Sermon Snippet – Putting the Fun into Fundamentalism
INTRODUCTION – The title is not whimsical. I am a fundamentalist – that is, I believe in Biblical truth as the foundation of the Christian faith. I also have a great deal of fun in life. The two – fundamentalism and fun – are not at all contradictory; they are even more than compatible and complementary; they are contemporaneous copartners, both crucial and critical to a vibrant spiritual life. The subject of forgiveness illustrates this point.
1. FORGIVENESS UNLOADS FAILURE FROM OUR FRAIL AND FEEBLE FRAMES
One of the saddest stories in Scripture is found in II Samuel 11, where David commits adultery and compounds that terrible transgression with murder. He “tarried still at Jerusalem” (verse 1) when he should have been leading his loyal troops (which included Uriah, whom he killed). I am always reminded of a trenchart joke that I heard back when I was a boy. A man ran into a doctor’s office and shouted, “Doctor, I broke my leg in three places!” The physician replied, “Well, stay out of them places.” (How could he run? This is a joke, remember; it is part of the vaudevillian comedy that spawned this lame attempt at humor.) But seriously, folks, there are places of clear and present danger where we should not be. Another principle of this passage is that sin easily leads to more sin, what is often called the outworkings of sin. David suffered in his relationships and in his reign because of these sins, but he found relief in repentance and forgiveness, as he reveals in Psalm 32. We are grateful today that our failures are not written down in God’s Word for all to read. We are even more grateful for the forgiveness found through faith in Jesus Christ, a forgiveness that obliterates our failures – oh, and we could write a lengthy list of these! – so that we can join in David’s conclusion: “Be glad in the LORD, and rejoice, ye righteous: and shout for joy, all ye that are upright in heart” (verse 11).
2. FORGIVENESS UNLOCKS THE FULLNESS OF THE FUTURE
Genesis 3 records the sin of Adam and Eve. They did the one thing, the only thing, that God had graciously told them not to do. They did not need experiential knowledge of evil to know that rebellion against God was evil, just as we do not need to take narcotics to know that they are bad for us. Immediately, Adam and Eve became petty, trying to pin the blame elsewhere – and ultimately on God (verse 12). Yet, God forgives these two. There are consequences to their sin of rebellion, of course. However, they do not die immediately (and, in fact, live for a very long time), are given the promise of children and a Savior (verse 15), and are provided with a sacrifice that prefigures the atonement of that Savior, God the Son, on the Cross (verse 21). Suddenly, Adam and Eve realized that they had an earthly future and an eternal future. Life had meaning for them, as it does for us. The full forgiveness granted by our Savior unlocks the fullness of the future, here and in heaven.
3. FORGIVENESS UNLEASHES FURTHER FORGIVENESS
The greatest example of forgiveness, the one I turn to repeatedly, is found in Luke 23:34a as Jesus is being cruelly nailed to the Cross: “Then said Jesus, ‘Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.’” When we choose to receive this free, full, and forever forgiveness, we are saved for eternity and also sanctified such that we can begin a life of forgiveness toward others. Ephesians 4:31-32 is just one passage (of many) about our need to learn to forgive others.
CONCLUSION -Forgiveness is fun – more than fun – and it is fundamental to Christianity. We need Jesus’ forgiveness to live with Him in heaven for eternity. We need this forgiveness to live with each other now. Let us determine that we will be forgiving people, starting with those closest to us. The result will be relief and rejoicing.