Facts About Forgiveness

In the seventh chapter of the Gospel of Luke, there are three miracles recorded. The first miracle is the great miracle of the healing of the Centurion’s servant. The second one is the greater miracle in which Jesus raised the widow’s son of Nain from the dead. But the greatest miracle is what I’m calling The Forgiving and Restoring of a Sinful Woman.

I believe that the forgiveness of our sins is the greatest miracle that God could ever perform. Let me give you three reasons why I believe that God forgiving guilty sinners—which we are all are—is the greatest miracle God can perform. Number one, it meets the greatest need. Mankind’s greatest need is to know Jesus Christ as Savior—to be forgiven of our sins.

I deal with people all the time who have problems in their lives, so they want counsel. My counsel always is if they haven’t trusted Jesus Christ as Savior, that’s where we start. If you come to me for marriage counseling, my first question is: “Have you been born again? Do you know Jesus Christ?” If not, that’s where we have to start. Unless you know Jesus and have the Holy Spirit, you don’t have that source to help you in the problems of life. So I believe forgiveness of our sins meets our greatest need, and our greatest need is to have eternal life. The Bible says, “If we gain the whole world but die in our sins, it profits you nothing.” So you’re the richest person who went to hell; big deal. You’d be separated from God for all eternity.

The second reason forgiveness of our sins is the greatest miracle is because it cost the greatest price. What did it cost God? It cost Him giving and sending His only Son. It cost Jesus leaving heaven and coming down to earth. He came into the world through the womb of the Virgin Mary, lived a sinless life and died a voluntary, substitutionary death on the Cross. He was buried, three days later rose from the dead, ascended back into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father. He ever lives to save any who call on His name. The Bible says, “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” So God sent His Son to die for our sins. It cost God the life of His Son.

Thirdly, it is the greatest miracle because it brings the greatest result: eternal life. “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” It starts not when you die, but the moment you are born again. Eternal life starts the moment you are “regenerated,” as theologians call it. You are given new life. A Christian is a person who has the life of God in their soul. It’s not by going to church, by being baptized, by rites or rituals or practices. It’s by being born of the Spirit of God. That’s when you become His child and you have eternal life.

There are three divisions in our text that I want to note. First I want to look at verses 36-39 at the setting of this parable. Remember that when we look at parables, I have us look back up in the text. We need to see the context of why the parable was given. What story, situation or historical event in the narrative lead up to Jesus uttering the parable of two debtors?
Let’s read verses 36-39. Luke said, “Then one of the Pharisees asked Him…”—that is, Jesus—“…to eat with him.” That is, the Pharisee. “And He went to the Pharisee’s house, and sat down to eat.” A better translation would be to “dinner” or “supper.” “And behold, a woman in the city who was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil and stood at His feet behind Him weeping; and she began to wash His feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet and anointed them with the fragrant oil. Now when the Pharisee who had invited Him saw this, he spoke to himself…”—that indicates he is not saying this audibly but is thinking this in his own mind—“…saying, ‘This man…”—referring to Jesus—“…if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.’”  This Pharisee is thinking, Cooties! Oh, how creepy! I can’t believe Jesus is letting this sinner touch Him!

What is a Pharisee? A Pharisee is a member of the strictest religious sect of the Jews. The Jewish religion had two groups: they had Pharisees and Sadducees. Simply stated, the Pharisees were the orthodox, and the Sadducees were the liberals. The Pharisees devoted themselves to every jot and tittle of the Law. The word “Pharisee” actually means “separate one.” So they were separated to keeping the Law of God. The Sadducees, which were in charge of the priesthood, were the liberals, the politicians, the men-pleasers. They only believed in the first five books of the Old Testament called the Pentateuch. They didn’t believe there was life after death or a resurrection from the dead or that there were angels or spirits. So this Pharisee was a very religious, Jewish man who invited Jesus to dinner.

Just a footnote: later in the story we get his name. It was Simon the Pharisee. Jesus went to eat with him. It’s interesting that Jesus came “to seek out and to save that which was lost.” He often was accused of being a friend of publicans, which were tax collectors, and sinners and wine imbibers and prostitutes and harlots.

