spirit of experience.

And having lived in this human tabernacle, knowing what it's like to be dust and knowing what it means to be tested. Nonetheless, that when we repent and we say, Father, forgive me, it says that he removes our sins as far as east is from the west. Now, if you'd like to just look up here for a moment, this is the interactive part of services. In other words, what he's saying is, you know, look, what happens here is east is this way, and west is this way.

East goes this way, west goes that way. The thought is simply this, that is being offered by the psalmist is that when God forgives us, east does not meet west. East goes east, west goes west. And the twain are not to meet. Two different directions. And he says, as we look at verse 12, as far as east is from the west, so far he has removed our transgressions from us. Now, I have a question for you, talking about this verse. Does that mean that somehow that God forgets what we've done?

Does God have spiritual forgetfulness? Does he have divine amnesia?

Let's think about that for a moment. No, he doesn't.

Because God is omniscient. God knows everything. He is all in all, past, present, future. And I don't mean to go metaphysical on this sense.

What is being transcribed here, as is mentioned, or conveyed for our encouragement.

God knows what we've done. It's not as if he forgets in that sense what we've done.

What he chooses to do, and here's the word they might want to write down, chooses to do. And it is a choice. It is the divine prerogative, and that's why it is his greatest attribute.

He chooses not to couple the penalty with the sin. He moves the conviction. He moves the penalty.

He moves the death penalty for whatever you and I have done. And that penalty goes east.

And we, after repentance, go west with God. And the twain shall never meet. That is an awesomeness about God. He removes. He takes away what we so richly in that sense deserve of and by ourselves. Because we believe in Him. We believe in His Son. We believe in that blood of Jesus Christ as the great covering, as the cleansing that takes away any stain that you and I have done. And not only that, but let's find out one more thing in Micah 7, then we'll conclude. In Micah 7, another part of the activity of forgiveness. We find Micah in the Old Testament.

Micah 7.

It is on page 1327 of my Bible. Did that help anybody? Micah Nahum Habakkuk. Okay, Micah. Micah 7 and verse 18. Notice with me as we begin to conclude. Who is a God like you, pardoning iniquity, and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever because He delights in mercy. And He will again have compassion on us and will, yes He will, subdue our iniquities. We've talked about that today. And Micah had the confidence to mention this then. And you will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea. What better news do I have to share with you today, friends?

Of a God who takes whatever we have done and cast it into the depths of the sea?

And not only that, but then puts up a sign, as it were. You won't find this in the Bible. As Paul Harvey says, this is the rest of the story. But He puts up a sign and says, no fishing allowed. Nobody goes back, including ourselves. And what I've tried to convey to you today is that if God forgives us and takes our sins and puts it into the deepest trench in the ocean and puts up that sign, He doesn't go back. He doesn't bring back the penalty and the conviction and link it with the sin. He doesn't impute. He covers. He cleanses. He dumps into the ocean.

He doesn't go back, and neither can we. Can we begin to say, see that when David said in the Psalms, restore to me the joy of your salvation? And also that as you do, that I might teach transgressors your ways? I have a question for you. Can you now, by the Scriptures that I've shared, not only teach yourself, but share with others that are going through the challenges of this life and want to come to God and somehow feel that they can't, somehow that they can't be forgiven, somehow that God has gone to sleep, somehow that God is down on them of what our God and what His Christ have done for you and for me. And if we do truly believe that, then we must continue with that model of the Lord's Prayer. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. And if God has engendered such a realm of an activity of forgiveness for you and me and you and I believe in that with heart and soul and being, then we'll take that next step. We'll take that next step, recognizing that we want to be like God.

And if somebody has trespassed against us, then we too engage ourselves fully, completely and in faith in the activity of forgiveness. There is no better news today that I can share with people of God than to remind us that we are forgiven.