Luke 5:17-26
"And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?" Luke 5:20-21.
Last time we asked the question, how can God remain Just when He justifies a sinner? Every sin must be dealt with. Every sin is directly against God, and as a result of sin, the sinner deserves God's wrath. "For thou art not a God that hath pleasure in wickedness: neither shall evil dwell with thee. The foolish shall not stand in thy sight: thou hatest all workers of iniquity. Thou shalt destroy them that speak leasing: the LORD will abhor the bloody and deceitful man," Psalm 5:4-6. "God judgeth the righteous, and God is angry with the wicked every day," Psalm 7:11. "The wicked shall be turned into hell, and all the nations that forget God," Psalm 9:17. These are hard Scriptures which are not easily accepted by men. One of the main reasons these Scriptures are not easily accepted by men is because men do not understand the holiness of God, the sinfulness of man, or the way in which God forgives all who believe. These Scriptures actually magnify the work of redemption by Jesus Christ, by which God the Father remains Holy and Just in justifying the sinner.
The sinner has a problem in that he is not able to not be a sinner. "Can the Ethiopian change his skin, or the leopard his spots? then may ye also do good, that are accustomed to do evil," Jeremiah 13:23. "But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousness are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away," Isaiah 64:6. We learned last time that we cannot earn forgiveness with God, but that forgiveness comes by the grace of God (Ephesians 2:1-9). "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified," Galatians 2:16. Man is in a great dilemma in that God does not accept him just like he is. God only accepts perfect obedience, complete sinlessness. This is only found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. Christ lived in perfect obedience to the Father. He kept the law in every way. Christ is the sinless Lamb of God. Christ was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Jesus Christ lived a perfect sinless life, and went to the cross to die for all who have and will believe. He is our Propitiator (Romans 3:25), and He does the work of propitiation (I John 2:2, 4:10). Christ does that which appeases anger and brings reconciliation with someone who has reason to be angry with one. As we have learned from the Scriptures, God has every reason to be angry with us. His anger is a Holy anger, and God would be just to cast everyone into hell to suffer His wrath for eternity. But God made a promise to Adam and Eve, and throughout the Old Testament revealed more about this promise. Everyone whom the Lord saved during the Old Testament were saved by looking forward to the promise of God which was to come. We are saved by looking back to the promise of God Who came, Jesus Christ.
"To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus," Romans 3:26. "Just" in this verse means of one who acts alike to all, who practices evenhanded justice: just, equitable, impartial. God does not condemn the innocent, nor does He let the guilty go unpunished. We are justified through the propitiatory work of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is our Substitute. He went in our place. Our sins were punished in Christ Jesus. This is how God remains just in justifying all who come to Him through Jesus Christ. No one for whom Christ died for will ever suffer the wrath of God, and no one who doesn't believe in Christ will enter heaven. All sin is dealt with by God. Either your sins are dealt with in Christ, or you will suffer under the wrath of God for eternity because of your sins. "For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit," I Peter 3:18. "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him," II Corinthians 5:21. This is also known as double imputation.
In our text in Luke 5, these guys didn't know anything about the cross, and Christ hadn't died on the cross yet or been resurrected. So how does this work for those on that side of the cross? Turn to Romans 4. "Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ," Romans 5:1. The faith that Abraham had was given to him by God. Abraham believed by faith, and the righteousness of the Promise of God, which is Jesus Christ, was put to Abraham's account. "Now it was not written for his sake alone, that it was imputed to him. But for us also, to whom it shall be imputed, if we believe on him that raised up Jesus our Lord from the dead; Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification," Romans 4:23-25. "Imputed" is the Greek word "logizomai" and means to reckon or count to someone, particularly: to put to one's account. Also followed by that which is imputed, laid to one's charge, e.g. imputing Abraham's faith to him as righteousness; i.e. treating him as righteous on account of his faith.
Remember where our faith comes from, and Who is the Object of our faith. In Luke 5, Jesus Christ was the object of their faith. More than likely, these men could not pass an entrance test to get into a seminary. They did not know all the jargon of Christianity, and they had never heard of the New Testament, but their faith was in the Promise of God, Jesus Christ. The man who had been taken by the palsy came seeking forgiveness of his sins, and by God's grace, he got what he came for.
These are wonderful truths that we have learned today. God's plan of redemption is perfect. There are no loop holes or amendments. God doesn't compromise His Holiness. If you have come unto Jesus Christ by faith alone for salvation, He has saved your soul. If you have not trusted Christ alone to save you, then you are still spiritually dead in your trespasses and sins and if you die in your present state, you will be tormented in God's wrath for eternity. I beg you to look to Jesus Christ alone to receive forgiveness of all your sins. He is able, and He is willing. "All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out," John 6:37.
Lord willing, next time we will finish Luke 5:17-26. Please send questions and comments to richardsonbaptistchurch@gmail.com. Soli Deo Gloria.
