FORGIVEN

…once and for all

By Remy Diederich
Cedarbrook Church
Menomonie, Wisconsin

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• Part One: Am I Forgiven?
• Part Two: The Problem of Guilt, page 9
• Part Three: Living Forgiven, page 16

FORGIVEN…once and for all

Part One: Am I Forgiven?
By Remy Diederich
Cedarbrook Church
3.21.10

In a recent TIME magazine there was an article about the reemergence of Eliot Spitzer, the
former governor of New York. He was known as a man who fought corruption with a vengeance
only to be exposed as a regular user of a high dollar prostitution ring. To make matters worse, to
cover his addiction he would send money to shell corporations that funneled the money back to
the prostitution ring. TIME called it…
hypocrisy on a scale that was hard to fathom…as if Eliot Ness had been busted for
peddling gin from his apartment.

When the news hit the paper his career was over. Now a year and a half later he is trying to find
his way back into politics but the writer of the story wasn’t so sure it could happen. She said…
To learn that Spitzer was the world’s biggest hypocrite, that he’d thrown it all away to
frequent prostitutes, was devastating, a lapse that could never be forgiven.

When she mentioned this to Spitzer this is how he responded…

How do you think I feel? He said, his eyes welling up. I know exactly how you feel. At
one point I stood for something that was important and useful. I was in a place in time
where I had a purpose, where it mattered. And then I destroyed it.

Thankfully his wife seemed to forgive him but not without some residue in their relationship.
The article said …
His wife…appears to have forgiven him. “I don’t know if you can ever mend something
like this, in the sense of repair the canvas so that you never see the tear in the fabric, “ he
said. “I’m incredibly lucky to be with a woman who is willing to deal with that tear in the
fabric and keep moving forward. Eliot Spitzer’s Impossible Mission, by Sheelah
Kolhatkar, March 15, 2010, TIME

Summarizing here, Spitzer said there would always be a scar in the fabric of his marriage. The
writer of the story said that the public would never be able to forgive him. And Spitzer himself
said that he destroyed his purpose in life.

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As I read this it made me wonder if Spitzer will be defined by his indiscretion for the rest of his
life. Will his name be synonymous with hypocrisy and prostitution forever? Will he ever be able
to move beyond his mistakes or is shame his new destiny?

And that got me thinking about Tiger Woods. I don’t need to relate his story. There’s enough of
it in the media. But I wonder the same thing about Tiger Woods …will he ever be able to move
beyond his affairs and be seen as a man of integrity again? Or will his affairs define him for the
rest of his life? Will he always be known as the greatest golfer …that never was.

The reason I bring this up is not to pick on these men but because I’m concerned for those of us
here who – like Spitzer and Woods - have a past that overshadows your present and your future.
You’ve got some big time mistakes or failures that haunt you and rob you of God’s best. I don’t
want these failures to define you. I don’t want you trapped in guilt and feeling distant from God
because that’s not your destiny as one of God’s children. God’s got something much better for
you than that. So I want to talk about that over the next few weeks as we move toward Easter.

The apostle John tells a story about a woman that might give us some perspective. She was
caught in the act of adultery and dragged to the center of town where the religious elders
surrounded her and were ready to stone her. In that culture her sin definitely defined her.
Adultery made her worthless and disposable. It didn’t offer her any hope of a new life. But just
before the first stone was launched Jesus stopped the men and said…
If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.
Slowly the men dropped their stones and walked away…each one aware of their own sin issues.
And then after the men had left Jesus turned to the woman and said,
Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?" "No one, sir," she said. "Then
neither do I condemn you," Jesus declared. "Go now and leave your life of sin." John
8:10,11

You see, Jesus refused to define this woman by her sin. He refused to reduce her entire existence
to her weakest and most shameful moments. He knew that there was more to her than that. He
refused to condemn her…which means to pass judgment on her, or make a negative decision
about her value. Instead, Jesus forgave her and gave her hope of a new life beyond adultery.

If Jesus were to sit down with Eliot Spitzer today I don’t think he’d spend much time talking
about the sins of his past. I think he’d spend more time talking about the hope of his future and
the potential that he had. That’s the nature of forgiveness. Forgiveness doesn’t dwell on the past.
Guilt dwells on the past. Condemnation dwells on the past. But forgiveness looks to the future.
And so if you are struggling with guilt today I want to encourage you that God has a future for
you. He hasn’t given up on you.

Am I forgiven?
I know that many people wrestle with not feeling forgiven. They know intellectually that God
forgives them but they don’t feel forgiven. I spoke with someone once about their faith. I asked
them if they believed that God forgave their sins and they said they did. Then I asked them if
they thought they would go to heaven when they died and they said they weren’t sure.

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When I asked why that was they said, well, I’m just not sure if I’m good enough. I’m not sure
that I’ve done all that God wants me to do. And I said, Well, I can answer that for you.
Absolutely not. You’ve failed miserably! I have such a gift of encouragement, don’t I? But I said,
We’ve all failed. That’s why we need a Savior.

You see, God doesn’t welcome us into heaven because we did everything right. He welcomes us
into heaven because he’s done everything right. He’s done for us what we are unable to do
ourselves.

I told this person that it’s like the strong man challenge at the fair where you hit a lever with a
sledge hammer and it shoots a puck up to try and ring a bell. We are like the proverbial hundred
pound weakling who wants to win a stuffed animal for his girlfriend. He keeps swinging and
swinging but the puck never even gets close to ringing the bell. It’s pathetic. That’s how our
attempts are in trying to earn heaven.

