Luke 7: 47 – “Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.”

Beloved, in order to properly understand what this text is saying, we must consider what had just taken place prior to the time that Jesus made this statement. Most of us can probably recall the circumstances that led to this truth proclaimed by our Lord. We will take a brief moment to recall why this statement is recorded in God’s Word, and how it is applied to every believer today. In order to do this, we must first take a look at the setting.

First of all, the story begins with an invitation extended to Jesus by a Pharisee named Simon who desired to have Jesus come and eat at his house. Jesus willingly went to Simon’s house, and ate at his table. While they were eating, a woman in the city came into the house with an alabaster box of very costly ointment. One thing mentioned about this woman is that she was a sinner. She approaches the place at the table where Jesus was, trembling in the deep awareness of her sin and misery. Weeping all the while, she washes Jesus’ feet with her tears and dries his feet with her hair. Worshipping Him, she continues by kissing His feet. In spite of the stares from those gathered in the room, she continues to honor Jesus by anointing His feet with this costly ointment.

This she did in the presence of all who were there. Her love for the Lord was so great that none of this attention that she received by the others mattered. The Pharisee himself looks at the sight with disgust. In unbelief, he questions the knowledge and righteousness of Christ. “This man, if He were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth Him: for she is a sinner,” he thought to himself. Surely a righteous man would want nothing to do with such a wretch, and would certainly be quick to rebuke her and send her away!

Jesus knew Simon’s thoughts and proceeds in telling the parable of a creditor which had two debtors; one debtor owing 500 pence, and the other 50 pence. When they had nothing to pay, the creditor cancels their debt, and forgives them both. Jesus then asked Simon which debtor will love the creditor the most. We can rightfully say that Simon was using common sense when he told Jesus that the debtor who would love his creditor most would be the one who had the greatest debt cancelled. Jesus then explained that the situation with this woman was no different. Since her sins were many and her debt to the Lord was great; He gave her the assurance that she had been forgiven for all her sins. Hence, her love for her Lord could no longer be contained.

It would be wise to consider this event figuratively, and focus on the contrast between the characteristics displayed by those who are forgiven much and the characteristics displayed by those who are forgiven little.

Simon’s attitude is clearly portrayed as an attitude of pride and self-righteousness. He displays himself to be one who is “forgiven little” by his lack of love and concern for this godly woman, and ultimately for Christ Himself. He represents those who look at the law merely from an external aspect, and will hold to their own “good works” to give them a free ticket to heaven. These people establish their own righteousness as if they are the standard for all to imitate. Matthew 23 goes into great detail explaining the kind of attitude that was characteristic of the Pharisees. In Matthew 23, Jesus confirms that, instead of receiving God’s favor, these people receive God’s judgment. Because Simon held this woman in contempt, refusing to acknowledge her to be forgiven, he testified by his lack of love that his sins were not forgiven.

The woman here represents the people of God in the deep consciousness of their unworthiness. Imagine with me, if you will, a child who has just been chastised by his father for doing something wrong. This child can’t bear the thought of being under his father’s wrath and anger. So with fear and trembling, he timidly approaches his father. With true sorrow in his heart, he pleads with his father to forgive him, and not to be angry. He says, “I’m sorry, Dad. I have sinned against you and I’m sorry. Please forgive me!” The woman, by her actions, displays a genuine sorrow for her sins, and in godly faith seeks Jesus, believing Him to be the source of her salvation, and there finding hope for deliverance.

One who is truly righteous must look away from himself to Jesus, the “Author and Finisher of our faith.” (Hebrews 12:2). The people of God will only be drawn to Christ and look to Him for forgiveness if the Holy Spirit first convicts them of their sin. They may not look at the law externally, but must go deeper to consider the impossibility of keeping the least of God’s commandments. The Holy Spirit does this by giving them a deep awareness that they have provoked the Holy God, and stand exposed to His wrath. The believer must be humbled to truly say from the heart, “Surely, I am the chief of sinners! There is no one on earth that could possibly be less worthy of God’s favor than me.”

