Forgiven and Loved Much

Well, good morning beloved, if you would please turn your Bibles to Luke chapter 7, we'll be examining verses 36 to 50. When you have that, please do stand for the reading of God's Word, again it's Luke chapter 7, starting in verse 36, "'Hear ye this morning the word of the Lord.

One of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him, and he went into the Pharisee's house to recline at a table. And behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at a table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment, and standing behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears, and wiped them with the hair of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Now when the Pharisees who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, "'If this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.'. And Jesus answering said to him, "'Simon, I have something to say to you.'.

He answered, "'Say it, teacher.'. A certain moneylender had two debtors, one owed 500 denarii, and the other 50. When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more?'.

Simon answered, 'The one, I suppose, for whom he canceled the larger debt.'. And he said to him, 'You have judged rightly.'. Then turning toward the woman, he said to Simon, 'Do you see this woman?

I entered your house. You gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears, and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little.'.

He said to her, 'Your sins are forgiven.'. Then those who were at table with him began to say among themselves, 'Who is this who even forgives sins?'. He said to the woman, 'Your faith has saved you.

Go in peace.'". This is the word of the Lord. You may be seated. Good and gracious Father, we come before you in solemn prayer, recognizing that we too are sinners in need of a Savior. We come before you acknowledging that our debt is great, and we are debtors before you.

Lord, we pray through the ministry of your word this morning, that you would allow us to receive healing and forgiveness, so that our faith may now produce peace. We pray God that you would grant us peace, peace with God, peace with man, peace among the brotherhood of the church, so that Lord we may now be ambassadors of this great peace, of this great gospel of peace, and therefore take this message in all places, in all ways, for the glory of your name.

In Jesus' name we do pray, amen. This is one of my favorite interactions in the gospel narrative. We see Jesus interacting with Pharisees, with sinners at the table. It's a solemn reminder, friends, that we too have an invitation before us.

Just by virtue of you being here in this house this morning, you have beckoned the call to the table. You could be anywhere in the world right now. You could be in mountaintops, like in Lake Tahoe. You can be somewhere in the desert.

You can be somewhere savory, somewhere unsavory, but you've chosen this morning to be here amongst the people of God, to worship the Lord, and to receive this instruction. I want us to pay close attention to the opening verses here, as Jesus sets the scene for us, as the scriptures set the scene for this narrative.

In verse 36 it says again, one of the Pharisees asked him to eat with him. He went into the Pharisee's house and reclined at the table. Understand this, up until now, how has the relationship between Jesus and the Pharisees been?

Have they been best of friends, or has it been contentious? Have they been getting along just great, just fine, just dandy, or has there been a lot of conflict between these two parties, that being Jesus and his disciples and the Pharisees?

And yet, an invitation was given. The Pharisees asked Jesus to eat with him. And so, Jesus obliges, and he goes, and he sits at the table with the Pharisees. Understand, this takes some guts. This isn't just such a simple invitation, maybe as a pastor inviting you over to the house.

There is some real contention here, real conflict between the ministry of Jesus and the ministry of the Pharisees. And yet, at the table, there's room for both. There's room for Jesus, and there's room for the Pharisee.

And in verse 37, someone else is introduced into the narrative, and behold, a woman of the city, who was a sinner, when she learned that he was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster flask of ointment.

So, you have the introduction of another character, another person to this narrative. And this person was a woman of the city. Now, that may not mean a lot to you, but this is essentially code word for back then.

This is what we would maybe use in our vocabulary today. Maybe a woman of the night, an unsavory woman, a woman who has a past, a woman who deals with nefarious men, a woman who does sin in the city, who is known for her sin.

For she was such known for her sin that the Scripture pointed out that the woman of the city was a sinner. But she heard and learned of something important, that Jesus was in town, and that Jesus was sitting at the table with the Pharisees.

And surely, you could not get a more larger disparity between a Pharisee, a man of the law, a righteous man in the eyes of society, someone who has it all together, who probably comes from good stock, from good family, with a good name, has it all figured out, teaches the Bible, teaches the Torah, instructs people about the Word of the Lord, has a role in temple worship even.

And yet, alongside the Pharisee comes a woman of no good reputation, a woman known as a sinner. And yet, here at the table, there is room for the Pharisee and the sinner. I want you to write this in a note so you're following along in today's insert.

Jesus demonstrates that there's a place at the table for the Pharisee and the sinner. You could not get a larger disparity of classes displayed here. This gives us insight in the fact that God's table is big enough to meet and to fit the religious zealot and the sinner.