Jesus didn’t just come to the down-and-outers, but He came also to reach out to the religious community. They were lost and needed a Savior, too. They thought they could be saved by their own righteousness, so Jesus came to show them He came as the Messiah, the Savior of the world, of everyone.

So I note that Jesus accepted Simon’s invitation. He said, “Sure.” I note that because He never turned down a dinner invitation. Praise God; neither do I. If you’re buyin’, I’m comin’. Not only that, but it’s interesting that Jesus even invites Himself over for dinner. He says, “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him, and he with Me.” I like that. “If I’m knocking and you open, I’m comin’ in to eat; so be ready.” So Jesus is a guest at this Pharisee’s house.

Now there are some things that we don’t know about this setting. We don’t know why Simon the Pharisee invited Jesus to dinner. The Bible doesn’t tell us, but the best guess is—take note that it is a guess—Simon was trying to trap Jesus. He was trying to get Jesus embroiled in some controversy or say something wrong or find something at fault with Him, so he was basically trying to check Jesus out. I don’t believe his motives were pure in inviting Jesus over for dinner. But Simon is going to find out that he’s the one on trial, not Jesus. As Jesus utters this parable, He actually holds the mirror up to Simon so he can see he is the debtor, as well. So we don’t know why Simon invited Him to dinner, we don’t know when Simon invited him to dinner and we don’t know where Simon was when he invited Jesus to dinner.

Now don’t confuse this story with another one. It’s not the same story of Mary of Bethany, when she invited Jesus. It’s not the same story of Mary Magdalene. This is just an unnamed woman in the Bible. When I get to heaven, I want to shake her hand and thank her for her love and devotion to Jesus in this story.

Notice that in verse 36, my King James says that Jesus “sat down” to dinner or supper. But Jesus didn’t really sit down. In the Greek, it says that He “reclined” or “laid down.” The reason the Greek says that is because in those days, the table they ate at was only about a foot high. It was in a horseshoe shape. Around the outside of the table was a dinner bed or lounge. The diners would lay on the bed or mat with their head on their left hand, reach over, grab their food with the other hand, roll back over and put it in their mouth.

I remember years ago before I was married, I was a bachelor and didn’t have much to eat. I was in a wedding and the rehearsal dinner took place at a friend’s house. They served spaghetti and it was good. So I ate lots of spaghetti. When you eat too much spaghetti, you feel like bursting. Wow! It starts to expand in your stomach. I sat down on the couch, and I had to spend the night on that couch. I actually said, “Can I crash here tonight? I can’t drive home.”

If we had the dinner bed thing, we could eat and just go to sleep right there. I like that. You don’t have to go to the bedroom; you just roll over and burp and go to sleep. You’d be sound asleep. This is why the woman could get to Jesus’ feet; they would be extended off the edge of the dinner couch or bed.

Verse 37 says, “And behold…”—or “look”—“…a woman in the city who was a sinner….” Those two descriptions of this woman convey both the idea that she was immoral and possibly even a harlot or a prostitute. A lot of good, conservative Bible scholars believe she was a street walker or a prostitute. “When she knew that Jesus sat at the table in the Pharisee’s house, brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil.”

It was customary in those days that whenever a rabbi or a famous person was invited to dinner at another rabbi’s house, the community could come, stand in the dining-room area or the patio and eavesdrop or listen in on the conversation. Pretty freaky. So you’re eating and people are looking at you. You have all these people from the community standing around the walls listening in.

But the fact that this woman was immoral was even more heinous. A Pharisee would never have any contact with a woman, let alone a sinful woman. She certainly would not be invited to this meal, even though it was customary for people to come and listen in. The Pharisee was appalled. “Look, a woman of the city, a sinner! I can’t believe she’s here! Ooh!” Everything got quiet, there was a hush and everyone got uncomfortable and were freaking out. You could feel the tension mounting.

The Scripture says that she “brought an alabaster flask of fragrant oil and stood at His feet.” It was very costly. I want you to notice the six things that take place in verse 38. She “stood at His feet,” she was “weeping,” then “she began to wash His feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head; and she kissed His feet.” In the Greek this “kissed” means that she “kissed them repeatedly.” Then she “anointed them with the fragrant oil.”