This broken, humbled sinner will see himself as naked in God’s sight, and in his shame will approach God’s throne of grace seeking to be the recipient of abounding mercy and love. He comes to Christ in holy fear, by faith believing that he will “in no wise be cast out” from communion with his Savior and Redeemer. He comes to Christ, believing not only that those sins are forgiven, but that he is still loved by God. He finds all of his own righteousness to be filthy rags, and seeks salvation outside of himself. By faith, He looks to the cross of Christ and the work accomplished on that cross.

The church, the true Israel of God, consists of these people who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good. These are they which have heard the voice of their Redeemer saying, “Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.” The one who has been forgiven much will abound in the work of the Lord, seeking to bring hope to the believer who is under a heavy burden of sin. Paul exhorts the church at Ephesus to be “kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:32).

The most striking feature to notice here is that those who are the recipients of an overwhelming amount of forgiveness will seek to show love throughout their lives. This love is shown in obedience to the command of Christ. Jesus says, “This is my commandment that ye love one another; that your joy may be full.” Those who love will live thankful lives, and be full of happiness and joy. They will seek not their own welfare, but will seek to be used by God to bring hope in the life of another.

After Jesus teaches His disciples and us the Lord’s Prayer in Matthew 6, he says, “For if ye forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you: But if ye forgive not men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.” (verses 14, 15). This passage brings out the necessity for us to truly forgive from the heart. Others will see our joy and respond by saying, “Truly, this love and joy is a clear testimony that this person has been with Jesus, and he has experienced the forgiveness of sins.”

Here are the lyrics to a powerful song that speaks of what Christ accomplished through His death and resurrection:

In Christ alone, my hope is found. He is my light, my strength, my song.
This Cornerstone, this solid ground; Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.
What heights of love! What depths of peace! When fears are stilled, when strivings cease.
My Comforter, my All in All Here in the love of Christ I stand.

In Christ alone, who took on flesh Fullness of God in helpless babe
This gift of love and righteousness Scorned by the ones He came to save
'Till on that cross as Jesus died The wrath of God was satisfied
For every sin on Him was laid Here in the death of Christ I live.
There in the ground His body lay Light of the world by darkness slain
Then bursting forth in glorious Day Up from the grave He rose again
And as He stands in victory Sin's curse has lost it's grip on me
For I am His and He is mine Brought with the precious blood of Christ.

No guilt in life, no fear in death This is the power of Christ in me
From life's first cry to final breath Jesus commands my destiny
No power of hell, no scheme of man Can ever pluck me from His hand
'Till He returns or calls me home Here in the power of Christ I'll stand.

Psalm 122:6-7: “Pray for the peace of Jerusalem: they shall prosper that love thee. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity within thy palaces.”

David, in this text, is speaking of how important it is that prayer is made for the peace of Jerusalem. Why is this peace such a concern for him? We are told in Scripture that there was much war in Israel during David’s reign. The nations about Israel were constantly making war with Israel. David’s strong desire for peace was of a different nature, although the wars were a concern for him. This desire of which he speaks in this psalm was a concern for the church, as he thinks about church life, and the relationship of believers in the church to one another. David understood this need for peace in the church, and the need is ever increasing as we approach the end of time.

Is this peace our experience today? We’ve all heard of that dreadful “grapevine.” Sins of gossip and slander are common to all of us. All of us have used our sharp tongues to spread hurtful news about a brother or sister. Sure, all of God’s people fall into sin. Sometimes, these sins are very dreadful sins. Those who fall dreadfully are often the victims of the slander of the grapevine, which brings another question to mind. How can those who have fallen so far have peace with God, when the latest news going around in their own circles is a reminder of what they have done? On top of that, they are afflicted in their own conscience, and fight against a sinful flesh that loves that sin. These people need to be assured of the forgiveness of sin, just as much as those “who have no sin.” True peace is hard to find when people bite and devour one another with their words.

Perhaps we don’t associate ourselves with this gossip chain. Maybe there is another way that we destroy our brothers and sisters in Christ. One way that comes to mind is the sin of hypocrisy. Perhaps we have that accusatory finger. We can think that we do service to someone by going to them and screaming, “REPENT! REPENT!” at the top of our lungs. We often make that our righteousness before God.

