The Forgiveness of Sins

If you are a nonbeliever, now is the time to come to your senses, repent of sin and put your trust in Jesus Christ alone for salvation. If you are a believer, but in some areas of your life you have been hedging your bets, playing fast and loose in terms of God's commands, it is important to face up to reality and come to your senses and repent of sin.

Psalm 51:17 hits the nail on the head. It reads, "The sacrifice acceptable to God is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise."

Third, RECEIVE forgiveness.

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Grace is free. It's almost too good to believe, isn't it?

I remember as a youngster growing up in Arington, Massachusetts, in the late 1940s. There was nothing in the world I wanted more for Christmas than skis. Whenever there was a fresh snow, my buddies would go over to a nearby hillside on a deserted golf course and make a ski jump. That looked like so much fun. And they would go off on ski trips to New Hampshire. Oh, did I ever want skis! But I knew my parents were of modest means and that probably was a gift beyond anything I could expect for Christmas. I would probably have to save the money from caddying, delivering newspapers, and mowing lawns.

I will never forget that Christmas morning when I walked down the stairs from my bedroom and there, leaning up against the fireplace by the Christmas tree, was a magnificent pair of skis, with ski poles to go with them. It was a gift much more than I expected. My mom and dad made a real sacrifice on my behalf.

You would have thought there was something wrong with me if I had gone to them and said, "You can't afford these skis, so I can't accept the gift." It would have broken their hearts and left me without my dream fulfilled. No, instead, I received the gift, and did I ever enjoy those skis.

Perhaps you could describe the picture a little bit differently. Some of us have our arms so full of presents of lesser value that we won't put them down long enough to receive the ultimate Christmas gift, God's grace, God's forgiveness, offered freely to us. No, we are preoccupied. Our calendars are jammed full with busyness. We are rushing this way and that way to accomplish this task and that task, to make this person and that person happy, and all the time feeling so empty inside.

We need to stop, take a break from all of our activity, the clutter of our lives, our arms so full of this and that, and put it all down, look the Savior in the eyes and receive His unspeakable gift of salvation, of forgiveness, of new life, a whole new life that He offers.

Fourth, RECIPROCATE forgiveness to others.

Some of us want forgiveness, but we won't give it to others.