Friends, Faith and the Forgiveness of God, Part 3

Let's pray together. Lord, we are grateful that you alone are holy and that as a holy God you have made a way for unholy people like us to enter your glory through your son's death on Calvary's cross and resurrection and so Lord today as we look once again at the great holy God who Alone can forgive sins. I pray that all of us have come to grips with the reality of saving grace and Realize that you alone are the one who can forgive us of all of our sin in Jesus name. Amen Luke chapter 5 is where we are in our study of this great gospel Luke chapter 5 in Jesus says in verse number 20 of that fifth chapter friend your sins are Forgiven that is man's greatest Need it is the heart and soul of the gospel and When Jesus forgives this man's sins He does what only God can do That's why when the Pharisees reasoned in their minds who is this man only God Can forgive sins they knew there was only one who can forgive sins and that is God alone Now this passage of Scripture is very clear concerning the deity of Jesus Christ Remember, we told you that this is the first blatant statement that Christ has made concerning the forgiveness of sins he might as well have said I am the creator of the universe or I am the Holy God of Israel or I am Yahweh from Exodus chapter 3 because for him to say Friend your sins are forgiven is to declare himself to be God Now someone might ask well He was given the authority To forgive sins.

It doesn't mean that he's God Now I have been confronted with that on many occasions That he has been given authority to do so Based on the fact that he is the Son of God not meaning that he is God in the flesh Well, the problem with that is that Christ says in Matthew 28 all Authority has been given and given unto me both in heaven and on earth So if Jesus receives all authority and that all authority includes heaven If Jesus isn't God that means that God is subject to the man Jesus in heaven But because Jesus is God Therefore all authority is his that makes sense.

You can't have ultimate authority Unless you are the ultimate sovereign ruler of the universe And so Christ says all authority has been given unto me both in heaven and on earth That's very important to realize so Jesus says Friend your sins are forgiven and immediately the fury inside of the Scribes and Pharisees Begins to explode and this is where we are in our outline because they asked themselves in their minds Who is this man?

So they recognized Jesus as a man. He is fully man We've understood that by looking at the gospel of Luke which emphasizes his humanity But not only is he fully man. He also is fully God and So they say who is this man for only God can forgive sins Nobody can forgive sins except God alone Now that's important because you see in their minds They know Leviticus chapter 24 and they know that he needs to be stoned for blaspheming the name of God Unless of course He is God So they know the law of God and they know what needs to take place if Jesus is claiming to be God by forgiving man's sins Now this leads us to a very important discussion concerning Jesus Christ and his ability to forgive man's sins This is the priority of his ministry This is what he came to do Luke 19 10 the Son of Man came to seek and to say that which is lost first Timothy 1 verse number 15 that this is a trustworthy statement deserving full acceptance that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners He is the Savior For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior who is Christ the Lord remember the prophecy of Isaiah 714 That the Virgin will conceive and bear a child That child's name will be called Emmanuel God with us Matthew 1 confirms that by helping us realize that God now is among us This child that was born is the son that was given in Isaiah chapter 9 verse number 6 and God Becoming man is now dwelling among us now tabernacling among his people so God is now among his people if Jesus is God he can do what only God can do and That is forgive sins.

And when Jesus said friend your sins are forgiven. He was immediately justified He was immediately sanctified. He was immediately Regenerated he was immediately redeemed by God at that point Friend your sins are forgiven you And upon that moment That man's life was changed from the inside out because Jesus Having seen his faith That is he knew what was in the heart of a man. He knew that that man had a broken heart He knew that that man had a contrite heart. He knew that that man had a repentant heart He knew that that man was coming in faith believing that only this one called Jesus Could truly change his inner man as well as his physical condition But he didn't come to be physically healed He came to be spiritually healed and God would do a great and mighty work by healing him physically Which by the way is very important to understand you cannot separate spiritual healing from physical healing Turn over with me if you would to Matthew chapter 8 for a moment Matthew chapter 8 we know the story because we've already covered this in verse number 14 It says and when Jesus had come to Peter's home He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever and he touched her hand and the fever left her and she arose and waited On him and when evening had come They brought to him many who were demon-possessed and he cast out the spirits with the word and healed all Who were ill in order that what was spoken?

