Forgiveness: God's Remedy for Guilt

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This is a sermon that attempts to give biblical and practical insights regarding the subject of forgiveness.

Written Excerpts:

Psalm 32:1  “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered.”

Isaiah 43:24b-25 “...you have burdened Me with your sins, you have wearied Me with your iniquities. I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.”

Jeremiah 31:33-34 “But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel… I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts….I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

Introduction:

The Scripture that was read earlier in the service (Matthew 18:21-35), recounted the story that Jesus told to illustrate the principle of forgiveness.

In the account, there were two different cases of forgiveness (or lack of it). (1) The forgiveness offered by the lord to his servant; (2) the forgiveness withheld by the servant toward another servant.

As we see illustrated in this story, forgiveness is something that we all hope to received, but sometimes we’re not so eager to offer.

I understand that last Sunday, Pastor Dale Henneman told a story or two about me! So, I suppose I’m going to have to forgive him before I go on with this sermon!! J

I trust that the Lord will help us understand more about this blessing of forgiveness, and that we will receive help for the struggles that some of us may be dealing with today.

Are you carrying a load of guilt and remorse or anger over some of your sins of the past? Have there been actions in the past (either committed by you or committed against you) that always weigh you down? Do they seem to influence all your actions and reactions? Do they cause you to lose heart and lose hope?

I’ve got good news for you today. God has a remedy. It’s called forgiveness.

I want to take a little while this morning to discuss the nature of forgiveness and how it relates to our spiritual relationships with God and our fellowman.

I.     The Fundamentals of Forgiveness

II.    The Foundation of Forgiveness.

III.   The Fruits of Forgiveness.

I.  The Fundamentals of Forgiveness

A. Forgiveness is NOT…

In describing some of the fundamental qualities of forgiveness, I want to start off by explaining what forgiveness “isn’t.”

1. Forgiveness is not forgetting.

There are some passages in the Bible which declare that God will not remember our sins and iniquities. So if forgetting past offenses is possible by anyone, it would only be God, not us. (cf. Isaiah 43:25; Jeremiah 31:34; Hebrews 10:16-17)

However, even with God, I’m not positive that the verses really teach that God cannot recall our offenses any longer, once their forgiven. It may simply be a way of saying that He will no longer hold them against our record or account.

In any case, the Bible is clear about the fact that God doesn’t just say, “Oh well, everybody messes up. We’ll just forget that ever happened.”

No, the only reason God can forgive and “forget” is because He created a specific plan for dealing with all our offenses, which we will talk about a little later.

When we speak of forgiveness between people, we definitely acknowledge that forgiveness does not mean a person must somehow get to the point where the offense has been forgotten, and if it’s not forgotten, then it must not be forgiven.

True forgiveness and the healing it produces simply means that when we do remember what happened and the hurt we experienced, we do so without feeling anger, revenge and bitterness.

2. Forgiveness is not excusing.

Some people will try to rationalize away their pain by attempting to make up excuses for the offender. They did it because….

If the behavior can be excused, then forgiveness is unnecessary.  If there really is a justifiable reason for the behavior then forgiveness is not needed.

In relation to the forgiveness offered by God for our sins, we affirm that He does not excuse them. They cost the blood of His Son, so sin cannot be excused, but God can forgive.

3. Forgiveness is not ignoring.

This is somewhat related to the previous points. But we’re talking about minimizing the situation; pretending it didn’t really happen or it didn’t really matter.

No where in the Bible are we taught that God ignores sin. God did exactly what we must do – face it and deal with it.

4. Forgiving is not the same as trusting.

I think I can support from the Bible the idea that even though God offers forgiveness immediately, He may still require us to go through various situations to prove ourselves faithful to Him.

Not long ago I used a passage of Scripture in my sermon that would apply to this point. (Judges 2:21-22 ²¹  I also will no longer drive out before them any of the nations which Joshua left when he died, ²²  so that through them I may test Israel, whether they will keep the ways of the LORD, to walk in them as their fathers kept them, or not.")

This doesn’t mean that God hadn’t forgiven them, it just means that there may still be some consequences. In this case, the people of Israel were going to be “tested” to see if they really desired to serve the Lord or not.

The same is true between people who have been offended and hurt. Forgiveness is a gift that cannot be earned, but trust is something that must be earned, especially when we’re talking about significant levels of trust.

If you have seriously offended someone, don’t be surprised that they don’t trust you yet, even though you have sought and received their forgiveness.

If someone else has seriously offended you, don’t put yourself through a guilt trip just because you don’t feel you can trust them yet.

However, having said that, anyone that has truly forgiven, ought to be willing to start rebuilding trust. That ought to be the ultimate goal of forgiveness and healing, but it is a process.

