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Lord, I'm certain that for probably everybody who's here tonight, there are a lot of distracting things that could be on our minds, pulling our focus away from the reason that we're here. So I pray, God, that anything weighing heavy upon our hearts and minds from the day, or things that we're already contemplating about tomorrow, would be set aside for the next hour or hour and a half. Help us to fix our hearts and minds upon You and Your Word.

Lord, continue to transform us by the renewing of our minds. I know that I need Your constant work through Your Word and Your Spirit in my life to make me more like You, to become the person that You have created me to be, so that I bring You honor, glory, and praise. I pray that You would do the work by Your Spirit as we look at this passage of Scripture tonight in the Gospel of Mark, making us more like You and renewing us. This way, we would be able to honor and glorify You in our lives and show what is Your good and perfect will through our daily actions. So God, do a work in us and cause any distractions to be put aside, we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.

Once again, I'm really glad that you're here. It's wonderful to see you continue to come back each week. We always wonder about the attrition—if people will start out, if they'll press through and finish. If you are new here this week and were not here the last two weeks, when the sign-in sheet comes around, please fill in one of the blanks at the bottom with your name. If you can, also include your email address so that I can add you to our roster for next week.

The passage that we're going to be looking at tonight is on the inside of the first page of the booklet that you're receiving. We will be looking at the Gospel of Mark, chapter 2, verses 1 through 12. If you want to open that up, we'll get started. In Mark chapter 2, verses 1 through 12, we read that a few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, which was one of the small towns around the Sea of Galilee, the people heard that He had come back to the place—He had come home. So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and He preached.

The word to them. Some men came bringing a paralytic carried by four men. Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus. After digging through it, they lowered the mat the paralyzed man was laying on. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

Now, some of the teachers of the law were sitting there, thinking to themselves, "Why does this fellow talk like that? He is blaspheming. Who can forgive sins but God alone?" Immediately, Jesus knew in his spirit that this was what they were thinking in their hearts and said to them, "Why are you thinking these things? Which is easier to say to the paralytic: 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up, take your mat, and walk?' But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins," he said to the paralytic, "I tell you, get up, take your mat, and go home."

He got up, took his mat, and walked out in full view of them all. This amazed everyone, and they praised God, saying, "We have never seen anything like this."

This is one of those intriguing stories of the Gospel. It is hard to imagine the scenario, but try to visualize it in your mind. Jesus was there teaching in a house in the city of Capernaum, located on the Sea of Galilee. As he was talking, there was a bit of a distraction. I have been teaching the Bible for quite a few years now, and I have encountered a number of strange distractions, but nothing like this.

As Jesus was teaching in this home in Capernaum, the ceiling started to be opened up. After the ceiling was opened, a man was lowered down by four others who were in need of help.

As we did last week, we want to take some time to move slowly through this passage of Scripture and ask the who, what, when, and where questions of observation, using the inductive Bible study method. So, if you open up to question number one: Where was Jesus and what was he doing? He was teaching in a home in Capernaum in Galilee. This was an area where Jesus spent a lot of time. Of course, most of Jesus' life and ministry was spent around the Sea of Galilee.

If you've never been to the Sea of Galilee, you might have a mental image of a vast body of water. However, the reality is that you can drive around the Sea of Galilee in about an hour and a half. It's not a huge sea; it's actually just a lake. This misconception can lead to a distorted view of the area.

Jesus spent most of His time between the cities of Capernaum and Bethsaida, along the northern shores of the Sea of Galilee. You could walk around these regions in a day's journey quite easily. This was where the bulk of His ministry took place, and Capernaum was a town He frequented. Today, you can visit the ruins of the Synagogue of Capernaum, which are about two feet above the ruins of the synagogue where Jesus preached in the first century. You can stand a little above the ground where it once was and see the area, which features some fascinating ruins. I have had the privilege of visiting three times to teach a Bible study in the same synagogue where Jesus had been.

Additionally, the home of Simon Peter, one of Jesus' disciples, is believed to have been in Capernaum. He spent a lot of time in this area, but while He was in this home, He was interrupted. How was He interrupted? By a sick man being lowered from the roof. This might seem strange to us, and it was undoubtedly a peculiar interruption for Jesus as well. However, the concept of accessing the roof was not unusual at that time and place. People built homes with flat roofs, where they would often spend their afternoons to escape the heat of the day.

These roofs were typically made of a mud thatch material, allowing people to go up, rip open the roof, and lower the sick man down to Jesus. What did Jesus notice about the men who lowered this man? The Scripture tells us in Mark's Gospel, Chapter 2, that He noticed the faith of the men who were helping, as they were confident that Jesus would heal. Why else would they bring this paralyzed man to Jesus, if not for the expectation that He would do something special? Even at this early stage in the Gospel of Mark, this was the news spreading among the people.

Of the day, Jesus was performing miracles. This was a phenomenal thing because, for many hundreds of years up to this point, the nation of Israel had not seen the work and the power of God. Suddenly, there was a phenomenally crazy guy out in the area around the Jordan River named John the Baptist, who was baptizing multitudes of people. He was dressed in a crazy garb, with a sash around his camel's hair cloak, and he was eating locusts and wild honey. He spoke about repentance, and people were coming from all over to hear John the Baptist speak. They were saying, "We haven't seen anything like this for a long time; there's someone prophesying."

Then Jesus showed up, preaching the very same message. However, He was doing something that John the Baptist was not doing: He was healing people. Jesus had been healing the sick and casting demons out of people. This was before the feedings of the multitudes, which would happen shortly after this, but still, the news about Jesus was spreading throughout the area very quickly. Multitudes of people were coming to hear Him teach, but more than that, they were hoping He might heal their sicknesses.

One day, a man who was paralyzed was brought to Jesus. When Jesus saw what these men were doing, He noticed their faith as they brought the paralyzed man to Him. What was Jesus' response to the paralytic? It is interesting to note what Jesus said to him as he was lowered down on his mat. We presume they lowered him through a hole in the roof with some ropes, and everyone in the room was watching, wondering what on earth was going on. Jesus called him "son" and then forgave his sins. This is curious because the man had a very clear physical problem, yet it seems that Jesus did not address that right away. He called him "son" and forgave the man's sins.

