I Believe --- Forgiveness of Sins

Let’s go back 1,800 years and let’s imagine the saints from ages past, throughout those 18 centuries, and let’s imagine them gathered together: in homes, prisons, beaches, mountain hideouts, caves, along the riverbanks and in churches large and small. Let’s really imagine them declaring this APOSTLES’ CREED. Can we imagine their faith? Can we imagine their courage? Just imagine the hearts and homes and cities and towns that were changed by this proclamation faith? Since 140 A.D. saints and sinners alike have gathered together to declare what it is they believe. What a great cloud of witnesses it is that cries out through the centuries. As we recite The Apostles’ Creed, let us imagine those who have gone before us:

The Apostles’ Creed

1. I believe in God, the Father Almighty, Maker of heaven and earth;

2. and in Jesus Christ, His only (begotten) Son, our Lord;

3. who was conceived by the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin Mary,

4. suffered under Pontius Pilate; was crucified, dead and buried;

He descended into hell;

5. the third day he rose again from the dead;

6. He ascended into heaven, and sits at the right hand of God the Father Almighty;

7. from thence He shall come to judge the quick and the dead.

8. I believe in the Holy Ghost,

9. the holy catholic Church, the communion of saints,

10. the forgiveness of sins,

11. the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen

“I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” So what? does it mean to you when you say that? What does it mean when you say, “I believe in the forgiveness of sins”? What does the forgiveness of sins look like? What does the forgiveness of sins feel like? Who forgives the sins of sinners? Can we forgive the sins of sinners? What are we to do with the forgiveness of sins? So many questions come to mind. I wish we had more time to plumb the depths of this deep theological statement.

Let me set the stage here. The line that we are talking about here wasn’t in the original Creed. It was added later. Why? In 303 A.D. the Emperor of Rome was a man named Diocletian. Diocletian was a cruel and wicked Emperor. Diocletian ordered that the property of the Christians in Rome to be seized. He ordered that all books be burned, and that all of their places of worship be destroyed. All of Christian leaders/pastors/teachers were imprisoned. Many of them were martyred for their faith. Here’s how Diocletian operated: The Christians were ordered to sacrifice to the Roman gods and if they did not, they were imprisoned or martyred. Diocletian was cruel—he impaled people on poles, he burned people at the stake. I think we can understand why many frightened Christians of this era came out in masses to offer sacrifices to the Roman gods. They renounced their faith. By offering public sacrifices to the Romans gods, these Christians had effectively renounced their baptism.

After a while, life returned to normal and Christianity was tolerated as a part of the Roman pluralistic empire. When this happened, a crisis happened in the church. What was the church to do with these Christian believers who had renounced their faith in order to save their lives from the wicked Diocletian and his army? The early church wrestled with questions like: Can these sinners be accepted back into the faith? Should they be baptized again? Should they be permanently be excluded from participating in the Christian community? These were tremendously difficult questions. This was a time of soul searching for many believers. Through this struggle, the deepest questions of Christian identity came into focus.

So what? What is it that makes you a follower of Christ? What can you do if you have strayed away from the faith? What can you do if you have sinned? Is church just for the pure and holy, or is the church for those who are weak, struggling, and uncertain? This 4th century church crisis led to some pretty clear answers to many of these questions. It was finally agreed upon: Failures in following Christ or discipleship --- even dramatic failures --- do not exclude a person from the grace of God. The early church then added the 10th line into the Apostles’ Creed --- “I believe in the forgiveness of sins.” Can you imagine being so afraid of being impaled that you renounced your faith and sacrificed to the Roman gods? This line was added to the Apostles’ Creed so that those who had done the renouncing were included back into the Church. The church went back and forth on this issue. Do we make them be re-baptized? Isn’t baptism a once and forever kind of thing? Now you understand the turmoil involved in just this one line.

In 381 the Nicene Creed was written as a follow-up creed and it included the statement, “we acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” One God, one Lord, one baptism.

This past Tuesday night, our church baptized Kianna Zolkiewicz in front of her parents, grandparents, other family members and friends. Kianna stood before us and read the Apostles’ Creed. We then went into the waters of baptism. I had asked her if she wanted to be immersed one time or three times for the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. She smiled and said three times and down she went three times to come up and celebrate her new life in Christ. Kianna is Lorraine Bunner’s granddaughter!

We have two New Testament passages to read today as we reflect on the forgiveness of sins.

Let us pray … “God of all grace and truth, lead us, touch us, heal us with Your grace and truth. We give you all praise and thanks as we remember how You have forgiven us through Jesus Christ. Help us to forgive others. Amen”

As I read these passages of Scripture today, I would like for you to take a moment and put yourself into the stories. In the Mark passage would you be one of the friends who carried their friend to Jesus? Would you be the paralyzed man? Would you be a part of the crowd, just watching in unbelief? Would you be one of the religious leaders who questioned Jesus?