Through Isaiah the Prophet might be fulfilled saying he himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases in the atoning work of Christ There is spiritual healing immediately and physical healing ultimately because regeneration includes a brand new body and If Jesus Christ is the Messiah He must fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah chapter 53 And if he is the Messiah Then he must heal this man on this day of his physical disease Why? Because when Christ came he came to take away not only our infirmities, but to heal all of our diseases And in the atoning work of Christ that's going to happen for everybody who gives their life to Christ because they will receive a brand new perfect body a glorified body just like Christ himself after the resurrection and that's the promise of The Bible and so we believe that and so Christ comes he forgives this man his sin You know the story there were these four men who brought their friend because all two friends want to bring their friends to Jesus And they brought him to Jesus.

They couldn't get into the house. So they unroofed the roof put him down in side the house from the roof down and put him right in front of Christ and You can imagine that with all the debris falling and all that was happening with the commotion of the roof being torn apart What must have been going through the minds of the people and this man who is paralyzed? Was right in front of Christ and everybody must have been wondering. What is Christ going to do? They knew that Christ could heal because they've already seen his healing work.

They've seen his power over disease They've seen his power over demons. They've seen his power in such a miraculous way Christ must be wanting to heal this man But instead Christ says friend your sins are forgiven you And upon saying that the Pharisees Begin to well up with rage and that rage Would continue through the rest of his ministry as they would look for a way to destroy this man called Jesus this proclaimed Messiah in their mind And so the fury began to well up within them.

Who is This man, who does he think he is? Nobody can forgive sins, but God alone now listen If Jesus wasn't God think about it this way and he was just a good moral man a religious man a prophet of God a man of integrity if Jesus wasn't God and he was all those things that if you talk to anybody in the Mormon religion or the JW religion or any kind of cult religion They will tell you that Jesus was a good moral religious man a prophet of God They will all confirm that so if he's that then he should immediately say hey, wait a minute Wait a minute.

You misunderstood me. I Didn't mean that was I was God. I Mean to say that God will forgive your sins my son. That's what I meant to say Let me clear up some misconceptions here.

Let me clear up some some misnomer Let me clear up something so that you understand exactly who I am.

I'm really not God I'm really not claiming to be God. I'm just saying God will forgive your sins if Jesus isn't God he's a good moral man a Religious man a man of integrity a prophet of God. That's immediately what he would do But he didn't do that. Did he? Why because he is God he is God and So he didn't have to clear up any misconceptions And after all he knows exactly what the how does he how does he know what they're thinking? Only God knows what you're thinking a man doesn't know what you're thinking And so they never spoke a word.

They never said anything, but Jesus would tell them. Why do you reason within yourselves and Ask yourself these questions that should already immediately spark an interest in their mind. Wait a minute. How does he know what I'm thinking? How can this man know what I'm thinking because only God is omniscient only God knows all things How can this man Jesus know what I am thinking? He can't if he's a man But if he's God He knows exactly what you're thinking So you move from the fury to the force that Jesus portrays Through number one his divine perception and number two the direct proof that he is God in the flesh Listen to what it says But Jesus aware of their reasonings Answered and said to them.

Why are you reasoning in your hearts now? Remember there was no discussion Jesus is preaching the roof is unroofed and this man is dropped down and there's no Conversation the man doesn't say anything his four friends Don't say anything the people in the audience don't say anything and the only thing that is said is Jesus's words Friend your sins are forgiven you that's it and The Pharisees begin to reason in their in their minds. They don't say anything They don't verbalize anything they just reason in their minds and so Jesus says Why are you reasoning?

in your hearts Why are you thinking this way? You see only God knows your thoughts So he's already proven that he knows the heart of the man who came the man never said anything But he had a broken and contrite heart and the only way God forgives the sinners if he repents from his sin So he knew he had a repentant heart And now he knows the unrepentant heart as well, doesn't he? Just like he knows your heart in my heart The Bible says these words about the Lord God First saying was 16 7 the Lord looks on the heart First Kings 8 39 for thou even thou only knowest the hearts of all the children of men Only God knows the hearts of the children of men First Chronicles 29 9 for the Lord searcheth all hearts and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts He even knows your imaginations He knows your dreams The Bible also says in Jeremiah 17 10 I the Lord search the heart Ezekiel 11 5 for I know the things that come into your mind every one of them He knows everything that comes into your mind and Jesus said in John chapter 2 verse number 2 It says that he needeth not that anyone should testify a man for he knew what was in man Jesus knew what was in the heart of man.

