"Healing From Forgiveness" (Part 3)

To illustrate the point further, Jesus told them this story: "A man had two sons. The younger son told his father, 'I want my share of your estate now, instead of waiting until you die.' So his father agreed to divide his wealth between his sons. "A few days later this younger son packed all his belongings and took a trip to a distant land, and there he wasted all his money on wild living. About the time his money ran out, a great famine swept over the land, and he began to starve. He persuaded a local farmer to hire him to feed his pigs. The boy became so hungry that even the pods he was feeding the pigs looked good to him. But no one gave him anything. "When he finally came to his senses, he said to himself, 'At home even the hired men have food enough to spare, and here I am, dying of hunger! I will go home to my father and say, "Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son. Please take me on as a hired man."' "So he returned home to his father. And while he was still a long distance away, his father saw him coming. Filled with love and compassion, he ran to his son, embraced him, and kissed him. His son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against both heaven and you, and I am no longer worthy of being called your son.' "But his father said to the servants, 'Quick! Bring the finest robe in the house and put it on him. Get a ring for his finger, and sandals for his feet. And kill the calf we have been fattening in the pen. We must celebrate with a feast, for this son of mine was dead and has now returned to life. He was lost, but now he is found.'” (Luke 15:11-24 NLV).

While we must acknowledge God’s grace and remember that we have been cleansed from sin, there is a third truth necessary for us to know the fullness of God’s healing from His forgiveness. With the change of our condition comes a change in our position. We must recognize that we have not only been cleansed of sin, but we have been clothed with righteousness. Certainly, this is the impact of the parable we have started with this morning.

You’ve surely heard people say before "clothes make the person." In the spiritual life, this is very true. What covers us is what makes us who we are. The Bible states that "God made Jesus who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." When Christ took away my sin, He put His righteousness on me in return. It’s what we call "imputation." The sin of Adam was imputed to the whole world. The sins of the world were imputed to Christ. The righteousness of Christ has been imputed to those who have placed their faith in Him. It is a credit that is given. Even though I have sinned and still sin, I am "dressed to the nines" in righteousness. So, when the Devil begins to accuse me of being less than perfect, I can say to him, "I may not be what I should be, I am not what I will be, but by the grace of God, I am not what I was." I have been clothed with righteousness because of Jesus Christ.

Paul asks in Romans 8: "If God is for us, who can be against us? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? Who is he that condemns? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?" It isn’t a "what" that hinders the Christian life, it’s a "who." Satan is against us, bringing a charge against the elect, condemning us and attempting to separate us from the love of Jesus Christ. Perhaps some of you are feeling his attack. You have been driving around with rearview mirrors so big that you can’t see out the front windshield. Guilt is overwhelming you. The Devil is prosecuting you in a court of false accusation.

As you move toward the celebration of Easter, I hope that God is restoring to you the joy of His salvation. Our verdict has already been pronounced in the court of grace and the Devil has nothing on us. So, when you hear the voice of accusation, remember that we have been chosen by grace, cleansed of sin and clothed with righteousness. And so, we may rejoice with the Scriptures that says: "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord."