While he was preaching God’s word to them, four men arrived carrying a paralyzed man on a mat. They couldn’t bring him to Jesus because of the crowd, so they dug a hole through the roof above his head. Then they lowered the man on his mat, right down in front of Jesus. Seeing their faith, Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “My child, your sins are forgiven.” But some of the teachers of religious law who were sitting there thought to themselves, “What is he saying? This is blasphemy! Only God can forgive sins!” Jesus knew immediately what they were thinking, so he asked them, “Why do you question this in your hearts? Is it easier to say to the paralyzed man ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or ‘Stand up, pick up your mat, and walk’? So I will prove to you that the Son of Man has the authority on earth to forgive sins.” Then Jesus turned to the paralyzed man and said, “Stand up, pick up your mat, and go home!” And the man jumped up, grabbed his mat, and walked out through the stunned onlookers. They were all amazed and praised God, exclaiming, “We’ve never seen anything like this before!” —Mark 2:2-12
Sin, do we really understand what kind of an affront it is to God? If we don’t then we will not understand why He judges it. If we do not understand the holiness of God we will not understand why sin is such an offense to Him, nor will we understand His outrage against it. If we do not understand the perfection of God then we will not understand why sin insults Him and why He cannot have anything to do with it. Truly, if we do not understand the nature of sin then we will not understand the depth of love and gratitude we should have for the Lord Jesus for taking the penalty for our sin at the cross and then forgiving us when we trusted Him as Lord and Savior. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jbe7OruLk8I&list=RDJbe7OruLk8I
“Your sins are forgiven.” Those words spoken to us from the Lord God Almighty are so freeing! Jesus has the authority to forgive our sins and when He forgives them they are gone. Consider what this means! One sin is an eternal issue. If we only sinned one time as a lost person in our whole life that one sin would keep us out of Heaven. That one sin would keep us from having a relationship with God through Jesus. That one sin’s guilt would receive the wrath of God and judgment in Hell forever. That one sin has eternal consequences! All of us have sinned more than one time in our life, much more. But, when we truly trust the Lord Jesus, when we call on His Name to save us, our sin is forgiven. It is cast into the deepest sea never to be dredged up! It is cast as far as the East is from the West never to be considered again! Our eternal consequences, judgment and guilt for sin are gone. Jesus paid it all!
When I sin as a believer I am to confess and forsake it. But, the sin is already paid for because Jesus already took the judgment for that sin. Otherwise every time I sinned I would have to be re-born-again or born-again again. When I sin as a believer it impacts my fellowship with God, not my relationship with Him. It is truly Good News when I understand that my “sins are forgiven.” Now out of loving gratitude may I live a life that is pleasing to God, hate sin, confess sin immediately, seek to forsake it and live holy to the Lord! May it be so!
Dear Father, I am utterly amazed at what Jesus has done for me. Oh, that I truly would live a life that is pleasing to You. May I become the man you desire and do the things that Your desire.