You're already forgiven!

Matthew 9:2
Some men brought to him a paralyzed man, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the man, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.”

How do we receive God’s forgiveness? We have to ask, beg, and plead. Through a series of religious ceremonies and practices, we are able to receive God’s forgiveness. Right? Wrong. That couldn’t be any further from the truth.

In Matthew 9 (also found in Luke 5 and Mark 2), Jesus has this paralyzed man brought to Him by his friends. (There is a completely different lesson to be learned here about being a good friend and carrying another to Christ, but we’ll save that for a later date.) Their hope was to get close enough to Jesus that He would notice them and heal their friend. They wanted Jesus to fix his body so that he would be able to walk and function in society without being or feeling like a burden anymore. This is a completely honorable and acceptable reason for a friend to help another. Unfortunately for them, the crowd was too big to push through, so they had to improvise, adapt, and overcome by tearing the roof off and lowering their friend down, right in front of Jesus!

When Jesus saw the man, He instantly acknowledged the faith of his friends and did the unexpected. Instead of telling the man to get up, Jesus said, “Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven.” He didn’t heal the man’s paralysis, but rather told him that he’d been forgiven for his sins. Was it because Jesus didn’t know why the man had been brought to Him? Of course not! He was acting on His mission from the Father, not on the goals and desires of men. He was also setting the stage for those of us to come!

You see, first and foremost, Jesus had a mission here on earth. His mission was to bring us forgiveness of sins followed by health in our bodies and spirits. Unconditional, unmerited, unearned, unrequested forgiveness of sins. The whole point of Jesus dying on the cross was so that the Father could freely forgive us of our sins and bless us unconditionally. This is why our sins and our troubles were placed on Christ at the cross. When you ask for Grace, it becomes Mercy. But the Bible tells us that it is by Grace we are saved (Ephesians 2:8), not by works, and not by mercy.

Why then do we constantly tell people they have to ask for God’s forgiveness in their lives? Yes, we all need to confess to God when we are wrong (1 John 1:9), when we mess up, but there is no need to beg Him for forgiveness; everything has already been forgiven. (1 Peter 3:18 For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit. ) If Christ died once for the sins of both the righteous and the unrighteous (in today’s terms the believer and the unbeliever) then how is anyone excluded from heaven? The key is accepting His forgiveness. If you choose to not accept the forgiveness graciously granted to all through the cross, then you choose to rely on your own merit and “good” standing with a just and holy God. (Acts 10:43) A profession of faith in Christ and His eternal sacrifice is all it takes to receive God’s forgiveness. That’s it. (Romans 10:13 for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”)

Until people realize that they have already been forgiven, and are no longer in need of forgiveness, the blessings and abundant life that Christ offers cannot be received. Jesus didn’t heal the man of his paralysis until He first told him that his sins were forgiven. The same holds true for people today. Until we start preaching a message of “YOU ARE FORGIVEN”, many will never receive the healing that they so longingly desire! Many will make a choice based on pride to not “ask” for forgiveness and in so doing will miss the wonderful message of Christ’s salvation! (Proverbs 16:18 Pride goes before destruction, a haughty spirit before a fall)

Pride is what got the Devil in all that trouble. It’s what destroys marriages and friendships today. It is what continually keeps people away from Christ. “I don’t need forgiveness” is a prideful attitude that is destroying souls. It has been used and manipulated by the Devil to keep people from accepting the Grace offered by Jesus. It’s time to use foolish pride to our advantage. Let’s use the Devil’s weapon against him. Let’s tell people that they’re right, they don’t have beg and plead for forgiveness before the Throne of God, because they’ve already been forgiven at the Cross of Christ! It’s a lot easier to explain grace through grace, then grace through self condemnation.