When God Says …
“And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven. And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace.” (Luke 7:48-50 KJV).
In these passages, the Lord Jesus, our Savior, declares three of the most powerful and sweetest assurances we can rest on with comfort, joy and thanksgiving. He says: "Your sins are forgiven" and "Your faith has saved you" and "Go in peace." These triune declarations meant everything! The Lord's words to the woman that Simon labeled as a sinner are great reminders to us of just how He feels when our love connects with His love by our faith. It is not a matter of our love that we show our love and gratefulness for the Lord Jesus - especially when we show our love and gratitude extravagantly. It is a matter of His love! As Scripture says: “We love because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19 NIV).
We can observe in these passages that there are other guests invited to this banquet besides the Lord. And, by the way they react in their thoughts of what transpired questioning the Lord’s authority to forgive, reveal that they are of the same religious breed as Simon. And the Lord Jesus, who came driven by love to bring all unto salvation, responds to their thoughts by declaring to the woman that she can go in peace. Her faith saved her!
The Lord’s profound declaration is to stir up the hearts of those religious skeptics dining with Him in that house. And to us, as well, today who stumble into these passages, this is to shake us awake and recognize that He is ever ready to forgive us. Especially to those who are held captive by every kind of beliefs and doctrines that are not of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, like these religious Pharisees, priests and other worldly icons. All we need to do is to confess before Him like the city woman who has not uttered any single word of contrition. "Confession" is not a matter of declaration of remorse. There's no better way to confess our state of being a sinner, than to humble, turn around, come in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ, and submit to be loved by Him, like this city woman. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is always ready to forgive. It is written: “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (1 John 1:9 ESV).
And I say, AMEN!
Daily reflections by:
F. A. Frias
PFC Ministries
When God says... I say, AMEN! is a provocative reflection of the Lord's holy Word. It intends to challenge every seeker of truth to dig deep into the core of the Word of Life to point every being to Christ Jesus - the author and finisher of our faith, and to draw revelations for change, for nourishment and for strength of every soul.
Partners For Christ Ministries, INC
P. O. Box 773716
Ocala, FL 34477
Touching lives in Cambodia, The Philippines, The Middle East, The USA, and... other countries.
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