Exodus 33:12-34:8
The Central Place in Biblical Revelation
Pastor Martin begins a series on the biblical doctrine of forgiveness by establishing its central place in God's character, the gospel's substance and proclamation, and the believer's initial and ongoing experience. Expounding Exodus 33-34, he demonstrates that God's self-revelation to Moses highlights His readiness to forgive. He then shows how the gospel's core message is the forgiveness of sins procured by Christ's death and preached to all nations. Finally, he argues that forgiveness is central to conversion and daily Christian living, both Godward and manward, emphasizing that a truly forgiven sinner will be a forgiving sinner.
Primary Texts
Topics
Outline 8 sections · 62 min
- Introduction to the Series on Forgiveness and the Centrality of Forgiveness in Biblical Revelation 0:03
- The Central Place of Forgiveness in the Character and Disposition of God 14:50
- The Fullest Revelation of God's Forgiving Character in Jesus Christ 28:06
- The Central Place of Forgiveness in the Substance of the Gospel 33:43
- The Central Place of Forgiveness in the Proclamation of the Gospel 37:51
- The Central Place of Forgiveness in the Initial Experience of the Child of God 42:26
- The Central Place of Forgiveness in the Ongoing Experience of the Child of God (Godward and Manward) 46:56
- The Organic Relationship: Forgiven and Forgiving Sinners 53:54
Key Quotes
“To state it more bluntly, to be ignorant of the biblical doctrine of forgiveness is to be ignorant of one of the most crucial dimensions of truth revealed in holy scripture.”
“Moses is brought face to face with the reality that forgiveness is woven, if I may say it without irreference, into the very character and texture of the being of the God of the covenant.”
“Forgiveness is not the importation of something foreign to God's very being. He is in his being a God who stands content. He is continually ready to forgive.”
“The biggest hindrance to a convicted sinner laying hold of God's offer of mercy in Christ is it seems too good to be true.”
“The gospel is. There's a way for you to be righteously forgiven. You say yeah forgiven. No I've got no interest in that. You better get some interest in that.”
“The God whose disposition and character. Is one of forgiveness. Has revealed and announced. In the gospel. The ground. And the way. Of forgiveness. By which he constitutes. A community. Of men and women. Who are forgiven. And forgiving. Sinners.”
“A pipe. Feeling to forgive. Christian. Is a misnomer. There is. No. Such. Beast.”
“every believing sinner is a sinner that loves Jesus and if you love Jesus you'll know it because you obey Jesus for if you love me you will keep my commandments”
Applications
The unconverted
- If you are an unconverted friend, take your sin and God seriously, and believe that God is kindly disposed to forgive, despite it seeming 'too good to be true'.
- Get interested in the way to be righteously forgiven, because the time is coming when it will be the only thing that matters.
All listeners
- Grapple with this multifaceted theme of forgiveness, not giving in to mental and spiritual laziness, to gain a well-formed, biblically-based understanding.
- Continually believe that God is a God kindly disposed to forgive, especially when you've sinned and grieved the Holy Spirit, to avoid spiritual barrenness.
- Daily pray for forgiveness of your debts, acknowledging your continuing sinfulness.
- Be a forgiving man or woman if you expect your heavenly Father to forgive you, because an unforgiving heart makes the Father's ear deaf to your cry.
- Live the alternate lifestyle of God's people by being kind, tenderhearted, and continually forgiving each other, even as God in Christ has forgiven you.
- If you claim to be a Christian, you must revel in God's gracious gift of forgiveness and allow that reveling to make you a forgiving sinner.
- Examine your heart: if the prevailing disposition is unwillingness to forgive, you are deluded about ever having been broken by the wonder of God's forgiveness.
- If you are indifferent to Jesus Christ, who alone procured forgiveness, you are deluded, because every believing sinner loves Jesus and obeys His commandments.
- Pray for the pastor as he continues to map out and structure the sermon series on forgiveness.
- Reflect, meditate, and pray over the truths heard today, asking the Holy Spirit to bring lasting fruit from this meditation.
A full transcript is available on the tab. 296 paragraphs, roughly 62 minutes.
Introduction to the Series on Forgiveness and the Centrality of Forgiveness in Biblical Revelation
The following sermon was delivered on Sunday morning, April 13, 2003, at Trinity Baptist Church in Montville, New Jersey. Now I invite you to turn with me to the book of Exodus, the book of Exodus,
and I'm going to read a portion from the latter part of the 33rd chapter into the first eight verses of chapter 34. Many of you, I trust, will remember the setting. Moses has gone up into the mountain to receive the Ten Commandments, have dealings with God for forty days and nights, and when he comes down, he finds that Aaron and the people have made a golden calf, and they are engaged in horrible acts of defiance of God's law. Moses manifests righteous anger.
God manifests anger. Moses intercedes and God turns away his anger. God then apprises Moses of his intention that he will show mercy. Moses is to go back up into the mountain with two new tablets of stone to receive afresh the revelation of God's will in those ten words.