Why because Jesus is God. He is omniscient. He knows everything And he knew what was in the heart of the Pharisees and the scribes He also knew what was in the heart of the repentant man. He knew Because he truly is God in the flesh It's so important and so these these Pharisees and scribes as they begin to reason in their mind. Who is this man? No one can forgive sin, but God alone They know that only God can forgive sin and they also know that God would not relinquish that authority to anybody else To forgive sin they know that Because there's only one who forgives as they have 43 25 and that's the Lord God of Israel And so Jesus must be that Lord God of Israel in the flesh and So you have his divine perception and listen to what he asks Which is easier to say your sins have been forgiven or to say rise and walk Now what he's going to do is going to trap them in their hypocrisy What is easier to say, okay, let's do it this way what is easier to do To forgive someone's sin or to say rise and walk to a paralyzed man Well, no man can do that Kenny Only God can do that No Man can forgive someone's sins and no man can cause somebody else to take up their bed and walk No man can do that because that's impossible with man.

It's only made possible with God So no man can do that and after all Listen, even in the religion of the Pharisees they knew in their own mind It wasn't true, but that's what they reasoned in their own mind that if this man was in this condition It was because of his sin And If it's because of his sin He needs to have a healing then and whoever heals him must be God And they had proof that Jesus Christ could heal. That's why they were there That's why they had gathered together because this prophet of God this this man from Nazareth had gone around doing all these Healing miracles and they wanted to see things firsthand.

They wanted to know what was going on. That's why they were there But Jesus says to them what is easier to say?

Your sins are forgiven or rise and walk Well, of course, it's easier to say your sins are forgiven because if I say that to you who's gonna know Think about it. Your sins are forgiven. Okay. Thanks. How do you see that? You can't see it Or but Kenya That's the whole realm of the miracle of Jesus here in Luke chapter 5 Because if there truly has listen been a forgiveness of sins there's a new walk Right, I Mean think about it. There's a brand new walk You never walk like you used to walk you walk differently Because you've been recreated in the image of God And so Jesus says what's easier to say?

Your sins be forgiven That's invisible You can't see that when I say that So what Christ is going to do is do something in the realm of the visible to prove that he's God of the invisible Listen to what he says But in order that you may know That the Son of Man Has authority on earth to forgive sins He said to the paralytic I say to you rise take up your stretcher and go home and at once He rose up before them and took up what he had been lying on and went home glorifying God Now think about this What is easier to say Now the people in the audience know nothing about what the scribes and Pharisees are reasoning in their own minds.

How could they? They're not privy to that aspect of the text. We know because the Bible tells us and so Jesus poses this scenario to catch them in their hypocrisy and To prove that he had power to forgive sins he says Take up your bed and Go home and Immediately the man arose He folded up his bed Put it under his arm and walked out of the house Now you can imagine how quickly an aisle would clear for the man to walk out And you can imagine what must have been happening with the men up above as they're looking down and watching this trying to scramble down Off the roof get down to where their friend is and go home with him This man went home glorifying God this man went home ecstatic not because he could walk but because he'd been washed This man went home glorifying God can you imagine him going home and go walking into the house?

Ta-da Look at this. I'm standing You know what amazing thing but but but Christ was going to prove to them that he had the power over that which was visible That's the direct proof that he gives to them concerning his deity Notice what he says very important what he says But in order that you may know that the Son of Man, oh, okay, who is the Son of Man?

Daniel chapter 7 Daniel chapter 7 tells us who the Son of Man is as Daniel would receive a Vision of the glorified pre-incarnate Christ It says the verse number 13 I kept looking in the night visions and behold with the clouds of heaven One like a son of man was coming and he came up to the ancient of days That is God the Father and was presented before him and to him was given dominion glory in the kingdom That all the people's nations and men of every language might serve him His dominion is an everlasting dominion which will not pass away and his kingdom is one which will not be destroyed So Daniel receives a vision of the Son of Man coming in great clouds of glory Jesus says in Luke chapter 5 in order that you might know that the Son of Man has Authority because Matthew 28 says that all authority in heaven and on earth is his okay.

I Say to you take up your bed and go home The Son of Man all Pharisees and scribes would know who that refers to the coming of the Messiah for Daniel 7 irrefutably is a text Proclaiming the coming of Messiah in all of his glory Now listen carefully to what I'm going to tell you Revelation 1 verse number 7 States it this way Behold he is coming with the clouds that's the fulfillment of Daniel chapter 7 verses 13 and 14 and Every eye will see him even those who pierced him and all the tribes of the earth will mourn over him even so Amen, well, we all know that's about Jesus Christ and it's coming again in great clouds of glory Which is the fulfillment of Daniel 7 the coming of the Son of Man?

