Are Your Sins Forgiven?
I’ve read this story hundreds of times. I love it. I love this story. I got a lot of questions about it, and maybe we’ll look at some of them tonight. But there’s something about this account of a woman from the streets of the city that came into a house where the Lord Jesus was. And when she left that house, her sins were forgiven. They were gone. She was saved. Maybe there’s someone that’s come in here tonight. And you’ve come in your sins. In other words, you’ve never been forgiven. We have all sinned. The only difference in this building tonight between any of us is this. All of us have sinned. Some of us are forgiven and some of us are not. That’s the only difference. So the question is, are you forgiven? Do you know your sins forgiven?
It’s a wonderful thing to be forgiven. I use a debit card. This just came to mind, so I am going to tell you about it. And you tap it and you’re looking at the machine and all of a sudden it blinks approved. And I say to the girl or the man at the register, it’s a wonderful thing to be approved. Most of them just look at me like I got three heads. I said that the other day to a young lady. I said, “It’s a wonderful thing to be approved.” Yes, sir. She said, “Especially if you’re approved by him.” I said, “That’s the response I’ve been waiting for. And you are the first one to give it to me. It is a wonderful thing to be forgiven, to be approved of God.” Are you forgiven?
Why the Woman Came to Jesus
I don’t know why this woman came into the house other than this. She knew that Jesus was in the house. She had heard a lot about Jesus. I don’t know what you’ve heard about the Lord Jesus. But perhaps you’ve heard a lot about him, too, but you don’t know him. I would take it she was in the same circumstance as you. She knew about him, heard about him, but she didn’t know him. But she heard he was in that house.
A Woman Known as a Sinner
Now, it took a lot for her to go into that house. You got to understand who was in the house. A whole bunch of dogooders. A whole bunch of people that thought they were better than everybody else. That’s what a Pharisee is. They were very religious people and they made no bones about it. They looked down on people that weren’t like them and she wasn’t like them. In fact, the first thing the spirit of God tells us about this woman, if you got your Bible open, you can look at it. Verse number 37, a woman in the city which was a sinner. So that’s what God says about her. And then Simon, who had invited people to his house for dinner, and this woman came in, Simon says, “If this Jesus man were a prophet, he would he would know what kind of woman this is.
She’s a sinner.” So God says she’s a sinner. Simon knows she’s a sinner. And then when the Lord speaks about her, the first thing he says, her sins which are many, Jesus knows she’s a sinner. Now, when God writes that three times in four verses, what do you think the message is? That’s what she’s doing there. She came because she was a sinner. She knew she was a sinner. Everybody knew she was a sinner. And it just could be that was her biggest problem and it was bothering her. So, let me stop in my story here. Anybody here tonight and you know you’re a sinner? Anybody here tonight and your sin bothers you? Sometimes when you try to get to sleep at night, it all comes back. That’s this woman.
Jesus Has Authority to Forgive Sins
A few chapters before this, it’s always good to read what comes before and what comes after a passage in the Bible. Few chapters before this, there was a man that was paralyzed. Chapter 5. And he got four of his friends to take him to the house where the Lord Jesus was so he could be healed. The Lord Jesus was healing people. He could do that. And when they got to the house, they couldn’t get in. There was such a crowd there, they couldn’t get in. So they went up onto it was a flat roof in the Eastern country, steps going up to the roof. That’s where their deck was. That’s where their porch was up on the roof. So they took the man up on the roof. They took the tiles up of the floor.
And they lowered the man down right to the right in the living room, right where the Lord Jesus was. The Lord Jesus looked at that man and he said,”Son, thy sins be forgiven thee.” And everybody gasped, “Who can forgive sins but God?” And everybody began to talk about it. But the Lord Jesus said, “Why are you so amazed? Which is harder? Which is easier to say, your sins be forgiven or to take up your bed and walk? Well, I would think it’s easier to say your sins are forgiven because nobody knows if they are or not. But if you tell a paralyzed man, take up your bed and walk, he better do it or you’re a fake. So he said this to show you that I have the power to forgive sins. Watch. Take up your bed and walk.
And the paralyzed man took up his bed and walked. And word spread everywhere through Capernaum. See that man walking down the road? His sins are forgiven. His sins are forgiven. And if you were to meet him and say, “Well, how are you? How is it that you’re walking? You were paralyzed.” Oh, yes. He said, “I was paralyzed, but did you hear? My sins are forgiven. My sins are gone. How do you know that? Christ forgave me. Now, here’s just a few chapters later. Here’s a woman and she hears that Christ is in the house and she’s a sinner. Now, she’s not paralyzed, but she’s a sinner. Now, if you heard about the first thing and you’re the sinner and Jesus is in the house, why do you think she came? Maybe I could find my sins forgiven. Just maybe.
I hope that’s why you’ve come tonight. Would you know your sins forgiven? She would. She wanted to. And so she came. She didn’t care that they were all religious people in there that were really good and she was bad. She knew this. Jesus was in the house. And Jesus could forgive sins. Jesus was there. And the Lord Jesus alone has the power to forgive sin.
Simon, the Woman, and the Two Debtors
So she came. She’ll put up with whatever they think, whatever they say. It’s an amazing story when you read it. You got to read it carefully because none of the critics said anything out loud. You read it again. They just thought it. Simon said within himself, “If this man were a prophet, he would know what kind of woman is touching him, for she is a sinner.” And Jesus answered his thoughts. That’s what it says. And Jesus answered, “Simon, I’ve got something to say to you. I know what you’re thinking.” Says, “I want you to think about, Simon. Here’s something I want you to think about. If someone was in debt, let’s say we have two people in debt. He owes $50. He owes $5,000. And when they have nothing to pay, the creditor says, “I forgive you.