As we saw last week, if you remember the story, there was a sinful woman who came to Jesus while He was reclining and having a meal at the house of Simon the Pharisee. He also spoke forgiveness to this woman. Simon the Pharisee was blown away by what was happening. Once again, when Jesus said to the man who had been lowered down to Him, "Son, your..."

Sins are forgiven, and there is a stir caused by the things that He said. How did the teachers of the law react to this? Those were some of the people who were there. They were upset and questioned His authority to forgive sins. They knew something about sin, the Scriptures, and understood that there is only one who has the authority and ability to forgive sin.

Here Jesus is teaching, and these religious leaders, the teachers of the law, are interested in what He is saying. As a man who is paralyzed is lowered down to Him, Jesus says to him, "Son, your sins are forgiven." The teachers of the law are upset by this because they do not believe He has the authority to forgive sins.

When this took place, how did Jesus respond? He asked an interesting question. He perceives their thoughts and understands what they are thinking: Who does this guy think He is that He can forgive sins? In response to their thoughts, He asks a somewhat strange question: Which is easier, forgiving or healing? What would be easier to say to this man: "Son, your sins are forgiven," or "Rise, take up your bed, and walk"?

Then, of course, He moves immediately from asking that question to making a bold statement. "But so that you may know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins," He says to the paralyzed man, "Son, rise, take up your bed, and walk."

How did Jesus heal the paralyzed man? Simply by speaking. He didn't have to do anything amazing. He didn't perform any elaborate gestures; there was no clapping of hands or rubbing them together. There are some interesting passages in the Gospel where Jesus does various things in the process of healing, but it is rare to see Him ever do the same thing twice, other than speaking to people and healing them. This really reveals the power that He has.

Jesus simply spoke to this man. When He did, the man immediately got up, took the mat he had been carried on, and walked out the door. What was the effect of the healing on those who were watching? They were amazed by the miracle, as I’m sure any one of us would be, at this whole scene.

The room where this event took place was likely much smaller than the one we are in now. It was filled with perhaps the same number of people, or even more, but in a very cramped space. This crowding made it difficult for the four men to carry the paralyzed man to Jesus. Everyone was pressed in, watching and listening to what Jesus said. They likely knew about this man’s condition if he lived in Capernaum, and now they witnessed him getting up and walking out, carrying his bed. They were completely astonished by this, just as we would be.

Moving from simply observing what is happening in the passage, we can now discuss the questions and study points that arise. What needs did Jesus recognize in this sick man, based on His actions? In this passage, as Jesus interacts with the man, He addresses three issues—three needs. The first is obviously physical, as He heals the man. We see this at the end of the passage when He says, "So that you might know that the Son of Man has power on earth to forgive sins, Son, take up your bed and walk."

However, there is also an emotional and a spiritual condition at play. The spiritual condition is evident when Jesus tells the man that his sins are forgiven. Additionally, there seems to be something more in the way He addresses the man. Thus, we see the physical healing, the emotional aspect related to love, and the spiritual issue of forgiveness.

Where in this passage do we see a relational or love issue that Jesus recognizes in this man? He calls him "Son." The very first thing He says to him is, "Son, your sins are forgiven you." This highlights the physical healing, the emotional need, and the spiritual need. I would venture to guess that if we look at every single person in this room, or the other 7.4 billion people on this planet, everyone has physical problems, emotional problems, and ultimately the greatest problem, which is the issue of sin—the spiritual problem.

So, why did Jesus forgive the sick man before healing him?

The progression of the story is important. He begins by saying, "Son, your sins are forgiven," even though everybody in that room knew that the main problem, or the observable problem, that this man had was not an issue of sin. The observable problem was that he was paralyzed; he was lame. So, which is more important and why? What would have happened if Jesus, or if this man, was healed but not forgiven?

Remember the illustration that we had from the last time. God is in heaven, and we are here upon the earth. We are born sinful, and as a result of being sinful by nature, that sin is expressed in our rebellion towards God. If we die in that condition, then we will experience the judgment of God, which is a place called hell. So, which is more important and why? Well, obviously, a spiritual healing of forgiveness is more important because, without it, this man would still be lost, even after being healed.

Jesus certainly could have, as soon as this guy was lowered down, said, "Take up your bed and walk," and the man would have gotten up and walked out of the room. But there's a bigger issue than just the physical condition of being paralyzed. There are bigger issues than the emotional and relational issues in this man's life. The biggest issue that every single person on the face of this planet is facing is a spiritual issue. Jesus came primarily, as we will see as we go through this section, to deal with that spiritual condition.

Of course, Jesus did deal with the physical conditions of many people in His day, but not everybody. There were people who came to Jesus that did not get healed. Jesus also restored emotional and relational aspects, but that wasn't the primary or chief focus of His life and ministry. The primary and chief focus had to do with the spiritual issue. This man had a spiritual problem that every single person in this room and every single person outside of this room has. Not everybody has the physical problem of being paralyzed, but everybody has the spiritual problem of sin. Jesus came chiefly to deal with that.

In so doing, by addressing this man's spiritual problem first, what opportunity did Jesus create by forgiving him first? By forgiving, He made others aware of His authority to forgive sin.

The healing was then the proof of it. By starting with, "Son, your sins are forgiven," and causing a stir among the religious leaders and the teachers of the law in the room, He is giving Himself an opportunity to show who He is. He is giving Himself an opportunity to reveal His true identity and true nature by simply saying to this man, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

What problem should be treated to cure the root cause of sickness? This man had a problem; he had a very clear physical issue. Some of you here in this room tonight have physical conditions that you face and struggle with. Some people are dealing with incurable physical problems, while others may be facing issues related to disease or illness. However, some of these issues might be related to past decisions that you have made. Ultimately, everybody has these physical problems.