Now turn to Zechariah chapter 12 Zechariah 12 verse number 10 says it this way and I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem the Spirit of grace and of supplication so that they will look on me now This is the Lord God of Israel speaking. They will look on me whom they have pierced Time out. When did the Lord God of Israel? Be pierced Listen to this and They will mourn For him Wait a minute Who? Him as one mourns for an only son and they will we bitterly over him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn Why is that the Lord God of Israel goes from first person to third person If you ask somebody Was the Lord God of Israel pierced if you ask a Jehovah's Witness, they'll say no He wasn't you read Zechariah check the 12 verse number 10.

It's irrefutable that the Lord God of Israel was pierced He says and they pierced me and They will say well God can't be pierced. He's a spirit the answer that is Of course, he can't unless he becomes man then it can be right and That's why he says they will look upon him whom they will mourn for that's a fulfillment of Revelation 1 verse number 7 And you go down to Revelation chapter 13 I'm sorry, Zechariah chapter 13 and verse number 7 says awake Oh sword against my shepherd This is the Lord God of Israel speaking because the shepherds of Israel had failed in their responsibility and so the Lord God of Israel says I will send my shepherd listen and Against the man that word man in Hebrew is not an original man an ordinary man.

It's a mighty man They awake Oh Israel against my mighty man. Listen to this my Associate in Hebrew. It says my equal my equal meaning there's one an equal of Nature equal in nature It's used every time in the Old Testament to prove of one who is equal in nature and so he says Against the man the mighty man not an ordinary man But a mighty man my equal declares the Lord of hosts strike the shepherd That the sheep may be scattered and I will turn my hand against the little ones. Why do I tell you that?

I tell you that because when Christ says in Luke 5 that you might know that the Son of Man Has authority to forgive sins It's proof positive that the Son of Man is the fulfillment of Daniel 7 Which is the fulfillment of future prophecy in Revelation 1 verse number 7 Which is the fulfillment of Zechariah chapter 12 verse number 10 Which tells us the Zechariah 13 verse number 10 that he is the equal to God It is irrefutable that Jesus is God in the flesh No matter what anybody else tells you the Bible says Jesus is God in the flesh and that's why he alone can forgive sins because only God alone can forgive sins and God did not relinquish that responsibility to anybody else It's his and his alone because he is the executioner.

He is the judge He is the mighty ruler of Israel and he sets the standard because he is the standard He also provides the way of forgiveness and so Jesus forgives The man and not only does he forgive the man he heals the man To prove that I can forgive sins. I'm gonna heal this guy you ever watch Benny Hinn Why is it when people are healed on his show they fall over but when Jesus heals them, they always get up This points to ponder there They Get up they walk home and they walk home glorifying God and Jesus says to show you that I can forgive a man's sins.

Hey you get up go home Take up your bed walk out of here. What's he do gets up folds up his bed walks out Can you imagine the scene and nobody said anything in it said Jesus? Nobody Which brings us to the last point the fear and they were all seized with astonishment and Began glorifying God and they were filled with fear saying we have seen remarkable things Today Now they begin to speak Now they begin to glorify God Now they begin to praise God. Does this mean that everybody in the house was saved?

No, it doesn't because if you read over in Matthew chapter 9 verse number 8 it says that when the multitude saw it they marveled or were in fear and glorified God Who had given such power unto man So they still saw Jesus as a man He was a man, but he was the God man So in Matthew's account We know that the people still saw Jesus as a man and they were glorifying God and they were amazed that God had given this kind of authority to another man But Luke's account proves to us that it is God in the flesh There's no doubt about it that the man who was healed knew who Jesus was now he does Now he knows who he is He would leave glorifying God He would leave giving glory to God for his saving work in his life and for the healing work upon his body These people were filled with fear That word fear Phobos is a word that deals with great fear because you are in the presence of one who has supreme and superior authority so much so that you are inferior to that person and These people were very much afraid this is their reverence They began it you can see it over and over again in in the Gospels and in Matthew 14 verse number 26 When Jesus was seen walking on the water the disciples were were filled with fear in mark 441 Jesus still the storm and and they were filled with fear in Luke 7 16 when Jesus raised the widow's son at name The people were filled with fear in Luke 8 37 Jesus Jesus healed the demoniac and people around there were filled with with fear in Luke 1 12 an angel The Lord appeared beside the altar of Zechariah's and he was filled with fear in Luke 164 Zechariah's recovered his speech and all those around feared in Luke 2 9 the angels saying to the shepherds who were Very much afraid in Matthew 28.