I read now chapter 33 and verse, 12 through chapter 34 and verse 8. And Moses said unto the Lord, See, you say unto me, Bring up this people, and you have not let me know whom you will send with me. Yet you have said, I know you by name, and you also have found favor in my sight. Now therefore, I pray, if I have found favor in your sight, show me now your ways, that I may know you, to the end that I may find favor in your sight, and consider that this nation is your people. And he said, that is God, My presence shall go with you, and I will give you rest. And he said unto him, If your presence does not go with me, carry us not up hence. For wherein now shall it be known that I have found favor, in your sight, I and your people?
Is it not that you go with us, so that we are separated, I and your people, from all the peoples that are upon the face of the earth? And the Lord said unto Moses, I will do this thing also that you have spoken, for you have found favor in my sight, and I know you by name. And he said, that is Moses, Show me, I pray, your glory. And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before you, and will proclaim the name of the Lord before you, and I will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and I will show mercy to whom I will show mercy.
And he said, You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place by me, and you shall stand, and you shall stand upon the rock, and it shall come to pass, while my glory passes by, that I will put you in a cleft of the rock, and will cover you with my hand, until I have passed by. And I will take away my hand, and you shall see my back, but my face shall not be seen. And the Lord said unto Moses, Hew two tables of stone like unto the first, and I will write upon the tables the words that were on the first tables, which you broke, and be ready in the morning, and come up in the morning unto Mount Sinai, and present yourself there to me on the top of the mount, and no man shall come up with you, neither let any man be seen throughout all the mount, neither let the flocks nor herds feed before that mount. And he hewed two tables of stone like unto the first, and Moses rose up early in the morning, and went up unto Mount Sinai as the Lord commanded, and he took in his hand two tables of stone. And the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the Lord.
And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, The Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth, keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving, giving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third, and upon the fourth generation. And Moses made haste, and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshipped.
Let us again pray and ask God to help us in our understanding of His Word. Amen. Our Father, we come again because we believe our need is great. With the psalmist we do pray, open, undress our eyes, that we may behold wondrous things out of Your law.
We plead for Your help and Your blessing upon my efforts to open up Your Word, upon the efforts of Your people to understand and grasp that Word. O Lord, help us in our respected, and peculiar areas of need, as together we cry to You for help, in Jesus' name, Amen. Some months ago, I mentioned that I would be taking up a number of biblical themes, which I believe were themes that we, as a congregation and as individuals, needed to confront and to assimilate at this time in our life together. And that is precisely what I've been doing, I've been doing in recent months. Well, at that time, or shortly thereafter that initial announcement, I stated that one of the subjects that I would be addressing was the subject of the biblical teaching or the biblical doctrine of forgiveness. And I begin to fulfill that promise this morning as I embark upon a series of sermons entitled, Now Concerning the Biblical
Doctrine of Forgiveness. What does the Bible mean when it says that God forgives sin? On what basis, if any, does God forgive sin? What does it mean to forgive one another?
When? And are we obligated to forgive one another? If we are forgiven all of our sins when we repent and believe in the Lord Jesus, why do we need to continue to ask for forgiveness, if indeed we need to? Is God's forgiveness of us unconditional? Should our forgiveness of others be unconditional? Well, as we take up the subject of forgiveness, we need to ask, how do we forgive one another? Well, take up the subject of forgiveness, if any. When I begin to услive that promise, what does The subject of forgiveness, and I will attempt to expound the major passages dealing with this subject, both in the Old and in the New Testaments, these and similar questions will, I trust, each one be addressed and answered in due course.
Now, they may not be addressed and answered in the order in which you would like them to be addressed, but please be patient, because we're going to follow the track of Scripture, and I'm going to attempt to open up this subject within a structure that starts with foundational issues and moves to secondary issues, and then moves out to some of the more knotty questions in the application of the biblical doctrine of forgiveness. Now, as we begin to address the subject this morning, I have but one simple, central, foundational concern, and it is this. I want to demonstrate in the time allotted this morning the central place of forgiveness in biblical revelation. The central place of forgiveness in biblical revelation. Now, most of you know and are aware of the fact that God has two great theaters within which He has revealed Himself.
Psalm 19 is a celebration of that reality. And you who are familiar with that psalm will know that in the opening verses, the psalmist celebrates the fact that God has revealed Himself in the theater of creation. That's what we call general revelation. The heaven.
The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament shows His handiwork day unto day, night unto night. There is a revelatory activity of God in the created order above us and around us. Furthermore, according to Romans 2, verses 14 and 15, God has revealed Himself in this theater of general revelation, not only in the created order above us and around us, but in the created order within us. Paul says that those who have never seen the pages of a Bible demonstrate the work of the law in their hearts, in the function of conscience, in the consciousness that is inescapable by any man, woman, boy, or girl, in any part of the world that he is a creature accountable to his God and that accountability thunders in the function of conscience. But then God is not only revealing himself in general revelation in the world above us, around us, and within us, but in special revelation, that is,
in his written word. For the psalmist goes on to say the law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. And it is in special revelation that God has revealed to us those things that could never be known. Were we to gaze at the stars with the keenest eyes and the most powerful telescope for a billion years, there are things about God that could never be known.
