Wrestling with the Forgiveness of God

**Wrestling with the Forgiveness of God**

Good morning. We’re going to continue our series this morning on wrestling with God, and we’re going to be talking about wrestling with God’s forgiveness. Let’s remember that in 1 Corinthians 9:25 we read, “And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown.” That word “compete” there is the Greek word “agonizomai,” which means to wrestle or to struggle or to agonize.

When we think about wrestling with God, we think back to the story of Jacob when he was caught between a rock and a hard place—between his father-in-law Laban and his brother Esau. His brother was coming with an army, and Laban had told him, “Don’t come back this way anymore.” Now what was he going to do? Well, that night the Bible says that he wrestled with God. In wrestling with God, he had humbled himself before that time and prayed to God, and so he wrestled with God and prevailed because he had humbled himself before God.

Now we’re talking about wrestling with God this year on the first Sunday of each month, and this morning we’re going to be looking at wrestling with forgiveness—specifically, wrestling with the forgiveness of God, which is something that each one of us must do within our own lives.

I want to start out with Hebrews chapter 10 and verses 3–4 and verses 16–18 and look at what the Bible says about forgiveness in relationship to the old law. Think about this for a minute: “But in those sacrifices there is a reminder of sins every year. For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and goats could take away sins.” Then in verse 16 we read, “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin.

So we think about the old law and all the sacrifices that were made under the old law. Those sacrifices were done to deal with the problem of sin, but they were made continually. They were made every day, and then once a year the high priest would go into the Most Holy Place and sprinkle the blood of the sacrifice on the ark of the covenant. But God said those sacrifices couldn’t take away sins. The blood of bulls and goats didn’t get the job done.

We know what had to happen for man’s sins to be completely dealt with, and that was for the blood of Christ to be shed on the cross for the remission of sins. We’ll get to that in a little bit. But God promised in Jeremiah chapter 31 verse 31 that a new covenant was coming—and this is quoted here in Hebrews 10:16–18—that when He made that new covenant, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” God was going to do away with the remembrance of sins every year on the Day of Atonement because under the covenant of Christ our sins are finally dealt with through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ.

Now we live under a new covenant, and under this covenant sins are forgiven. Sometimes it’s hard for us to understand the forgiveness of sins. Sometimes we want to hold grudges against others, and sometimes we have a difficult time even forgiving ourselves. But as we think about forgiveness this morning and wrestling with forgiveness, let’s consider four things.

First of all, wrestling with forgiveness means observing the conditions. Secondly, wrestling with God’s forgiveness means recognizing the cost. Third, wrestling with God’s forgiveness means copying God’s forgiveness. And finally, wrestling with God’s forgiveness means that the forgiven are cleared.

So let’s look at four things this morning in reference to wrestling with the forgiveness of God.

First of all, wrestling with God’s forgiveness means observing the conditions. You know, Jesus Christ has set the terms of forgiveness for the alien sinner. When we turn to Mark chapter 16 and verses 15 and 16, we read Jesus’ words: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” (We also see this in Matthew 28:19.) Jesus is talking about the conditions of forgiveness and salvation here. He says he who believes and is baptized will be saved.

Now think about those conditions that Jesus Christ has set: belief and baptism. When one does that, one is forgiven, one has salvation, one becomes a disciple by being baptized. As we look at Acts chapter 2 and verse 38, there the apostles made it clear that they were giving the teaching of Jesus when Peter said specifically, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”

So wrestling with God’s forgiveness means observing the conditions. We’ve got to know what the conditions for the remission of sins are, and we see what those conditions are here: believe, repent, confess, and be baptized. Now we know that the apostles practiced these conditions because the apostle Paul himself recorded that when he was called upon by God to repent, he did so. Then when he went into the city of Damascus, there Ananias was waiting for him, and Ananias said to Saul, “And now why are you waiting? Arise and be baptized, and wash away your sins, calling on the name of the Lord.”

So even the apostle Paul was not exempt from these conditions, and he had to be baptized to wash away his sins. We’ve got to observe the conditions that are associated with the forgiveness of sins. For the alien sinner that means hearing the word and believing it, repenting, confessing Jesus, and being baptized.

Now for the Christian—one who has already had his sins forgiven in baptism—for the Christian when he sins again, we find in 1 John 1:9, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” So if one is a Christian, he need not be baptized again to have his sins forgiven. All he needs to do is confess his sins to God and pray for forgiveness, and God will forgive him.

Now having done these things, we then have another condition for forgiveness, and that condition is that we forgive others. In Matthew chapter 6 and verses 14 and 15 Jesus said, “For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.”

So in addition to the conditions that one must meet to have his or her sins forgiven, we also must maintain an attitude of forgiveness toward others and forgive those who sin against us. That is something that sometimes people find it difficult to do. So when we’re talking about wrestling with God’s forgiveness, we’re talking about wrestling first of all with the conditions for forgiveness. We must observe those conditions—whether it’s one who has never been forgiven being baptized, or whether it’s a Christian who has sinned and needs to ask for forgiveness, or whether it is opening our heart to those who have sinned against us and forgiving them. All of these things are conditions for forgiveness, and it’s something that we’ve got to wrestle with as we teach the word of God and as we seek to practice it and apply it to our lives.

But then secondly, when we think about wrestling with God for forgiveness, we recognize the cost that is involved. We made allusion to this earlier when we talked about the blood of Christ being the cost for forgiveness of sins. In Matthew chapter 26 and verse 28 Jesus said, “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” We remember the blood of Christ in the Lord’s Supper every Sunday, and we recognize that it was the cost that God paid so that our sins could be forgiven.

Think about Romans chapter 5 and verses 6 through 10 as it is associated with the cost of forgiveness: “For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.”

Yes, wrestling with the forgiveness of God means recognizing the cost. What was the cost that God paid? The life of His dearly beloved Son. In Matthew chapter 18 and verses 11 through 13 we see part of the cost of sin and that Christ had to pay with His life. But then we notice the value that is associated with that cost because we think about the price that was paid. That says something about the value of the merchandise, right? When we go to a store and we lay down a certain amount of money for a certain item, we think, “Well, this item is valued at this amount,” and then we purchase that item. If we think the price is too high, we say, “No, it’s not worth it.” But if it’s a good deal, we say, “Yeah, that’s worth it.”

We recognize there’s a relationship between the cost and the value, and that’s what God is telling us also. There’s a relationship between the cost of what He paid for the forgiveness of sins and the value of those for whom He paid—and that’s you and me.

Now think about that in relationship to Matthew 18:11–13: “For the Son of Man has come to save that which was lost. What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them goes astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine and go to the mountains to seek the one that is straying? And if he should find it, assuredly, I say to you, he rejoices more over that sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.”

God sent His Son Jesus Christ from heaven to earth to recover the lost. “The Son of Man has come to seek and to save that which was lost.” That tells you how much God values each and every human being.

I’m reminded of a story that I heard many years ago about an old Indian named Chief Maskepetoon (I hope I’m pronouncing that right; I don’t know if I am), and he was a Cree Indian. He recognized the value of one that was lost because when another warrior killed his father, he said to him, “You have killed my father, so now you must be my father. You shall ride my best horse and wear my best clothes.” That says something about forgiveness.

If you think about what we did to the Son of God as human beings in putting Him on the cross when He was innocent and killing Him, God says in essence, “You have killed My Son; now you must be My sons and My daughters.” When you think about how God treats us and His forgiveness to us, we recognize the cost and we recognize the value.

Wrestling with the forgiveness of God means copying God’s forgiveness within our lives. In Ephesians chapter 5 and verse 1 we have these words: “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children.” Maybe you have children, or maybe you have opportunity to be around children. You know how children are just little sponges, and they soak everything up and they imitate everything we do—sometimes imitate things that we don’t want them to do. But we are to be like little children in relationship to God, imitating God as dear children.

We need to be imitators of God’s forgiveness. In Ephesians chapter 4 and verse 32 we read, “And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.” God has forgiven us, and so therefore we need to imitate Him and forgive one another.

Another great passage is Colossians chapter 3 and verses 12 and 13 which says, “Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.”

We need to forgive like God forgives. What does that mean? It means changing our attitude toward other people. Yes, we’ve got to recognize the conditions for forgiveness. Yes, we’ve got to follow those conditions. But you know what? Our attitude toward following those conditions makes a difference in how we present the forgiveness of God to others in our lives.

Recognizing our attitude for forgiveness emphasizes to others how much we value the cost that God paid for forgiveness. We need to have the same attitude that God had toward us. He looked down on us and saw us going like that one sheep into the wilderness astray that needed to be brought back. What did He do? He didn’t spare anything to bring us back. Is that the attitude that we have toward others who need the forgiveness of God? I hope it is.

I hope as we look into our own hearts that we’re thinking about having mercy and kindness and humbleness and meekness and longsuffering and forbearing as we seek to implement God’s forgiveness within our lives. Now this is what it means to wrestle with the forgiveness of God, because in order to forgive others, these are the attitudes that we need to have each one of us within ourselves.

