Forgiven of sin, Are you?

Forgiven of sin, Are you?

When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.”  ⁶ And some of the scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, ⁷ “Why does this Man speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  Mark 2:5-7

This is a wonderful story of healing.   Four friends of a paralyzed man bring him to Jesus for healing.  They even have to lower him through a roof to get him close enough to Jesus to be noticed.  Jesus uses the event display his authority.  Not only can Jesus heal but he can also forgive sins!  There is a secondary question which I will not be able to address in this post, is sin the reason for sickness?  Even the disciples asked on another occasion, “who sinned, this man or his parents”?

“Who can forgive sins but God alone?”  Jesus said that he had authority to forgive sins and to heal the paralytic.  The man was healed in front of all of the people…so Jesus also has the authority to forgive sins.  What exactly does that mean? To be forgiven of sins?

In the greek the word is “harmatia”.  It is an archery term, meaning missing the mark or the perfect bullseye.  In the ethical sense, it means not being perfect to God’s standard or missing the mark of His perfection.  The bible says that all of have sinned, missed the mark. It is a spiritual DNA curse of mankind that is passed on to every person.  Adam sinned and all have become sinful.

In the western culture this is expressed through Paul’s teaching of “guilt”.  We may say, “Don’t you feel bad or guilty about lying?”  We are looking for some sign that we can tell this person truly understands that they did wrong.  Guilt is felt as they understood how they violated the rule…missed the mark.  When guilt is not addressed properly, the heart becomes hardened.  The person feels “less guilty”.  They are still just as wrong as before.

Next we begin to compare our marks with other marks.  You know you missed the mark, but not near as far as that other person.  He has killed someone or physically abused a child or…whatever you perceive as “really bad.”  But the reality is all have missed the mark.  Sin is not just feeling bad, it is our standing status before a holy God.  His perfection reveals every sinful action that we have every done.

Mankind is incapable of removing sin.  It is not just being free in our mind of the memory of the poor decision.  You can’t get rid of it through religious activities like “hail, Mary”, fasting, knelling to pray 5 times a day, going to church every Sunday or any kind of medication.  Sin has planted itself upon your soul with permanent marking that can not be removed through any effort on our part.  It is the stain that will not go away by time or anything else “we” try to do.

Jesus has authority to forgive, because he earned the right to forgive.  His death on the cross was a sacrifice.  He was stepping in to pay the penalty that sin deserves, death.  He earned the right, because he lived his entire life sinless.  He did not have to die.  But he offered up his life, blood was shed, and he died on the cross on our behalf. 

For those who accept his death on their behalf, their sins are forgiven and then removed.  Jesus blood sacrifice cancels the sin (permanently removes) and the power of sin that has controlled our lives (Romans 6).  There is no other way!  There is not another method or person who can remove and forgive sin.  Forgiveness originates from the one who was offended.  That is why it can not be removed by our efforts.  God was offended, He has the authority, the right to forgive.

This is such good news.  You don’t have to hang on to your guilt for one more moment.  Even if you are a Christian, you can walk in true forgiveness.  Humble yourself.  Agree with God that you had chosen wrongly.  Receive the fact that He can forgive you completely for your penalty was paid for by Jesus.  Pray these words, but believe them in your heart.

Father God,  I am a sinner.  I want to be clean and free from guilt.  I know that I have done wrong.  My mind keeps thinking there is another way to erase that stupid action in my past, but there is none.  Will you forgive me?  Will you wash the sin away from my life?  Will you renew my relationship with you?  Thank you that you said if we confess our sins to You, you are faithful and just to cleanse me from all unrighteousness. I am clean because of Jesus.

I would love to hear from you, if you prayed this prayer today.