Be of good Cheer

Son Be of Good Cheer

 Thy Sins be Forgiven Thee

Matthew 9:2

  It is certain that the man to whom Jesus spoke these words was in need of bodily healing.  He was disabled by palsy to the extent that he could no longer walk.  He was dependent on others to bring him to the Lord.

But the One whose help he sought could see beyond the apparent; He recognized that he was in need of spiritual healing.  Each one of the three evangelists who records this miracle includes these words as a preface to the words of forgiveness: “seeing their faith”.  By this Jesus meant not only the faith of the one brought to Him, but also the faith of the ones who brought him.  This statement should provide encouragement for all Christians who have salvation concern for a loved one, a friend, or an acquaintance.  Yes, for any one God has laid on your heart.

When we tend toward discouragement because of what we perceive to be obstacles that seem unsurmountable, let’s persist in bringing the lost to Jesus.  The Lord is able to do more than we can even begin to think or ask, and certainly He is not willing that any should perish.  Those who brought this paralytic to Jesus could not bring him in through the door.  They had to remove some of the tiles from the roof and lower him on his bed into the crowded room where Jesus was ministering.  They possessed a faith which worked by love.

The words of forgiveness which Jesus spoke to him must have been the sweetest sound that he had ever heard.  All of us who have been convicted of our sin by the Holy Ghost can appreciate the significance of this miracle of healing.  We know that there is no greater gift that can be given than that of faith in the Gospel message of forgiveness.  Then, and only then, can we rightly say with st. Paul the Apostle: “Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift.”

If the Kingdom of God, the church, is to grow as Christ would have it grow, it must remain a kingdom of grace—where the gospel is freely preached and where sins are proclaimed forgiven for that is the essence of the gospel.  In speaking of this kingdom of grace and forgiveness, Paul said: “All things are of God, who hath reconciled us unto himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given unto us the ministry of reconciliation;  To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them, and Hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.”  II Corinthians 5: 18-19

By this means; that is, by the preaching of the gospel, thousands were added to the church on the day of Pentecost.  The Lord has given to the church this privilege of preaching the gospel, but He is the one who adds “to the church daily such as should be saved.” as we read in the last verse of the second chapter of the Book of Acts.

In the light of Scripture, we can safely conclude that there is no greater theme for any preacher than the grace of God and the forgiveness of sins.  Yet, we so often that the significance of this charge is devalued to the extent that once we have heard it, we imagine that we know all about it—that we have become masters of this elementary doctrine and are looking for something greater and more impressive to the carnal mind.  Let us all as Christians, those who teach and those who are taught, guard against this delusion.  We must remain in the place of life which enables us to say that we desire to know nothing except Jesus Christ and Him crucified, and that we are not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone who believes.

“Hearken unto me, ye that follow after righteousness, ye that seek the LORD: look unto the rock whence ye are hewn, and to the hole of the pit whence ye are digged.”  Isaiah 51: 1

From the archives of the late Pastor A.C. Holmgren June 1991

submitted by Pastor Stan