We’ll never be good enough to ring the bell on our own. But then Jesus stands up in our place
and rings the bell with one swing. He doesn’t just ring the bell. He blows the ringer right off the
pole. He does what we could never do on our own. And as a result we win the prize. But the
prize isn’t a stuffed animal it’s a relationship with God and the abundant life that flows out of
that relationship.

You see, the mistake that many of us make when it comes to our guilt is that we focus on our
weakness rather than on God’s strength. We feel bad about our inadequacy rather than feeling
good about God’s sufficiency. And rather than moving quickly from guilt to grace like we
should, we embrace guilt as our cross to bear. We see guilt as our punishment for failing God.
For some sick reason we think that our guilt pleases God. And that’s because we have all this
regret. We don’t know what to do about our past. We want to make it right. But there’s no way
to undo what we’ve done. No way to fix what we’ve broken.

But God knows what to do. He forgives us. I know that might sound too simplistic but that’s
what the Bible tells us. He’s says…yes, you were wrong- you messed up- but I’m not going to
hold it against you. I’m going to let you start over and if you look to me, I’ll help you this time.

Jesus Dealt with Your Sin

You see God understands that until you deal with your past you’ll never have a future. So we
need to deal with our past. That’s why Jesus dealt with your past for you. The Bible tells us in
the book of Hebrews that Jesus…
… appeared once for all … to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. Hebrews 9:26

When Jesus died, he dealt with your past. To “do away” with your sin means that Jesus pulled
the plug on the power of sin. It means that his death nullified or eliminated the effect of sin on
your life. So your past doesn’t have any power over you. And your future carries the hope of a
new life.

Now, you might still have to pay the consequences of your sin in this world. If you are in debt
$100K you still need to pay that back. But God’s not holding your sin against you. He’s not

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trying to sabotage your life to get back at you. On the contrary, like the woman caught in
adultery, he offers you a new life. And if you are in debt he’ll help you get out of debt.

God’s Got a Plan for Your Life…lots of them!

You might say, Remy, you don’t understand. It’s too late for me. I messed up so bad that I can
never be who God wanted me to be. I’m sure I’m the last person that God wants to be associated
with him. But you are thinking too small. You are thinking that God only has one plan for your
life and you blew it. You are thinking that there is only Plan A and if you mess up Plan A that
there’s no Plan B. Let me tell you…when you mess up, God has Plan B waiting. And when you
mess up plan B, Plan C is next.

Some of you are living Plan Z right now and you think you’ve run out of options. You feel like
you are pushing your luck with God. You think God’s fed up with you and ready to wash his
hands of you. But guess what? God has whole other alphabets for you! So don’t give up on
yourself because God sure hasn’t given up on you.

Forgiveness and Repentance

It’s interesting to read what Luke tells us about forgiveness in the New Testament. Luke was a
doctor that traveled with the apostle Paul and he wrote two books. He wrote a book about Jesus
that we call the Gospel of Luke. And he wrote the book of Acts, which tells the story of the early
church.

It’s clear from Luke’s perspective that Jesus’ mission on earth was wrapped around securing our
forgiveness. Let me trace some of Luke’s writing about forgiveness.

In the very first chapter Luke tells us about John the Baptist, the prophet that came announcing
Jesus. He said that John the Baptist came…
to give God’s people the knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins,
…Luke 1:77

The word salvation means to be “rescued from a threat”. So look at that sentence. What’s the
threat mention? It’s sin. Sin is a threat to our existence. The guilt of sin weighs us down and
distances us from God. That’s a threat. What has the power to save us from the threat of sin?
God’s forgiveness. Forget all the self help books you’ve read. If you haven’t found God’s
forgiveness your life is in jeopardy.

Now, let me show you four verses and see if you can see what they all have in common. Luke
tells us is about the ministry of John the Baptist. He says that John…
went into all the country around the Jordan, preaching a baptism of repentance for the
forgiveness of sins. Luke 3:3

And then before Jesus left the earth he gave made reference to the role of the messiah…
… repentance and forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations,
beginning at Jerusalem. Luke 24:47

And that’s exactly what we see Peter doing in his first sermon in Jerusalem.

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 Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness
of your sins. Acts 2:38

And then again Peter says tells the Jewish leaders that…
God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might give
repentance and forgiveness of sins to Israel. Acts 5:31

What do these verses all have in common? Forgiveness is linked to …repentance. Now, be
careful how you interpret this connection. People often make the mistake of thinking that we
repent – or change - in order to be forgiven. But the truth is; we repent because we’ve been
forgiven. Do you see the difference? Let me give you two examples. Imagine that you’ve
offended me and you want to restore our relationships.

So, in example number one I say to you… If you change, I’ll forgive you. That seems fair
enough. Now, how does that feel? It feels very conditional doesn’t it? The first thing I think
is… How much do I need to change in order to be forgiven? Can I just change a little? Do I need
to change a lot? Or do you expect perfection? What if I don’t change enough? You see,
suddenly I’m not concentrating on relating to you I’m concentrating on my behavior. And the
more I focus on my behavior the worse it gets. And then I start to worry about what you think. It
all gets very unhealthy very fast.

Now, listen to example number two; I forgive you completely. I promise not to hold anything
against you. Period. No strings attached. How does that feel? Pretty good doesn’t it? Instead of
dwelling on your past failures my forgiveness looks to the future. It gives you hope about what
our relationship can be.

And that’s exactly how God wants his forgiveness to impact you. He wants his forgiveness to
draw you into relationship with him and give you hope for a future. And when that happens your
life changes. That’s when repentance takes place. So repentance follows forgiveness.

