Can God Forgive Me?

So far in our series on Going Deeper in Faith we’ve talked about how God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast and that grace, love and mercy were shown in God giving the world Jesus, so that everyone who believes in Him may not perish but may have eternal life. Jesus came to give us abundant, eternal, joyful life. If we remember and allow our life to be shaped by these truths we can understand why the Gospel is called the Good News! Sometimes our human response to good news, especially news that seems too good to be true, is either not to believe it, or to believe maybe it’s true for someone else, but not for me, because I don’t deserve to be treated that well; I’m not worthy of such a gift. The latter part of that statement is true –we’re not worthy of Jesus dying on our behalf. Part of going deeper in faith is being transformed by this truth: Jesus laid down His life for us that we might have the forgiveness of our sins, and God raised Him from the dead.

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April 25, 2016
Romans 5:1-8 Can God Forgive Me?
Pastor Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

Listen to Paul explain in Romans 5:1-8 what God has done for us in Christ: “Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God. 3 And not only that, but we also boast in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, 4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, 5 and hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.

6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. 8 But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.”

While it’s uncomfortable to think about, I wonder if you take a moment if you can think of something you’ve done that you really wish you could change. If there’s one thing you could take back, one thing you did or said that if you had a second chance you’d erase because you know how damaging it was to someone else or to yourself, what would it be? While the nature, severity, and consequences of that incident will vary from person to person, all of us if we’re honest, can think of something that we’d love to have a “do over” for because it would spare other people and most likely ourselves from pain,  heartache, or regret. Thinking of that regrettable thing you’ve done, now consider the question for today, Can God forgive me? The short answer is, “Yes.” Understanding the nature of forgiveness and our role in being forgiven by God requires a little longer explanation.

Being forgiven begins with God and comes at an incomprehensibly high cost. Because God is gracious and merciful, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love, God wants to forgive us when we mess up. God has provided the way for us to be forgiven. Paul writes in Romans 5:8, “God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.” Think about that for a moment. If you’ve fallen in love with someone you most likely did so because of her or his good and appealing qualities that made it worthwhile to overlook or accept the things you found less desirable. You likely thought that he or she would enhance your life and give you joy. If you’ve ever had kids, you loved them because they’re yours and you know they’re counting on you to love, nurture, and care for them. We tend to accept the less than perfect parts of our kids because, well, they’re our kids. When they grow up, many parents feel no one is “good enough” for their daughter or son. The point is we tend to love people for their best qualities and for what they do for us and most of us would say we’d sacrifice our life to save someone we dearly love.

God’s love for us is quite different. Paul uses three less than flattering words to describe us, words most of us wouldn’t list on our resume: weak, ungodly, sinner. Paul says that’s what we were without Jesus; that’s our condition without him. Weak, ungodly, sinner – our pride rebels against hearing ourselves described that way. The good news is God loves us even in our very worst moments, when we’re weak, ungodly, sinners, God loves us unconditionally even to the point of dying for us. That’s amazing to ponder.

Richard Rohr, a Franciscan priest writes, “How could God love me so unconditionally, we all ask? This was Paul’s struggle as well, and it led him to his conclusion. God loved Paul in his unworthiness, “while he was yet a sinner” as he puts it (Romans 5:8). Therefore he did not have to waste the rest of his life trying to become worthy or prove his worthiness, to himself or to others.

We seem to think God will love us if we change. Paul clearly knows that God loves us so we can change. The only people who change, who are transformed, are people who feel safe, who feel their dignity, and who feel loved. When you feel loved, when you feel safe, and when you know your dignity, you keep growing! That’s what loving people do for one another–offer safe relationships in which we can change. This kind of love is far from sentimental; it has real power.”

God loves us and forgives us so we can change. In the New Testament, we learn that there’s a responsibility on our side when it comes to forgiveness. There are several things that are expected of us. First, Romans 5:1 states, “since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Acts 10:43 says, “All the prophets testify about him that everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” Believing in Jesus, having faith in Jesus is the first part of our side of the forgiveness equation. Jesus has done the hard work, dying on the cross and God has raised him from the dead (no small accomplishment as well); our task is to believe that Jesus did that for us. Having faith, believing in Jesus is the first step to being forgiven. Nowhere in his writings does Paul speak of God being reconciled to us; humanity messed up and God makes reconciliation possible through Jesus. If we’re feeling God is distant, more often it’s not God who moved away, it’s us. There was an older couple who’d been married for many decades and the wife had grown unhappy feeling there wasn’t the same warmth and affection there’d once been between the two of them and she convinced her husband to see their pastor together to talk about it. The wife told the pastor about the decline in their relationship and said, “When we were younger and we drove anywhere in our pickup truck we’d be snuggled right next to each other.” When she stopped speaking her husband said simply, “I never moved.” Paul says it’s humanity that moved away from God, and thanks to Jesus, God draws us close once more. It’s through Jesus that we are forgiven and have peace with God.