Where do these things come from? What is the root cause of pain, sickness, suffering, and sorrow in the world? Let me refer to the Scriptures, specifically to the book of Romans, chapter 5, verse 12. It says, "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, in this way death came to all people because all sinned." Paul here is speaking about the sin back in the Garden of Eden, which is recorded in the book of Genesis, chapter 3—the sin of Adam. Through one man, sin entered the world, and death came from sin.

So, what is the root cause? Historically, sin came first, and then death and sickness are the results of sin. Therefore, a full cure involves treating the root cause of sin. Everywhere we look in this world, there are problems of suffering, pain, illness, disease, sickness, and war—horrible things that are happening. I don't think there's any way we can escape the reminders of the brokenness of the world we live in. Sometimes it affects us personally; we experience it ourselves. But for the most part, we see it on a daily basis outside all the time.

Where did that come from? Sin came first, and death through sin. Therefore, if you want to deal with the problems of suffering and sickness and all the issues going on in the world, you must address the root cause of sin.

How was the act of healing an answer to the teachers of the law? What question did the teachers raise about Jesus? They watched the whole situation unfold. Jesus was teaching; we don't know what he was teaching, but he was talking with these people, and there was a multitude of people in the room. Suddenly, there was a huge interruption as a man was brought down before Jesus, laying on his bed in a serious condition, paralyzed. Jesus said, "Son, your sins are forgiven."

When the teachers of the law heard this, they instantly asked a question: "Who can forgive sins but God alone?" They knew their theology. The teachers of the law understood that there is only one who has the authority to forgive sin. Jesus was standing there, and these men were thinking this. He knew their thoughts, just as we saw last week with the woman who came into Simon's house. Simon was thinking that if Jesus knew what kind of woman this was, he wouldn't allow her to touch him because she was a sinful woman. Jesus perceived their thoughts then, and he perceives their thoughts here.

Now, he heals this sick man. How did Jesus heal the sick man? He used God's power through his word. This reminds us of God's ability and power displayed in Genesis chapter 1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. The Spirit of God was there, moving, hovering over the face of the waters. Then the Lord said, "Let there be light," and there was light.

In Genesis chapter 1, we see God speaking, and His word comes forth with power. He creates simply by speaking. Here, in this section of Scripture, Jesus speaks healing to this man, and he does it just by simply speaking. God's power is seen through His word.

What does this show about who Jesus is, his nature, and his identity? Jesus is the Son of God, possessing God's nature and God's power. Remember, we talked about this both two weeks ago and last week. We even touched on it again during our Sunday morning discussion as we went through Hebrews. Jesus, the Son of God, tells us something profound about his nature.

The very nature and power of God is on display in this situation in Mark chapter 2. Jesus simply speaks, "Son, your sins are forgiven; rise, take up your bed and walk." Immediately upon saying that, the man who had been paralyzed—though we don't know how long he had been in that condition—stands up and does it. I can guarantee you that this man, on more than one occasion, had tried to will himself to be better. He had attempted to get up and walk, perhaps encouraged by others who told him, "Come on, you can do it, just get up." But he had never found the power or ability to do so. Now, when Jesus says, "Rise, take up your bed and walk," there is instant power, and he does it.

Jesus performed this miracle simply by speaking with the power of God. This truth answers the question posed by the religious leaders, who thought, "Only God can forgive sins; who does this guy think he is? He's blaspheming." As the Son of God, Jesus has the authority to forgive sins. He is God in human flesh, revealing God's complete nature in their presence. The religious leaders and the multitudes following Jesus were witnessing his miracles and hearing his teachings. They knew he was a man sent from God. If you read through the Gospel of John, you will see this in lesson number five, where Nicodemus, a Pharisee, comes to Jesus by night. The first thing he says is, "We know that you are a teacher come from God, because nobody could do these works unless God was with him."

While the religious leaders assumed that Jesus was a godly man, they had no idea of his true identity. Jesus was seeking to reveal who he really is. In this situation, when he says, "Son, your sins are forgiven," he begins to peel back the veil so they can see that he is God in human flesh.

What do we learn about Jesus and his character from this incident? One of the things we see is that Jesus is always willing and available to people, ready to meet their needs.

Jesus is always willing and available to people, ready to meet their needs. Now, I have to be very honest with you; this is challenging for me as a pastor, a representative of God. I’m not always willing to meet people's needs. I see Pastor Jason in the back smiling because he's just like me. We're not always willing. There are times when I'm tired, times when I'm not feeling up to it, and in those moments, I’m not always willing in my human flesh.

I appreciate this challenge from Jesus, especially in the way that He responded to interruptions. I don't always respond the best to interruptions. Can anyone relate to that situation? Thankfully, Jesus is always willing and available to people, ready to meet their needs. This is not only a challenge to me as a pastor but also an encouragement to me as a Christian, as a follower of Jesus. He is always willing and available to meet my needs.

So, what did we learn about the character of Jesus? Jesus is always willing and available to meet people's needs. Additionally, Jesus was not angry about interruptions. Interruptions in the Gospel were more important than His programs at the moment. Of course, He came to preach the Gospel, which is very clearly seen in some of the things He said. However, He is not bothered by interruptions, as I may sometimes be. When a cell phone goes off in the sanctuary, I try to pretend I don't hear it, but I do hear it. It serves as a reminder to turn off your cell phones or put them on silent.

Jesus was not angry about interruptions; people were more important to Him than the program. An interesting thing to note is that if you read through the Gospels, you see that Jesus' closest followers, His disciples, sometimes had a problem with people coming to Jesus. They could get frustrated by it. I appreciate the fact that the disciples are just like us, but Jesus is different. He doesn't get angry about disruptions and interruptions.

How were the problems of the sick man helpful to him in discovering a new life of total health? If the man had not been sick, would he have come to Jesus?

What would he have missed as a result? If he had not been sick, he may not have come to Jesus, right? And so, sin would not have been forgiven. He would have remained lost. This clues us into something interesting. Here is this guy in a horrible condition, not able to use his body, paralyzed. We don't know if he was fully paralyzed from the neck down or the waist down, or how he was affected in the condition that he was in. But if he had not been in that condition, we have to wonder: would he have come to Jesus?