Now, I read all those verses in Luke because I want you to see how important forgiveness is to
God. Jesus’ main mission was to die so that we might be forgiven. And Jesus will not rest until
we all experience his forgiveness. So, let me ask you…have you received God’s forgiveness?
Do you believe that you stand before God today sinless? I know that might be hard to believe.

I had it explained to me like this. Imagine that you and Jesus are sitting side by side and Jesus
says to Father God, which one of us is more perfect in your site? What would the Father say?
He’d say, “You are both perfect in my sight.” You see, that’s what Jesus’ death did for you.
Jesus death made you perfect in God’s sight. I know that’s hard to believe so I’m going to prove
it to you. Look at this verse in the book of Hebrews…
By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Hebrews
10:14

This verse is about you. Did you know that? At least, if you want it to be. Jesus’ death made you
perfect in God’s eyes.

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This verse is so positive. It’s so hopeful. It tells us that since Jesus died for us, God sees us as
perfect in his sight. When is the last time someone looked at you and saw nothing but perfection?
Wouldn’t it be nice to have someone look at you without remembering all your mistakes, all
your sin, all your failure and past history? That’s how God looks at you.

Do you think Eliot Spitzer would like someone to look at him and see nothing but perfection
instead of the biggest hypocrite in New York? Do you think that would bring healing to his
soul? I do.

And when all the cameras focus on Tiger Woods at the Masters tournament next month what do
you think he’d pay for just one reporter to look at him and not see a sex addicted adulterer?
After all the mistakes that he’s made and all the bad press he’s had, how do you think it would
feel for just one person to accept him and not doubt his character?

Well, Tiger and Eliot may never again have anyone on earth look at them this way but the Bible
says that God sees them as perfect if they are in Christ.
If anyone is in Christ, - that is, a believer and a follower of Jesus - the new creation has
come: The old has gone, the new is here! 2 Corinthians 5:17

That’s a great promise isn’t it? That’s what happens when you’ve been forgiven by God. Your
old life is buried and you are given a chance to start over. Forgiveness pushes the “restart”
button on your life.

I just wonder if anyone here would like the chance to start over. Is anyone tired of carrying a
load of guilt and being stuck in the past? And is anyone ready to let go of their past in exchange
for God’s new life? If that describes you then I want to pray for you.

Father…thank you that you don’t let our past failures define our lives. You define our lives by
your Son. You said that if we are in Christ we are new creatures. What a promise. What a hope.
Help us to let go of our old lives and embrace our new identities. Help us to receive every bit of
forgiveness that Jesus’ death paid for and nothing less. Amen.

Going Deeper
Use the following questions for personal reflection or to discuss with your family, friends, and/or
small group.

1. What are your thoughts about Eliot Spitzer and Tiger Woods? Do you think they will
always be defined by their indiscretion?
2. What will it take for them to regain their integrity?
3. On the continuum that goes from “Rarely feel guilty” to “Always feel guilty” where do
you fall? Why do you think that is?

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4. Why is it that some people can know intellectually that they are forgiven but still not feel
forgiven?
5. How is a person impacted by experiencing God’s forgiveness? In other words, what does
life look like for a person that has experienced God’s forgiveness compared to a person
that hasn’t?
6. Do you think you will go to heaven when you die? Why or why not?
7. Look at the verses that Remy referred to from Luke ( Lk 1:77, 3:3, 24:47, Acts 2:38, Acts
5). Do you agree with Remy that forgiveness comes before repentance? Why or why not?
See also Romans 2:4.
8. Remy said that believers are as perfect as Jesus. Do you agree? Why or why not? Note
Hebrews 9:26 and 10:14.
9. Extra Credit; Read these verses and see what more you can learn about forgiveness from
Luke’s book of Acts… Acts 10:43, Acts 13:38 Acts 26:18
10. Pray for people in your small group that struggle with feeling forgiven.

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Forgiven…once and for all
Part Two: The Problem of Guilt, page seven
By Remy Diederich
Cedarbrook Church
3.28.10

Let me tell you about Steve. Steve has a drinking problem. But he never thought it would happen
to him. He got started in college with his buddies. He thought after college that things would
change but he found that old habits die hard. And Steve realized that he didn’t have the self-
control that he thought he had.

So, when Steve’s friends invited him to the bar he always said yes. And when they encouraged
him to have one more he never said no. After the third drink he lost count. He knew it wasn’t
right but heh, he wasn’t hurting anyone. He was just having a good time.

But in his honest moments, Steve knew that he was hurting someone. He was hurting himself
because Steve was a Christian who wanted to honor God. But things had gotten out of control
and he didn’t know how to get back on track. Like I said…he never planned for things to be this
way. One thing just led to another.

But interestingly enough, his faith in God was actually a part of the problem because He felt so
ashamed of his failure that he drank more to try and cover the guilt. It was a vicious cycle. The
more he drank the guiltier he felt. The guiltier he felt the more he drank.

But after a while…Steve stopped feeling guilty. He just accepted the fact that he was a drinker
and resigned himself to a life without God. It wasn’t what he wanted but it was a lot better than
feeling guilty all the time.

Now, Steve is someone I made up. But his story describes a lot of people I’ve talked to over the
years. Just change the name and the problem and Steve might be someone you know or Steve
might even be you. Instead of a drinking problem it might be a problem with food, or
pornography or gambling, or shopping or anger or a number of things but whatever the problem
is, the common denominator with Steve and all of us who struggle with these things is guilt.
Guilt defines our lives and pushes God away. Somehow I don’t think that’s what God had in
mind for us. Do you?

But what if Steve could live a life free from guilt? How do you think Steve’s life would change if
he knew that he was completely forgiven and God accepted him unconditionally, just the way he
was…warts and all? But more importantly, how would your life change if you knew that you
were completely forgiven and accepted unconditionally?