I love this picture. This is an amazing picture. This woman had been forgiven of all her sin, I believe, at this point. Jesus is only going to affirm her forgiveness. The lavish worship that she gave to Jesus is the result of or evidence of her forgiven heart.

So she went down to His feet and she begins to weep and her tears fall on His dusty feet. She then took her hair down—something a woman would never do in public—and they’re freaking out more. She wiped His feet with her hair and then kissed them. In the Greek it would be that she “smothers” His feet with kisses. She broke the seal of the alabaster jar, took that very expensive perfume and poured it not on His head, where it would normally be poured, but on Jesus’ feet. What a beautiful picture of worship and devotion!

Verse 39, “Now when the Pharisee…saw this, he spoke to himself, saying, ‘This man, if He were a prophet, would know who and what manner of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.’” Now Jesus is going to show Simon that He knows what Simon is thinking. The parable that Jesus is going to utter is a revelation of Simon’s heart. Simon was blind; he could not see himself as a sinner, he could not see the woman as forgiven and he could not see the Lord as the Savior and forgiver of our sins.

So we have the background or setting, and now we have the parable. So Jesus next speaks, in verses 40-43, the parable. “And Jesus answered and said to him…”—and here’s his name—“‘…Simon, I have something to say to you.’ So he said, ‘Teacher, say it.’”

I would add that Simon probably rolled his eyes. He would have thought, Okay, whatever You want to say, go ahead and say it, because he had pretty much dismissed Jesus at this point. He would have thought, No way is He truly a man of God!

Giving the parable, Jesus said, “There was a certain creditor who had two debtors.” That’s where we get the title of the parable, The Two Debtors. “One owed five hundred denarii…”—one denarius was a day’s wage—“…and the other fifty. And when they had nothing with which to repay, he freely forgave them both. Tell Me, therefore, which of them will love him more?” Notice the question mark. “Simon answered and said, ‘I suppose the one whom he forgave more.’ And He said to him, ‘You have rightly judged.’” In other words, Jesus said, “Right on, Simon. You got it.”

So Jesus told this very simple parable. There were two people who were in debt. One man owed 500-days salary or denarii. The other owed 50-days denarii. The lender dismissed both debts. He forgave them both; “You don’t owe me a penny.” Jesus asked, “Which of these two men is going to be the most ecstatic? Have the most love? The most appreciation?” And again Simon could almost see where this was going now in light of himself and the sinful woman. Simon said, “Well, I guess the one who has been forgiven most and loved the most.” Jesus said, “Right, Simon. You guessed it. He who has been forgiven much, will love much.” And he who has not seen his need for forgiveness will not have evidence of love for the Savior.

In verses 44-50, Jesus makes the point. Notice it. “Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman?’” That was Simon’s problem; he didn’t really see the woman. He just saw a sinner. “‘I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. Therefore…”—here’s the point—“…I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little.’ Then He said to her…”—that’s Jesus speaking to the woman directly—“…‘Your sins are forgiven.’ And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?’ Then He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.’”

In these times when someone came to your house for a meal, it was customary to wash their feet. And Jesus said, “You didn’t wash My feet.” It was customary that you would greet them with a kiss. In the Middle East today and in other parts of the world, they would kiss you on the cheek or kiss you on both cheeks. It was a greeting. It was customary when they came into your house, you would give them anointing oil on their head.

Today, it would be as if someone came to your house for dinner, you would say, “Come in” for starters. “May I take your coat? Would you like something to drink? Please sit down.” Can you imagine if someone had you over for dinner, it was a winter day, so you had a big coat on, you came in, they didn’t offer to take your coat, they didn’t offer you something to drink, they didn’t offer you a seat? You would just be standing there not knowing what to do. You’d feel uncomfortable. You’d think, Do they really want me here?

So Simon hadn’t shown any of the common courtesies to Jesus, which indicates that he was hostile, that he only wanted Jesus to come over because he wanted to find fault with Him. Simon had already dismissed Jesus as not being the Messiah or being a man of God or being a prophet, because Jesus had allowed this woman to touch Him.