This situation pushed him to come to Jesus, and he couldn't even come on his own; he had to have someone carry him there. Four guys revealed their faith by their actions, which is an interesting concept as well. Jesus saw their faith. You can't see a person's belief or their internal convictions, but you can see how their belief affects their actions. These guys had faith in Jesus to such an extent that they came to Him, and when they couldn't get to Him, they even made a way to get to Him.

How was it showing their faith if they came to Him begging to save them? Well, they believed, intellectually and mentally, that Jesus could heal. They showed their belief by the fact that they brought this man to Jesus. Their faith is evidenced by their actions. But like you said, if he was not sick, he would not have come. He wouldn't have come if he wasn't sick.

Yes, potentially. We assume that if he wasn't sick, he may not have come to Jesus. But his sickness compelled him; the situation he was in forced him or pushed him to come to Jesus.

So, going on to the next question: how does this reveal a good reason why God does not always remove suffering from our lives? Suffering can be one of God's tools to bring us to Him. I know more than a few people, and maybe even some in this room tonight, who found themselves seeking God due to an illness, the tragic loss of a loved one, the loss of a job, or some sort of difficulty in their lives. There are many people at this church who would not have come had it not been for the loss of a loved one, the loss of their health, or the loss of a job.

The loss of a house, maybe the loss of a spouse, or whatever it may be, can put someone in a situation where there is a compelling reason to seek help. God often uses the suffering that occurs in our lives as a tool to bring us to Him. Does anyone here tonight relate to that? As the story from Daniel illustrates, a healthy number of people in this room have experienced pressing issues in their lives, just like the paralyzed man in the Bible. This man presumably would not have felt the need to come to Jesus if everything in his life had been just fine.

I have yet to meet a person who enjoys suffering. I certainly do not like going through difficult times; in fact, I quite hate it. However, I have met many people who recognize that the suffering they have endured—horrible experiences—were the very things God used to draw them closer to Him. Although we may question why we are going through certain trials, God has the ability to use those experiences in our lives for a greater purpose.

Some of you might be thinking of a verse that Paul wrote in Romans chapter 8: God causes all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. God has an amazing way, in His sovereign power, of using the pressing and difficult things in our lives to push us toward Him. Thus, suffering can be one of God's tools to bring us to Him.

I want to emphasize that it "can be" a tool. This is really important. The next time you are talking with a family member, a co-worker, or a friend who is going through a difficult time, be cautious about saying, "Well, God is using this in your life, of course you would come to Him." They might think that, but it's essential to be careful how you use this truth.

As a pastor and chaplain, I have been in many situations where I was among people experiencing significant suffering. Almost inevitably, they ask the question, "Why is this happening to me?" I could put on a theological hat and say, "Well, God is using this in your life right now to bring you here." But if you want to get into an argument, then go that route.

Now, which is easier for God: forgiving or healing? That's an interesting concept. But remember who asked the question. It was Jesus who posed it.

Put yourself back in the situation again. Here is this man laying on the floor, paralyzed. Four guys are up in the ceiling looking down, expecting Jesus to do something. They worked really hard to get him there, and they want Him to fix the situation. The guy who owned the house is probably sitting there thinking, "What on earth can you heal? Can you heal my ceiling? Why is this happening in my home?" All these people are watching, and they are all expecting Jesus to do something. They are not expecting Him to say, "Son, your sins are forgiven." Maybe even the guy laying on the floor is thinking, "Yeah, that's nice. Thanks. But that's not exactly the reason I came here today."

Jesus asked the question: which is harder, forgiveness or healing? How did Jesus forgive this man? How did He heal him? In the story, He simply spoke. He both healed the man and forgave his sins by saying to him, "Son, your sins are forgiven. Rise, pick up your bed and walk."

So, are these things equally easy? Is it equally easy for God to heal someone's illness and to forgive their sin? In this situation, Jesus did both things by just speaking to the man. On the surface, they appear to be equally easy. But are they in reality?

If we look at the story quickly, it seems like Jesus can say, "Son, your sins are forgiven," and "Rise, take up your bed and walk." It doesn't take much different effort between these two sayings. But is it actually equally easy?

First, what does it mean to forgive? To forgive means to set free from the punishment of breaking God's laws. It is to release someone from the penalty, a show of mercy. If someone has wronged you, to pardon them is to release them. The best way to think of it is in a financial situation. I have a very good friend who loaned someone a huge amount of money—huge to me. Recently, this person was telling me that...

They said to me, "Miles, you were teaching a Bible study back in December, and you made a comment about releasing debts." I felt like I should release this person's debt. This person owed them over $100,000. So, as a Christmas gift, they went and said, "I want you to know that I've released you from this debt. I've forgiven the debt."

Now, how many of you would like to have been forgiven? This person then said, "I blame you because you taught this." I replied, "Well, thanks, but you should be the one to talk. I didn't tell you to do this." They insisted, "I'm releasing you from it." They were setting them free from the payment of it. To forgive is to pardon, to set free from the punishment.

Now, we have all discovered, as we've been going through this course, that we've all broken God's law. We all have fallen short of the glory of God, every single one of us. What would be the bad consequences of God always forgiving every sin? Imagine a scenario in which lawbreakers were never punished.

We all know that there are speed limits. I love going to Germany; I've been there just over a year. On the Autobahn, they don't always have speed limits. The last time I was there, I was sitting down in a coffee shop with some friends of mine, and I made a comment about the Autobahn. The guy I was sitting with said, "Well, you should take my car and go for a ride." I asked, "What kind of car do you have?" He replied, "I have an Audi S5." I said, "Wow, that's pretty cool." He said, "Well, here's the keys, go." I was surprised and asked, "Really?" He said, "Yeah, go ahead."

At that moment, it was actually his wife who gave him the keys because his license had been revoked. I turned to a friend of mine and said, "You want to go for a ride?" He said, "Yeah, let's go." So we got it up to 155. It was pretty fun—no problem; you're on the Autobahn, no big deal. It's a quick car, and it still had some play in it, too. But I thought, my wife wouldn't be too happy with this. Don't tell her I told you this. No, she knew about it.