You may be surprised who you'd find at God's table. Remember that Jesus faced intense criticism often for who He sat with at the table. And yet, it is at God's table, beloved, where we see God's grace and His hospitality demonstrated for the sinner and the saint.

Again, notice what it says in the text of Scripture, verse 37,. Behold, a woman of the city who was a sinner when she learned that he was reclining at the table in the Pharisee's house brought an alabaster flask of ointment.

And she brings a gift. She brings a gift to the table and it says in verse 38,. And standing behind him at his feet, not only does she bring a gift, but she's now weeping, it says, and she began to wet his feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head and kissed his feet and anointed them with the ointment.

Isn't that incredible? What an incredible display of humility. And more than that, a display of self-humiliation for this woman. You see, in the narratives of the Gospels, it isn't the righteous that are elevated.

Rather, it is the humble, weak, feeble sinner. The righteous are not exalted, but rather it is the humble who are then exalted in the narratives of the Gospel. In the same manner, we see here with this woman who comes to the feet of Jesus weeping and she begins to wet his feet with her tears.

Think of the disparity even in this picture. She's using, she's bowing down, prostrating before the Lord Jesus Christ, doing obeisance to Him, worshiping Him, and she brings the very crown of her head, her hair, which the Scripture says is the woman's crown, her glory, and she begins to wipe his feet.

You cannot get lower than a man's feet. She takes the highest of highs, that which she has, her hair, her glory, and she puts it and she brings it down to the feet of Jesus, demonstrating humility, demonstrating a posture of surrender, that this Jesus who is before me is far greater than I, that this Jesus that is here reclining at the table is worthy even of my most beautiful glory, that which I have, that which I offer, I give unto Him.

That was this sinner's posture towards the Savior. I want you to ask yourself this morning, what is your posture today in regard to true worship? What is your heart's posture today in regard, in relation to your sin and the Savior?

Did you come today believing that you have it all figured out, believing that you've got it all neatly put together in life, or do you recognize, like most of us, like the rest of us, that life is messy, that life is hard, that life isn't always so clean cut, that we come to this table, to this room with sin, with baggage, with offense, and do we come recognizing that it's only in this Jesus that we can have true mercy and forgiveness?

You see, at the table there's two types, there's two postures. There's the Pharisee who invites Jesus, and notice what he doesn't do. He invites Jesus, but what does he not do? He doesn't offer Jesus oil, he doesn't bless Jesus, he doesn't give Jesus his best, his crown, his glory, instead he reserves it for himself.

But the woman, the sinner, who comes into the narrative picture here, she gives everything that she has of value, her oil, her ointment, her alabaster, her hair, her glory, and she gives it to Jesus. There's two postures, there's two hearts, there's two classes that are being demonstrated here at the table, and yet again, you may be surprised, beloved, who you find at God's table.

Because at the table, we find God's grace and his hospitality again, demonstrated, displayed, magnified for sinners and saints. As we move on into this narrative picture here, verse 39, notice what it says, now when the Pharisees who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching him, for she is a sinner.

Can you just, just reading that, can you just feel that ooze of superiority just coming out of him, just this air of superiority. If Jesus knew, if he knew who this woman was, he wouldn't allow her to come anywhere near him.

Why? Because she's a sinner. She's a woman of the city, she's a woman of the night, she's not worthy to even be in my table. That's the posture, that's the self-righteousness of the Pharisee here. But in verse 40, notice how Jesus responds, answering, he said to him, Simon, I have something to say to you.

And he answered, say it, teacher. When I was a kid in elementary school, you know, they're teaching you how to read, and the teacher's reading you a book, they often give you an advice, and they say, put yourself in the picture, put yourself in the story.

Like you're right there, you're just in the midst. I want you just for a second, put yourself in the story. Imagine you're there at the table with me, you're seeing this interaction, and you hear Jesus say, I have something to say to you.

I don't know, it sends a shiver down my spine when I hear that, because it's either going to be something really good or really bad. You ever get a parent say to you, son, come here, I've got something I want to say to you.

It's either something really good or something really bad. But either way, there's this expectation, there's this anticipation that's building here. But notice again what precedes this, this talk that Jesus wants to have with the Pharisee.

And it's again, this self-righteous statement that if this man, if this Jesus, if he were a prophet, if he was truly who he says he is, he would know. He would know what sort of woman it is who is touching him.