We must be careful in the way that we go to someone who has sinned. We go to them in love, knowing our own depravity, and truly desiring their repentance. The sins of slander and hypocrisy are the most common ways we destroy others with our tongues. This is what James speaks of in Chapter 3 of his book when he says, “the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity: so is the tongue among our members, that it defileth the whole body, and setteth on fire the course of nature; and is set on fire of hell,” and again, “the tongue can no man tame; it is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.” He also goes on to tell us that there is “confusion and every evil work” where the tongue is used in this way. (Verse 16).

Sure, it’s easy for us to long for peace if we are the victims of the gossip and slander, but it is equally important to pray for the peace of Jerusalem even when we have peace in our individual lives. After the words of the text considered, David gave the reason why we must always be fervent in our prayers for peace. We desire peace, not so we can feel good about ourselves and forget the rest, but “for my brethren and companion’s sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee” (Verse 8). That is why it is a deep need of ours as well as it was for Old Testament Israel to dwell in sweet accord.

What is it to have this peace, and who has this peace? This peace is the experience of the child of God whose only comfort is that he belongs to Christ. It is the feeling of joy that overwhelms the prodigal son as he is welcomed home, and embraced by the loving arms of his father. It is the experience of the believer as he stands washed in the blood of the Lamb. Only those whose sins are not imputed to them can experience this peace.

Where do we find this peace? This peace is found in the Prince of Peace, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. He alone can give us the wisdom and peace from above. “The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace with them that make peace.” (James 3:17-18). It speaks of the blessing of being a peacemaker. In order to make peace, this peace must already dwell in you by God’s sovereign grace.

Does this peace fill your heart today? Perhaps there is unrest in your soul because of your sin. Do you feel crushed underneath the burden of guilt on your shoulders? Does the cloud of doubt and despair hide the light of day? Do you feel unworthy to have the peace and joy of salvation? Be assured that your redemption lies in the cross of Christ, and with boldness in the confidence of faith approach the throne of grace in prayer. Salvation is for those who know their unworthiness, but who confess that the Lamb is worthy. His righteousness is imputed to us, because He took our sins and nailed it to His cross. Living in this assurance, we dwell in unity in the church, and “there the Lord commands His blessing, even life for evermore.” (Psalm133:3).

I admit that I have been neglecting my blog and spending a considerable amount of time on Facebook instead. But it seems as if people are still being strengthened in their faith by the things I have posted here. I plan to take a little break from the Psalms and post a few of the articles that I have written since I have started an account on Blogger.

For a couple of years now, I have begun writing articles for the Beacon Lights, a Protestant Reformed Church magazine. To give those who have read my blog an exposure to some of the articles I have written (mostly from experience), and to become familiar with some of the teachings of the Protestant Reformed Churches, I plan to use the next few posts for that purpose. Here is one that I have written titled, "Living a Pilgrim's Life:"

1 Peter 2:9-11 - “But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvelous light; Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy. Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul; Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.”

Many of us are familiar with John Bunyan’s story of “the Pilgrims Progress.” In this book, we see a man named Christian, dwelling in his house with his wife and children. One important thing to notice here in the setting of the story is that Christian is carrying a heavy burden on his back. This burden represents the heavy burden of sin that every believer carries, but only when the Spirit of regeneration works in the heart does the Christian realize it as a grievous burden sinking him deeper and deeper. At the very moment when the Spirit gives the conviction of the existence of sin in the sinner, He also gives the feeling of guilt or regret for these sins, and a desire to be rid of that burden of sin. The Spirit then continues to work in such a way as to bring the guilty sinner to his knees with the earnest, desperate cry, “What must I do to be saved?”

This was exactly the kind of conviction that Christian had, which led him to flee from his house and from the City of Destruction, and seek deliverance. Once he came to the place where the cross stood, and beheld the glorious mystery of the work that was accomplished there, he experienced that deliverance. Finally the burden he had so earnestly wanted to get rid of fell off from him, and rolled down the hill and was buried in the sepulcher at the bottom of the hill. Now that he was free, he had no desire to head back to the city in which he dwelt. He saw that city as Egypt, the spiritual place of bondage. Rather, he looked for a home far away from the vanities of this present world. He continued his journey until he reached the Celestial City, which was a picture of Heaven. During the course of this journey, the Word of God was his only rule for faith and life. He turned to this Word whenever he fought against his spiritual foes; through that Word he gained the victory.