I forgive you.” Which one’s going to appreciate it most? Well, you know the answer to that. So did Simon. Well, he said, “The one that’s forgiven most?” And he turns to the woman and he says, “Simon,” that must have been an odd circumstance, huh? He’s looking at her and he says, “Simon, I’m talking to you. You see this woman here? She owed the 5,000. You, Simon, you don’t appreciate me. I walked down the dusty roads today. Common courtesy would be, “Give me water to wash my feet.” You didn’t even offer me. Nothing. Not a thing. See this woman? She’s been weeping at my feet and washing my feet with tears. Why, Simon? She knew who he was. Simon thinks he’s a prophet. She came not because she was already forgiven. She came because she knew here’s the man that can forgive my sins. This is the Lord Jesus.
Where Can Forgiveness Be Found?
If you were to have your sins forgiven tonight, where would you go? To whom would you go? What would you do to have your sins forgiven? There’s only one place and it’s not a building. Not this place. There’s only one place that you must get to Christ. That’s why we say would you know your sins forgiven. Christ is all you’ve got to get to the Lord Jesus. He’s the only one that can forgive sins. So if sin is your problem, this is the answer. You must get to Christ.
Why Sin Must Be Faced
So, she comes. The sin is the problem. Sin is her issue. Simon knows she’s a sinner. God knows she’s a sinner. She knows she’s a sinner. Jesus addresses the problem. Her sins which are many.
That must have been embarrassing. Can you imagine the Lord singling you out in front of everybody and saying her sins which are many? Yes, you’ve got to face the fact of your sins. As hard as that is to face, if you want to know your sins forgiven, you got to be honest. You got to face the fact that I’m the sinner. It is my sin that’s the problem. My sin, it’s what I’ve committed. It’s what I’ve done. God’s not sending people to hell. God’s standing in the way as it were trying to stop people from going to hell. He wants to save people from their sins. It’s our sin that’s taking us away from God. It’s our sin that’s the problem. And if sins could be handled, if the problem of sin could be solved, you would be saved.
A Warning: “The Bridge Is Out”
I preached the gospel with a young man years ago. I was young then, too. We were both preaching the gospel in Newfoundland. He came from the west coast and his wife came from northern BC and he used to ride the Fraser Highway which winds alongside the Fraser River up country. Well, that river is prone to flash floods. And one night he was going up that road and it was pouring rain and he’s aware of that. So he was watching as he was crossing all the bridges. The road winds back and forth across the Fraser River. And he was watching as that as he came to the bridges. And he noticed the farther up he went, the water was higher and higher till the last bridge he crossed, he said the water was white water at the edge of the bridge.
That night after Kevin got to his in-laws house, that bridge went out. He was already across it. But another man was coming up the same road and he was used to the road. And in the pouring rain, he was watching for every bridge and he noticed the same thing. And when he got to this bridge, he couldn’t see the bridge. So he slowed down and he stopped. He said, “I think the bridge is gone.” And while he’s standing there sitting there in his car in the pouring rain with his lights on where the bridge should be, a car come flying up behind him, blasted the horn because he was stopped in the road, swerved around him and over the edge. It was gone. The bridge was out. So the man thought, “Man, I can’t let that happen again.”
And he looked in the mirror and another car was coming. So he jumped out of his car and he’s standing on the in the road going like this and the man slams on the brakes, rolled down the window, said, “Get out of the way. What are you doing?” He’s a mister, the bridge is out. Oh. Oh, he almost was going to go over. Got angry for someone trying to stop him. And while they were there, both of them turned their cars around with their headlights facing the other way to stop anybody else from coming. But while they were there, cars coming the other way, they watched them right over into the abyss. Do you understand, friend? That’s what gospel preachers are doing. Don’t get angry at us. We’re trying to stop you from perishing.
We’re trying to stop you in your tracks. The road you’re on is taking you the wrong way. The road you’re on is going to end in tragedy and destruction. The Lord Jesus said so. God is seeking to stop you. And the only way, the only way you’ll ever make it is if your sins are forgiven.
How Can You Know Your Sins Are Forgiven?
She came because she believed there was one man there that could help her. He didn’t disappoint her. You know, he says to Simon, “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven.” This is the first she hears about her sins. Now, if that were you, if that were me, I’d be like, “What? My sin? My sins are forgiven.” And he turned to her and he says, “Yes, thy sins are forgiven.” Now, let me ask you, were her sins forgiven? They were. What did she do? Nothing. Then how were they forgiven? Jesus forgave them. To learn this at the first part of this meeting, the only way your sins will ever be forgiven is if the Lord Jesus forgives them. Nothing you do will ever forgive your sins. Nothing you say will ever forgive your sins.
No works that you could, no good works, no bad work, nothing that you could do will ever forgive your sin. But if the Lord Jesus tells you your sins are forgiven, they’re forgiven. I’ve often wondered as that woman left the house and she’s walking down the street, if you met her, said, “Ma’am, can I ask you something? How do you know your sins are forgiven?” What would she say? The Lord Jesus told me. Well, no, he told me. And that’s enough. Well, she said, “I believe him.” Are your sins forgiven? Do you believe God? Well, yes. She says, “I do believe them. They’re gone. I know because he told me I’ve got his word for it. My sins are forgiven. I’ve got to sit down, but I just want to tell you this before I sit down.
The Price Has Already Been Paid
Christ hadn’t gone to the cross yet. That took faith to believe him because he hadn’t paid the price yet. So easy for you to be saved tonight. You can look back to Calvary where the Lord Jesus already paid the price of our sin. Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures. That’s what the Bible says. Christ died on the cross for the ungodly. Christ died for sinners. We can look back at the fact it happened. It’s part of history. Christ really was here and he died for our sins. And you can know your sins forgiven tonight through faith in him because he died for your sins. And God bless his word.