Understand the great disparity here in this culture in that time and space, where a man like a Pharisee would not even be seen with a woman. These are classes that don't even mix. Not even a righteous woman, if it's not his wife, she shouldn't be around him.

And yet, Pharisees imposing their own self-religion upon Jesus as Jesus is letting even women, women who are sinners, to touch him. This man, in their minds, they're equating this with a man who is unclean.

Jesus, in their mind, is unclean for allowing an unclean woman to touch him, to meddle with him, to associate with him. What they don't understand, what they don't recognize, is that Jesus cannot be made unclean for he is the one who makes all things clean.

Jesus is himself the very center and fountain of holiness. He is Yahweh, Jehovah God of the Old Testament, the one who is holy, the one of whom it is said in Isaiah chapter 6, verse 3, that the angels, the cherubim, the seraphs in heaven sing with unbroken chain of worship, holy, holy, holy is Yahweh of hosts, the whole earth is filled with his glory.

That's Jesus. He is that holy God. He cannot be made unclean for he's the one who can transfer his cleanliness, his holiness, even to the leper, even to the sinner, even to this woman. He transfers his, he imputes his righteousness, his holiness to those who he desires to save.

That's what the Pharisees don't understand, is that they are in the midst of true holiness. And had they known who was truly in their midst, that this was the visitation of Yahweh upon the earth, living amongst his people, they would treat Jesus very differently.

Even as Moses approached the burning bush in Exodus chapter 3 and was told to remove the sandals from his feet for the ground on which he was standing was holy ground, why? Because the presence of Jehovah was in the midst of the bush.

And the one who is in the midst of the table is Yahweh, Jehovah God in human flesh. So much so that even this woman who hears of him comes and she takes her sandals off, she gives her best to Jesus and even cleanses the very feet of the Messiah because she recognized that she was the presence of true holiness.

The Pharisees, because of self-made religion, because of their hypocrisy, because of their righteousness, their own self-righteousness, they could not see past themselves, therefore they could not see the true presence of holiness before them.

Beloved, do not allow your self-righteousness to blind you from recognizing true holiness in Jesus. What is required here at the table, the sinner being at the table here with Jesus responds with repentance and humility.

I want you to write this in the notes. The sinner being at the table with Jesus responds with repentance and humility. Again, there's a custom here that is maybe overlooked here because we don't have the same customs as they did in the time of Jesus.

But it was customary that when you bring someone to your house, there's a level of hospitality that was expected, especially if that person had been traveling from a far distance. Because what happens in these parts of the world, especially in those old times when they had no cars, no motor vehicles, you would travel a long distance.

By the time you got to your destination, you would be hot, sweaty, and smelly. And so it would be customary to take their cloaks, to give them an option to bathe or to be anointed with good oil, which would leave a good fragrant smell because after a whole day of traveling, you would be pretty hot and smelly.

And so at this table, the Pharisees offered none of that hospitality to Jesus. But it took a woman, a sinner amongst the city, to come and pose yourself in this table, in this context, and give what was not given by the Pharisees and offer to Jesus an anointing of good fine oil so that he may smell well, so that he may receive this hospitality and this blessing.

The woman tearfully brings her very best to greet the feet of Jesus, demonstrating the acknowledgement of her understanding, the gravity of her own sins, and washes the feet of Jesus with a sweet fragrance and with her own tears, using again her hair, which the Bible says is the very crown of a woman, to wash the very feet of the Savior.

Yet it was the Pharisees, not being aware of their own sinful nature, that hides behind the veneer of religious piety, they respond to this woman with harsh criticism and condemnation of the woman as a sinner and condemning Jesus for entertaining her at the table.

This should all lead us to a moment of self-reflection. And it's this, beloved. Is the church today a table and a place for weary sinners to receive grace, or has it become a place of judgment by spiritual Pharisees?

Allow yourselves to consider this very narrative that's being played out here in this gospel narrative. Jesus is again at the table of the Pharisees, the self-righteous, the religious, who have great religious piety.

As a matter of fact, these religious Pharisees in their piety, in their self-realization of their religion, probably lived more dignified and spiritual lives than most of us. Yet, when this woman who was lowly, who was a sinner, comes to the feet of Jesus, repentful, showing great humility by bowing down to the Savior's feet, she demonstrates in this moment what is of greater value in the economy of God's kingdom.

The Pharisees respond with judgment, but this woman responds with humility and repentance. Where is your heart? What is your posture this morning before a holy and a righteous God? Is it that of a Pharisee or that of a humble, weak sinner?