I’m not talking about being free from all guilt. Some guilt is good. Guilt helps us recognize that
we’ve done something wrong and helps us to take ownership of our problems. That’s good. But
I’m talking about the guilt that lingers and often turns to shame. I’m talking about that feeling

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that hangs on you like a scarlet letter and makes you want to avoid anything remotely associated
with God.

You see, true guilt has a short shelf life. What I mean is that once guilt serves its purpose in
getting you to see your wrong and change it starts to spoil. It’s like milk that sours… guilt turns
from being helpful to being hurtful. But the problem is many people keep drinking the sour milk
of guilt thinking it’s the right thing to do…even the godly thing to do. They just assume that all
guilt is from God and so they embrace it. Big mistake.

The truth is that God wants us to move from guilt to grace as quickly as possible. And that’s
what I want to help us with this morning. We’ll be looking at the book of Hebrews for some
insight.

Now, you might find this hard to believe but Hebrews tells us that when you and I go astray
God’s first priority isn’t to get our behavior in line. Did you know that? God’s not nearly as
concerned about our behavior as we think he is. God’s first priority is to reestablish our
relationship with him. You see, God knows that if he can help restore our relationship with him
that our behavior will eventually follow. But if he focuses on our behavior our guilt will push us
away. It becomes counterproductive.

Some of you know the story of the prodigal son that Jesus told…the son that ran away from
home but finally decided to return after sowing his wild oats. The shock of that story is that the
boy didn’t return to an angry dad who punished him for his behavior like you’d expect. The boy
returned to a dad that met him at the gate of the city with a hug and a kiss and a ring and a cloak
and then threw a party for him.

You see, Jesus used that story to teach us how God thinks about sin and guilt. If my dad met me
after I ran away he wouldn’t have been throwing me a party! That’s true for most of us. But God
isn’t like us. He’s way more interested in his relationship to you than he is in getting you to obey
a list of rules. That doesn’t mean that he doesn’t care about rules. They have their place. It’s just
not the first thing on his mind. The first thing on his mind is to be your friend. Then he works
with you to work on your behavior.

Now, I’m sure that when God looked at us…people like Steve and the rest of us… and saw the
impact of sin and guilt on our lives He said to himself…
If I don’t deal with their sin and guilt they’ll always be on the run from me.
And so God laid out a plan to deal with our sin. The Bible talks about that plan in detail in the
book of Hebrews. So if you want to turn in your Bible that’s where I’ll be…chapter nine.

The writer of Hebrews tells us something that is written throughout the Bible about how God
deals with sin and that is that…
Without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness of sin. Hebrews 9:22

You and I will never be forgiven without the shedding of blood. What does that mean? Well, that
concept goes way back to the earliest part of the Bible where Cain and Abel brought an offering
to God (Genesis 4). Cain brought the firstfruit of his harvest while Abel brought a slaughtered

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animal and Abel’s offering was the one that was accepted. Genesis doesn’t teach on this point. It
just tells the story and we are left to interpret its meaning.

But as we continue reading in the Bible we start to see that there is a theology to what happened
to Cain and Abel. In the book of Leviticus God articulates the importance of animal sacrifice.
If they bring a lamb as their sin offering, they are to bring a female without defect. They
are to lay their hand on its head and slaughter it for a sin offering … In this way the
priest will make atonement for them for the sin they have committed, and they will be
forgiven. Leviticus 4:32-35

I don’t know what you think of that. The idea that God requires a blood sacrifice in order for us
to be forgiven seems violent and even barbaric, doesn’t it? That’s bothered me at times and I
know it’s bothered some of you. I’ve heard people say…look, God is God. He sets the rules so
why does he require a sacrifice to forgive sins? Why can’t he just forgive us without someone
paying the price?

But I have to think that God hears a question like that and says…
With all due respect, you have no idea what you are talking about when you question
blood sacrifice. You see the world as it is and think that it’s basically good with a few
flaws. But I remember the world as it was in the beginning and it sickens me what has
happened to it. Humanity has done violence to my creation. Violence ruined my creation
and only a violent act of sacrifice will heal it.

So, even though blood sacrifice seems brutal and barbaric to me I have to trust that God knows
what he is doing. He knows that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness. I don’t
know why that is. I guess that it has to do with how he created the universe. Somehow in the
cosmic mystery of how God wove the creation together he chose to incorporate the shedding of
blood as a requirement for forgiveness. I have to accept that. And so God laid out an elaborate
system of blood sacrifice in the Old Testament that Jews followed for a couple thousand of years
until their temple was destroyed by the Romans in 70 A.D.

But surprisingly, the book of Hebrews tells us that the Old Testament sacrificial system never
actually removed the guilt of sin. The system pointed to the need for something greater than
animal sacrifice.
… the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the
worshiper. 9:9

He says… we’ve been offering sacrifices for centuries but we all know that this ritual never took
care of our guilt. We never felt forgiven. It never brought us close to God. In fact, it says in the
next chapter of Hebrews that the sacrifices actually added to their sense of guilt…
But those sacrifices are an annual reminder of sins. It is impossible for the blood of
bulls and goats to take away sins. 10:3,4

You see, the purpose of the Jewish system wasn’t to deal with sin. The purpose of the sacrificial
system was to point out the problem of sin and that a sacrifice for sin was needed to solve the
problem. But clearly animal sacrifice wasn’t the answer.