Such is the experience of every child that God has called out of this world into His marvelous Light. The Spirit gives us a deep awareness of our sin and misery, causing us to seek some way to be delivered from the guilt and power of sin. The Spirit then points to the cross, and draws the elect irresistibly by its power to believe that the sacrifice of the Lamb of God on the cross undoubtedly covers his sins. The believer is granted the assurance that this Lamb of God is his complete Savior, so he knows that in the sight of the Holy and Just God he is righteous, but only through the death and resurrection of the Lamb. Because of the victory that Christ has accomplished for us, we are called to be pilgrims and strangers here on earth. A pilgrim is defined as a traveler to a holy place. Our life here on earth is set in that light. We set our eyes toward that goal, and seek to do so without looking to the left or right. With all fervency, we “press toward the mark” of our high calling. We learn that we are those who are set apart from the citizens of the kingdoms of this world.

Is this pilgrim’s life for everyone? Do all men have a desire to flee from sin in all of its forms? Of course not! The Bible is clear that only some people belong in the categories mentioned in the text in 1 Peter 2. In the context of verse 9, Peter refers to a chosen generation and a peculiar people. This means that from the vast multitude of all of the people that have lived or will live, there is a certain remnant that is looking for a city “which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God.” ( Hebrews 11:10) These elect are brought to a realization of a need for a spiritual mindset, “for to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.” (Romans 8:6)

A spiritual mind is crucial for living a Christian life. Romans 8:7 reminds us that we are engaged in spiritual warfare against carnality. The carnal mind is enmity against God! In a materialistic culture, we often lose sight of the fact that we are fighting a battle against earthly-mindedness. In our abundance, we feel pretty comfortable with this world and what it has to offer. Our inclination is to surrender to the enemy, forgetting our victory that we have over the enemy in and through the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Satan uses cunning tactics and military strategies that are designed with all craftiness to allure us to walk after the flesh, and not after the Spirit. One enticing way he does this is by causing us to forget our obligation to be good stewards of our time. Satan uses Hollywood to snare Christians to take their mind off of their heavenly home and to find a life of fun and entertainment here below. How easy it is to spend several hours a day watching the television and very little time praying and meditating on the things of God! We can easily be deceived into thinking that if its behind a TV screen, the filth of this world isn’t really so bad.

The internet is another tool Satan uses to keep the Christian from a pursuit of holiness. We all know the dangers in their vilest forms (pornography, violence, blaspheming God, etc.). Understand that Satan will stop at nothing to make our spiritual senses numb! Some more crafty and cunning ways Satan snares us are through the time we spend on Facebook, YouTube, etc. These things can be used for the spread of the Gospel and the edification of the Church, but I believe that if most of us are honest with ourselves, we realize that most of our time online usually is a waste.

Scripture makes it clear that the devil masquerades himself as an angel of light, causing us to lose sight of the reality that he is a “roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” (1 Peter 5:8) Paul reminds us in Ephesians 6 that we wrestle against principalities and powers, against spiritual wickedness in high places.If we are those who be of a spiritual mind, we must put on the whole armor of God. Ephesians 6 says that we must be equipped to fight these spiritual foes. We are equipped with truth, righteousness, faith, and the gospel of peace. We wear the helmet of salvation, so that our head is guarded against any carnal doubt that may instill in our minds concerning our redemption in Christ. We fight with the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. We fight also by means of prayer. We pray for boldness as we fight to make known the mystery of the gospel. We have the assurance that God’s Word will not return to Him void. We must be fervent, and lay down our lives for the sake of that gospel!

May God grant us a deeper knowledge of our salvation, and always cause us to persevere as those who seek a heavenly country that God has prepared for us, where He is not ashamed to be called our God! (Hebrews 11:16)