Here, obviously, we have a posted speed limit, which every one of us obeys perfectly, right? All the drivers in here, we all obey that all the time. But if, perchance, you break that and you get pulled over, and the CHP pulls you over, probably they're...

They're going to give you a ticket. They're going to thank you. Though every single one of us is hoping for mercy when that happens, like when Pastor Jason and I got in trouble last year, we won't talk about that. We weren't driving on the road; we were on the water. But we were hoping for mercy in that moment.

Now, if in that moment the lifeguards decided that we were doing something we shouldn't have been doing—riding jet skis in the surf, which apparently is against the law—I didn't know that. We even said, "Wow, we didn't know." We could plead the ignorance card. Has anyone ever pleaded the ignorance card? You better watch it. But we can't with this, because it's posted all the time: 65 miles per hour.

Now, if the California Highway Patrol pulls you over and they say, "You know, you were driving faster," you might respond, "Yeah, I know I was." But if they say, "I'm going to let you go," that's great. However, if they always did that, do you think anybody would keep the law? No. If God always forgave sin, no one would ever keep His law. Sin would fill the world. It would seem as though the law would be completely meaningless if every single time someone broke the law, they were just immediately released from it. There'd be no point in having a speed limit. There'd be no point in having laws, period, if every single time you broke the law, you were just released from the punishment of it.

So how is forgiveness a potential problem for the character of God? In a number of places in Scripture, specifically passages like 1 Peter 1, verse 16, we read, "For it is written, 'Be holy, for I am holy.'" The idea of holiness speaks of righteousness. It speaks of being perfectly right, not transgressing God's law in any way. God is the perfect law keeper.

God is holy, so He is serious about His law. He's perfect, and as a result of His holiness, He cannot tolerate sin, which would make the world unhappy. Therefore, God's holiness will not allow Him to simply forgive.

Just forgive, blanket forgiveness. Everybody's forgiven. Wipe the slate clean. This obviously highlights a potential problem. What's the potential problem? Well, how then can God forgive sin? If He is perfectly holy, if He is right in every way, He is holy, just, and good. How can He possibly forgive sin? How can He possibly release us from the penalty? Because He is holy, He is just, and He forgives sin. How can He possibly release us from the penalty? Because He is a good and just judge, a perfectly righteous judge in every way.

Well, God found a way by which He could forgive while keeping the seriousness of His laws. Now, how do we know that God found a way that He can forgive? Because Jesus, the Son of God, fully God and fully man, there in the room with this paralyzed man, says, "Son, your sins are forgiven. I'm releasing you from the punishment of sin." So clearly, God found a way while at the same time keeping the seriousness of His laws.

How has God solved the problem of forgiving sin? Imagine you were being sentenced for a crime and you did not have the means to pay a million-dollar fine. There you are, standing before the judge, having been found guilty already by a jury of your peers, and now you're standing there for sentencing. They say, "Well, here's the penalty: a million-dollar fine." You respond, "I don't exactly have a million dollars. I can write you a check, but it's probably not going to clear; insufficient funds."

So what would a just judge do? What would a good judge do in that situation? The penalty has to be paid. If he's just, if he's righteous, he would send me to jail. "Go to jail, do not pass go, do not collect $200." If you don't have the money, can someone else pay the fine? Yes, let's say you have a rich uncle named Bill Gates. Can someone else pay the fine? Yes, someone else who's not guilty can pay in my place as my substitute.

Is the seriousness of the law preserved? Yes, the penalty is still being paid. The seriousness of the law is maintained because a substitute is still paying for that.

If someone else comes in at just the right time and pays for my penalty, what is the result? Well, if the penalty has been paid, I can go free. My son keeps asking me if we can play Monopoly. That's what I keep thinking. I keep imagining a six-hour game. I wonder, how about we play Uno? It's been a while since I played Uno. I saw they had Scrabble in the store for the kids in the children's ministry. It's going to be there for like ten years.

Now, how has God solved the problem of forgiving sin? With this example in mind, how can forgiveness be accomplished while maintaining the seriousness of the law? How did a holy God solve the problem of forgiveness? In Romans chapter 5, we read this: "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly." Verse 8 says, "God demonstrates his own love towards us that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."

What did Jesus do for us? Jesus died for us. So, why? To make forgiveness of our sins possible. If God is just, if God is holy, if He is a perfect and righteous judge—this is what we read about Him in the Scriptures—He cannot forgive sin unless the penalty of sin is paid.

So, what did Jesus do? God demonstrates His love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us to make forgiveness of sins possible.

How is Jesus our substitute? In Romans chapter 6, verse 23, we see that the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. We also looked at John chapter 1, which states, "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God." Then, in verse 14, it says, "The Word became flesh," meaning Jesus became a human being and dwelt among us. We have seen His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.

John chapter 3, verse 16 tells us, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life." Jesus is the substitute because we deserve to die for our sins. However, Jesus, who is fully human yet sinless, died in our place, paying our penalty. Every single one of us has sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We deserve to die; the wages of sin is death.

But Jesus, the Word made flesh, dwelt among us perfectly sinless. This truth will be further explored in the book of Hebrews as we study through it on Sunday mornings. He was tempted in every way like you and I are, but without sin. Therefore, He died in our place, paying our penalty.

So, what is the benefit of Jesus's death for us? Because Jesus died, God can forgive sin while maintaining His holiness. This shows us God's attitude towards us. God demonstrates His love towards us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. This reveals God's love for all sinners.

What is the benefit of Jesus's death for us? He died for all sinners. All sinners.

In the Old Testament, about 700 years before Jesus came, the prophet Isaiah wrote one of the most powerful and beautiful passages of Scripture. In Isaiah, chapter 53, we refer to it as the passage of the suffering servant, where he predicts the coming of Jesus and prophesies about the one who would suffer for us. In verse 6 of Isaiah 53, it says, "We all, like sheep, have gone astray; each of us has turned to his own way, and the Lord has laid on him, the suffering servant, the iniquity of us all." He has taken your sin, my sin, and our transgressions against God's law, and He has laid them upon Jesus. Our sins were laid upon Jesus, just as the prophet Isaiah predicted 700 years before Jesus would come.

