There is Forgiveness with You

Sermon Text

Psalm 130

A song of ascents.

1 Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;
2 Lord, hear my voice.
Let your ears be attentive
to my cry for mercy.

3 If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,
Lord, who could stand?
4 But with you there is forgiveness,
so that we can, with reverence, serve you.

5 I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
and in his word I put my hope.
6 I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning,
more than watchmen wait for the morning.

7 Israel, put your hope in the Lord,
for with the Lord is unfailing love
and with him is full redemption.
8 He himself will redeem Israel
from all their sins.

New International Version (NIV). Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

• Psalm 130 begins in the depths: the psalmist knows that if the holy God kept a record of sins against us, no one could stand.
• Our most basic problem is real guilt before God, not merely difficult circumstances or low self-esteem, and neither minimizing sin nor doing our best can remove it.
• The psalmist cries for mercy because forgiveness rests on the Lord's steadfast covenant love and plentiful redemption, not on any claim of personal merit.
• Jesus Christ lived, died, rose, and ascended for his people; believers are pardoned and declared righteous through his finished work rather than through a gradual installment plan of self-improvement.
• Forgiveness does not encourage careless sin. It removes the fear of punishment and produces a glad, reverent fear of God expressed in worship, obedience, and humble service.
• Biblical hope waits confidently for God's promised future, as a night watchman waits for morning, because nothing can separate believers from God's love in Christ.

• When you think about your standing before God, are you relying on Christ's mercy or on the idea that your better actions will make up for the rest?
• How do the two great commandments expose sins that a surface reading of God's law might allow you to minimize?
• Why is real guilt before God a deeper problem than the difficult circumstances that often occupy our attention?
• What does Psalm 130:4 mean when it connects God's forgiveness with the fear of the Lord?
• How is reverent, grateful fear different from terror that God will still punish a believer for sins Christ has borne?
• Does assurance of pardon make you casual about sin, or does it move you toward worship, repentance, and obedience?
• Where are you waiting in uncertainty, and how can the watchman's confidence in the coming morning reshape your hope?
• What promise about Christ's finished work do you need to remember when accusations or doubts return?

Forgiveness

God's gracious dismissal of the charge against a sinner so that the offense is no longer held against that person.

Guilt

Our real liability before the holy God because we have broken his commandments in thought, desire, word, and action.

Steadfast love

The Lord's faithful covenant love, his loyal mercy that does not let his people go.

Redemption

God's rescue of his people from sin and its consequences, accomplished through Jesus Christ and ultimately completed in the new creation.

Justification

God's once-for-all declaration that a believing sinner is pardoned and righteous because of Christ's righteousness, not personal merit.

Fear of God

For the forgiven believer, a happy and healthy awe that leads to worship, hatred of sin, and humble obedience rather than terror of punishment.

Biblical hope

Confident waiting for what God has promised but has not yet brought fully into sight.