After having faith and believing in Jesus, the second thing to do to be forgiven by God is to repent and be baptized. A ninety year old woman woke up in the middle of the night because she heard someone breaking into her home. She called 911 and then started saying loudly and repeatedly, “Stop! Acts 2:38!” When the police arrived they were surprised to find the perpetrator standing in the living room. The officer asked, “Why didn’t you run away from a 90 year old woman?” The would-be thief replied, “Because she said she an axe and two 38’s.” What the woman wanted him to do was to repent. In Acts 2:38-39, Peter said to them, “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ so that your sins may be forgiven; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you, for your children, and for all who are far away, everyone whom the Lord our God calls to him” To repent means to turn from, to turn around, to change direction. To be baptized symbolizes dying and rising to walk in new life. When we do these things we also receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2 repentance and baptism reflect that moment when you commit to being a disciple of Jesus for the rest of your life and your past sins are forgiven. Believe and have faith in Jesus; repent and be baptized; that is how our spiritual journey as a forgiven disciple begins.

The third thing we need to do to be forgiven is to confess our sins on an ongoing basis. 1 John 1:8-10 teaches that every human being has an ongoing need for God’s forgiveness.  “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, God who is faithful and just will forgive us ours sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” God can’t forgive me until I’ve identified and named what I’ve done wrong. The discipline of confession helps us grow in self-awareness, honesty, humility, and holiness because if we confess our sins frequently we have greater motivation to stop behaviors that we know are not what God wants from us rather than saying to God in prayer day after day, “Well, I did it again…” At the Brewster Recycling Center it is Pay As You Throw; however much refuse you generate, you have to pay for your own bag to get rid of it. Forgiveness is kind of like that, however much you need to confess, you own it and it’s better to do it frequently. We wouldn’t let our home get filled with garbage; we get rid of it on a regular basis. Spiritually, confession serves a similar purpose.

A fourth thing we need to do to be forgiven by God after believing, repenting, and confessing our sins is we need to be willing to forgive others. There is only one petition in the Lord’s Prayer that is a conditional request, “Forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors.” We are forgiven as we forgive. Why is this? It’s simply by the very nature of the created order we give in order to receive. Augustine said, “God gives where he finds empty hands.” If we’re holding on tightly to how we’ve been wronged, if our hearts are so narrow that we only see how others have hurt and offended us, without seeing how we have offended God, we will find no need to seek God’s forgiveness. If we’re always calculating in our hearts how much this person or that person has violated our rights, by the very nature of things we will not be able to pray the Lord’s Prayer with honesty or conviction. The giving of forgiveness is essential because it breaks the cycle of retribution. We are offended, and instead of offending in return, we forgive. C.S. Lewis wrote in Mere Christianity, “Everyone says forgiveness is a lovely idea, until they have something to forgive. And then, to mention the subject at all is to be greeted with howls of anger.” Whether we like it or not, the Lord’s Prayer says our forgiveness hinges on our ability and willingness to forgive those who have sinned against us.

In Matthew 18, Peter, who represents us in so many ways, asks Jesus if there is a limit to forgiveness; is there a point at which if another person is really getting on my nerves I’m free of having to forgive that person? The exchange goes like this (Matthew 18:21-22): “Then Peter came and said to him, “Lord, if my brother sins against me, how often should I forgive? As many as seven times?” I’ll bet Peter felt good about himself asking that question, “I’d be willing to forgive someone not just once or twice or even a half dozen times. I’m really a good person.” Jesus punctures his balloon by responding, “Not seven times, but, I tell you seventy times seven times.” Ouch that hurts;  that’s a lot of forgiving!

Can God forgive you and me? Yes, being forgiven by God involves believing, repenting and being baptized, confessing our sins and a willingness to forgive others on an ongoing basis. By now at least a few people are wondering, is there anything God won’t forgive? The answer to that is, “yes,” there is at least one thing that Jesus says is unforgiveable. In Matthew 12 Jesus heals a man who was mute and blind so he can speak and see and some Pharisees responded by saying that Jesus’ power comes from the evil one rather than from the Spirit of God. Jesus responds forcefully (Matthew 12:31-32), “Therefore I tell you, people will be forgiven for every sin and blasphemy, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” The unforgivable sin is to be in such rebellion against God that one calls the good God is doing, evil.

It’s important to understand that while God longs to and wants to forgive us, God loves us and forgives us so we can change. Being forgiven by God isn’t a magic phrase or exchange where we can do anything we want. Like a loving parent, a loving God also has expectations. Paul also wants us to understand that being a disciple of Jesus through faith is not a golden ticket that will spare us suffering, quite the opposite. Paul says we boast in our suffering knowing that God can use even our suffering to bring about good in our life including endurance, character, and hope.

For some of us, today may be the day to believe that Jesus died for us while we still were sinners and to ask God to forgive our sins and empower us to become his disciples. For more of us, it may be well past time for us to confess our sins because we haven’t done so it quite some time and we can ask God to forgive and restore us. For others, it may be a time to lay down the burden of our inability to forgive someone who has hurt or wronged us. We need God’s help to pry open our fingers and to let go of the hurt and the person who did it so we may be freed in the process from anger, bitterness, and resentment. There are few things in life as freeing as forgiveness and God offers it to us and we can share that gift with others as well. When we forgive, we are helped as much if not more than the person we release.