“I want you to know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins.” (Matthew 9:6)
We all have a tendency to mistake wants for needs. How often do we say, “I need this” or “I need that” when in actuality, we don’t need it at all. We simply want it and we want it so badly we have put it in the category of need. With that being said, which should give us all a moment of pause to check our want list today, let me encourage you by sharing the importance of understanding our greatest need and how it has been met.
The greatest need every person has is forgiveness. Unless our sins are forgiven, we will spend eternity separated from the love of God in that awful place where there is “weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Luke 13:28). To die without Christ is to die in our sins. But this need not be the case for those who know the truth of our verse today and have received it by grace, through faith. Our Lord Jesus Christ has the authority and the power to forgive sins, our sins, all of our sins. Jesus Christ was born to die in our place to pay the penalty of our sin and at this very moment, He has the power to pardon, no matter what we have done. His wounds bear witness to that power and authority.
He who knew no sin became sin for all those who would trust in Him as Lord and Savior. Penalty paid. Atonement made. Debt satisfied. And God the Father put His supernatural stamp of approval on the cross work of His beloved Son by raising Him from the grave on the third day, according to the Scriptures. To all those He has granted repentance for sin, He has guaranteed remission of sin. The power of His passion is perpetual. Never shall the fountain of forgiveness run dry. Let this truth set us free from the gnawing guilt that keeps us from growing into the person God is calling us to be. To be sure, we ought to be filled with a godly sorrow when we sin and break the heart of God. But after we have taken it to the throne of grace, we are to remember that it has been nailed to the cross and cleansed by the blood of the Lamb.
Beloved, because your greatest need has been met, you should be experiencing the peace that passes all understanding daily. Let not the evil one make you a prisoner to your past. We are to learn from the past, not live there. Because His mercies are new every morning, rise up this day and live as one who has been forgiven and can never be forsaken. Oh, the joy in knowing that our greatest need has been met and met each day by our Master.
This is the Gospel. This is grace for your race. NEVER FORGET THAT . . . AMEN!
Grace for the Race 