Luke 7:50 Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you; go in peace.”

Jesus was famous for telling people their faith had brought them physical healing, but here He expressly says that faith has brought forgiveness. In the case of the paralytic lowered to Him through a hole in the roof, He said that the man’s friends’ faith had brought him forgiveness. I’m preaching tomorrow on The Results of Faith, but the greatest result has got to be eternal salvation. We tend to focus on the temporal, on miracles of healing or provision or the like, when all of those things are only temporary. We even tend to define “being saved” that way: saved from this, that, or the other temporal disaster. We forget that our sins have destined us for eternal disaster, and the only salvation from that is repentance and faith in the work of Jesus Christ on the cross. This particular story of Jesus invites the misinterpretation that Paul dealt with in Romans. Since the devil can’t deny the truth of what Jesus said about much forgiveness producing much love, he tells us that we should sin much so that we can be forgiven much and so love much. As Paul said, “What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?” (Romans 6:1-2) The secret to salvation isn’t sinning so we can be forgiven, it’s realizing we’ve already sinned, and thus need to be forgiven. The secret to loving God intensely and personally lies in honestly recognizing the countless ways we have sinned against God, and believing that “If we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7) The magnificence of God’s forgiveness isn’t something we can earn, but is rather to be received in overwhelming gratitude, as this woman experienced.

If I were to try to make a list of all the things for which I’ve been forgiven, not only would I be here all day and longer, there’s no way I could remember them all. One of the many glorious things about God’s forgiveness is that when something is forgiven, it’s gone, period. It’s possible we will have to live with some of the consequences for a while, but the sin itself is gone. Over 20 years ago when I was dealing with a particular “besetting sin” I was liberated by something Peter said. “If you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.” (2 Peter 1:8-9) The Lord showed me that if I dwell on past sins, that makes me all the more likely to commit them again. I’ve got to remember that when I’m forgiven, my slate is as clean as if I’d never sinned in the first place. I’m never to make excuses for sin, but rather be quick to recognize it, ask for and receive God’s forgiveness, and love Him all the more for it.

Father, thank You for this reminder. Tomorrow’s message on the results of faith seems impossibly huge. Help me speak only what people are ready to hear and receive, and not dull their hearts with an overflow of words. May we all be sensitive to Your Spirit and allow You to touch, cleanse, and heal us as we need, for Your glory. Thank You. Praise God!