At the beginning of the Gospel of John, when Jesus first came, we are introduced to John the Baptist. In the early part of the Gospel of John, he introduces Jesus in this way: "The next day, John the Baptist saw Jesus coming toward him and said, 'Look, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.'" Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. He was introduced as the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.

Why is the Lamb significant? Where does that come from? The Lamb refers to the sacrifices for sins in the Old Testament. In Exodus and Leviticus, the second and third books of the Bible, we see the sacrifices for sins after the children of Israel were taken out of Egypt by Moses. Moses went to Pharaoh and said, "Let my people go." Ultimately, through the plagues recorded in Exodus chapters 4 through 18, all ten plagues came, and finally, Pharaoh released the children of Israel to leave Egypt. They crossed over the Red Sea and then came to Mount Sinai, where Moses went up on the mountain, received the law from God, and brought it down to the people. When he did, this covenant was established.

The covenant with God and the children of Israel involved animal sacrifices, specifically sacrifices for sin. The Lamb refers to those sacrifices.

Why is the first part of the Bible called the Old Testament? The Old Testament is God's covenant or agreement with man about how sinful people can be forgiven through animal sacrifice. How could the children of Israel, who were sinful, approach God? There had to be a sacrifice. Thus, there was this agreement, or covenant, and the word "testament" is just another word for "covenant."

What's called the Mosaic covenant, or Moses's covenant with God, states that if you are going to worship God and have a right relationship with Him, then your sin has to be covered. It has to be dealt with. Under the Old Covenant, the way to cover sin was through animal sacrifice.

What was the significance of the animal sacrifice? We will see this a lot as we go through the book of Hebrews on Sunday mornings. The class we are currently going through ties into the book of Hebrews in an amazing way. Those sacrifices that started with Moses at Mount Sinai, 1,400 years before Jesus came, continued for over a millennium—1,400 years—until Jesus arrived. All of those sacrifices that were offered every single day were symbols of the true sacrifice of Christ. They pointed to the one sacrifice that could take away sin.

The sacrifices under the Old Covenant, the animal sacrifices, were not enough to deal with the problem of sin. It's like having $10,000 on a credit card. Now, let's make it a little more complicated: imagine having a million dollars on a credit card. When you receive the credit card bill, the credit card company says, "We will be appeased. We'll be happy if you just pay the minimum payment." However, the minimum payment is not enough to pay the debt. In fact, if you only ever paid the minimum payment, you would be in trouble. The debt would still be there, but for another 30 days, the credit card company would be satisfied because you paid the minimum payment. Yet, you would never pay it off. The sacrifices under the Old Covenant are like the minimum payment; they cover it for a time.

It takes care of it for a little while, but the debt is still there. You'll never be able to deal with it. All of those Old Testament sacrifices, those animal sacrifices, pointed to the true sacrifice that would come through Jesus.

When Jesus died, how did that affect the Old Testament and why? When Jesus died, the Old Testament sacrificial system was abolished. It was done away with. Jesus introduced the New Covenant. This is why we have the Old Covenant, the Old Testament, and the New Covenant, or the New Testament. Our Bible is divided into two sections: the first two-thirds is the Old Testament, the Old Covenant, and the last third is the New Covenant, the New Testament. So when Jesus died on the cross, that Old Covenant was done away with. We don't need that anymore; it's not enough anyway. Jesus came to establish a new and better covenant.

This is exactly what the entire book of Hebrews is about, which we're seeing on Sunday morning. So what is the New Covenant or the New Testament? Jeremiah chapter 31 in the Old Testament, about 500 years before Jesus came and died on the cross, states in Jeremiah 31:31, "The days are coming," declares the Lord, "when I will make a new covenant with the people of Israel and with the people of Judah. This covenant will not be like the one that I made with their ancestors when I took them by the hand and brought them out of the land of Egypt."

It's not going to be like the one that I established with the children of Israel, God says, under Moses. But I am bringing a new covenant. When Jesus came, each of the four Gospels records that on the night he would be betrayed by Judas Iscariot, he took bread and he took the cup. When he took the cup, he said, "This is my blood of the new covenant," just like Jeremiah had spoken about 500 years before, "which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins."

The complete removal of the penalty of sin is what the New Testament represents. It is the new agreement that all can be forgiven based on Christ's death. So does this mean that everyone's sins...

Are we automatically forgiven? No, we must personally accept His death for us, like accepting the bail money as the payment. We have to receive that for ourselves.

It's hard to imagine, but I guess it's possible that if you were standing there for sentencing and the judge says, "You owe a million dollar fine," and you respond, "Well, I don't have a million dollars," he would say, "Well, then we're going to have to throw you into jail." I assume that if someone stood up and said, "Your Honor, I want to pay that debt," the judge could say, "No, I don't want you to pay that debt." You would be a fool to refuse, but you could do that.

What would the judge do if you tried to get forgiveness without the payment? If you said, "No, no, no, I don't need you to pay that debt. I think the judge is a really nice judge. Judge, I know you're a loving judge. I know you're a nice judge. I know that because of your love, you could forgive me," what would the judge do? There needs to be a payment if he is a just, serious judge.

So, what should we accept if we are to obtain forgiveness from God? We must accept that Jesus died for our sins in our place. We have to accept that. We have to receive His payment for our sins.

According to the previous lesson, what decision should we make to receive God's forgiveness? You remember the illustration we had in the last lesson. God is in heaven, we are sinful, but if we repent, then after physical death, we will not receive judgment because God has forgiven us.

So, according to the previous lesson, what decision should we make to receive God's forgiveness? We must repent, turn back to God, and be willing to obey Him.

Are there any questions? If you died, what is our sin? What is your sin of death? And why do we all still die? Yes, I think it was last week's lesson where we saw that there are two deaths that could be experienced by humanity. One is a physical death.

This body is going to experience physical death. In the book of Romans, there is no physical death. You're going to experience physical death in the body of Christ. In the book of 1 Corinthians, chapter 15, when Paul is talking about the resurrection of Jesus, which is the very thing that was necessary to deal with the problem of death, this body still needs to experience physical death because this body has sin. The effects of sin are a result of the fall. Through one man, sin entered the world, and death spread to every human being. So we have sin residing within us. Therefore, this body is going to experience a physical death.