Now Jesus drives home His point: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven,” and she’s showing the evidence of her forgiveness by her love and by her devotion. What a great thing to do! If you love Jesus and He’s forgiven your sins, you want to sing to Him, you want to raise your hands and praise the Lord. You want to tell other people. You want to clap. You want to study the Bible. You want to be with other Christians. You want to serve the Lord. You want to serve other people in His name, because He has done so much for you.

Verse 48, “Then He said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’ Then those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, ‘Who is this who even forgives sins?”

By the way, this is a footnote and not the focus of my message today: this is a clear indication of Jesus being God. Only God can forgive sins. The Bible says that. So when Jesus forgives this woman—and I believe that’s what He is doing here—He is actually exercising His divine right as God. “He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you.’”

There are five facts about forgiveness I want to share with you. The first is, in light of this parable, we all need forgiveness. Simon, the self-righteous Pharisee, and the sinful woman had at least two things in common. First, they had a common debt. Verse 41 says that there were “two debtors.” Both Simon and the woman were sinners. The Bible says, “All have sinned and come short of the glory of God.” The Bible says, “There is no one righteous; no, not one.” So Simon and the woman were both sinful.

Remember that there are attitude sins and there are action sins. There are sins of the flesh, as well as sins of the spirit. Simon was guilty of sins of the spirit, while the woman was guilty of sin of the flesh. Simon was a sinner, too.

Now it’s not about the amount of sin; it’s about the awareness of sin. This parable is not about that some people have a little bit of sin or some people have a lot of sin. The point of the parable is an awareness of our sin. One of the greatest thing that can happen to you is when God the Holy Spirit comes and shows you are a sinner and you agree with Him. You don’t resist Him. God comes to you and convicts you in the Spirit that you are a sinner and you need a savior. You are not going to trust Jesus for salvation until you recognize that you are a sinner who needs a savior.

Simon had a problem: he thought he was okay. “I’m a Pharisee; I keep the law. I’m a good person.” Paul boasted about his Pharisaical background. In Philippians 3 he said that he was circumcised on the eighth day, he was perfect, he kept the law, he was righteous. But when he came to know Jesus Christ, all those things that were in his plus column—his religious pedigree—he counted as “rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ.” Simon didn’t realize that he was a sinner.

There are sins of omission as well as sins of commission. Simon was guilty of sins of omission; he didn’t wash Jesus’ feet, he didn’t kiss Him, he didn’t anoint Him with oil. You can sin by not doing something. You can say, “I haven’t murdered or robbed or stole or cheated or done anything like that.” The Bible says that “He who knows to do good but doesn’t do it, to him it is sin.” You can just do nothing and be a sinner, because when you know to do good but don’t do it, the Bible says that we have sinned.

There are open sins and there are hidden sins. Everyone knew the woman’s sin; she was an immoral woman, and everyone knew it. But only Jesus knew Simon’s sin. God knows your sin. You might have in the deepest, darkest place in your heart something well hidden that you think no one knows. “My wife doesn’t know.” “My husband doesn’t know.” “My kids don’t know.” “My pastor doesn’t know.” But Jesus knows. The Bible says that “All things are naked and open to the eyes of Him.” There is nothing hidden from God. Everything is revealed to God. God knows your thoughts, your attitude, your motives, the hidden sins that you’ve committed. Yet He loves you still, and He wants to forgive you. If you come to Him today and ask Him to forgive you, He will clean you and forgive you and wash you and make you His child.
The second thing that Simon and the woman had in common was they had a common insolvency. They had a common debt; they were both debtors. It wasn’t an issue of one having more debt than the other. They were just both debtors. And here’s an important point in verse 42: they both had nothing to pay. Don’t miss that. They were both in debt. Yes, one 500 denarii and the other 50, but what does it matter what your debt is if you’re bankrupt? If you’re bankrupt, you’re bankrupt. You have nothing to pay.

