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Bradford Church of the Nazarene 7/26/15 Matthew 12:30-37 Article of Faith #6; Atonement Big Idea: The sacrifice of Christ is not a reminder of your sin but a reminder of your forgiveness, that you have been or can be set free. Matthew 12:30-37 NLT 30 “Anyone who isn’t with me opposes me, and anyone who isn’t working with me is actually working against me. 31 “So I tell you, every sin and blasphemy can be forgiven—except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which will never be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks against the Son of Man can be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven, either in this world or in the world to come. 33 “A tree is identified by its fruit. If a tree is good, its fruit will be good. If a tree is bad, its fruit will be bad. 34 You brood of snakes! How could evil men like you speak what is good and right? For whatever is in your heart determines what you say. 35 A good person produces good things from the treasury of a good heart, and an evil person produces evil things from the treasury of an evil heart. 36 And I tell you this, you must give an account on judgment day for every idle word you speak. 37 The words you say will either acquit you or condemn you.” -Scripture is consistent in our need of forgiveness The need for forgiveness Romans 3:23 ... all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God -Do we see Rms 3:23 being true in life? -What about that rare really good person? Is 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, 1 Bradford Church of the Nazarene 7/26/15 and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf and like the wind our sins sweep us away. Reality of forgiveness -Why is a Christian able to be confident that he is forgiven? Matthew 26:28 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins. (Atonement) -Demonstrates Jesus’ desire for us to be forgiven. Mark 11:25 25 And when you stand praying, if you hold anything against anyone, forgive him, so that your Father in heaven may forgive you your sins.” -Personal responsibility 1 John 1:9 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. -God is worthy of our confidence but He also wants us to follow through in doing our part in the redemption of ourselves and others. The remedy of forgiveness How did God provide for your forgiveness? John 3:16-18 16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. 18 Whoever believes (trust NLT) in him is not condemned, but 2 Bradford Church of the Nazarene 7/26/15 whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son. -Is it enough to simply believe in Jesus or does God require more than simply believing that He exists in order for our sins to be atoned for and for us to be forgiven? Mark 1:24 24 “What do you want with us, Jesus of Nazareth? Have you come to destroy us? I know who you are—the Holy One of God!” -The evil spirit that possessed the man in Capernaum knew who Jesus was and feared him. James 2:19 You believe that there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that—and shudder. The reliability of forgiveness Hebrews 10:12–13 NLT 12 But our High Priest offered himself to God as a single sacrifice for sins, good for all time. Then he sat down in the place of honor at God’s right hand. 13 There he waits until his enemies are humbled and made a footstool under his feet. Imagine that your car develops a transition problem and when you take it to the shop to be repaired the mechanic really isn’t sure about how to fix the problem. He offers a number of costly possible solutions but is unwilling to guarantee that any of them will solve the problem. -Jesus our Great High Priest offered a single remedy to the problem of sin in our lives that carries with it a guarantee that never ends and is not prorated as time goes on. -When the work was finished, Jesus sat at the right hand of God the Father...... a place of honor and a symbol of confidence and authority. 3 Bradford Church of the Nazarene 7/26/15 Q- What do you see in vs. 13; He waits until His enemies are humbled and made a footstool under His feet. -He knows the outcome is certain as He patiently waits........... willing to allow the drama to play itself out—purposeful The Reach of Forgiveness Hebrews 10:14 14 For by that one offering he forever made perfect those who are being made holy. On November 26, 2008, a gang of terrorists stormed the Taj Mahal Palace in Mumbai, India. After the carnage had left 200 people dead, a reporter interviewed a guest who had been at the hotel for dinner that night. The guest described how he and his friends were eating dinner when they heard gunshots. Someone grabbed him and pulled him under the table. The assassins came striding through the restaurant, shooting at will, until everyone (or so they thought) had been killed. Miraculously, this man survived. When the interviewer asked the guest how he lived when everyone else at his table had been killed, he replied, "I suppose because I was covered in someone else's blood, and they took me for dead." This is the perfect metaphor of God's gift through Jesus Christ to each one of us. Because he paid the penalty for our sin—because we are covered in the blood of his sacrifice—we may have eternal life. -The blood of Christ isn’t merely sufficient to cover the sins of our past; His blood isn’t just good enough to cover our sins for today............. The blood of Christ is sufficient to make cover the cost of our sins throughout our entire life because it is the perfect sacrifice. 4 Bradford Church of the Nazarene 7/26/15 Corrie ten Boom say, "God takes our sins—the past, present, and future—and dumps them in the sea and puts up a sign that says ‘No Fishing.’" But Christians run around fishing all the time. The reminder of forgiveness Finally, I want you to notice the reminder of forgiveness. Look at Hebrews 10:3: "But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins." Contrast that with verse 17: "Their sins and lawless acts, I will remember no more." In the third verse, the writer of Hebrews is saying something interesting. Every time the priest made went to offer a sacrifice for human sin, what did the people remember? They were reminded of their sin. They are reminded that because of their continual sinfulness that the priest will have to continue to offer sacrifices on their behalf. A woman once admitted to her pastor something she had done fifteen years earlier. It was pretty bad. Her husband told her, "I want you to know that I totally forgive you." She said, "I know he's forgiven me, because every week of my life, he tells me he's forgiven me." That's what the writer of Hebrews is saying about the sacrificial system in verse 3. The sacrifices of the priest were a continual reminder of sin. I want you to notice the difference in verse 17. Based on a person believing and trusting in Jesus’ perfect sacrifice on the cross God said “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” 5 Bradford Church of the Nazarene 7/26/15 God remembers no more. The sacrifice of Christ is not a reminder of your