Message 1
Humankind the world over has experienced oppression, disease and captivity of one sort or another. Many do not enjoy political and religious freedom and the basic right to live a life of peace and harmony. Many have given their lives to pay the ultimate price for the freedom of the individual and their fellow humans. The Bible talks about another freedom which, deep down all humans wish to acquire. That is freedom from their own imperfection and their ‘missing the mark’ in terms of God’s holiness and glory. The Bible calls this condition sin. Sin is not a popular word in these postmodern times, but nobody can deny its existence and nobody can deny its far reaching consequences in our lives.
Men and women have been under the bondage of sin for millennia. However there is good news and that is Christ paid the ultimate price for the deliverance of our souls from sin and its eternal consequence.
The Bible says:
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all (NKJV Isaiah 53: 6).
Message 2 Forgiveness of Sins
Now before proceeding to unfold the subject of forgiveness, I would like to ask my reader a very plain, pointed, personal question. Do you believe you can have the clear and settled assurance that your sins are forgiven? I ask this question at the outset because there are many now-a-days, who prefer to preach the Gospel of Christ, and yet deny that one can be sure that his or her sins are forgiven. They maintain that it is a presumption for anyone to believe in the forgiveness of sins; and on the other hand, they look upon it as a proof of humility to be always in doubt to the most momentous point. In other words, it is a presumption to believe what God says, and humility to doubt it. This seems strange in the face of such passages as the following (Read passage from NKJV Luke 24: 46 & 47).
46 Then He said to them, "Thus it is written, and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day,
47 "and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem." (NKJV Luke 24: 46 & 47)
Also read Ephesians 1: 7 and Colossians 1: 14. Here we the forgiveness of sins preached in the name of Jesus, and possessed by those that believed that preaching. A proclamation was sent to the Ephesians and Colossians as belonging to ‘all nations’ telling them of the forgiveness of sins in the name of Jesus. They believed this proclamation and entered on the possession of the forgiveness of sins. Was the presumption on their part, or would have it been piety and humility to doubt the forgiveness of sins?
True they had been great sinners, ‘dead in trespasses and sins’, ‘children of wrath’, ‘aliens from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers from the covenants of promise’. Some of them had bowed the knee to Diana. They had lived in gross idolatry and all manner of wickedness, but then ‘forgiveness of sins’ had been preached to them in the name of Jesus. Was the preaching true or was it not? Was it for them or was it not? Was it all a dream - a shadow - a myth? Did it mean nothing certain, nothing solid about it?
These are plain questions, demanding a plain answer from thos who assert that no one can know that his sins are forgiven. If indeed no one can know it now then hiw coyld anyone know it in apostolic times? If it could be known in the first century, then why not inthe twentieth. ‘just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: "Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin"’ (NKJV Rom 4: 6 - 
. Hezekiah could say, ‘You have cast all my sins behind Your back’ (Is 38:17). The Lord Jesus said to one in His day, ‘Son, be of good cheer; your sins are forgiven you’ (NKJV Mat 9: 2).
Thus at all times forgiveness of sins was known with all the certainty which the Word of God could give.