So people try to perform their good works. “If I go to church, if I get baptized, if I stop drinkin’ and stop cussin’, maybe God will let me into heaven.” John Owen said, “He who has slight thoughts of sin never has great thoughts of God.” I love that. If you’re going to get our sins forgiven, you need to acknowledge that you’re a sinner. If you’re sitting here thinking, like Simon the Pharisee, I can’t believe this guy is preaching a sermon like this! Does he know who I am? No, but God does. And you’re busted! We’ve all sinned; we’ve all “fallen short of the glory of God. There is no one righteous; no, not one.”

Whenever I read this story and this parable and the application, it just makes me want to cry; that God would forgive me. I’ll never forget the day that I invited Christ to come into my heart and the washing and the cleansing and I felt clean inside. I felt a weight lifted off my shoulders, and all my sin was taken away. My life has never been the same since.

Have you experienced that? Do you know what it is to be washed and forgiven of your sins and have the joy of being forgiven? What a glorious truth.

So both Simon and the woman were bankrupt and had nothing to pay.

Now let me give you fact number two. Forgiveness is the gracious gift of God. Verse 42 says, “He freely…”—or “graciously”—“…forgave them both.” Do you know that forgiveness is free, but it’s not cheap? It cost God the death of His Son. We talk about “cheap grace.” I know what they mean about that doctrinally or theologically, but it’s really not cheap grace. For God to save you by His grace, He had to pay a great price. That’s the Cross of Jesus Christ. God had to suffer and die. Whenever you look at the Cross of Christ, you see the horrible, heinous truth about sin. Sin put the holy, pure and sinless Son of God on the Cross. Jesus had to suffer and die for our sins to pay the penalty. The Bible says, “The soul that sins shall surely die.” Jesus died in your place and paid your debt in full. He cried out, “Tatelestai,” or “It is finished,” paid in full. So grace is not cheap; it cost God the life of His only Son.

I never outgrow Ephesians 2:8-9. “For grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.” If you were to do an acrostic of the word “grace” it would be God’s Richest At Christ’s Expense. I bring my sin, I come bankrupt, He comes and takes my sin and He gives me His righteousness and I am forgiven.

The third fact about forgiveness is that forgiveness is received by faith. Notice it in verse 50 of our story. “Then He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you.’” Notice that He didn’t say, “Your kisses saved you. Your perfume saved you. Your tears saved you.” We sing, “Could my tears forever flow….” I could cry from now unto eternity, and my tears would not wash my sins away. It’s not just feeling remorse; you must turn and trust in Jesus as your Savior.
She wasn’t saved because of her tears or a kiss or the oil. They were the fruit of her forgiveness. She was saved or given forgiveness by the grace of God through faith and faith alone. Jesus was the object of her faith. What is faith? Faith is simply trusting, simply believing. An acrostic for “faith” is Forsaking All I Take Him.

Faith is getting on the airplane, believing that it can take me. Faith is getting in an elevator. Faith is crossing over the bridge. Faith is getting in your car and turning the key to start it up. Faith is driving your car and putting your foot on the brake, believing your car will stop. Do you know that you drove your car today by faith? And I’ve seen some of your cars; it takes a lot of faith to drive one of them suckers! It’s crazy. Have you ever been coming down a steep mountain and you think, I hope these brakes work! You’re putting your faith in them.

Have you ever passed over a big freeway bridge? Why in California do we keep stacking freeway bridges up higher and higher when we have earthquakes? I was going over this huge overpass one time, and I just got a vision of the Big One hitting right at that time. I’m saying, “Not now, Lord! Not now! Get me over, Lord!” What’s goin’ on? We put our faith in so many things.

The Bible says, “Have faith in God.”

“Oh, I can’t trust God.”

You know how your sins are forgiven and you get to go to heaven? By simply saying, “Jesus, I’m trusting you to save me.”

“Nothing in my hand I bring,
Simply to Thy Cross I cling.”

“I’m coming to You naked, Lord, and I need You to clothe me in Your perfect righteousness.”

The fourth fact about righteousness is that forgiveness is certain. Look at verse 47: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven.” Then verse 48: “Then He said to her, ‘Your sins are forgiven.’” You get that? Not “might” be forgiven. Not “if you’re lucky” they’ll be forgiven. No; they “are forgiven.” Forgiveness is for sure. You can know that you are forgiven.

