Sermon Tone Analysis

I Believe --- Forgiveness of Sins

Mark 2:1-12 & John 8:1-11

“When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Mark2:5

“No one, sir,” she said.

“Then neither do I condemn you,” Jesus declared.

“Go now and leave your life of sin.”

John 8:11

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.