sin but a reminder of your forgiveness. A young man named Shea had just taken the exit ramp near his home when his car sputtered and died. Trying unsuccessfully to restart the car, he called a tow truck. The wrecker delivered his car to his home where Shea popped the hood and fiddled around a bit before finally calling his father. His father listened as he explained what had happened. His father simply responded, "I'll come up there tomorrow after work." Shea's father lived 215 miles from him. His dad was going to drive up after driving a city bus for 10 hours. Shea's father arrived on his doorstep three and a half hours after he had gotten off of work. He said hello, hugged his son, and walked back out to the driveway to have a look under the hood. It took just a couple of minutes. His father emerged from under the hood, looked at his son, returned his wrench to his toolbox, and put the tools back into his own car. "What's wrong? Didn’t you bring the right tools?" Shea asked. "We're done," his dad replied. "What's wrong with it?" "Son, it's out of gas." Shea's dad ate with his son, and headed home. Another 215 miles. 430 miles round trip after 10 hours of driving a bus. Shea said his father didn't harass him or berate him that evening over dinner. He didn't even bring it up at all. As a matter of fact, nine years later, his father has still never mentioned the embarrassing incident again. 6 Bradford Church of the Nazarene 7/26/15 For those that have the Word of God written upon their heart and know and trust in Christ as their Savior, the redeemer of their sins God says: “Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more.” For those of us that know Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, the cross is not a reminder of our sins but rather is a reminder that we have been forgiven. The requirement for forgiveness Matthew 12:36-37 But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken. 37 For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.” 2 Pe 2:4–10 4 For if God did not spare angels when they sinned, but sent them to hell, putting them into gloomy dungeons to be held for judgment; ...9 if this is so, then the Lord knows how to rescue godly men from trials and to hold the unrighteous for the day of judgment, while continuing their punishment. 10 This is especially true of those who follow the corrupt desire of the sinful nature and despise authority. Heb. 10:26-27 26 If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, 27 but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. God’s wrath causes divine condemnation Ro 1:18-20 See also Rev 16:1-7 7 Bradford Church of the Nazarene 7/26/15 The reality and certainty of divine condemnation Mk 16:15-16; Jn 5:28-29 See also Mt 12:36-37; 25:31-33,41-45; 2Pe 2:4-9 Right now a lot or even most of you feel guilty about something. It may be something that you said. It could be something that you did. You may have cheated on your taxes or on your school work. And if there were to be a sign hanging over you displaying your guilt wherever you went, you would likely die of embarrassment. I want to remind you that If you are a Christian there is no reason for you to continue to carry the guilt of that shame because Christ has paid for your forgiveness. Today we will continue in our review of the Church of the Nazarene’s Articles of Faith. This week we will take a brief look at the doctrine of the Atonement The meaning of the word is simply at-one-ment, so in the biblical sense it is the state of being made one with God. But the word is also used to designate the way in which this reconciliation is brought about, that is by the death of Christ. So the word can be used in reference to a person being made right with God while the word can also be used in reference to how a person was made right with God. I said that if you are genuinely a Christian that you do not need to carry the guilt of your past, likewise if you are not a professing follower of Christ you have every reason to feel guilty for the burden of sin that is still yours. Let me offer you this; Hebrews 10:14 by one sacrifice Jesus has made perfect forever 8 Bradford Church of the Nazarene 7/26/15 those who are being made holy. The word holy means set aside for God. In others words, through the sacrifice of Christ on the cross God has also provided the means through which you may also be saved from the condemnation and guilt of your sins. Occasionally someone will tell me that they have tried to live by the principles taught in the bible but that they just didn’t work. Let me tell you something. The presupposition of our faith is that all of scripture is God-breathed or inspired. So if there is something in scripture that doesn’t work in your life, the problem isn’t with what the bible says, the problem is with you. The prerequisite to receiving the peace of God in His forgiveness is that you don’t continue on in the pursuits of the world. At the funerals of unbelievers we have all heard people make a statement about this unbeliever being in a better place. Don’t believe it for even a moment; unless someone’s sins have been atoned for by the blood of Christ Jesus, there will be nothing but eternally horrific pain and anguish after life on this earth. A man went online to purchase plans for a birdhouse. When the order arrived he went to work in a hopeless attempt to build a birdhouse out of the incorrect plans that had been sent to him; plans for a model sail boat. A lot of people are hoping to apply Christian principles to themselves that don’t apply because they haven’t accepted the atonement of Christ for their sins. 9 Bradford Church of the Nazarene 7/26/15 Scripture emphatically teaches us that by accepting the sacrifice of Christ as our own that immediately we receive the forgiveness of the Lord God. Have you ever had so much bad happen in your life that you really began to question the forgiveness of God? In Hebrews 10:1 we are told that: The law is only a shadow of the good things that are coming— not the realities themselves. For this reason it can never, by the same sacrifices repeated endlessly year after year, make perfect those who draw near to worship. The story is told about a man that was imprisoned for three years in complete seclusion. Day after long day the man had no human contact. Without a word being spoken to him, each day food and water was slid under the heavy door to him. The only other evidence that he had of people being near was the occasional shadow of a human moving past on the wall of his cell due to a distant light. Over such a long lonely period of time this prisoner’s reality began to change. When he thought about another human being he thought not of a person but of a formless silent shadow. You see, the author of Hebrews 10:11014 goes on to tell us that: Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. 12 But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. 13 Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, 14 because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. 10 Bradford Church of the Nazarene 7/26/15 Conclusion John 1:29-34 11