Praying for Forgiveness
Minister: | Rev. Ronald Van Overloop |
Date: | 7/3/2016 AM |
Text: | Psalm 32, 51; Lord's Day 51 |
Psalters: | 170, 331, 144, 83 |
- The guilt and shame.
- To know forgiveness we must intellectually have a correct understand of what Scripture says about sin.
- Sin is any transgression of God’s law (I John 3:4), i.e., any deviation from right, anything not to the glory of God.
- Sin, because it is against God, incurs “debt” (guilt), which makes the sinner justly worthy of punishment.
- To ask to be forgiven is to be sorry, with godly sorrow.
- Godly sorrow admits that I did wrong and owe an unpayable debt, sees my sin and sinfulness without excuses.
- Godly sorrow works repentance (II Cor. 7:10): a change of mind and of life.
- To know forgiveness we must intellectually have a correct understand of what Scripture says about sin.
- Sorrow and repentance seeks forgiveness from the One against whom all sin is committed.
- When God forgives, He does two things:
- He wipes out the debt or loses me from it, so it is as if they had never been committed (Psalm 51:1).
- And He imputes to my account the positive blessing of righteousness.
- The only way God can forgive is if the debt is really paid (He cannot just forget sin).
- When God forgives, He does two things:
- The joyful experience of being forgiven.
- This petition is also asking for the assurance of forgiveness.
- God declares forgiveness and restores relationship only to those who sincerely confess and continually repent.
- God gives the assurance of forgiveness in our finding in ourselves the willingness to forgive all those who sin against us.
- Our forgiving is the on-going striving, for God’s sake, to cast from our minds all anger and desire for revenge.
- Our desire to forgive is evidence of our having been forgiven, of the real change God has made in us.
- Jesus shows the need for every child of the heavenly Father to be striving to forgive.
- This petition is also asking for the assurance of forgiveness.