Again, the question for reflection for all of us should be, is the church today, is our church, is Silicon Valley Reformed Baptist Church a place where weary sinners can receive grace, mercy, understanding, help lead them to repentance?

Or has it become a place of judgment? I believe that God has been pleased by blessing this church because it is becoming a refuge for sinners. That's what the church has to be and must always be. It's a refuge for sinners, not so that sinners may continue to sin, but they may see their sin in light of God's holiness and be transformed.

That's what the church is all about. We are a mission to save this fallen and broken world through the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is God's great gospel of grace that leads us into a desire for missions, a desire to see even the greater sinners in our cities saved by grace.

That's our aim. So what does Jesus now do? He answers in verse 20 again, Simon, I have something to say to you, building anticipation. He answered, the Pharisee answered and said, say it, teacher. He gives now this teaching in parable, it says in verse 41, a certain money lender had two debtors, one owed 500 denarii and the other 50.

When they could not pay, he canceled the debt of both. Now which of them will love him more? Don't you just love seeing a master at work and seeing how Jesus in every circumstance, in every setting has just the right analogies, just the right teaching to reach not only the intellect, but the heart.

Because at this moment, he's giving an example that will clearly have a black or white intellectual answer, but it goes beyond the intellect and it goes and pierces the very heart of the listeners and hearers.

He says there's a scenario here. There's two debtors, two people who owe money. One owes 50 denarii, the other 500. So two amounts are then displayed, two scenarios, two people. He then says, he cancels both of them.

Which one though will love more? Which of these two will have a greater appreciation for what just transpired, for what just took place? And verse 43, Simon answered, the one I suppose for whom he canceled a larger debt.

And he said to him, Jesus, you have judged rightly. You got it, Simon. You see, it's not so hard to understand. Here's the answer lying right before your very face. It's clear. The one who has the greater debt is the one who will love more.

Why? Because more has been forgiven. More has been forgiven. And the more that's forgiven, the greater the love. And the Pharisees, because of their self-righteousness, because of their religious piety that they clothe themselves with, were unable to see just how large the debt is.

And of course, this woman who is a sinner of the city, coming to Jesus' feet to anoint his feet with oil, she gets it. She recognizes she is a sinner, and she recognizes her spiritual debt in fulfillment of what Jesus says on the great Sermon on the Mount, blessed are those who are poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Great is the reward of sinners who acknowledge their sin before the Savior and surrender to his feet. She gave her glory, all that she has, to the feet of Jesus. Her very crown, her very glory of her head was given to the feet of Jesus as an acknowledgment of her sin, an acknowledgment that the Savior can make her whole.

In the next part, I want you to put this in the notes. In Jesus' parable, two debtors are forgiven. But the one with the larger debt will love more because he was forgiven more. You see, and recognize this, beloved, the greater the transgressor and transgression, the greater cause for rejoicing at the saving power of the Savior.

No sin, no sinner is greater than Christ. Paul says that where sin is, grace abounds, but it is not a license for us to continue in sin. No, not at all. When debt is forgiven, the foolish thing to do is return to debt.

Amen? So if you have this debt amount that's forgiven, the last thing you should do is rack up more debt. And that's exactly what sin is in this scenario. It is a collection of debt. You enjoy it now, but you got to pay for it in the future.

And payment will always come due. Jesus, in His gracious ministry, in His life, death, birth, and resurrection, cancels the debt that was held against us, nailing it to the cross. He paid your debt. So the last thing we should do is continue racking up debt after our debt has been paid.

Amen? Therefore, beloved, as we examine this story here, how Jesus rightly exposes the Pharisees in their self-righteousness, He says in verse 44, then turning toward the woman, He said to Simon, do you see this woman?

This is a play on words of what had just transpired earlier in the text, where the Pharisees said of Jesus, if this man were a prophet, he would have known who and what sort of woman this is who is touching Him, for she is a sinner.

And He then points to this woman and says, I entered your house and you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in, she has not ceased to kiss my feet.

You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven. For she loved much, but he, he is forgiven little, loves little.

What a powerful statement. Understand this, beloved, God rejoices in saving sinners. This is what He does. He loves approaching a weak, feeble sinner and transforming them into children of light. God is pleased in our salvation.

Do you know that? Are you aware of that, beloved? God is pleased in our redemption. God is pleased in delivering us from darkness into His marvelous light. God is pleased, so much so that the scripture says, when sinners repent, their angels rejoice in heaven.

