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.”
I love that Scripture! The Bible proclaims that unto whom much sins is forgiven,
the same loveth much! The implication is clear... God is willing to forgive MUCH
sins!!! Do you carry the burden of a truckload of sins my friend? Are you
enslaved by the chains of addiction and the tight cords of sin? God loves to
forgive the ungodly!
Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” This Scripture speaks of renouncing one's sins, that is, acknowledging that you are a guilty sinner in God's eyes. Romans 3:19, “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.”
God doesn't require anyone to forsake their sinful bad habits to get saved; but rather, to admit that you are a horrible sinner and want to be forgiven in Jesus Christ. Christians live right because WE ARE SAVED, and not to GET SAVED! If we don't obey the Father and live right, then He chastises and scourges us according to Hebrews 12:6-8. Christ died, was buried and rose from the dead three days later. This is the gospel according to 1st Corinthians 15:1-4. Romans 1:16 says that the gospel is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth. Whatever changes need to take place in a person's life once they are saved is God's department. The Lord doesn't require anything to be saved except to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 16:30-31). If you'd like to have all your sins eternally forgiven and obtain eternal life immediately, then simply receive the gospel (good news of Jesus Christ crucified, buried and risen) as full-payment for your sins.
I am the biggest sinner that I know (and so are you if you're right with God). James 2:10 teaches that to break even one of God's commandments is to break all of them as far as God is concerned. In other words, even one sin is enough to keep a person out of Heaven and send them to Hell forever. In other words, we are all just as sinful as the next guy. It's easy to listen to the news or hear gossip, and then walk away self-bloated in our OWN righteousness if we're not careful, failing to grasp just how wicked we all are ourselves. So I don't condemn anyone, because we are all condemned under God's Law from birth. Only through faith in the precious blood sacrifice of Jesus Christ can we be delivered from under the curse of the Law. Once we are genuinely born-again by the Spirit of God, by faith in the seed of the Word of God, then we are no longer under the Law's curse, but under God's wondrous grace instead.
I'm not perfect, but I want to be as much as possible with God's help. Galatians 2:20, “I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Does Christ live in you my friend?
Notice also in Luke 7:47 that those who lack love do so because they have not been forgiven of much. 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.” The reason why staunch Calvinists like Fred Phelps in Kansas, John MacArthur and the loveless Lordship Salvation club out in California, spew so much intolerance and contempt toward sinners is because they have been forgiven of little. In fact, they haven't been forgiven at all. They all teach a corrupt plan of salvation that requires ceasing from sinful bad habits to be saved. That's works my friend, not faith in Christ alone. Church of Christ are some of the most moral people in the world, and are almost identical to Baptists in their church services; but they foolishly require water baptism for salvation, which is a perverted gospel. It may seem like a small mishap, but it's a completely different mindset than faith alone in Jesus Christ. Salvation is ONLY by grace alone by faith alone in Christ alone. If you add anything it is now of works.
There's no such thing as a person who sins little. We're all BIG TIME sinners! Albeit, many people haven't grasped just how rotten and wicked they are yet. Kindly, if Fred Phelps, John MacArthur, Ray Comfort, Paul Washer, William Lane Craig, Robert Morey, Kirk Cameron and Pat Robertson all realized how sinful they really are, they'd never again teach that sinful believers aren't really saved. Those men are all big sinners, just LIKE ME AND YOU. May I say, even the best Christians still sin EVERY DAY, whether in deed or in thought, whether by commission or by omission. No one has God's permission to sin, but as long as we're stuck in this cursed flesh, we are going to struggle with sin daily. We plainly see this truth evidenced in the life of the apostle Paul in Romans 7:14-25. Paul concludes in Romans 7:24-25, “O wretched man that I am! who shall deliver me from the body of this death? I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. So then with the mind I myself serve the law of God; but with the flesh the law of sin.” This is the self-righteous crowd.
Having said that, May I say, God NEVER gives a Christian believer permission to sin. God will NOT tolerate sin. If a person thinks that they're getting away with sin, they're not. The Bible teaches that. Ecclesiastes 8:12, “Though a sinner do evil an hundred times, and his days be prolonged, yet surely I know that it shall be well with them that fear God, which fear before him.” Hebrews 12:6-8 teaches that God not only chastises (disciplines) His children, but He also scourges (whips) us as well when we need it. If a man professes to be a Christian, but he's living in open sin without chastisement and scourging from God, then he's not really saved. Hebrews 12:8 calls that man or woman a “bastard” (illegitimate child). This is the Biblical doctrine concerning professed Christians who sin, which is quite different than today's false prophets who corrupt the gospel message in an attempt to force people to live right.
