God Promises to Forgive

Introduction

A. What’s the most hurt you have experienced at the will of another? For most of us, the hurt cannot be described adequately. There are levels of hurt. We have different thresholds for hurt. We try to describe the hurt as best as we can but our words cannot reveal the depth of the hurt. My spouse disrespects me tells us something but it doesn’t tell us the depth of emotional hurt. My friend betrayed me may be the beginning of the story but it doesn’t tell us how much we lost in the betrayal nor how difficult it will be to trust again. I was used abused. And the words hang in the air as we try to understand what that did to your heart and soul.

B. When we think of the worst hurt we have experienced, we want justice. The very human part of us wants the person to know the depth of our hurt and to express adequate sorrow. And there is a part of us that wants things to be equal. We want our hurt to be shared hurt. Thoughts of revenge come and we fight to move away from those thoughts but we struggle not to act. Imagine the worst hurt you have experienced. And now imagine if you were the one who had hurt another in that way. What would you want to happen?

C. Someone says “I would never do to another what has been done to me.” Probably not. But unless you are the exception, you have hurt someone. Even unintentional hurt cuts deep. So what do you want to happen when you have hurt another? Do you want justice? Do you want the person you hurt to seek revenge? Do you want mercy? “But you don’t know what that person did to me?” You are right. I don’t. Words cannot adequately describe your hurt and your emotional pain that resulted from the actions and words of another. The question is what do you want to happen to you when you have hurt another?

D. God is a promise keeper. He cannot lie. He can only tell the truth. Our lesson today is entitled “God Promises to Forgive.” When God makes a promise we can count on it. When God makes a promise we can live with greater confidence, courage, and assurance in this life. Forgiveness is important to our relationship with God. Let’s be reminded of forgiveness.

God Is Light

A. Verse 5 is the crux of 1 John. God is light. There is no darkness in him. Light and darkness stand for good and evil. Righteousness and holiness versus the opposite. Whatever good thing you want to say, God is the fullness of those good things. He is absolutely good and there is not even the hint of evil in him. The point—Christians want to be in the light. We want to be with God. We want to share with him in every way possible and we want our lives to be light as well.

B. So the writer says we have some options. But not all the options will get us what we want. There is only one option which allows us to be in fellowship with God and representative of light.

1. Option 1—Claim to be right with God but live like the devil (v. 6). This is the person who says all the right words on Sunday and speaks evil on Monday. This is the person who acts righteous on Sunday and acts devilish other times. Your claim is false and your life is a lie. Here is the truth—we can’t tell on Sunday what your heart really is on Monday. You are the one who knows. So if you make a good showing on Sunday, then we think you will make a good showing on Monday. And the truth is today is just a show and tomorrow is real. Living your life as a lie will take its toll eventually. But make no doubt, the untruthful life has no fellowship with God.

2. Option 2—Claim to be a better person than others (v. 8). We have sinned but now we don’t sin like we used to. The result is that we can compare ourselves to others. We can feel good about ourselves while pointing out how bad most everyone else is. There is a spiritual smugness that occurs. We see the sin of others very quickly and feel proud that we don’t have to struggle like they do. But to compare ourselves to other sinners and to feel spiritually superior results in lying to ourselves. I’m not as bad as someone else. And this self-deception keeps us from fellowship with God. What matters is how one looks to God not how one feels toward self. This person feels good about self but the standard is self and one’s own righteous deeds. The self-deceptive life has no fellowship with God.

3. Option 3—Claim to never have sinned (v. 10). Hard to imagine that a person could ever make this claim but it happens. This is the person who doesn’t think sin is a part of their life ever. This is the person that doesn’t admit sin and passes responsibility for wrongdoing to others. But the lie here is beyond self. In this case, the person is lying about God. God says we are all sinners, and this person is calling God a liar. The person who calls God a liar has no fellowship with him.

4. Option 4—The last option is found in verses 7 & 9. And while verses 7 & 9 are really two separate points they fuse together to form one thought. If we want fellowship with God, then we need to walk in the light. We need to live consistently righteous lives. Not perfect, but consistent in heart and action. And when in our imperfection we sin, we confess those sins and God is quick to forgive. In verse 7, the idea is that walking in the light brings constant forgiveness. Verse 9, confession brings quick forgiveness. The person who lives a righteous life and has a confessing heart has fellowship with God.

C. These are our choices. Which option will you choose?

Option 4

A. I speak to an audience that wants to choose option 4. The first three options may be present but are more difficult to admit. But I want to focus on option 4. God’s promise is to forgive. When God makes a promise we can count on it. God’s promises are to bring us greater confidence and courage as we live this life. God says confess your sins and I will be quick to forgive you. We want that. We need to believe that, but frankly we are at times afraid of what others will think.

B. Our pride gets in the way of saying things like “I’m sorry or I was wrong.” We believe our reputation will take a hit if we confess our sins before others. Funny isn’t it. We can live shameful lives in front of others and think little about it, but confess our public sins in front of others generates fear because we want others to think more highly of us. So let’s flip this one more time. When a person comes to acknowledge sin and ask for prayers do you think less of that person? If you do, then you are probably living by one of the other options. Private sin can be dealt with privately. If you have sinned against another, then go confess your sin and ask for forgiveness.

C. But do not ignore verse 9. God expects confession. Why? The word “confession” means to agree with another. In other words, God says we sin and confession is to agree with God that we are sinners. And in that agreement with God, God’s promise is to constantly and quickly forgive. Confession is not just good for the soul; it is the means by which we enjoy fellowship with God. Someone says “but God cannot forgive me. I have done too many bad things.” The problem isn’t with God but with your confidence in God. Those words speak of your uncertainty about God. God cannot lie to you. He is light. There is not even the hint of darkness in him. He speaks of forgiveness because he has already demonstrated how important relationship with you is to him. Look at Jesus. See the cross. What more must God do to prove to you that there is nothing that he wouldn’t do to forgive you? Invitation.

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