Sermon – 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 The Forgiveness of Sins

Rev. Jeffrey T. Howard

Pitts Creek and Beaver Dam Churches

Sermon – 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 The Forgiveness of Sins

Easter 7

May 12, 2013

At the beginning of Lent I began a look at the Apostles' Creed. We have examined each phrase as we followed the church calendar through Lent and Easter. We have seen what the creed says about God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son. Today we will continue with what it says about the Holy Spirit. We will get to this, but first let's pray.

“Grant unto us, O Lord, to be occupied in the mysteries of thy heavenly wisdom, with true progress in piety, to thy glory and our own edification. Amen.” (John Calvin)

Usually, when we talk about forgiveness it is God's forgiveness of our sins. God, out of his great mercy forgives our sins. This is symbolized by our baptisms. In baptism our sins our symbolically washed away, and our old lives symbolically end as we emerge from the waters to new life. Baptism is also a seal of God's promise of forgiveness for all who believe in Jesus Christ. And so when we are baptized or when we confirm our baptisms we profess our faith in Jesus Christ. The Nicene Creed from the 4^th century puts plainly, “We acknowledge one baptism for the forgiveness of sins.” Clearly there is a strong link between baptism and God's forgiveness. Last week we saw that the church, made up of forgiven sinners, is holy because of the work of the Holy Spirit making the members of the church more and more holy. So when we are baptized we are forgiven and begin the process toward holiness.

But what about those whose sins are forgiven in baptism but continue to sin? And what about those who are forgiven and then backslide into their old lives? People can only be baptized once. So what happens to people who commit post-baptismal sins?

This was a pressing question on the minds of the church in the fourth century. For centuries the church had been a persecuted minority. Then, Emperor Constantine converted to Christianity and established it as the official religion of the empire. Suddenly everyone was a member of the church, some against their wills. People were required to be baptized. Many had no intention of cooperating with the Holy Spirit to become more holy. And so many members of the church continued to sin even after their baptisms. What should the church do?

There were some who argued that the church had to remain holy and those who continued to sin should not be a part of the church. There was a separatist group in North Africa called the Donatist who argued that the church should be made up of saints. They separated themselves from the church at Rome. Schisms have continued over this issue even in our own times. There are some who argue that sinners, especially practicing homosexuals, should not be ordained as elders and deacons on the Presbyterian Church. Some churches and pastors have decided to leave the PCUSA for other denominations and some churches have formed a new denomination. The issue today is the same one that has faced the church since the fourth century. How holy must the members and leaders of the church be and still be church.

It was within this context that the Apostles' Creed was changed by adding the words “the forgiveness of sins.” Notice that unlike the Nicene Creed, also of the fourth century, there is no mention of baptism. Rather, in the Apostles' Creed, the forgiveness of sins is in the context of a holy catholic church and communion of saints. In other words just as God forgives us our sins in the same way the church must forgive the sins of it members. So rather than throw out or separate from we are to forgive.

Of course forgiveness is difficult. When we do something wrong we want mercy. But if someone does something wrong to us we demand justice. Giving mercy to people who deserve judgment is difficult especially if the sin is big or repeated. Recently a young women were reconciled with there families after being held as a prisoners for ten years. Amanda Berry, Gina DeJesus and Michelle Knight had just escaped from prison in a Cleveland home. I could never ask or expect for them to forgive their captors. And I hope their captors will receive the maximum punishment the law allows. But not all sin is this big or goes on this long. Most of the time we have a choice to demand justice or give mercy. And the creed teaches us that we are to forgive others just as we have been forgiven. We pray every Sunday, “forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors”.

The reason we are to forgive is because relationships are important to God. God forgives us so that we can be in relationship with him. And God wants us to forgive others to repair broken relationships. I have talked to many people who no longer come to church. I ask them, why did you stop coming? Almost always the response to this is that the person did something, a sinful act, and is now too ashamed to come back to church. When a person feels shame about coming to church the problem is that he perceives the church to be unforgiving. Only though forgiveness can ever hope to restore these relationships which have been broken. I hope that someday the relationships being broken among pastors in the PCUSA will also be restored.

The Apostle Paul called this the ministry of reconciliation. Here is what he said:

2 Corinthians 5:18-21 ¹⁸ All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: ¹⁹ that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. ²⁰ We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. ²¹ God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

So how are we to reconcile relationships that have been broken after a misunderstanding or hurtful disagreement? How do we forgive someone. First, someone has to take the initiative, a first step. Without movement on somebody's part no reconciliation can occur. The person taking the initiative must acknowledge that the relationship is broken, recall how important and precious the relationship was, and reaffirm their love and concern for the other. If the other refuses to acknowledge this and receive your forgiveness there is nothing you can do, the broken relationship will remain unaltered. Only if both parties agree to restore the relationship will reconciliation occur. So too with our relationship with God. God, though our baptisms, has offered us forgiveness. Do we accept it? Are we willing to be reconciled with God?

The ministry of reconciliation is the ministry of the church. We are called to proclaim that the sins of all who profess that Jesus in Lord, confess their sins and amend their behavior will be forgiven. And we are to embody this ministry by forgiving one another so that relationships within the church may be reconciled.

The good news in all of this is that forgiveness is not up to us. God forgives us not because we are not deserving of judgment, but because he sees Jesus when he looks at us. Likewise, when someone hurts us and we want judgment, the Holy Spirit enables us to see the image of God in that person. And if we see the image of God then the only thing we can do is forgive. This is good news because it means that sinners have a second chance. Yes, your sins were forgiven at baptism. Yes, you should amend you life and live it in accordance with God's law. But if you backslide then God and the church offers you a second chance to confess, repent, and reconcile.

The Donatist were never able to forgive. They continued for a while, but disappeared when Islam spread across North Africa. But the churches of the Roman Empire continued to flourish because they had found ways to forgive and reconcile. And so we are a people of forgiveness.

Remember always that you are a sinner too. You were once estranged from God. But in your baptism your were forgiven by God so that the relationship you had with God was restored. So too forgive those who have sinned against you so that your relationship with that person will be restored. This is what we are called to do, a ministry of reconciliation. Every time we say the Apostles' Creed we are affirming our acceptance of God's offer of forgiveness. And so the Apostle's Creed helps us to be reconciled with God. And that is exactly what God wants.

Holy Spirit we thank you for sealing God's forgiveness upon us in our baptisms. We accept that offer of forgiveness and ask that our relationship with God be restored and reconciled. We also ask that you make us forgiving people who desire to restore relationships with those who have wronged us. Help us to be a forgiving church where people who have sinned will find mercy and reconciliation. This we pray in Jesus' name. Amen.