Healing From Forgiveness - Pt 5

And he said, “There was a man who had two sons. And the younger of them said to his father, ‘Father, give me the share of property that is coming to me.’ And he divided his property between them. Not many days later, the younger son gathered all he had and took a journey into a far country, and there he squandered his property in reckless living. And when he had spent everything, a severe famine arose in that country, and he began to be in need. So he went and hired himself out to one of the citizens of that country, who sent him into his fields to feed pigs. And he was longing to be fed with the pods that the pigs ate, and no one gave him anything. “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father's hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate. (Luke 15:11-24 ESV). 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. 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."