BY JACK WARD
PASTOR, TOMAHAWK MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
The truth is we can’t please God on our terms. Nor does it do any good to try and hide our sins. Like Isaiah, we can only admit, “I am a person of unclean lips.”
It reminds me of the story of King Frederick II, an eighteenth-century king in Prussia, what is today Germany. He was visiting a prison in Berlin when the inmates crowded around him to proclaim their innocence. All except one man. He sat quietly in the corner, head bowed.
Frederick walked over to him and said, “What are you here for?”
“Armed robbery, your majesty,” the man replied.
“Are you guilty?” the king asked.
“Yes, sir. I deserve this punishment.”
The king turned to the guard and ordered, “Set this guilty man free. I don’t want him corrupting all these other innocent people.”
Finding God’s pardon in our lives begins by admitting our guilt. To insist we are innocent when we are not leaves us in a prison of our own making because guilty people who outwardly proclaim their innocence really know in their heart of hearts that they are guilty.
God’s pardon means that God does not hold our sins against us. He has carried our sins far away. I would guess that most all people wish they could just get the guilt and remorse of sin out of their minds and move on, but they cannot. And do you know why? It is because THEY are bearing the guilt of their sin.
In the Old Testament there was a ritual of the scapegoat. The priest would gather the people together and lay hands on a goat and then someone in the congregation would lead the goat out into the wilderness and leave it there. The goat symbolically carried the sins of the people away. The goat bore the sins of the people and took them far away.
Jesus bore our sins for us on the cross. The Bible says that He has removed our sins as far as the east is from the west.
Christian, are you burdened by the guilt of things you did 30 years ago? Five years ago? Quit trying to carry your sins and instead know that He has already forgiven you for your sins and that He has already carried your sins far away. “Their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.” (Hebrews 8:12)
If God has forgotten them, then you forget about them too. What gives you the right to condemn what God has forgotten and forgiven?
What about sins we committed yesterday and even today? Christian, every sin is very serious. We should not take any sin lightly. And let me also add that we cannot be perfect; we will sin. Paul said, “I die daily.” The Bible also says, “Can two walk together except they be agreed?” (Amos 3:3) “Agreed” means two people are in fellowship. Each one is doing what makes the relationship work.
We cannot walk in fellowship with Christ as long as we carry our sins. We weren’t designed to carry our own sins. It will slow us down. It will weaken us. Our Lord is master and we are His devoted servants. But in this relationship the master, not the servant, bears the burden. Our Lord is able and was made to carry our burden of sin so that we can walk together.
Isn’t our God a great God and Savior? “The Lord hath laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.”
Christian confess your sin to Him; don’t proclaim your innocence. Then you will be free to walk with Him. We are in perfect fellowship with Him. We are free from the burden and guilt of our sins. “Whom the Son hath set free is free indeed.”
Hear Pastor Jack’s sermons and get sermon outlines, text and more at www.tomahawkmbc.com.