Were we able to look within ourselves with the most minute and accurate analysis of who and what we are as creatures made in the image of God and made accountable to God, there are things we could never, never discover. And so God in mercy has given us special revelation, his written words, in which he discloses himself to us. And general revelation will never answer any of these questions about forgiveness, whether the questions are forgiveness in the Godward dimension or forgiveness in the manward dimension. We are indebted to this blessed book for anything we can know about the doctrine of forgiveness. And so my purpose and passion this morning is to seek to demonstrate from this book of the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Of special revelation, the central place of forgiveness, the central place of forgiveness in biblical revelation. And I'm doing this hoping to persuade each and every one of you that in taking up this subject for some weeks to come, we are not dealing with the periphery of biblical revelation. We are dealing with the very nerve centers of what God has given us. God is revealed in his holy word. To state it more bluntly, to be ignorant of the biblical doctrine of forgiveness is to be ignorant of one of the most crucial dimensions of truth revealed in holy scripture. And furthermore, I'm trusting that by the ministry this morning, I will whet the appetite of your heart and mind to grapple with this multifaceted theme.
So that as we begin to wrestle with the many passages that deal with it, and some of these things are not easy to be understood, that you will not cop out in mental and spiritual laziness, but you with me will be prepared to wrestle and to grapple until by the grace of God, you have a well-formed, biblically-based understanding of the biblical doctrine of forgiveness. So in the. I am attempting to set before you the central place of forgiveness in biblical revelation. I will do so this morning under three headings. First of all, the central place of forgiveness in the character and disposition of God himself. The central place of forgiveness in the character and disposition of God himself.
The Central Place of Forgiveness in the Character and Disposition of God
Now why do we start there? Well, for the simple reason that it is always safe to start where the Bible starts. What are the first words of your Bible?
In the beginning, God. We are apprised in Genesis 1-1. That whatever this book is going to tell us, the fundamental reference point is God himself.
And if we approach every and any subject in that way, we are on solid ground. Most of our skewed thinking about anything is because we have not started with God. Or if we have started with God, we have a distorted view of God himself. Or of God's relationship.
Or of God's relationship to the thing concerning which we are seeking to understand. And so I start where God starts. The central place of forgiveness in the very character and disposition of God himself. This is why I read the Exodus passage for you.
Because when Moses makes three prayers, and I ask you to turn there if you have turned away from it. His first prayer in Exodus 33 is, That God would go with him and his people. And God says, I will. And then his second prayer is that he would know the ways of God.
I'm sorry. That he would know the ways of God. Yes. Verse 13.
Show me now your ways, that I may know you. And then he prays in verse 18. Show me your glory. Not content to know.
That he would have. A further understanding of the ways of God. That he would have the presence, the promise of the presence of God. Moses is passionate that he might behold in new ways the very glory of God.
Now think of it. This man had been shut up with God in face to face communion. In a way no other human being had ever been for 40 days and nights. And yet what he had seen and known.
Of that kind of intimate communion with God. Rather than make him proud and satisfied. It made him insatiably thirsty for more. And so he says, oh God show me your glory.
He wants to see a dimension of God's glory. In some way of direct vision. That he didn't have even in 40 days and 40 nights in the mount. And God says, no Moses.
If I gave you what you asked. It would kill you. No man can see me in my unveiled, unmediated, undiminished glory. And live while you are yet in the flesh.
While you are yet a man here. Unglorified in spirit and body. Moses it would kill you. I can't give you what you ask.
But I'll give you second best. I'll put you in the cleft of a rock. I'll hide you. And then I will pass by and declare dimensions of my glory.
And that's exactly what he does. And when we come to chapter 34. And this is where I want you to park with me for a few moments. Exodus 34.
Verses 6 and 7. And the Lord passed by before him. And proclaimed. Jehovah.
Yahweh. Yahweh. A God. Merciful and gracious.
Slow to anger. And abundant in loving kindness. His covenant love and faithfulness. His chesed.
And truth. That is trustworthiness. Keeping loving kindness for thousands. Now notice.
Forgiving. And then the three words that take in the broad categories of every kind of sin. Forgiving. Iniquity.
And transgression. And sin. And. That will by no means clear.
The guilty. Though he is a forgiving God. He is not an indulgent unrighteous God. He will by no means clear the guilty.
Visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children. And the children's children upon the third and fourth generation. Now notice. And Moses made haste.
Bowed his head to the earth. And. Worshipped. He ascribed worth and honor to this God.
Now as he does so. What conception of God has just been given to him. God has proclaimed his name. That is his essence.
His very character to Moses. And he has declared it in terms of being a merciful. Gracious. And slow to anger God.
So that from henceforth. For Moses ever to think of God. As a God other than a. Merciful.
Gracious. Slow to anger God. Would be to deny. The very substance.
Of God's self disclosure to Moses. Do you see that? Moses. Did God show you his glory?
Yes. In a limited way. What was the substance of his glory? It was that he is.
A God. Who is gracious. Merciful. Slow to anger.
A God abundant in covenant love. And gracious. Merciful. Slow to anger.
And gracious. Merciful. Slow to anger. And gracious.
Merciful. Slow to anger. And gracious. Merciful.
Slow to anger. So he is. A God of speaking of God. You ask the question.