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 The Holy Spirit was showing by this that the way into the Most Holy Place had not yet
been disclosed as long as the first tabernacle was still functioning. Hebrews 9:8

Let me show you what he’s talking about. The tabernacle of God looked like this ( to view
search on Google for “tabernacle”). Let’s look at the screen. The priests would sacrifice the lamb
and then bring the blood of the lamb into a curtained area that was called the Holy Place. But
beyond the Holy Place was the Most Holy Place or Holy of Holies where the Ark of the
Covenant was located. It was behind another curtain. The ark looked like a box covered in gold
and topped with two angels facing each other. In between the two angels was thought to be the
throne of God…the place where God’s presence dwelt. It was called the Mercy Seat of God. And
once a year the High Priest would bring the blood of a lamb and place it on the Ark of the
Covenant to make atonement for the sin of the people.

But, do you see the problem with this system? One person gets to be in the presence of God for
a few brief moments once a year. That’s not a relationship. That’s a disconnect. It didn’t satisfy
God or mankind. That’s a problem.

And so the writer of Hebrews was saying that as long as this elaborate system was in place it
only proved that there was no true forgiveness and a better answer was out there. Rather than
drawing people close to God this system actually kept God hidden behind a big curtain…kind of
like in the Wizard of Oz.

I think this is a good picture of most religion. Most religions have some kind of process or ritual
that addresses sin. But the focus is more on sin than forgiveness and you walk away more
conscious of how bad you are rather than how close to God you are. You leave feeling just as far
from God as when you came…maybe even farther.

I remember as a kid having to go to confession in the Catholic Church. Now, I’m not trying to
pick on Catholics. So don’t get me wrong. I’m just telling you my personal experience. But my
experience with confession was always more about guilt than obtaining forgiveness and drawing
close to God. Maybe some of you can relate.

I had to make sure I had my list of sins in hand so I wouldn’t forget. And then I had to tell the
priest my sins. That was pretty scary. You walk into this dark booth with a screen and the priest
sits hidden behind the screen. It’s all very intimidating for an eight year old boy. And then the
priest gave me my penance which was always a list of prayers to pray. I never understood why
they used prayer for punishment. I’m sure it was never meant to be that but that’s how it came
across and that’s how my family always talked about it because the worse your sins the more
prayers they gave you and the more times you had to pray them. It was all so negative. I never
walked away feeling cleansed or free because of my confession. I never felt closer to God. I was
just relieved that I survived the ordeal.

Again, I’m not trying to pick on Catholics. Similar things happen in evangelical churches all the
time. But I think my experience is a good example of how religion doesn’t always do a very
good job of dealing with guilt. Religion often adds to guilt. And that’s what Hebrews is pointing
out.

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Hebrews sets Jesus up in stark contrast to the ineffectiveness of this religious system. In contrast
to the Jewish priests it says that Jesus…
…is able to save completely those who come to God through him, …Such a high
priest meets our need--…Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer
sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He
sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. Hebrews 7:25-27

Let’s just take a look at these verses. First it says that Jesus is able to save us completely. That
means to the uttermost…with nothing lacking. Jesus doesn’t just bring us half way to God. He
doesn’t just forgive most of our sin. He forgives us completely. When Jesus died he didn’t
leave any fragment of sin on the table. He died for every last speck of sin…even the scent of
sin that might hang in the air so that when God looks at you, what he sees and even smells
about you is perfect.

I talked about that last week where Hebrews says that “by one sacrifice God has made perfect
forever those who are being made holy” (Hebrews 10:14). I know some people struggle with
the idea that God sees them as perfect. But folks…that’s the good news! That’s the power of
forgiveness. That’s why the old time hymns talk about the “power of the blood” because it’s
the blood that is shed for our forgiveness. That’s why we celebrate Easter. If God just saw us as
barely acceptable that’s not good news. That’s nothing to get excited about.

The good news is that Jesus saved you completely from every stupid, arrogant, pathetic,
immoral, shameful, and embarrassing thing that you and I ever did. And he gives us a fresh
start every day along with his Spirit to give us the power to live a new life instead of a retread
of our old life.

And then it says that Jesus didn’t have to offer a sacrifice over and over like the other priests
did. He did it once and for all. There aren’t many things in life that we do just once. We
typically have to do things over and over again because nothing lasts forever. We paint our
houses every few years. We have to keep repairing our cars and we buy new clothes.
Everything on earth wears out and needs replenishing.

But Jesus’ sacrifice was so effective that he only had to do it once. This idea is repeated again
a little more emphatically in chapter ten.
Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he
offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had
offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of
God,… Hebrews 10:11,12

Jesus sat down implying that his work was finished. A priest never sat down until his job was
over. So to say that Jesus sat down tells us that his job was over. Jesus’ sacrifice was able to
take away our sins when the other sacrifices couldn’t.

I hope you see how this relates to you. The fact that Jesus sacrificed once and sat down means
that not only has every sin of your past been paid for but every sin that you’ll ever commit in

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the future has also been paid for as well. You don’t have to ever wonder or worry if your sins
are taken care of. Jesus sacrificed once and for all…that is for all sin and for all people.

The Bible is interesting because it not only compares Jesus to the Jewish priests, it compares
Jesus to the lambs that were sacrificed. When John the Baptist saw Jesus he said…
Behold the lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. John 1:29

What did Jesus do with your sin? He took it away. There’s that phrase again. Remember what
it said in Hebrews that the priests weren’t able to take away the sins. But when John saw Jesus
he goes, “That’s what we’ve been looking for! He’s the missing link! He’s the one that will
finally take our sins away.” Paul used this same phrase in his letter to the Colossian church…
When you were dead in your sins and in … your sinful nature, God made you alive with
Christ. He forgave us all our sins, having canceled the charge of our legal
indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing
it to the cross. Colossians 2:13,14

Jesus took your sin away and when sin is gone guilt evaporates. Right? If you feel guilty today
it’s for one of two reasons: One, because you haven’t admitted your sin. Or two, because you
refuse to receive God’s forgiveness. Some of you have trouble relating to God because you
refuse to let Jesus take away your sin. He took it away but you dragged it back.

