Thy Sins Are Forgiven

Background Scripture: Mark 2
Lesson Scripture: Mark 2:1–12

Introduction

Is there any greater gift than the forgiveness of God? Surely it is the “pearl of great price” offered to us in Matthew 13:46. It is needed by and available to all people, whether they think they are righteous or feel they are hopelessly lost. Forgiveness is the essence of the Father’s heart based on His unfathomable love. All those who know the depravity of their true self feel their need of coming to Jesus to have their sins washed away. May we thank Him daily for this blessing.

We keenly feel physical hunger, cold, and pain, which causes us to care for our natural bodies. In our estrangement from God, we tend to ignore or neglect our spiritual needs. If all men would be as deeply aware of their spiritual poverty as they are of their physical necessities, they would turn to God. In realizing the eternal consequences of not following God, they would repent and pray for forgiveness. The Lord would answer, and a blessed revival would begin.

Key Verse

Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases (Ps. 103:3).

Lesson Scripture

Studying the Lesson

Most dictionaries define palsy as “partial or total paralysis, often accompanied with loss of feeling and involuntary muscle spasms or violent twitching.” Persons so afflicted can do little for themselves. This must have been the case with the sick man in our lesson text. It was commonly held that a chronically ill person was being punished by God, either for his or his parents’ sin, although Jesus clearly taught against this belief (John 9:2–3). It is likely this sick man was not reaping for a sinful way of life but was just one of the unfortunates of the day. Jesus saw him as someone who needed healing and determined that his faith would not go unrewarded. To the utter amazement of those present, the palsied man was healed and carried his own bed out of the house

This man’s four friends rank among the unsung heroes of the Bible. Nameless to us, possibly receiving little thanks and largely unremembered, these were true friends. They carried the palsied man in his bed to the only One who they felt offered him any hope. Seeing a need, they rose to it, forgetting themselves and their own agendas to dismantle a roof to help their sick friend. Where are the likes of these four friends today? Is there enough concern for the spiritually sick among us that we will carry them to Jesus, even though it means “tearing up a roof” and suffering loss for our response?

As heroic as the efforts of the sick man’s friends must have been, there were scribes present who were blind to the virtue and blessings that graced this experience. No doubt thinking of the man as a cursed sinner, they heard Jesus pronounce his sins forgiven and immediately took offence. This made no sense to them. Instead of being filled with thanksgiving, these scribes critically found fault with Jesus, and the blessing was lost to them. Had they not absorbed any of Jesus’s teachings, or were they like the hard, wayside ground that Jesus described in Mark 4 in His parable of the sower? Let us take care that we carefully mark the good in others without criticism, lest we also grieve our Savior.

Practical Truths for Today

The angel Gabriel brought the message to Mary that she was to bear a son and name Him Jesus, for He would save His people from their sins (Matt. 1:21). Jesus bearing witness to this truth, stood before Pilate and said, “For this cause came I into the world” (John 18:37). He knew He was about to pay the supreme price for mankind. At the day of Pentecost, Peter urged his listeners to believe on Jesus: “For there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved” (Acts 4:12).

Why do we seek alternate ways of dealing with our sins? We tend to rationalize, justify, deny, ignore, or otherwise cover them, hoping we will not be held accountable for them at the judgment day. “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Prov. 28:13). The Lord made a way to have them permanently forgiven. When we repent and appeal to Jesus for forgiveness, we can rest assured that our sins are washed clean in the blood, not “swept under the rug.”

Some people are plagued with doubts and fears, wondering if they have sufficiently repented for God to forgive their sin. If we are willing to accept our fallible human nature and humbly and honestly open our hearts to the brethren, they will help us understand if God is pleased with our spiritual walk. Though God alone can forgive our sins, He has given the church authority, not of her own but through Him, to prove spiritual matters (Matt. 16:17–19). We have no priests on earth, but we have a High Priest in heaven who stands at the right hand of God to intercede for us. As the children of God, we can trust the church to help us prove our salvation.

Someone may doubt he can be forgiven because his sin seems too great. Satan seeks to take advantage of this thought and bring him into unbelief. When Jesus healed the man with palsy, He left clear evidence of His power to forgive sins. Through the sacrifice of His own life, Christ can forgive the vilest sinner. All manner of sin can be forgiven except blasphemy against the Holy Ghost (Matt. 12:31). Those who fear that they have committed this sin should take heart. It cannot happen without resolutely hardening your heart against God. If you still have a desire to serve God, this chilling accusation is a lie from Satan. Do not believe it.

On occasion when we have hurt someone and ask his forgiveness, he may refuse to forgive us. Though this is difficult to accept, God only requires that we humbly repent and confess our sin—we do what we can. The greater significance of any committed sin is against the Lord. Our salvation depends on His forgiveness, not on the forgiveness of our fellowmen.

Young Christians, nothing in life is more valuable than the assurance of sins forgiven, peace with God, and a home in heaven. Our lifespan is just a heartbeat in the scope of eternity. As you set out to fulfill your dreams and ambitions, set this as a guiding star: never jeopardize your salvation with what you do and never consider the price of self-denial too high to keep peace with God.

One important truth is that we cannot earn the forgiveness of God; it is always priceless, and always a gift. A Christian, on returning home from trying to help a brother who had rebuffed him, told his wife he did not feel he deserved how he had been treated. His wife quietly reminded him that we all would be lost if we received what we deserved. It helps us forgive others when we consider what we have been forgiven. Another man, wandering through an old cemetery, came across a stone bearing this simple epitaph, “Forgiven.” May we all carry that inscription on our heart when we stand before the Lord on that great final day.

Questions

1. The scribes spoke truly when they declared that only God can forgive sins. Why must we seek forgiveness from our fellowmen as well?
2. Physical healing is for time; forgiveness is for eternity. What obscures this fact, causing us to focus too much on temporal things?
3. Jesus forgave the palsied man’s sins before He physically healed him. Must we at times get right with God before our health can be restored?
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Source: COGICM Daily Bible Readings (Daily Bible Readings, PO Box 124, Glenn, CA 95943).