~ When Jesus saw their faith, He
said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven you.” And some of the
scribes were sitting there and reasoning in their hearts, “Why does this Man
speak blasphemies like this? Who can forgive sins but God alone?” -Mark 2:3-7 (also Luke 5:21)
It
would have seemed obvious that a paralyzed man's greatest need was to be
healed! But Jesus saw a greater need, so He first said, "Your sins are
forgiven." The religious leaders
were incensed: "Who can forgive sins except God?"
Their
question makes this a good moment to think about the Bible word for sin. It
comes from an archery term and means "missing the target." The Bible
view is very broad: "All unrighteousness is sin" (1 John 5:17). We
might overlook some sins and focus on the really bad ones, but God would not be
fair and just if He did that. And anyway, who would draw the line between major
and minor sins? God sees them all.
But
if every action and word and thought and motive matters to God, we are
hopelessly mired in a swamp of guilt.
Our best efforts to clean up won't erase the stain of past sins.
Here's
the solution: God can't overlook our sins, but He can forgive them. The Christian view is that all of God's
forgiveness—past, present, and future—is based on what Jesus did. Faith in Him as God's Rescuer is the belief
that He carried our sins into death. When He rose to life, it proved that those
sins have no more claims on those who trust Him.
The
first-century Christians said of Him, "Through this Man is preached to you
the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who believes is justified"
(Acts 13:38-39). It's true—only God can forgive sins. When Jesus declared
forgiveness of sins, He was indeed claiming to be God! He backed up His claim
by also completely healing the paralyzed man.
Now
there is no condemnation for those who follow Jesus Christ (Romans 8:1). When
we come to Jesus, He knows everything we really need, and He is able to do
something about all of it.
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