Who is having. Come. utes. Who keeps love.
Loving. Love. And faithfulness. And trustworthiness.
Who keeps loving. Kindness. For thousands. Who.
Visits. Iniquity. Upon the. Third and.
Fourth. Generation. But he is. A God.
Who. Forgives. Who is. Forgiving.
Forgiving. Iniquity. presence of every form of moral deviation, so that from henceforth Moses cannot rightly conceive of God as anything other than a God who forgives iniquity, transgression, and sin.
Moses is brought face to face with the reality that forgiveness is woven, if I may say it without irreference, into the very character and texture of the being of the God of the covenant.
Now, how central is an issue that is part and parcel of the very character and disposition of God? And this revelation to Moses is picked up by both psalmists and prophets throughout the rest of the Old Testament, and becomes, as it were, almost a liturgical framework for subsequent prayers of psalmists and of prophets. I give you but a couple of examples. Psalm 86, in verse 5, as we see the central place of forgiveness in the character and disposition of God.
Psalm 86, and verse 5, For you, Lord, are good. In your very character you are a good. God, you are not an evil God. You are a good God, and in the very essence of your soul is a disposition towards forgiveness.
You, Lord, are good and ready to forgive. Forgiveness is not the importation of something foreign to God's very being. He is in his being a God who stands content. He is continually ready to forgive.
He is the God of infinite, unsullied, unchangeable goodness. He is the God who is continually ever ready to forgive. We must never think that something outside of himself must be imparted to him or imported into him to find him a forgiving God. No, he is true to himself when he forgives.
Never more. Never more. Never more. He is more true to himself than when he forgives.
Or look at Nehemiah 9. Nehemiah 9, verses 16 and 17. Here we have a setting of corporate confession of the sin of the nation. Nehemiah is the mouthpiece for the nation, confessing the sin of covenant breaking and all of the various manifestations of that covenant breaking.
And yet in the midst of that, we have a setting of corporate confession of the sin of the nation. And yet in the midst of that, Nehemiah 9, verses 16 and 17, we find these words. But they and our fathers dealt proudly, hardened their neck, hearkened not to your commandments, refused to obey, neither were mindful of your wonders that you did among them, but hardened their neck, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return to their bondage. What in the world would your hope be?
If you had to say that's what their sins were, that God had mercifully come, singled out this nation in free, sovereign love, and delivered them out of Egyptian bondage they refused to obey. They didn't remember your wonders. They hardened their neck. They were rebellious, wanted a captain to lead them back to Egypt.
What hope would you have for a people like this? Look at Nehemiah's hope. But. But.
But! But! You are a God ready to pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and abundant in loving kindness, and forsake them not. Where did he get that language?
You hear the echoes of Exodus 34? It's echoes of Exodus 34. He says, God, in spite of all this wretched, horrible mess, there is hope. And this is why I'm praying.
Because you are. You are a God who, in your very character and disposition, you stand ready to pardon. Ready to pardon.
And turn to the prophet Micah. Micah. Hosea, Joel, Amos, Jonah, Micah, Nahum. Micah, chapter 7, and verse 18.
Some of these forgotten minor prophets have some marvelous revelations of the character of God. And here in Micah, chapter 7, and verse 18, again, in a context in which the moral corruption of the nation has been acknowledged by the prophet, to the people, through the prophet. And yet, in the midst of all of this, notice what the prophet declares, verse 18 of chapter 7. Who is a God like unto you?
Where is there a God who, in his being, and essence, and character, can be compared to you? Now notice what he highlights against the backdrop of his real sin. Who is a God like unto you that pardons iniquity, passes over the transgression of the remnant of his heritage. He retains not his anger forever because he delights in loving kindness.
He will again have compassion upon us. He will tread. He will put our iniquities under foot. And you will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea.
You hear the words of that marvelous hymn. Who is a pardoning God like thee, and who has grace so rich and free. It comes right out of this text. And this text comes right out of God's self-revelation to Moses, in which he has manifested that forgiveness is woven into the very heart.
And he has manifested that forgiveness is woven into the very heart. And he has manifested that forgiveness is woven into the very heart. And he has manifested that forgiveness is woven into the very texture of the character and disposition of God. But now follow me.
The Fullest Revelation of God's Forgiving Character in Jesus Christ
Where do we get the fullest revelation of who God is and what God is like? Where?
I hope you all are answering in Jesus Christ. John said, No man has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, He has declared Him. He has exegeted Him.
Jesus said, He who has seen Me. He has seen the Father. Philip, why do you say, show us the Father and that will satisfy us? Have you been so long time with me and you don't know Me?
I am the perfect representation of the Father. And where does this element of the character and disposition of God shine through our blessed Lord most clearly?
Well, it shines through when He says to harlots and to the outcasts, Neither do I condemn you. Sin no more. Who is this that forgives sin? Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.
But most clearly when He hangs upon a cross. The record of it is in Luke 23 and verse 34. He has just been impaled after all of the brutal treatment, the disgraceful pummeling, spitting, beating, bruising, crown of thorns, stripping. And now He hangs upon a cross.
He hangs naked. Buck naked.
