Pass the Pardon Please
Text: Isaiah 55:6-7
Introduction: Pardon is a SWEET word! Say it. PARDON. Listen to the words of the prophet Isaiah who was inspired by the Lord:
- The word “pardon” is סָלַח (saw-lakh’), which means to forgive, pardon.
Instead of giving us what we deserve, which is judgment, Jesus washes our sins away thru His precious, cleansing blood…as we turn from sin and turn toward Him in childlike trust.
A man who was PARDONED named Peter writes:
“For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit.” (1Pet 3:18)
And again:
“21For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps: 22Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: 23Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously: 24Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.” (1Pet 2:21-24)
Another man who was PARDONED by the Lord Jesus was Paul. In his letter to the Romans while emphasizing the JUSTIFYING GRACE of Jesus Christ writes,
“Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification.” (Rom 4:25)
After describing man’s despicable sinfulness Isaiah writes,
“Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool.”
- Do you hold grudges?
- Do you go to bed mad?
- Do you need Jesus to PARDON you?
“And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.”
Writing to the Colossian believers Paul says,
Conclusion: PARDON means forgiven. Have you been PARDONED? Because of our disobedience and waywardness, we all need to be PARDONED. Once we have been forgiven, then we have the resurrection power available to PARDON others….family, friends and neighbors!