Have you ever had a dog that did that? You threw something gross away and they found it and
dragged it back. And the crazy thing is the dog was so proud of what they’d done. They felt
like they were so smart to have dug this thing up and dragged it back to you. They sit there
with this gross thing in your living room looking for praise and you are, like, YOU ARE SO
STUPID! Get that out of here!

That’s what some of you are doing with your sin. Your life revolves around your past sin and
regret instead of revolving around thanking God for taking away your sin. And that’s got to
change. God is telling you this morning to let it go. Jesus has taken your sin. It’s time to stop
beating yourself up and start living your life in thanksgiving to God for all that he’s done.

This is Easter week and I want to give you an assignment. I want you to take the Going Deeper
questions and use them as a devotional this week. Each day answer a question or two as a way
of meditating on the forgiveness of Christ and then I hope you’ll come back on Friday night for
our Good Friday service. We will share communion and continue to meditate on what it means
to be forgiven by God.

Prayer:
Jesus, you are the lamb of God who has taken away the sin of the world. Thank you for taking
away my sin. I release it to you along with all my guilt. Thank you that I am perfect in your eyes
and you are making me holy. Help me to believe this and walk in this truth every day as I follow
you. Amen.

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Going Deeper
Use the following questions for personal reflection or to discuss with your family, friends and/or
small group.

1. Icebreaker: Talk about a time when you thought you’d save some money and do the work
that you should have hired a professional to do. (If not you, someone you know).
2. Remy talked about “Steve’s” problem with drinking. Have you, or someone you’ve
observed, ever been trapped in the cycle where your guilt only pushed you (or them)
deeper into sin? Describe it.
3. 2 Corinthians 7:10 tells us that “godly sorrow” leaves no regret but “worldly sorrow”
leads to death. This means that all guilt is not good. Distinguish the difference between
these two types of guilt. Discuss why godly sorrow leaves no regret and what it means
that worldly sorrow leads to death.
4. In the story of the prodigal son the son’s sin pushed him farther and farther from God
until he got so low that he came back to his father. Read Luke 15:20-24. What
characterized the homecoming of the boy? (What did the father do to receive him back?)
5. How does this relate to God’s attitude toward us? Does God focus on rules or
relationship?
6. Read Hebrews 9:6-9. Inadequate religion doesn’t cleanse the conscience. Talk about the
inadequacies of the sacrificial system. How do other religions inadequately deal with sin?
7. Read Hebrews 7:23-27, 9:11-14, 10:11-18. Compare the work of Jesus to Jewish priests.
Note as many differences as you can.
8. Remy said that a sin has brought violence to God’s creation and therefore sin requires a
violent solution. What are your thoughts about the fact that God requires the shedding of
blood to secure our forgiveness? Is it really necessary?
9. Hebrews emphasizes the fact that Jesus died “once and for all”. What is the significance
of the words “once” and “all”?
10. Hebrews 8:1 and 10:12 say that Jesus “sat down” after making his sacrifice. What is the
significance of his sitting down? (confer verses 17 and 18)
11. Pray that this Easter many people will be restored to God.

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Forgiven…once and for all
Part Three: Living Forgiven
Easter Sunday, 2010
By Remy Diederich

I don’t know if you’ve ever thought about it this way but Easter week is all about God’s passion
for you. It’s about his intense love for you…his desire to be reconnected with each one of us in a
personal way. That’s what Easter week is about.

How does it feel to know that you are the object of God’s passion? We all have a target on our
back and God is coming after us but he’s not coming to get us or judge us but to embrace us …if
we’ll let him. And this is all made possible because God forgave us. But – as Good Friday
reminds us - forgiveness comes at a price. The Bible tells us that there is no forgiveness without
the shedding of blood. And so God stepped up and said, I’ll pay that price.

Have you ever been about to pay for a meal and someone you are with says, “Let me get that”?
That’s what God did. He knew we couldn’t afford to pay for our sin He knew that it wasn’t in
our power to restore our relationship to God and so he said, “Let me get that.” That’s what Easter
week is all about.

You see, when Jesus entered Jerusalem on Palm Sunday he came for our forgiveness. When he
prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane and sweat blood he did it to obtain our forgiveness. When
he submitted to beating and flogging where his back was ripped open it was for our forgiveness.
When the nails were driven through his hands and feet and he hung on a cross until he died it
was for our forgiveness. And when Jesus was raised from the dead it proved that he succeeded in
obtaining our forgiveness!

Jesus was obsessed with obtaining our forgiveness and he did it gladly….
For the joy set before him he endured the cross. Hebrews 12:2

We are God’s joy. We are what motivated him to endure the cross. Can you believe that? Isn’t
that amazing? Being in a daily relationship with you and me is God’s joy. And I suppose you
could say that not being in a daily relationship with us is his sadness.

But Jesus took our sins and gave us the right to know God personally…to call him “friend”. And
now there’s nothing keeping us from God. There’s no bouncer at the door. No 60 x 30 foot
curtain, four inches thick, like they used to hang in the temple to keep people away from God’s
presence. Jesus’ death made a way into God’s presence for everyone on the planet. The only
thing keeping us from God now is ourselves. It’s up to us if we want to enter into the relationship
that Jesus made possible for us through his death.