The artist and their proper restraint notwithstanding, they did not give such dignity to crucified felons.
And while hanging naked, bruised and outcast, what does He say? Father, forgive them. They know not what they do. And frankly, I'm not too patient with people that try to figure out, were they immediately forgiven?
Or were they forgiven on the day of Pentecost? Is this an indication of unconditional forgiveness? I think they missed the whole point. Jesus is saying, I represent the God of heaven, who in His character and disposition is a forgiving God.
Father, forgive them.
For they know not what they do. The central place of forgiveness is in the character and disposition of God Himself. And listen, my unconverted friend. Once you take your sin seriously, and begin to take God seriously, this will be the most difficult thing in the world for you to grasp.
The biggest hindrance to a convicted sinner laying hold of God's offer of mercy in Christ is it seems too good to be true. That's why God says to the prophet Isaiah, Seek the Lord while He may be found. Call upon Him while He is near. Let the wicked forsake His way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord.
For He will have mercy upon him and to our God, for He will multiply pardon. You see?
You begin to take your sin seriously, and the holiness of God seriously, and it seems as though, how can this holy God ever forgive? Well, we'll come to the ground of forgiveness. But you must believe that behind the ground of forgiveness is a heart and a disposition inclined to forgiveness.
And dear people of God, that's what you and I must come back to again and again and again and again. Or we'll keep it distanced from God when we've sinned and we know we've grieved the Holy Spirit. We say, how can I come back? I've come times without number.
Hundreds of times about this same thing. Well, what is time going to do to change the fact you've sinned? It can do nothing. And unless you can continually believe that God is a God kindly disposed to forgive, you will have days of distance and spiritual barrenness because you have doubts concerning the certainty of God's forgiveness.
You find in Numbers 14, 15 to 19, a wonderful example again of this, and I won't take the time to do it. But here we find those very words of Exodus. In verse 18, The Lord is slow to anger, abundant in loving kindness, forgiving iniquity, transgression, no means clear to guilty, in a totally different setting. When the people have been unbelieving and the spies have come back and they've all been downers and said, we can't take them.
And God's displeased with them. Their unbelief, the very basis of that sin being forgiven, is the language of Exodus chapter 34.
So you see, child of God, this has tremendous relevance for you and for me. Tremendous relevance.
The Central Place of Forgiveness in the Substance of the Gospel
The central place of forgiveness in the character and disposition of God. But now secondly, consider with me the central place of forgiveness in the substance and proclamation of the gospel. The central place of forgiveness in the substance, and proclamation of the gospel. First of all, in the substance of the gospel.
The gospel is good news to sinners. And it's given to us in its distilled essence in such passages as 1 Corinthians 15, verse 1. Paul there describes, verses 1 to 3, the gospel that he preached. And here it is.
Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures. And he was buried. And the third day rose again. Then, according to the scriptures.
And then he goes on into this litany. And he was seen. He was seen. He was seen.
Christ died for our sins. However, when we ask, why did he die for our sins? To what end? To procure what blessings for us?
The answer of scripture is clear. He died to procure the forgiveness of sins. Look at Matthew 26. In that original institution.
Of the Lord's Supper. Verses 27 and 28. Matthew chapter 26. Verses 27 and 28.
He took a cup. Gave thanks. Gave to them saying, drink all of it. This is my blood of the covenant.
Which is poured out for many. Now notice. On to remission. Forgiveness of sins.
There are two major Greek words for forgiveness.
And either. One is properly translated forgiveness. Some translations translate one remission. And the other forgiveness.
But it gives a false impression. As though there is something fundamentally different. No. Two major.
There are about three other words that are used very infrequently. But two major words. One emphasizing the grace of God. In the provision of it.
The other emphasizing the very nature of it. In the letting of a thing go. But it is forgiveness. And Jesus said the very rationale for the shedding of his blood is remission of sins for many.
So if the gospel is the heralding Christ died for our sins. To what end did he die? That our sins might be remitted or forgiven. How central is that my friends to the substance of the gospel?
If Jesus himself says. The substance of the gospel is to be understood. In terms of forgiveness. Procured by my violent bloodletting upon a cross.
Or in the language of Hebrews 10. 14 to 18. We have a similar emphasis. From the perspective of the writer to the Hebrews.
Hebrews 10 verses 14 to 18. For by one offering he has perfected forever them that are sanctified. As the Holy Spirit bears witness to us. This is the covenant I'll make with them after those days.
Says the Lord. I'll put my laws in their heart. Upon their minds will I write them. Their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
Now where forgiveness of these is. There is no more offering for sin. He is demonstrating as we saw this morning. That Christ's work must be understood in the framework of the new covenant.
And one of the outstanding things. In core blessings of the new covenant. Heralding in the gospel is. There is a way for sins and iniquities.
To be blotted out. From the mind and the remembrance. Of God himself. So.
The Central Place of Forgiveness in the Proclamation of the Gospel
I am asserting. That forgiveness has a central place. In the substance of the gospel. But what about in the proclamation of the gospel?
Well we find the same thing. Turn to Luke chapter 24. Luke chapter 24. Here our Lord is summarizing.