God is pleased in that. And God in Christ was pleased with this woman who greeted Jesus with such hospitality at this table that He could declare to her, your sins are forgiven. You see, the woman demonstrated her greater love for Jesus by her hospitality.

I want you to write this in the notes. The woman demonstrated her greater love for Jesus by her hospitality and she put her faith in action. She put her faith in action. I want you to turn your attention for a moment, outside of this text for a moment, I want you to look at 1 Peter with me, 1 Peter chapter 4, and notice what the Apostle Peter admonishes us to do as fellow believers and is what he puts as a principle above all things for the Christian life.

He says this, above all, this is pretty important then, so above all, keep loving one another earnestly. Why? Why is this so important? Why is this above all? Since love covers a multitude of sins. He says, show hospitality to one another without grumbling.

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another as good stewards of God's very grace. This is what we have been called to, brothers and sisters, here in the family of God, here at the table of God.

We've been called to love one another earnestly, above all things, chiefly. Why? Because it's love that covers a multitude of sins. It's love that enables us to forgive. It's love that allows us to heal.

It's love that allows us to move forward after an offense. It's love for God and it's love for neighbor in which the whole of the commandments are fulfilled. Therefore, we must show true, earnest love and hospitality to one another without grumbling, without complaining.

And so showing hospitality is one thing, doing it without grumbling is another. And that's what we're called to do, is not just be hospitable, but earnestly hospitable, that we love to host God's people, that we love to be in the midst of God's people, that we enjoy being at the table of God's people.

That's what we're being called to, beloved. You see, again, this woman demonstrated her great love for Jesus by her hospitality because she put her faith in action. She put her faith in action. Are you putting your faith in action this morning or this afternoon now?

God is calling us to put our faith in action in a similar fashion to this woman. Because the woman was forgiven much because why? Because she loved much. I want you to write this in the notes as well.

The woman was forgiven much because she loved much. For he who is forgiven, the Scripture says, or he who is forgiven little loves little. Back in our main text, in Luke chapter 7 and in verse 47, Jesus again speaking of the woman, therefore I tell you, her sins, her sins, which she admits are many, are forgiven.

For she loved much, but he who is forgiven little loves little. Again, you may be surprised who you find at the table. You may be surprised. And our job as Christians isn't always to be so quick to point out people's flaws, but is to love them earnestly, being conduits of the gospel of grace.

Not just loving them in such a way, but also in our true love for individuals, we must do as what Jesus did, was preach the gospel. Because if we truly love someone, we'll share the gospel with them. This is my perpetual contention I have with members of my own family, many of which are still Jehovah's Witnesses.

And my mother, for instance, and every time I get a chance, I have a gospel conversation. And we always know it's coming, any time, we're in the room, and she's always ready for something, I'm always ready.

But she knows, and I know, she loves me, I love her. And because of that mutual love and affection, we're always going to be trying to share our messages with each other. And hopefully, in the end of it all, God's true love wins in her life, and that's my prayer for her, and I appreciate you guys pray that prayer with me as well, as we pray that for all of our family members who are lost and sin.

But beloved, we have to love earnestly, and preach the gospel earnestly. Because it's only from an earnest place, a place of sincerity, a place of true humility, that people will have open ears to hear what we say.

Sometimes it means establishing rapport, sometimes it means establishing a connection where we can meet that person at a human level. You know, I'm a person, I love preaching. I love preaching from this pulpit, I love preaching open air, I love preaching wherever it is that I can't go.

But what's sometimes missed in the open air preaching world that I see often being done in Christendom, is that lack of personal touch and that personal care. We can be so focused on the message, and I'm not saying that we shouldn't be focused on it, don't hear me wrong here, that is principle, that is chief beyond all things, it's the gospel.

But recognize this about the gospel, that it is already intrinsically offensive. It's already offensive to a sinner, right? Your job as a conduit, as a messenger, is to season your words with salt so it may taste well to the hearers.

Don't add to the offense of the gospel, let the gospel be offensive enough and bring it to people in an earnest fashion, so that they may fall by God's grace and by His design on good soil. Don't just be so quick to point out that they're sinners, because when that finger's pointed towards them, there's four or three pointing right back at you, right, how that saying goes?

And so we've got to remember, yes, when we're preaching, they are sinners, but they're sinners in need of a Savior. Don't spoil the Savior, let the Savior do what He does, and that is save. And so friends, preach the gospel, but do it earnestly, and love earnestly.

