“The Forgiveness of Sins”
Ephesians 1:7

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Pastor Kevin Vogts
Trinity Lutheran Church
Paola, Kansas
Seventh Sunday after Pentecost—July 12, 2015

Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Amen.

There was a controversy a few years back with a mainline American denomination and the words to the solo I sang at the beginning of the service this morning.  This solo is actually a popular new hymn, written the British team of Keith Getty and Stuart Townend.  It was a little too new to be included in our latest hymnal, though I expect it will be included in the next new hymnal the Missouri Synod produces someday.

A few years ago, another mainline American denomination wanted to include this hymn in their new hymnal.  But, controversy arose when their hymnal committee asked permission to change some of the words that they objected to: “On that cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied, for every sin on him was laid.” 

That seems like pretty basic Biblical theology.  But, this mainline denomination said they didn’t want those words in their hymnal because many of their pastors and laity don’t believe that anymore, and some would find the idea of Jesus dying in our place as a substitute for our sins absurd or even offensive.  To their credit, Getty and Townend absolutely refused to let them change the words, and so their hymn was dropped from this denomination’s new hymnal.  Getty said, “Satisfying God’s wrath through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross is an essential part of the Gospel story.”

It reminds me of several years ago, when after conducting a funeral some relatives—who were visiting from another state and were members of a different denomination—came up to me and said, “Thank you for preaching the Gospel.  We don’t ever hear that anymore.  It seems that most ministers don’t actually preach the Gospel.”

What is the “Gospel”?  The word “Gospel” means “Good News.”  The Apostle Paul summarizes the Good News of the Christian Gospel in one beautiful sentence in today’s Epistle Reading: “In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.”

“IN HIM.”  Many people say that all religions are basically the same, just different paths to the same God.  But, the Christian Gospel is not a generic Good News about some generic “higher power.”  The Christian Gospel is very specific Good News, about the ONE AND ONLY true God, showing his love for the world in a very particular way, through one, particular Person: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”  Jesus put it this way: “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” 

Christian preaching that doesn’t emphasize Jesus Christ as the only way of salvation really isn’t Christian preaching at all.  As Peter says in Acts, “Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved.”

“In him WE HAVE REDEMPTION.”  Because of our sins we all deserve to suffer the full wrath of God’s anger and punishment, to suffer forever in hell.  But, “In him WE HAVE REDEMPTION”!  Moved by his great love for us, God sent his own Son to suffer in your place the punishment for your sins, to endure on the cross the full wrath of God’s anger and punishment for you. 

As Isaiah prophesies in today’s Old Testament Reading: “He was pierced for our transgressions he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” “On that cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied, for every sin on him was laid.”

Paul puts it this way in Colossians: “For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things . . . by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross.  Once you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil behavior.  But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation.”  That’s what your redemption means, in God’s sight YOU are “without blemish and free from accusation,” on account of Christ’s sacrifice for you.

“In him we have redemption THROUGH HIS BLOOD.”  Hebrews says that “without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”  Our sin is a capital offense, so only a capital punishment could earn us forgiveness.  That’s what Christ did for you on the cross.  Revelation says, “He loved us and has freed us from our sins by his blood.”  Paul says in Romans, “God presented him as a sacrifice of atonement, through faith in his blood.”  And John says, “The blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from every sin. . .  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”  The hymn “In Christ Alone” puts it beautifully: “I am his and he is mine, bought with the precious blood of Christ!”

“In him we have redemption through his blood, THE FORGIVENESS OF SINS.”  That is the result of Christ’s redeeming sacrifice for you: the forgiveness of sins.  As Peter says in Acts, “Everyone who believes in him receives forgiveness of sins through his name.” 

Sometimes people ask, “Has God forgiven me?  Will God forgive me?  Could God forgive me?”  The answer is ALWAYS: YES, YES, YES!  The Lord promises in Jeremiah, “For I will forgive their wickedness, and will remember their sins no more.”

A hard drive like this can hold nearly 100 million of pages of data; but one swipe of a magnet can wipe it all away.  Imagine this hard drive lists all your sins, your failures, your shortcomings, throughout your life.  The blood of Christ is like a magnet God uses to completely wipe out all that information.  And then he even throws the hard drive away, forever.  That is the Good News of the Christian Gospel.  “For I will forgive their wickedness, and will remember their sins no more.”

“On that cross as Jesus died the wrath of God was satisfied, for every sin on him was laid. . .  I am his and he is mine, bought with the precious blood of Christ!”  It was a wonderful compliment when that couple said to me, “Thank you for preaching the Gospel.”  But, it was a sad commentary when they added, “We don’t ever hear that anymore.  It seems that most ministers don’t actually preach the Gospel.” 

Here’s what the Apostle Paul would have to say about that couple’s comment, or about that hymnal committee wanting to take out the Good News of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross:

“I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes. . .   Woe to me if I do not preach the Gospel! . . .   We preach Christ crucified. . .  May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. . .  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins.”