The whole thrust of Old Testament revelation.
Verse 45. Then he opened their mind. That they might understand the scriptures. And said to them.
Thus it is written. That the Christ should suffer. Rise again from the dead the third day. And now notice.
That repentance. And forgiveness of sins. Should be preached in his name. Among all the nations.
Beginning from Jerusalem.
All the Old Testament points. To the sufferings and resurrection of Jesus. They form the basis. And foundation.
Of offering. A righteous remedy for sin. And now Jesus says. What is to be preached.
Among the nations. Is repentance. And remission. Forgiveness of sins.
It is central. Here in this. Message we could say. According to Jesus.
It is the very essence. Of the proclamation of the gospel. And the apostles obeyed their Lord. Look at these several texts.
In the book of Acts. On the day of Pentecost. The first gospel sermon preached. After the descent of the spirit.
And men are pricked in their hearts. As Peter is preaching his own. Of the spirit of God. And they break him off in the middle of his sermon.
What must we do? Verse 38. Peter. Said unto them.
Repent. And be baptized every one of you. In the name of Jesus Christ. Unto.
What? The forgiveness. Of your sins. That is what it is all about.
The way of obtaining. Forgiveness of sins. Chapter 3 in verse 19. Repent therefore in turn again.
That your sins. May be blotted out. One of those secondary words. For forgiveness.
That. That your sins may be blotted out. Again. Acts 5 in verse 31.
531. Peter preaching again. Him did God exalt with his right hand. To be a prince and a savior.
To give repentance to Israel. And remission. Or forgiveness. Of sins.
Here forgiveness is made. The very core blessing. Held out. In the gospel.
And one other example. The apostle Paul preaching. In Acts chapter 13. And in verse 38.
Be it known to you therefore brethren. That through this man. Is proclaimed unto you. Forgiveness of.
Proclaimed in my gospel. Paul says. Now you say pastor you get excited about that. Why?
For this simple reason my friend. If you sit here this morning. And you know nothing of God's way. And gift of forgiveness in the gospel.
You are a stranger to the knowledge and power of the biblical gospel. A gospel that has as its central blessing. The promise that you'll feel good. If you come to Jesus.
Is not the biblical gospel. So you do feel a lot better. When you don't have a condemning conscience. That's not what is held out in the gospel.
A gospel that promises you'll get your act together. You'll restore yourself a seed. That's not the gospel. That's not the gospel.
A gospel that says you'll get a good marriage. A healthy body. A fat check account. My friends that is not the gospel.
The gospel is. There's a way for you to be righteously forgiven. You say yeah forgiven. No I've got no interest in that.
You better get some interest in that.
Because the time is coming. When the only thing that will matter. Is that you didn't have an interest in that.
That's why I say. This is a vital subject forgiveness. Why? Because of its central place.
In the very substance. And proclamation of the gospel. But then thirdly. We not only see its central place.
The Central Place of Forgiveness in the Initial Experience of the Child of God
In the very character of God. In the substance and proclamation of the gospel. But thirdly the central place of forgiveness. In the initial and ongoing experience.
Of the child of God. The central place of forgiveness. In the initial. And the ongoing.
Christian experience. Of the child of God. First of all in the initial experience of grace. Forgiveness is central.
Look at Ephesians chapter 1. Here Paul is breaking out. Into this marvelous eulogy. Speaking well of God.
Well of God in terms of this. A majestic. Glorious salvation. That he has purposed.
And applied. To hell deserving sinners. And in this. Marvelous eulogy.
Extending from verses 3 to 14. He demonstrates it's a Trinitarian salvation. As Pastor Blaze used to say. And many of us affectionately remembered.
It takes the whole Trinity. To save one sinner.
Takes the whole Trinity. To save one sinner. That's what Paul's blessing God for. And so in the opening verses.
Verses 3 to 6. He is blessing the Father. For his electing. His electing grace.
His predestinating purposes in Christ. Then in verse 7 and following. He is speaking of the place of Christ. In that salvation.
Verse 7. In whom? In Christ. The beloved one.
We have our redemption through his blood. Well Paul. What's the central blessing of that redemption? That being purchased out of bondage.
What's the core blessing of it Paul? He says wait a minute. And I'll tell you. In whom we have.
Our redemption through his blood. The forgiveness. Of our trespasses. According to the riches of his grace.
He says in Christian experience. The forgiveness of trespasses. Is central. In the initial experience of grace.
Colossians 2 and verse 13. Similar emphasis. Here the apostle is. Describing.
What happened when these Colossians were converted. And he says you. Being dead through your trespasses. And the uncircumcision of your flesh.
You I say. Did he make alive together with him. Having forgiven us. All our trespasses.
He says in the initial experience of grace. Here is the crowning grace. Forgiving. Of all.
Our trespasses. Acts 26 and verse 18. Where Paul. Is summarizing his commission.
And what the Lord said to him.
We can start at verse 16. Acts 26 16. God speaking in the risen Christ. To Paul arise.
Stand on your feet. For to this end I've appeared to you. To appoint you a minister and a witness. Both of the things wherein you've seen me.
And the things wherein I will appear to you. Delivering you from the people and the Gentiles. Unto whom I send you. Now notice.