I meet Christians all the time who say, “I hope I’m forgiven. I hope God forgives me. I hope I get to go to heaven.” That’s not the Christian life. The Christian life is having assurance. Let me give you three bases for your assurance, how you know your sins are forgiven. The first is the word of God the Father. Jesus told this woman that she was forgiven. If you asked her when she was leaving, “How do you know you are forgiven?” she would say that “Jesus told me, and I believe it. I’m resting in his word.”

Secondly, forgiveness is the work of God the Son. Jesus died on the Cross and paid for your sins. He cried, “It is finished,” and we believe that.

Third, is the inner witness of the Holy Spirit. Romans 8:16 says, “The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” When you are born again, you’ll know it. Remember when you used to sing,

“If you’re saved and you know it,
Then your life will surely show it.”

If you’re saved, you will know it, because the Holy Spirit will witness to your heart that you are His child.

So my question to you is, Do you know that you’re forgiven? Do you know that you’re a child of God? Are you resting in the Word of God the Father? Have you trusted in the work of God the Son? Do you have the inner witness of God the Holy Spirit?

The fifth and last fact about forgiveness from this story is that forgiveness results in a changed life. If you’ve been forgiven, your life is going to change. Notice first of all that this woman had a new life. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

Remember in John 8:11 when Jesus forgave the sinful woman caught in the act of adultery? He said, “Neither do I condemn you; go and sin no more.” She went to a new life. The same is true of this sinful woman; she had a new life. She didn’t have to continue being a woman of the city or walk the streets any longer.

The second thing that happened to this woman is that she had a new love. In verse 47 Jesus says, “I say unto you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven…”—why?—“…for she loved much.” She had this amazing love for Jesus, because she had been forgiven. So she had a new life and she had a new love.

When you get saved, the things you used to love, you hate, and the things you used to hate, you love. That’s what it means to be a new creation in Christ. She was not ashamed to show her love for Jesus, her lavish worship.

If you’ve been born again and you’ve accepted Jesus Christ and your sins are forgiven, you’re not going to be ashamed to let people know that. You’re not going to be ashamed of Jesus. Ashamed of Jesus Who died on the Cross for your sins? Ashamed of Jesus Who has forgiven you and given you the hope of heaven? You’re going to want to talk about Jesus, tell people about Jesus, worship Jesus, love Jesus and serve Jesus if you’ve been forgiven. That’s what happens in your life.

She had a new life, she had a new love and she had a new peace. Look at verse 50, in closing. “He said to the woman, ‘Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.’” In the Greek, this is amazing. He actually said to her, “Go into peace.” He didn’t just say, “Go in peace.” Literally, the Greek phrase means “Go into peace.”

The Bible says that when we get forgiven of our sins, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. We actually have peace with God. In other words, all of life starts to make sense and comes into harmony, because I’m at peace with my creator. That’s the reason you were created—to know God. Now you know God, and you have peace with God.

Then you have the peace of God in your heart. You cannot experience the peace of God in your heart and your mind until you first experience peace with God, because your sins are forgiven. The Bible says that before you are forgiven, you’re at war with God, you’re fighting against God, you’re resisting God. Once you surrender and that little white flag goes up in your heart, your sins have been forgiven, you trust Him, you have peace with God, you walk with Him, then the peace of God begins to rule in you.

Are you forgiven? Do you know that when you die you’d go to heaven? Today if you are uncertain in any way—if you come to church, and you’ve heard this before…. Right now the Holy Spirit is convicting you, and you see that you are a sinner and need a Savior, the Bible says don’t resist Him. Now is the acceptance time. The Bible says, “Today is the day of salvation.” The Bible says, “Today if you hear His voice, harden not your heart.”

You need to do three things: you need to realize that you are a sinner, you need to recognize that Jesus died on the Cross to pay for your sins and you need to receive Jesus Christ as your Savior and as your Lord. In John 1:12, it says, “As many as received Him, to them He gave the right…”—or “the power”—“…to become children of God, to those who believe in His name.”

I want to give you an opportunity to make sure that you’re forgiven. Your greatest need is forgiveness of sins. It will bring the greatest blessing, it will make you His child and it will give you the hope of heaven.