I’ve shared this verse the last two weeks…but let me share it one more time.
By one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy. Hebrews
10:14

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That’s a powerful statement of forgiveness. Jesus’ death made us perfect in God’s eyes. But
forgiveness does more that deal with your past. Forgiveness deals with your future. Jesus died
for not only your past sins but every sin in your future. That’s what it means when it says that we
were made perfect FOREVER. That means that our good standing with God never changes no
matter what we do.

But that’s not all that God does. If you look at the second part of this verse it tells us that God
has a plan for our lives. He wants to make us holy.

Now some of you might not be so sure you want to be made holy! That might sound pretty
boring to you. You’re afraid that you’ll have to start wearing a long robe and chant or go on
silent retreats or take a vow of poverty. Well, don’t worry. That’s not what it means to be made
holy. To be made holy means that God helps you to shift your focus from living to please
yourself to living to please him.

To help us understand what this means I want to show you a clip from the movie Les Miserables.
The movie is about an ex-convict by the name of Jean Val Jean. He’s just gotten out of prison
and he has nowhere to go so he goes to the home of the local bishop. Let’s watch…

VIDEO: Start- 3:25, Stop-9:53. The bishop welcomes Jean Val Jean into his home for the
evening. Jean Val Jean steals his silverware and knocks him down. The next day the police catch
him and return him to the bishop but the bishop forgives him and frees him from the charge.

I like this clip because it shows the connection between forgiveness and living a changed life.
Jean Val Jean was like many of us. He was defined by his past; filled with guilt and regret. He
even had a letter that documented his crime and branded him as a criminal for life. He would
never again be known for who he was or who he might be. He’d always be known for what he
did in the past. And you can see what it did to him. It made him bitter and angry. It’s
dehumanizing to be reduced to who you were in the past. And so he went from stealing food to
stealing silver from a priest…feeling like he had no hope.

You have to love the bishop. He was determined to help Jean Val jean see his potential. But he
knew that for Jean Val jean to see his full potential that he’d have to experience forgiveness first.
So not only does he forgive him for stealing the silverware but he blesses him with the
candlesticks. And then he says…
Jean Val jean, my brother. You no longer belong to evil. With this silver I bought your
soul. I’ve ransomed you from fear and hatred. And now I give you back to God.

What was he saying? He was saying…my forgiveness has set you free from your past so
you can live the life that God meant for you to live.

And that’s exactly what Jean Val Jean did. He changed his identity, moved to a new town and
became a successful business man as well as the mayor of the town. But more importantly he
was a blessing to those around him. He adopted a troubled girl. He rescued people from death.
He stood up for justice. And he forgave his enemy. He lived the new life that the priest called
him to live. Forgiveness released him to become a new man.

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For Jean Val Jean forgiveness wasn’t a gift that he passively remembered with half-hearted
appreciation. Forgiveness wasn’t something to be acknowledged with a tip of the hat or an
occasional dollar in the offering plate. Forgiveness was a call to action. It was a call to live a new
life. And that’s what I want us to see today. Jesus’ death bought our forgiveness. But it doesn’t
stop there. Jesus’ resurrection put a claim on us. The Bible says we were bought with a price1.
We are now his. We’ve been purchased by God to live a new life that honors him.

That’s what Jean Val Jean did. He gave his life to God because the bishop ransomed him or
purchased his freedom with a bag of silver. That’s a heartwarming story. But do did you know
what? This is our story too. Only we’ve been ransomed with something much better than silver.
The Bible tells us that…
it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were ransomed from the
empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, but with the precious blood of
Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. 1 Peter 1:18,19

If Jean Val Jean turned his life around over a bag of silver…how much more would he have
changed if he knew that God paid for his freedom with the life of his son? That’s what Jesus did
for every one of us here today.

So let me ask you a couple of questions. First, have you received God’s forgiveness? If you
struggle with guilt…if you feel separated from God at all then God’s forgiveness is great news.
If not, then maybe today is the day for that. Today is the day you can start or restart a personal
relationship with God. Easter 2010 is the day you can say that you made your peace with God.

The second question I have is…if you believe you’ve been forgiven then how has forgiveness
changed you? How are you different because of God’s forgiveness? Jesus didn’t forgive you just
to relieve your guilty conscience to help you sleep better. He forgave you so you could know
God and dedicate your life to his purposes.

I think the church has made a big mistake by proclaiming God’s forgiveness without asking for a
response. Forgiveness is free but if we truly understand what God did for us it should change
everything.

I just started a new book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German pastor who was martyred at the
hands of the Nazis at the end of World War II. In the forward the writer quotes Martin Luther
and says…
Luther so persistently expounded… “We are saved by faith alone, but not by faith which
is alone.” That is, we are saved, not by anything we do, but by grace. Yet if we have truly
understood and believed the gospel it will change what we do and how we live. Timothy
Keller

1
1 Corinthians 6:20

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LIVING FORGIVEN
In the last few minutes I want to share four ways that forgiveness can change the way we live.
I’m going to pick up where I left off last week in the book of Hebrews, chapter ten. The writer of
Hebrews takes ten chapters to carefully explain why Jesus’ death paid for our sins enabling God
to forgive us, potentially restoring us to God. And then it tells us how being forgiven should
impact us. So, knowing that we’ve been forgiven it tells us…
Let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts
sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure
water. Hebrews 10:22

Forgiveness enables us to draw near to God.

So the first thing forgiveness changes in us is that it lets us draw near to God. It says here that
we don’t just have “assurance” but we have “full” assurance. Adding the word “full” in front of
“assurance” means that God has left no room for doubt. Jesus’ sacrifice was so perfect that we
can be absolutely confident that God accepts us, no matter what we’ve done in our past – not
because we have perfect faith – but because Jesus was the perfect sacrifice.