To open their eyes. Spiritual illumination. That they may turn from darkness to light. And the power of Satan unto God.
True conversion. In order that. They may receive. Forgiveness.
Of sins. And an inheritance among them that are sanctified. By faith in me. Christ.
The risen Christ. In commissioning Paul. Says here's your ministry Paul. As you go forth in obedience to me.
Through your instrumentality. Blind eyes will be opened. People who are wedded to sin into the devil. Will turn from the power of Satan unto God.
And when they do. Here's the central blessing they'll receive. In their initial turning. Forgiveness of sins.
So. I am bold to assert. In the initial experience of grace. Forgiveness is central.
The Central Place of Forgiveness in the Ongoing Experience of the Child of God (Godward and Manward)
However. In the ongoing experience of grace. Forgiveness continues to be central. And that in two directions.
Godward.
And manward. How do we know forgiveness is central Godward? Jesus said. After this manner pray.
Our father who art in the heavens. Hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done.
On earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread.
Forgive. Our debts. As we forgive. Our debtors.
In the parallel passage in Luke. Forgive our trespasses. Later on in the Matthew passage. Trespasses are used.
They're synonymous. When I sin I have come into. A fresh indebtedness to God. Against whom I've sinned.
And I am to pray. As I pray for my daily bread. As I am to pray for. The will of God to be done.
In me and in others. Here until the consummation. I am to daily experience. Forgiveness.
First John 1.9. If we confess our sins. He is faithful and righteous.
To forgive us our sins. And to cleanse us. From all unrighteousness. And John has just said.
If we say we have no sin. We lie and do not the truth. Anyone who says. I don't need continued forgiveness.
Because I'm not a continuing sinner. He's a liar. He's not in touch with reality. In the ongoing experience of grace.
Forgiveness Godward. Is a central reality. But it's also a central reality. Manward.
And here I ask you to turn. To the Matthew 6 passage. I don't want to just quote it to you. Though I could.
I want you to see it.
Of the six petitions. That form the framework. Of comprehensive prayer. Which petition alone.
Is amplified. By our Lord Jesus.
If you and I were composing the prayer. We would say. Well we ought to amplify the first one.
Hallowed be your name. The prayer that God's name. Be set apart as holy. And honored in worship.
Throughout the earth. Surely the honor and glory of God. Should be the dominant concern. Or that God's will would be done.
In earth as in heaven. But it's that next petition. Verse 12. Forgive us our debts.
As we have forgiven our debtors. Bring us not into temptation. But deliver us from the evil one. Now one petition alone is amplified.
Verse 14. For if you forgive men their trespasses. Your heavenly father. Will also forgive you.
But if you do not. Forgive men their trespasses. Neither will your father. Forgive your trespasses.
The one petition. Jesus. Amplifies. Is the petition that demonstrates.
Forgiveness. Horizontally. Is an essential part. Of ongoing Christian experience.
You see that in your Bible. That's in mine. I didn't write it. I'm not exaggerating it.
Jesus stated it. And if you and I. As we shall see in subsequent expositions. Expect our heavenly father.
To forgive us. As our father. Our sins are dealt with. In the courtroom.
Of our heavenly judge. The moment we cast ourselves. In the desperation. And abandonment of saving faith.
Upon Jesus Christ alone. For salvation. Our sins. In their legal culpability.
Are dealt with in the courtroom. But we become the children of God. And we have a father. Whom we are to please.
And when we sin. We displease him. We incur a new dimension. Of indebtedness to him.
And we need his fatherly forgiveness. And he says would you have. Your father's forgiveness. You must be a forgiving man or woman.
If you're not. The father's ear is deaf. To your cry. For forgiveness.
Look at Ephesians chapter 4. In the ongoing. Grace of forgiveness. Central to Christian experience.
Ephesians chapter 4. The context is Paul's call. That the Ephesians. Live the alternate lifestyle.
Described in verse 17. Of this chapter. Don't walk anymore like the Gentiles. The heathen.
And one of the crucial elements. Of not walking like the world. Seething in its grudges. Stewing in the vile.
Bilious juices. Of ill. And determination. I'll never forgive.
I can't wait to get even. That's the world. The alternate lifestyle of the people of God. Is this.
Verse 32. And be kind one to another. Tender hearted. Continually.
Forgiving. Each other. Even as God. In Christ.
Has forgiven. You. And in the parallel. Passage in Colossians chapter 3.
Verses 12 and 13. Put on therefore as God's elect. Holy and beloved. A heart of compassion.
Kindness. Lowliness. Meekness. Long suffering.
Forbearing one another. And forgiving each other. If any man. Has a complaint against any.
Even as the Lord. Forgave you. So also.
Do you.
Are you persuaded.
Of the central place of forgiveness. Not only in the character. And disposition of God. In the substance and proclamation.
Of the gospel. But in the initial and ongoing. Christian experience. Of the child of God.
There will never be one redeemed. Sinner on earth. Before the return of Christ. Who does not sin.
Against. God. And man. And therefore continually needs.
Forgiveness. Godward. And manward.