B. What Forgiveness Is

1. When we speak about the forgiveness offered by God, it is very close to the biblical concept of justification – the wiping clear of our record of offenses.

(Not using justification in the way it is often used regarding personal behavior, i.e. making justifications or excuses for conduct.)

No, we are speaking in legal terms much like the term “expunge” that is used today to refer to one’s criminal record being wiped clean. When God forgives us, He justifies us and eliminates our record of sins.

2. In regards to interpersonal relationships, True forgiveness is letting go of my hatred (bitterness, revenge), my right to retaliate, and my right to hang on to the emotional consequences of the hurt. 

I give up the claim I feel I have on the one who hurts me.  I consider the account to be balanced or the score even.  I relinquish whatever I felt I could justifiably hold over the other person. 

In reality, for a Christian, it means releasing them to God and trusting Him to handle everything about them from now on. If God decides to bring consequences upon them or not is entirely His business and I’m okay with it.

True forgiveness involves relinquishing the emotional consequences of the hurt.  Recurring waves of pain and anger may remind me that healing is not yet complete, but they are not to be savored in self-pity.  Rather, they are to be released to God in faith that He will bring more healing.

II.     The Foundation of Forgiveness.

A.   Forgiveness is founded in the nature of God.

The underlying implication in the very first account of sin in the Bible is that God is a forgiving God. When Adam and Eve sinned we don’t read about God coming down and wiping them off the face of the earth and starting over with someone else. No, the Bible tells us that God had a plan from before the foundation of the world to provide for the forgiveness and redemption of sinners. (1 Peter 1:18-20)

Because of His love, grace and mercy, God offers pardon and forgiveness to everyone who trusts in Jesus. That is God’s very nature. He is not willing for any to perish (suffer judgment) but wants all to come to repentance and experience His forgiveness.

B.   Forgiveness is founded in the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

The writer of Hebrews tells us “…without shedding of blood is no remission.”  (Heb. 9:22)

Jesus Himself told his disciples in the upper room at the Last Supper, “This is my blood of the New Testament (Covenant) which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” (Matt. 26:28)

This is what I was referring to earlier when I said that God doesn’t just tell us He’s going to forget about our sins and act as if they never happened.

No, the only reason God can forgive and forget is because the sin and the offenses have been atoned for through the shed blood of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Jesus gave up His life and His blood so that our forgiveness could be “purchased.”

God doesn’t say, “Oh just forget about it. It doesn’t really matter.” No, He simply assures us that the awesome penalty for our sin has already been satisfied in the death of Jesus and because of His death, we can be forgiven. The Debt has been paid! Hallelujah!

III.    The Fruits of Forgiveness.

The fruit of forgiveness is the simple fact that guilt and condemnation is removed. Peace is offered and received. Healing and wholeness replaces pain and devastation.

We read in 1 John 1:9 that forgiveness is available when we confess our sin.

Ps. 32:5 “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I have not hidden. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the iniquity of my sin.”

In Matt. 18, The servant who was forgiven such a huge debt by his lord received a huge benefit that he could never earn. He ought to have shown that same grace to his fellow servant, but he didn’t.  

Receiving forgiveness from God or from others is a great relief from a terrible weight of guilt and condemnation.

However, it is often much more difficult to forgive myself or to offer forgiveness to others.

But, forgiveness is the only route to healing.

Conclusion:

A number of years ago, someone put up a poster at the treatment center where I used to work. The poster simply read:

“Forgiveness: Giving Up All Hope for a Better Past”

When we go against God’s will and break His commandments, we find ourselves under a heavy burden of guilt and condemnation. We experience feelings of regret and remorse. We wish we could go back and undo the past and make different choices.

However, no matter how earnest our desires and wishes, there is no way to undo the past. There is no way to go back and reverse the choices and the consequences.

The only logical thing to do is throw ourselves on the mercy of God, admit our guilt and seek His forgiveness. We give up all hope for a different past or a better past, and we allow God to wipe the slate clean and help us find a better future.

When we deeply offend someone else or when we are deeply injured and offended by someone else, there is no way to go back and undo what has been done. The past is gone and it can never be better than it is.

Forgiveness is the only option. It is the logical response when we’ve reached the point where we’ve given up all hope for a better past.

I may be speaking to people here today that are burdened down with guilt and remorse over sins and disobedience against God. God promises everyone forgiveness if we will come to Him and confess our need and put our trust in Him.

I may be speaking to people who been deeply injured and scarred by the senseless (and in some cases, evil) conduct of another person. The pain and sorrow has nearly driven you to despair.

God has a remedy for all of that. It is forgiveness. Letting it go and letting Him deal with it. Releasing my control and my revenge to God’s healing and grace.