Forgiveness enables us to hold onto our faith.

The second thing that forgiveness allows us to do is hold on to our faith. Hebrews tells us…
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.
Hebrews 10:23

How many of us have a faith that comes and goes with our emotions or our life experiences?
When things are good you have faith but when things are bad your faith goes out the window.

But the writer here is saying…

Look, once you understand what Jesus did for you there should be no more question
about where you stand with God. You don’t have to avoid God when you’ve been bad and
reappear after you’ve been good for a while. He accepts you unconditionally.

Every once in a while I’ll run into someone who used to be a part of Cedarbrook and I’ll say,
“Hey, what’s up? I haven’t seen you for a while.”
And they’ll look all sheepish and tell me how life went south on them. They got laid off or they
had a relationship fail, they were struggling with an addiction or there was some big
disappointment in their life and so they dropped out of church. And my response is…
That’s not the time to fall away from God! That’s the time to draw close to God. You
need God and the church more during the hard times than the easy times.
But their guilt keeps them away. They don’t understand that Jesus’ sacrifice has made them
perfect forever in God’s eyes and therefore always welcome.

If that describes you, let me tell you, you never have to worry that God’s going to get mad at
you. That’s why it adds in verse 23 …“for he who promised is faithful”. That means that God’s
not going to let go of you just because you messed up. He’s faithful. Like Paul told Timothy…
If we are faithless, he is faithful for God cannot deny himself (2 Timothy 2:13). So if he won’t let
go of you there’s no reason to let go of him.

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Some of you may have been away from God for a while and coming here today is your first step
back toward God in months or even years. God would say to you, I’m glad you’re back but now I
want you to stay. Don’t give up on me because I haven’t given up on you.

Forgiveness enables us love and do good deeds.

The third impact that forgiveness should have is that it moves us to love and good deeds.
And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds, not
giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but encouraging one
another-- Hebrews 10:24,25

A forgiven person stops navel gazing and starts to help others. Like Jean Val Jean they do
justice, love mercy and walk humbly with God. But we aren’t supposed to do this on our own.
We’re supposed to do it with each other. That’s called the church. Church isn’t a meeting on
Sunday. Maybe that’s all you thought it was and that’s why you fell away. It all seemed to
simple and boring. But church is way more than that. Church is a community of believers
committed to love and good deeds. And so if you are serious about your faith, don’t avoid
meeting with other believers. You should be seeking out opportunities to get together to
subversively plot how to love others and do good deeds.

Forgiveness enables us to change our ways.

The final thing we learn about being forgiven is that forgiven people change their ways…
If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no
sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment… Hebrews 10:27, 28

In other words it’s saying, Jesus didn’t die so you could keep on sinning. He died so you could
live a new life. And Jesus rose from the dead so you could have the power to live that new life.
Paul told the Roman church that…
If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He
who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to
your mortal bodies throughHis Spirit who dwells in you. Romans 8:11

Do you remember what the priest said to Jean Val Jean? He said “you no longer belong to evil”.
Forgiveness breaks the power of evil and sets you on a new trajectory. The apostle Peter put it
this way…
You are a chosen people. You are a kingdom of priests, God's holy nation, his very own
possession. This is so you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of
the darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9

Our calling - every one of us here - believer or atheist - is to show people the goodness of God.
Whether you realize it or not that’s what God made you for. That’s why God forgave you and
raised Jesus from the grave…so you could live a life that makes a difference. Imagine if we all
took the priests charge to Jean Val Jean as our personal challenge. What would the impact be if
we all chose to abandon our past and live a life of love and good deeds?

Let me close with a paraphrase of what the priest said…

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 You no longer belong to evil. The blood of Jesus has purchased your soul, ransoming you
from fear and hatred. And now I give you back to God.

Prayer: Father it’s so easy for us to lose our way and then live a life of regret. But you came to
rescue us from ourselves. Thank you for sending Jesus to die and rise again. Help everyone here
to receive your forgiveness and respond to the call you’ve placed on their lives. Might we be a
people that is known for showing off your goodness by our love and good deeds. Amen.

GOING DEEPER

Use the following questions for personal reflection and/or to discuss with family, friends and
your small group.

1. Can you think of a time when someone paid for you when you couldn't afford to on your own.
When was that and how did it feel?
2. It's been said that Jesus would have died for you alone if you were the only one on earth. Do
you believe that? How would it feel to watch Jesus die knowing that he was doing it just for you
and no one else?
3. Read Hebrews 10:14. What does it mean to be made holy? How can we be perfect AND be in
process of being made holy?
4. What struck you about the clip from Les Miserables?
5. Remy said that forgiveness is a call to action. Do you agree? Why or why not? Confer 1
Corinthians 6:20
6. Read Ephesians 1:7. Redemption typically referred to slaves being purchased and set free. If
you have been purchased by God at the cost of his Son, how does that impact your life?
7. Read Hebrews 10:19,20. In the Jewish sacrificial system the high priest entered the Most Holy
Place (Holy of Holies, the place of God's presence) once a year. What has changed with
the death and resurrection of Jesus? What is the "new and living way" that is referred to?
8. Read Matthew 27:51. Hebrews 10:20 is a little mysterious and has a double meaning. You get
extra credit if you can see what the writer is getting at here.
9. What were the four things from Hebrews 10:22-27 that Remy said forgiveness enables us to
do? What do you find the hardest of the four?
10. What stood out to you the most about God's forgiveness over these past three weeks? How
will it change your life?

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