The Organic Relationship: Forgiven and Forgiving Sinners
And what I want to try to bring home. To the theater of your conscience. As I bring this to a conclusion this morning.
Is that you see the marvelous. Beautiful. Organic relationship. Of these three things.
There are times when in study. We hardly know what we're doing. And where we go. And we just do it and go there.
We pray for light and direction. But there are times when in the midst of it. Suddenly. Everything you've been laboring over.
Comes together. And you say Lord. I never saw that before. But I see it.
And I believe it's biblical. I had such an experience. In preparation for this morning. It's what I want you to see.
Seek to see. Right now pray. Oh God by the Holy Spirit. Teach me.
If what pastor's about to say. Is true and biblical. Lord persuade me. Help me to see it.
Help me to feel it. Help me to grasp it. Here it is. The God whose disposition and character.
Is one of forgiveness. Has revealed and announced. In the gospel. The ground.
And the way. Of forgiveness.
By which he constitutes. A community. Of men and women. Who are forgiven.
And forgiving. Sinners. Sinners. You see that?
The God who exists. Who is he? He's not only holy. Unchangeable.
Cannot lie. All his attributes. Ask Moses. Who is he?
Moses said. I can never forget. How he revealed himself to me. And nestled in the midst of that self-revelation.
He's the God who forgives iniquity. Transgression. And sin. This God whose disposition and character.
Is one of forgiveness. Has revealed. And announced. In the gospel.
Both the ground. The work of Christ. And the way. The way of repentance and faith.
The ground and the way of forgiveness. By which he is constituting. A community. Of people.
And what is their. Dominant characteristic. They are a forgiven. And a forgiving.
Community of sinners.
You see the organic relationship. Between them. So if you. If you sit here this morning.
You claim to be. A Christian. Part of the body of Christ. And you do not revel.
In God's gracious. Gift of forgiveness. And in the way of that forgiveness. Through the blood of Jesus.
And if that reveling. In being a forgiven sinner. Has not made you. A forgiving sinner.
You. You. You. Self.
Deluded. A pipe. Feeling to forgive. Christian.
Is a misnomer. There is. No. Such.
Beast. I am not saying. That in given situation. A.
B. C. Or D. You may not struggle.
To come to the point. Of extending forgiveness. To this brother. This sister.
No. I am not talking about. The struggle you may have. In any specific act.
I am saying. If the prevailing disposition. Of your heart. Is unwillingness.
To forgive. If that is what. You are known for. If that is the reputation.
You have earned. You are deluded. To think. Your heart.
Has ever been broken. With the wonder. Of God's forgiveness. That is why.
Paul can use. As his central motivation. When saying. Forgiving one another.
Even as. God. Forgives one another. Even as.
God. Forgives one another. Even as. God.
Forgives one another. Even as. You have forgiven. For Christ's sake.
Has forgiven. You and to the true. Child of God. That nails.
Him. That nails. Him. To God.
In Heaven. Infinite. Vast. Demands.
Holy. Who could have. Crushed me. Into Hell.
That God. Has forgiven me. Who. In the world.
Am I. A puny. Little. Sinner.
Using. To extend. Forgiveness. furthermore if you sit here this morning and say oh but I am a forgiven sinner and you are indifferent to the one who alone has procured forgiveness indifferent to the person and to the work of Jesus no love for the one who died no attachment of will and affection to the redeemer who procured forgiveness my friend you too are deluded because that community of forgiven and forgiving sinners is not only marked by their disposition of forgiveness to one another but of attachment to the one who has procured their own forgiveness so that Peter can say whom having not seen you love in whom believing you rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory every believing sinner is a sinner that loves Jesus and if you love Jesus you'll know it because you obey Jesus for if you love me you will keep my commandments
isn't it wonderful how all of God's truth ties together and dear people in the coming days pray with me I don't see the whole field mapped out yet in some areas I see men as trees walk and praying studying reading I see some of the major passages I want to expound but how to map it all out and structure it I still need much help and I covet your prayers but I trust this morning you have become persuaded that we're not about to enter to some abstruse secondary far out subject and have a tempest in the teapot for a number of weeks we're in the nerve centers of true vital biblical religion when we take up this glorious subject of forgiveness let's pray our father at the beginning of this past hour we prayed for the help of your spirit together we thank you that you were not deaf to that cry thank you for helping your servant to deliver his soul thank you for helping your people to attend with eagerness to the preaching of the word but Lord we acknowledge our work is not done give us grace to reflect
to meditate, to pray in to pray over the things you have said to us today and may your Holy Spirit bring lasting fruit from our meditation in your word, hear our prayer and continue to help us as we would sanctify this day to our prophet and to your praise, Amen
This transcript was generated by automated speech recognition and may contain errors. It is provided for study and reference only; the audio recording is the authoritative source.
Passages Expounded
This passage details Moses' request to see God's glory and God's self-revelation, which prominently features His merciful and forgiving character, forming the foundational understanding of God's disposition towards forgiveness.
This passage, particularly Jesus' amplification of the 'forgive us our debts' petition, is expounded to demonstrate the essential, ongoing nature of both Godward and manward forgiveness in the Christian life.
Texts Expounded
Also Referenced
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