The angel rolled the stone away before the guards at the tomb And the people were afraid in Luke 21 26 the people will be faced with the shattering events of the last days and Their expressed emotion will be one of supreme fear and Acts chapter 5 upon learning upon the death of Ananias and Sapphira The church as well as the community in Jerusalem was filled with fear Why because God had demonstrated his presence among his people? And whenever God demonstrates his presence among man, the response is fear Fear over what God did what God could do if he chose to do You see this story becomes for us something very important Because it portrays to us the the cleansing work of Christ and when God cleanses a life He changes The behavior of the life.

He changes the walk of the man who's been cleansed Remember every miracle that Christ does in the physical realm is symbolic of what he does in the spiritual realm of someone's life and Yes there's going to come a day where you and I will receive a brand new body because the atoning work of Christ promises a Body that's been completely regenerated And yet during Christ's earthly ministry those physical healings were symbolic of what God does in the heart of a man Who repents of a sin and now Christ transforms his life to follow him?

completely And that's what this man had experienced In Luke chapter 5 and the Bible says that fear came upon them all Why?

Because it says we have seen Remarkable things today the word remarkable is the word paradox. Ah, so they've seen a paradox today We we are amazed we stand in fear. We glorify God because there's a paradox here. We got a man before us Who claims to forgive sin and not only does he claim to forgive sin, but he heals the man He claims to have forgiven It's a paradox to them because they were unable to rationalize the fact that Jesus was God They didn't understand it yet And as time goes on they they still did not grasp that whole Part of the ministry of Christ that he was God in the flesh And so there's this great paradox And you know the story tells us something that when people leave they leave in one of three categories They leave forgiven as the man left forgiven, right?

He walked out of the house having experienced the forgiveness of God When you leave church today, if you know that Jesus is God in the flesh Who came to earth to die for your sins Rose again the third day is coming back again And you have a broken and contrite heart you leave the facility Forgiven some people leave the facility furious Because they don't believe that Jesus is God in the flesh They haven't experienced the forgiveness of God And they leave the facility furious because they are upset like the scribes and pharisees.

Who is this man? Who alone can forgive sins but God? And having seen the evidence right before them Irrefutable evidence they still refuse to submit to the authority of God and they leave furious Because they refuse to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh Some leave forgiven Some leave furious and some leave like the majority of the people on this day Completely fickle about what is this taking place? Because they don't understand They grasp at straws They they don't get it because God has yet to open their heart to open their mind to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh It's not that they outright reject this notion.

It's just that they they just Have a hard time Comprehending it having a hard time believing it having a hard time putting their arms around it Remarkable things that happened here today We don't get it But when I go home i'm going to tell people about what happened even though I don't understand it But you can't understand because the only way you want to leave today is forgiven right That's the only way you want to leave. I mean you can leave any way you want to but if you don't leave forgiven There's a problem This man would leave this paralyzed man left forgiven But that whole fear around that whole reverence of God and experiencing the fear of God Is very important, isn't it?

because The bible speaks explicitly about how the fear of God is a motivator in the hearts and lives of man Knowing the fear of the lord We persuade men paul would say in second corinthians chapter 5 We know that that that that the godly woman in second peter chapter i'm sorry first peter chapter 3 verse verse 2 The godly woman who lives with an ungodly man Must live a a quiet and respectful life So that when her husband Observes her behavior.

He observes it knowing that she fears god More than she fears him The bible speaks that in second corinthians 7 verse number 10 that we are to perfect holiness in the fear of god I'm, sorry That's second corinthians 7 verse number 1 we are to perfect holiness in the fear of god That is we are to maintain a holy life living in the fear of almighty god when you leave today You need to leave fearing god having been forgiven by god Psalm 130 verse number 4 says that there is forgiveness with thee that thou mayest be feared Why does god forgive your soul?

Forgive your sin So that you might fear him Because if you fear him you live in obedience to him How will you leave today? Will you leave forgiven? Will you leave like this man? Glorifying god giving honor and praise to whom it is due For his great saving work in your life. I pray that that's the case. Let's pray together father. We thank you for today In your great and mighty work of forgiveness You truly are the great and mighty god of israel You truly are the one who forgives us of our sins And I pray lord that there would not be one person in this room today Who would leave this facility?

unforgiven But they would leave Having experienced the great forgiving mercy of the god of the universe Who bestows forgiveness upon all those who repent of their sin? They might experience freedom in christ to live a life That's completely new and changed Because lord, that's what you do You recreate us in your image and for that we will always be grateful in jesus name. Amen