I honestly believe that the most painful regrets and sorrowful tears in Heaven will be shed over the things in life that we DIDN'T DO, verses the things that we did do. One of the greatest ministry compliments I have ever received was from a Christian man who said, “Thank you for allowing God to do all this through you.” I am still humbled every time that I think about it. I never thought of my ministry in that manner. I never thought that God had given me, as a human being, the power to either allow Him to work through me or to live selfishly for myself and the Devil. I am so glad that I chose to serve God.
I know one day in Heaven that I'll have many regrets, but failing to diligently serve God won't be one of them, and that's the most important thing in the world. I want to be a vessel for the Holy Spirit to reach others for Christ through me. Paul said that he didn't have anybody likeminded. Paul said that he couldn't find anyone who cared about the things of Jesus Christ (Philippians 2:20-21). Winning souls to Jesus Christ with the gospel message is the greatest thing any Christian can do in life, which is a part of fearing and obeying God (2nd Corinthians 5:9-11; Luke 8:15).
The Bible proclaims that unto whom much sins is forgiven, the same loveth much.
Jesus' Precious Blood Can Cleanse The Darkest Stains Of Sin
1st John 1:7, “But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ his Son cleanseth us from all sin.”
Aren't we all so glad that God is willing to forgive all sins in Jesus Christ! The problem is not that the Lord's hand is shortened that it cannot save, but people's sins hinder them from coming to Christ to be saved. Isaiah 59:1-2, “Behold, the LORD's hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.”
Religion is the worst thing that ever happened to this world. I am saddened every time I think about all the hellbound Catholics in the world. Roman Catholics are two-steps away from getting saved. They first have to admit that their false religion cannot save them. The hardest part about getting people saved is first getting them lost. Thankfully, any fool can be saved just by turning in faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. God saves fools, amen! No wonder then that we read in Proverbs 26:12, “Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.” So if you're a fool, there's hope for you yet; but if you're a Roman Catholic, Mormon, Jehovah's Witnesses or Seventh-Day Adventist, I feel sorry for you, because you're likely too blinded by religion and hardened in your heart to see the truth.
There's ONLY one unpardonable sin, and that is rejecting Jesus as the Christ. Matthew 12:31, “Wherefore I say unto you, All manner of sin and blasphemy shall be forgiven unto men: but the blasphemy against the Holy Ghost shall not be forgiven unto men.” Titus 2:11 says that God's saving grace appears to all men. All men are given some light by God. If a person responds positively toward that light, then God is obligated to give them more light (truth). But if a person rejects the light given to them, then God is not obligated to provide them any further enlightenment. God is a good God. Luke 6:35 says that God is kind even to evil and unthankful people in the world. God wants ALL MEN to repent according to 2nd Peter 3:9.
What a wonderful opportunity we all have right NOW to live for God. Tomorrow may not be ours. Yesterday is water under the bridge. Tomorrow is uncharted territory. Yesterday is a cashed check. Tomorrow is a promissory note. Today we have cash (fresh opportunity) to live for God or do nothing. We're all living on borrowed time my friend. This dust that we all live in today will one day return to the ground from which it came. We are made of the dirt of the earth. Think about that.
I laugh every time I hear Discovery Channel say that humanity evolved from the universe. They're still trying to figure it out, when the Bible gives us more than enough answers to satisfy our desire for the truth of our origin. If you believe the Bible, then you know that God made mankind. How could anyone doubt God as man's Creator, and the Maker of the universe!!!
The Lord doesn't want anyone to spend eternity in Hell, but the CHOICE is yours alone to make as an individual. God's Holy Spirit draws all men to Christ (John 12:32), but most men shun the Spirit away. Most people blaspheme (to speak evil) of the Spirit of Christ which is convicting them about their sins to get saved. That's the only sin which God will not forgive, that is, rejecting the death, burial and miraculous resurrection of Jesus Christ. Most men believe that a man named Jesus died and was buried, but to be saved you must also believe that Jesus rose up from THE DEAD! (Romans 10:9-10). When you ADD anything to the gospel, you are in effect rejecting the gospel, saying that Christ's sacrifice was insufficient to save. Jesus paid it all my friend!