However, there is a second death, which is spiritual death. This is the separation of your soul from God for eternity. Unless you receive the forgiveness of God, you will experience the second death. So, everybody is going to experience the first death.

Now, I know there must be some who say, "What about the rapture?" We're not going to talk about that necessarily tonight. There is an event prophetically where, at some point in the future, Jesus is going to return. When He does, He will gather together those who are alive and remain; they will be caught up to be with the Lord and will experience death, which would be a pretty awesome thing. But even so, as they are ascending to be with God, it says that they will be transformed and will receive a new body.

Physical death is what happens to these bodies because of sin. This body that we all have cannot come into the presence of God because of sin. So, physical death will go away. If you put your trust in Jesus Christ and He has forgiven you of your sin, then you will not experience the second death. Revelation chapters 20 to 22 talk about this one future event, the judgment that God will bring, where those who have not been written in the book of life, by putting their trust in Jesus, will experience the second death.

The first death is the separation of your soul from this body. The second death, which is only experienced by those who have not received the salvation of Jesus Christ, is the separation of your soul from God for eternity. So, yes, this body will experience physical death. It is appointed for all men to die once, as it says in Hebrews chapter 9, verse 27. It is appointed for all to die once, and then comes the judgment. Unfortunately, your body doesn't like the sound of this. Nobody wants to die.

But we all will. Daniel, you were raised by a family of atheists. You're a teenage kid, and you go out there, get drunk, crash, and die at an early age. However, you've never had the chance of someone handing you the Bible or putting God's word before you. What's God's word for that?

If you remember back in the first lesson, we talked about different kinds of revelation. The heavens declare the glory of God, and the earth shows forth God's handiwork, as stated in Psalm 19. In Romans chapter 1, it says that God's invisible attributes are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made. Even God's eternal power and His nature are seen in creation, so that humanity is without excuse, because that which may be known of God is revealed to us.

What we're being told, both in Psalm 19 and in Romans chapter 1, is that God has given us the necessary evidence to know that He exists. Even if you don't have the written word of God, the revelation of God in the Scriptures, we have the revelation of God through nature, through creation, and also through the conscience. Therefore, we are still guilty. Essentially, what Paul is saying in Romans chapter 1 is that this is sufficient evidence to convict us of our sins before a holy God. God has revealed Himself to us through creation and through the conscience.

Now, for those who are believers tonight, if you believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ, it compels us to share the good news of the gospel with those who haven't heard it yet. There are people who haven't heard the gospel living right here in San Diego County. You don't have to go to other countries to find people who have never heard the gospel, although you can. There are people right here in our own neighborhoods who need to hear the gospel.

If that hypothetical person you described, who has never heard the gospel, were to die tonight and stand before God, they aren't guilty before God because they have the evidence of creation and the evidence of conscience. God still loves those people. That's why Jesus came, and that's why He gave us the commission to go into all the world and bring the gospel to people. Hopefully, we are stirred to share the gospel and to preach it.

We might feel a little uptight and embarrassed about sharing the gospel when we realize the heavy reality that it is appointed for all men to die once, and then comes judgment. This realization should stir us to share the gospel.

Romans chapter 1 and Psalm 19 say that humanity is without excuse because God reveals Himself through creation and through our conscience. By repenting and being willing to obey God, we receive our salvation. However, knowing that in the future we will still sin raises the question: Am I going to lose my salvation? No, that is a good question. When we come to God in repentance, His forgiveness is complete and given to us fully.

We will discuss this further in the second course that we will offer in the fall. The very last class will be called "Full Salvation," where we will talk about what salvation does in our lives completely, starting from justification. When Jesus died on the cross, He paid the penalty for our sin. The penalty is completely paid because of what Jesus did. That is why He said, "It is finished." The word He spoke when He said this is an accounting term, meaning "paid in full."

So, the debt—like a million-dollar credit card debt that you were trying to pay with your good works, which was never enough—Jesus said, "Pay me in full; I paid the entire debt." This is called justification.

After justification, Jesus begins to deal not only with the penalty of our sin but also with the power of sin, which He completely addressed through His resurrection. What is the power of sin? It is death. Death is the power of sin. When Jesus rose from the dead, He conquered death, which means that when this physical body dies, because of what Jesus did, He will raise us together to be with Him forever. We will experience resurrection.

He deals with the penalty of sin and the power of sin through His resurrection. Additionally, as I taught about this last Sunday, He also addresses the persistence of sin, which has power in our lives every single day.

Now, every one of us, after we put our faith in Jesus Christ, still fails. All of us here today have dropped the ball a couple of times, if not a couple of hundred times, whether it was thinking thoughts that are not right or saying words that we regret.

We have all broken God's law and continue to break it. However, God is sanctifying us; He is transforming us on a daily basis. God's transforming power is at work in you. If you look back—whether you've been a Christian for five years, ten years, just a year, or even a few months—you will see how God has changed your life. People in your life will begin to see it as well. That is God's sanctifying power. He is dealing with the persistence of sin in us.

God has dealt with the penalty of sin and the power of sin. Death will not have any hold on us. Right now, He is addressing the persistence of sin in every single one of our lives. He is cleaning us so that we become more like His children. One day, He will deal with the presence of sin when He removes us from this sinful world, and we will no longer have these sinful bodies. This corruption will put on incorruption; this mortality will put on immortality.

The question arises: can a person lose their salvation? I think there is a problem in the very question itself. Can you lose your salvation like you might lose your wallet or car keys? You might think, "Oh, I forgot; where did I put my salvation? I can't find it." No, you can't lose it in that regard.

A bigger question that people often ask is whether someone can reject their salvation. We will encounter some challenging passages of Scripture as we go through the book of Hebrews. It will take us a few months to reach Hebrews chapter 6, and then Hebrews chapter 10. These chapters contain two particularly challenging passages that seem to warn us against rejecting our salvation.