Because I think there's a grand difference between one who just preaches out of a sense of duty, and one that preaches out of a sense of love. I think that is, there's a clear delineation, there's a clear distinction, and I want you to be proclaimers of God's kingdom out of love, love, love for that mom who is thinking about aborting her child, love for that child that's in her womb, love for that woman who's a sinner, and love chiefly and above all things for God and His holiness and His namesake.

Love also for the sinners that are coming out of the 49ers stadium, who are coming out maybe a little bit buzzed, maybe a little bit drunk, maybe ready to fight, and yet you love them more than they love the game, because that's in love where they see Jesus in action.

It's not in condemnation, Jesus is the one who will condemn, He is the judge of the living and the dead, it is your job to proclaim. Therefore proclaim the gospel with all earnestness and with all love and transparency.

The Word of God also teaches us and admonishes this to us through the words of Jesus spoken to this woman. Though she was a sinner, in verse 48, He said to her, your sins are forgiven. Then those who are at the table with Him began to say among themselves, who is this who even forgives sins?

He said to the woman, your faith has saved you, go in peace. You see, upon hearing the words of Jesus, some at the table began murmuring, asking themselves, I want you to write this in a notes, who is this?

And that's who I want you to answer and to ask yourself this morning, this afternoon, who is this Jesus who forgives sins? Who is this Jesus who invites Pharisees and sinners at the table? Who is this Jesus who beckons you to faith and repentance?

This Jesus is indeed the one who has authority to forgive sins because He is God. He is both Son of God and Son of Man, true God and true man. This Jesus is the one who stepped into His own creation, stepped down from the glory that He had with the Father before the world was.

And through His self-humiliation, through His obedience, through His perfect work on the cross for our redemption, purchased for us an eternal salvation that cannot be taken nor destroyed. And it's this Jesus who beckons you this morning to trust in Him, turn to Christ so that you may hear these words as well.

Your faith has saved you, go in peace. And this is a peace that mankind is so desperately looking for. Mankind is often, and at all times, looking for peace. We're looking for peace in our times, peace in the Middle East, peace between nations, peace in our conflicts, peace in our lives, peace in our homes, peace in our marriages.

We're all looking for peace. And it's Jesus who offers true, meaningful peace through His shed blood, through the message of reconciliation, the gospel, and He offers it to you today. And the Bible says this of this peace, if you hear His voice today, do not harden your hearts as in the days of rebellion.

Don't harden your hearts at this gospel message. This message is for you. Turn to Christ so that you may have this peace. And true peace begins with peace with God. You'll have no peace in your life, no peace in your finances, no peace in your marriages, no peace in any aspect of life or civilization apart from first having it between you and your Maker.

You must have that peace. And the good news, beloved, is this, and I'll close with this text of Scripture from Romans chapter 5 verse 1, therefore, since we have been justified, that word justified means declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Through Him, we also have obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand and we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Beloved, this call is for you today. If you want peace, you must be justified, made right, declared righteous with God through faith in Jesus Christ today.

Do not harden your hearts, trust in the Savior so that you who have such great a debt can be forgiven much and then in turn can love much. May you know, love God, forgive others, and live out this incredible mercy and grace of the gospel of peace.

Let me pray. Bountiful, precious Lord Savior, we come before you, Jesus, knowing that we are sinners. Like the woman who heard that you were in town, who knew you were reclining at the table of Pharisees and ran to you and dropped all that she had, all that she did to your feet.

So we too today come running to you, our Savior, and we drop everything at your feet, Lord. We have nothing of value that we can truly intrinsically bring. Nothing do we have to offer. Nothing can make us white as snow.

Nothing we have that can make us righteous before you. But we cling to that which you have done, that which you have accomplished, namely your perfect obedience to the Father and your ransom sacrifice on behalf of our sins.

We cling to the cross this afternoon, knowing that there we find peace in such a violent act. God crucified among sinners. The most violent act in human history is that which brings us peace. Lord, we thank you for this peace.

We pray, Lord, that it would now guard our hearts and our minds through our various difficulties and challenges in life, whether they be related to health, relationships, financials, or the future. We trust and beckon you even now, Lord Jesus, to do that which is pleasing your sight in our lives.

Whether you give or whether you take away, may we learn to say, blessed be the name of the Lord. We pray all these things in the name above all names, even the name of Jesus Christ, to whom be glory both now and forevermore.

Amen.