Assurance of Forgiveness
Introduction
Some people hold grudges for years until an appropriate time to lash out in vengeance. When Jacob died, Joseph’s brothers worried that Joseph would get his revenge for their sins against him.
Thesis: When we doubt God’s forgiveness, God gives us assurance.
Why do we doubt God’s forgiveness?
The Memory of Our Sin Haunts Us
A. Exegesis
- When Jacob died, the protective barrier of vengeance was removed, v. 15.
- Joseph’s brothers remembered their “wrongs”; certainly Joseph remembered.
- a. Transgression = rebellion against God and His laws.
- b. Iniquity = moral perversion or crookedness.
- c. Sin = missing the mark, failure to measure up to God’s standards.
- Sin destroys us spiritually, physically, and emotionally; Satan uses the memory of our sins to oppose us and to destroy us.
- Joseph wept and reassured his brothers that he forgave them, v. 21.
B. Illustration
“It was 1947. I had come from Holland to defeated Germany with the message that God forgives. It was the truth they needed most to hear in that bitter, bombed-out land, and I gave them my favorite mental picture. Maybe because the sea is never far from a Hollander’s mind, I like to thinkg that that’s where forgiven sins are thrown. ‘When we confess our sins,’ I said, ‘God casts them into the deepest ocean, gone forever. Then God places a sign out there that says, No Fishing Allowed!'”
Corrie ten Boom, Tramp for the Lord
C. Application–God throws all our forgiven sins into the depths of the sea, Micah 7:18-19.
The Punishment of Our Sin Terrifies Us
A. Exegesis
- Joseph’s brothers were terrified that Joseph would punish them for their sins against him, v. 18.
- Notice that their terror caused them to plead with Joseph by reminding him of Jacob’s words, vv. 16-17.
- Fear of punishment enslaved them, v. 18.
- Joseph’s forgiveness set them free, v. 21.
B. Illustration
Martin Luther was one who struggled with his sins. Before his break with the Catholic Church, he went to confession every day and was so guilt-ridden by his sins, he would have gone every hour.
On most nights, Luther slept well, but he even felt guilty about that, thinking, “Here I am, sinful as I am, having a good night’s sleep.” So he went to confession. The priest to whom Luther went for confession said to him, “Martin, either find a new sin and commit it, or quit coming to see me!”
C. Application–God throws our forgiven sins behind His back, Isaiah 38:17.
The Forgiveness of Our Sins Mystifies Us
A. Exegesis
- Joseph’s brothers could not believe that Joseph did not have ulterior motives, v. 15.
- Joseph’s brothers are mystified by forgiven sin, v. 21.
- Sometimes we cannot understand that an Omniscient God can and does forgive our sins.
B. Illustration
Francois de la Rochefoucauld said, “We pardon in the degree that we love.” The Bible says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life,” John 3:16.
C. Application–God casts our forgiven sins as far as the east is from the west, Psalm 103:12.