People will ask whether someone can commit the sin of apostasy, where they let go of their salvation. There are two major arguments in the Church, along with many nuances in between. One side argues that yes, you can lose or reject your salvation. This is known as the Arminian position, named after the theologian Jacob Arminius. The other side argues that no, you cannot lose your salvation, which is referred to as the Calvinist position, named after John Calvin. Thus, we have these two different views.

Within the Church, there are a lot of arguments. If you've never heard of these things, God bless you; don't worry about it. But if you have heard about them, then you've probably argued with someone about it before.

Can you lose your salvation? No, you can't lose your salvation. If you read Romans chapters 8 through 11, you would conclude that you can never lose your salvation. However, if you read Hebrews chapters 6 through 10, you might think that you can lose your salvation. So, why are both of these perspectives found in the Scriptures? They exist because sometimes people need a warning.

Does anyone have kids? Sometimes people need a warning so that they'll draw close to the Lord. At other times, people need encouragement because they constantly feel defeated. Do I think someone can lose their salvation like they lose their wallet or their keys? No. You are eternally secure as long as you abide in Jesus. That's the safest possible bet. Stay close to Jesus. That's all I ever tell people.

If someone comes to me and says, "I'm afraid I lost my salvation," I respond, "No, you haven't lost your salvation." How do I know? Because you're afraid you've lost your salvation. If you're worried about it, that's good. Stay close to Jesus.

However, when someone comes to me and says, "My brother used to go to church, but he's walked away from the Lord. Now he's involved in an adulterous relationship and doing drugs, but I think he's saved," I tell them, "You should go preach the gospel to him." He is not living like a Christian. Go preach the gospel to him and tell him to repent. Ezekiel chapter 3 says that he who turns a brother from their sin saves that person's life, essentially.

I don't like to make people feel comfortable in their sin, so I remind them that Hebrews chapter 6 warns us to be cautious. I believe these passages are in the Scriptures to challenge us: to warn the person who is not walking closely with the Lord and to encourage the person who needs to be lifted up by the sovereign grace of God.

What you'll find here at Cross Connection Church is that we work very hard to stay in the middle between these two positions. We fully and completely believe that God is sovereign, and we also believe that God has sovereignly given man responsibility. We strive to maintain a balanced position, and I have good friends who hold different views.

The Arminian position and the Calvinist position have been topics of much debate among my friends. They often tell me, "You're nuts; you can't hold the middle line." I respond, "Well, I've been doing it okay for the last 20 years."

When we were going through the book of Romans, particularly Romans chapter 8, a guy approached me and said, "Man, you really sound like a Calvinist." I replied, "Just wait until we get to Hebrews, and you'll think differently." Now that we are in Hebrews, we will see how that goes. Someone will likely get upset because they might say, "You don't sound much like a Calvinist."

Now, here’s the interesting thing about these two positions. For some of you, this may not matter much, but let me put it in terms that I think are really helpful. If you talk to a person who is a Calvinist, they will say you cannot lose your salvation; that person who is living in sin was never saved. So, what does that Calvinist say that person needs to do? They need to repent. They need the gospel and must turn to Christ.

On the other side of the spectrum, an Arminian believes that if a person used to walk with the Lord but is no longer doing so, they have lost their salvation. They also need to repent. The funny thing is that the conclusion on both sides is the same: they both need the gospel and they both need to repent. At the end of the day, I see both sides saying the same thing. So, what’s the difference? That’s my question. Praise the Lord!

Without faith, there is no salvation. I guess that’s kind of saying the same thing—semantics. It’s a tough area and a big discussion. Theologians have been arguing about this for 500 years. In fact, this year marks the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation on October 31, 2017. We are celebrating the split between the Roman Catholic Church and the Protestant Church. All of these arguments about the sovereignty of God and the responsibility of man grew out of that Protestant Reformation 500 years ago.

Big minds have been arguing about this for 500 years, and they have written volumes of books on this sort of thing. Let me tell you something: I can guarantee you one thing for absolute certain—predicting the future, this argument will continue until Jesus comes back. We are not going to fix it, I promise you.

However, I have really good friends whom I love who hold a Calvinistic position, and I have really good friends whom I love who hold an Arminian position. I feel like we have the best of both worlds here at Cross Connection because we say God is sovereign and you have responsibilities. We preach the gospel so people will repent when it comes to Jesus.

Other questions? We are going to talk more about this because this is another topic for another lesson. Let's shift from salvation back to the forgiving of sins, where Christ was given the authority and the power to forgive sins. I believe it was in Luke 10 when He sends out the disciples. Matthew 10, yes. He breathed on the disciples and gave them authority and power to forgive sin. Then, in Matthew 28, we are commissioned pretty much the same way.

What is your view on that? What we do is we speak forgiveness to people in the sense of it being the authority of the Lord to forgive. It is an imputative authority; it is not my authority. I do not have the power to absolve someone from their sin. Only Jesus forgives sin. The gospel is that which gives the message of forgiveness of sin.

So, if one of the apostles comes by and says, "Your sins are forgiven," their sins are forgiven based on what? The death of Jesus Christ. It is based on what Jesus did. The idea that the apostles are continuing to do redemptive work does not fit with the Bible. Only Jesus has authority on earth to forgive sins and to deal with the penalty of sin because He dealt with it Himself.

Are there any other closing questions before we close in prayer? Alright, let's pray. I will stick around for a little while if anybody has any additional questions.

Father, thank You that You have loved us so much that You sent Your Son to die for us. Jesus, we thank You that You took all of our sin on the cross.

You paid the debt completely so that we could be released from the penalty of sin. Lord, ultimately, we are freed from its power, persistence, and presence. God, I pray that our lives would be a demonstration of your grace and your truth.

I ask that you would give us a passion to share the gospel with people who haven't heard it yet. We want to share the good news of what you did for us and for them. There are many people in our lives—family members, neighbors, co-workers, and friends—who do not yet know the forgiving grace that you offer.

So, God, would you stir our hearts to share that good news with people this week, maybe even tomorrow, Lord? Help us to not take no for an answer and to be persistent in the sharing of our faith. We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.