Mark 2:1-12

A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home. 2 So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them. 3 Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them. 4 Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on. 5 When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, 7 “Why does this fellow talk like that? He’s blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 Immediately Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts, and he said to them, “Why are you thinking these things? 9 Which is easier: to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up, take your mat and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins….” He said to the paralytic, 11 “I tell you, get up, take your mat and go home.” 12 He got up, took his mat and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone and they praised God, saying, “We have never seen anything like this!”[i]

In the John passage we have another powerful story of forgiveness and grace. Where are you in this story? Are you looking in someone’s window to find them in sin? Are you dragging the sinner out to be accused by Jesus and the crowd? Are you a part of the crowd? Are you already holding onto a stone, ready to throw it? What if you are the person who was caught in sin?

John 8:1-11

But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. 2 At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. 3 The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group 4 and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. 5 In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” 6 They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. 7 When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.” 8 Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground. 9 At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there. 10 Jesus straightened up and asked her, “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” 11 “No one, sir,” she said. “Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared. “Go now and leave your life of sin.”[ii]

I love these stories of forgiveness. As I prayed about teaching of the forgiveness of sins, I prayed about what to teach. I could teach some of the Old Testament words for forgiveness … “nasa” which means to send away, “kapar” which means to cover up. From this we get Yum Kippor --- the day of atonement for the covering of sins. The dynamic of forgiveness in the Old Testament is releasing the person from their past. The person’s past acts and deeds of sin are not denied, but there is no longer any bondage attached. The Old Testament teaches that forgiveness brings freedom.

We could spend a little time looking at the New Testament words for forgiveness. No one really knows what Jesus was writing in the sand that day when they brought the woman to him to be stoned. I think he was writing a Greek word that is used 76 times in the New Testament. I believe that Jesus was writing the word “aphiemi.” “Aphiemi” means “to leave”. ..to leave behind, to send away, to forgive.” Jesus taught forgiveness! Jesus taught the disciples the Lord’s prayer --- “forgive us of our sins, debts, trespasses as we forgive those who trespasses and sin against us.” When Jesus was about to be betrayed, Jesus told them that the cup they shared at the Lord’s Supper was the cup of forgiveness poured out in His blood. When He hung on the cross, Jesus said --- “Father, forgive them for they know not what they do.”

I am going to do something a little different this Sunday. Instead of giving you several illustrations of forgiveness that hopefully bring the point home, I am handing out a sheet with 14 references on forgiveness. I would like for you to spend some time during the next few weeks looking up these passages and reflecting on the stories and the passages. I encourage you to write some notes, thoughts and prayers.

Exodus 34:1-10 … “The Lord, the Lord, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands, and forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin.” (Exodus 34:6-7)

2 Chronicles 7:11-22 … “if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” (2 Chronicles 7:14)

Psalm 103:1-12 … “Praise the Lord, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits— who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion …” (Psalm 103:1-4)

Jeremiah 31 … “No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest,” declares the Lord. “For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more.” (Jeremiah 31:34)

Micah 7 … “You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea.” (Micah 7:19)

Matthew 6:5-15 … “Forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors… For if you forgive men when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.” (Matthew 6:12, 14-15)

Mark 2:1-12 ... “When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” (Mark 2:5)

Matthew 18:21-35 --- “Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” (Matthew 18:33)

Matthew 26:17-30 .. “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.” (Matthew 26:28)

Luke 23:26-43 … “Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.” And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.” (Luke 23:34)

Colossians 3 … “Bear with each other and forgive wha tever grievances you may have against one another. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.” (Colossians 3:13-14)

Ephesians 1:3-14 … “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace.” (Ephesians 1:7)

Acts 13 … “Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.” (Acts 13:38)

I John 1:1-10 … “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” (I John 1:9)

SO WHAT?

Forgiveness is a gift you give yourself. When you confess your sin, you are set free. When you forgive yourself, you set yourself free! When you forgive those who have hurt you, abandoned you, offended you, insulted you, upset you, slighted you, cheated you, lied to you or sinned against you … when you forgive them --- you set yourself free. Life is too short to go through it living in unforgiveness. Forgiving costs, us nothing. Forgiving cost Jesus everything.

I have a brief video that I want you to see. I first saw it at the Tres Dias grace weekend I serve on. They showed it before they served communion.

Let us pray …

The Seed Christian Fellowship

Rancho Cucamonga, California 91701

www.theseedchristianfellowship.com

August 11, 2019

Pastor Dave

[i] The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Mk 2:1–12). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

[ii] The Holy Bible: New International Version. (1984). (Jn 8:1–11). Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan.

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