Let’s not point the finger at somebody else and say, “Oh, he needs to be more merciful. She needs to be more kind. They need to be more forbearing.” No, let’s look at our own lives. You look at your life; I’ll look at my life, and we’ll ask ourselves if these attitudes are there. “Even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do.” Yes, this is what it means to wrestle with the forgiveness of God.

But then wrestling with the forgiveness of God means that the forgiven are cleared. The forgiven are cleared, and sometimes this is hard for us to do—to recognize that the forgiven are cleared, both those who sin against us and sometimes in our own lives we who have sinned, letting things go that we don’t need to hold onto anymore.

In Psalm 103 and verses 10 through 12 we have a tremendous glimpse into God and His attitude toward people and how much He loves us and how much He values us. It says, “He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities. For as the heavens are high above the earth, so great is His mercy toward those who fear Him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.”

That’s God’s attitude. That’s what He wants. That’s what He desires, and we should want the same thing. We should not want to hold onto grudges. We should not want to hold onto things that others have done against us. We should want to let those things go just as God lets those things go. Just as He does not reward us according to our sins or deal with us according to our iniquities, He doesn’t act that way toward us, and we shouldn’t act that way toward others.

How high is the heaven above the earth? Why, it’s immeasurable. How far is the east from the west? It’s infinite. Well, that’s how much God desires to forgive us and how much He has forgiven us. The forgiven are cleared.

Think about Micah chapter 7 verses 18 and 19: “Who is a God like You, pardoning iniquity and passing over the transgression of the remnant of His heritage? He does not retain His anger forever, because He delights in mercy. He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea.”

When I was a kid I did a report on a submarine called the Bathysphere, and it was a vessel that could go deep down into the ocean. I did a lot of research on it and found out that it had to be made of really strong materials because of the crushing pressures that are in the depths of the sea. It could go down really deep, you know, to see all of those strange sea creatures where the light doesn’t shine in the ocean. But from what I understood from that report, there are parts of the ocean that are 7 miles deep, and at those depths nothing can withstand the pressure except some very special creatures that God has made. But things that we make here just get crushed into little tiny balls.

That’s what God is saying about our sins. He’s cast them into the depths of the sea. He’s crushed them up so that they don’t mean anything to Him anymore. In Isaiah 43:25 God says, “I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions for My own sake; and I will not remember your sins.”

Now it’s hard for us not to remember things. We want to hang on. We don’t want to let go. We want to remember. The reason why is because it’s one of those survival things that plagues us and torments us. If you don’t remember this wild animal, you’re going to die. You know what? We better remember that so we don’t die. That’s kind of how the survival mentality works. But you know what? We don’t have to remember the sins that others commit against us. God doesn’t remember those sins. He’s blotted them all out.

Maybe you’ve seen in recent news redacted government documents, and sometimes they look exactly like [the example on the screen]—there’s nothing there anymore because it’s all been crossed out. That’s exactly how God wants us to think about the sins that He’s forgiven us. You can’t read it anymore. It’s all been crossed out. Only the good is going to remain because all the bad has been blotted out.

So when one day we come before God in judgment and He opens the books, there in our book all our sins will have been blotted out, and all that will remain will be the good. God is the one who blots out our transgressions.

Do we understand more now about Hebrews 10:16–18 which says, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more”?

Yes, wrestling with God’s forgiveness means understanding that our sins are cleared. They’re cleared.

Robert E. Lee, after the Civil War, was confronted by a woman regarding an old oak tree that had been damaged in the war, and she was fretting over it something terrible, thinking about how nice of a tree it used to be. When she came to him and bemoaned it, he simply said to her, “Cut it down, my dear Madam, and forget it.” See, it was a reminder of great pain and great sorrow that had occurred in this country, but Robert E. Lee was one who wanted all that to be done with and over and put in the past. “Cut it down and forget it.”

There are those who have offended us in life, and there are those among us—any of us—who have offended God, and yet our attitude needs to be that of Robert E. Lee: cut it down and forget it. Take away all of that which reminds you of those sins of the past and don’t let them come up anymore.

Are we wrestling with God’s forgiveness this morning? Let’s remember the conditions of forgiveness, the cost of forgiveness, how we need to copy God’s forgiveness, and that God’s forgiveness means we are cleared.

If you need the Lord’s forgiveness this morning, you can come right now and follow that simple plan that we mentioned earlier and have that forgiveness in your life. Would you take advantage of God’s wonderful offer today? You can do so right now while together we stand while we sing.

End of transcript. Thank you for reading along!