Tag Archive - sermons

No Impediment to your Pardon

December 12, 2011 in Sermons with 1 Comment

In working through Jonathan Edward’s sermon Great Guilt no Obstacle to the Pardon of the Returning Sinner, based on Psalm 25:11, I’ve come to the portion of the sermon where Edwards begins to apply the sermon to his audience. He says,

The proper use of this subject is, to encourage sinners whose consciences are burdened with a sense of guilt, immediately to go to God through Christ for mercy. If you go in the manner we have described, the arms of mercy are open to embrace you. You need not be at all the more fearful of coming because of your sins, let them be ever so black. If you had as much guilt lying on each of your souls as all the wicked men in the world, and all the damned souls in hell; yet if you come to God for mercy, sensible of your own vileness, and seeking pardon only through the free mercy of God in Christ, you would not need to be afraid; the greatness of your sins would be no impediment to your pardon. Therefore, if your souls be burdened, and you are distressed for fear of hell, you need not bear that burden and distress any longer. It you are but willing, you may freely come and unload yourselves, and cast all your burdens on Christ, and rest in him.

In the full context of his sermon, this is such a beautiful climax. Edwards has open the scriptures and expounded on the doctrines of mercy, justice, judgement, wrath, salvation, faith, and repentance. Now, he sums it up in succinct fashion. If you’re a sinner, come to Jesus to receive mercy.

Pardon is for you

December 12, 2011 in Sermons with 0 Comments

This is the continuation of my journey through Jonathan Edward’s sermon Great Guilt no Obstacle to the Pardon of the Returning Sinner, based on Psalm 25:11. We’ve looked at three excellent points that serve as reminders on how we must come to God for mercy. His first point is that we see our misery and need for mercy. His second point is that we should be sensible that we aren’t worthy of God’s mercy. His final point is that you can only receive mercy through Jesus Christ. Next, Edwards shares gospel truth of God’s great mercy offered through his Son. From here, Edwards shows and reminds us that this work of saving sinners is the very thing Jesus came to do. So, in seeking God’s mercy we should run to Christ and not away from him for mercy. He alone is our help in time of need. The end result is mercy for sinners and glory for God. Edwards ends this section with a clear gospel call, namely that the mercy and pardon he’s discussed is not from some abstract person. It is for you.

Pardon is as much offered and promised to the greatest sinners as any, if they will come aright to God for mercy. The invitations of the gospel are always in universal terms: as, Ho, every one that thirsteth; Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden; and, Whosoever will, let him come. And the voice of Wisdom is to men in general: Prov. 8:4. “Unto you, O men, I call, and my voice is to the sons of men.” Not to moral men, or religious men, but to you, O men. So Christ promises, John 6:37. “Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out.” This is the direction of Christ to his apostles, after his resurrection, Mark 16:15, 16. “Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature: he that believeth, and is baptized, shall be saved.” Which is agreeable to what the apostle saith, that “the gospel was preached to every creature which is under heaven,” Col. 1:23.

Mercy is for the Glory of God

December 5, 2011 in Sermons with 0 Comments

This is the continuation of my journey through Jonathan Edward’s sermon Great Guilt no Obstacle to the Pardon of the Returning Sinner, based on Psalm 25:11. We’ve looked at three excellent points that serve as reminders on how we must come to God for mercy. His first point is that we see our misery and need for mercy. His second point is that we should be sensible that we aren’t worthy of God’s mercy. His final point is that you can only receive mercy through Jesus Christ. Next, Edwards shares gospel truth of God’s great mercy offered through his Son. From here, Edwards shows and reminds us that this work of saving sinners is the very thing Jesus came to do. So, in seeking God’s mercy we should run to Christ and not away from him for mercy. He alone is our help in time of need. The end result is mercy for sinners and glory for God:

Herein doth the glory of grace by the redemption of Christ much consist, viz. in its sufficiency for the pardon of the greatest sinners. The whole contrivance of the way of salvation is for this end, to glorify the free grace of God. God had it on his heart from all eternity to glorify this attribute; and therefore it is, that the device of saving sinners by Christ was conceived. The greatness of divine grace appears very much in this, that God by Christ saves the greatest offenders. The greater the guilt of any sinner is, the more glorious and wonderful is the grace manifested in his pardon: Rom. 5:20. “Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound.” The apostle, when telling how great a sinner he had been, takes notice of the abounding of grace in his pardon, of which his great guilt was the occasion: 1 Tim. 1:13. “Who was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious. But I obtained mercy; and the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant, with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.” The Redeemer is glorified, in that he proves sufficient to redeem those who are exceeding sinful, in that his blood proves sufficient to wash away the greatest guilt, in that he is able to save men to the uttermost, and in that he redeems even from the greatest misery. It is the honour of Christ to save the greatest sinners, when they come to him, as it is the honour of a physician that he cures the most desperate diseases or wounds. Therefore, no doubt, Christ will be willing to save the greatest sinners, if they come to him; for he will not be backward to glorify himself, and to commend the value and virtue of his own blood. Seeing he hath so laid out himself to redeem sinners, he will not be unwilling to show, that he is able to redeem to the uttermost.

Jesus Saves Sinners

November 27, 2011 in Sermons with 0 Comments

This is the continuation of my journey through Jonathan Edward’s sermon Great Guilt no Obstacle to the Pardon of the Returning Sinner, based on Psalm 25:11. We’ve looked at three excellent points that serve as reminders on how we must come to God for mercy. His first point is that we see our misery and need for mercy. His second point is that we should be sensible that we aren’t worthy of God’s mercy. His final point is that you can only receive mercy through Jesus Christ. Next, Edwards shares gospel truth of God’s great mercy offered through his Son. From here, Edwards shows and reminds us that this work of saving sinners is the very thing Jesus came to do. So, in seeking God’s mercy we should run to Christ and not away from him for mercy. He alone is our help in time of need.

Christ will not refuse to save the greatest sinners, who in a right manner come to God for mercy; for this is his work. It is his business to be a Saviour of sinners; it is the work upon which he came into the world; and therefore he will not object to it. He did not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance, Matt. 9:13. Sin is the very evil which he came into the world to remedy: therefore he will not object to any man, that he is very sinful. The more sinful he is, the more need of Christ.—The sinfulness of man was the reason of Christ’s coming into the world; this is the very misery from which he came to deliver men. The more they have of it, the more need they have of being delivered; “They that are whole need not a physician, but they that are sick,” Matt. 9:12. The physician will not make it an objection against healing a man who applies to him, that he stands in great need of his help. If a physician of compassion comes among the sick and wounded, surely he will not refuse to heal those that stand in most need of healing, if he be able to heal them.

God’s Infinate Mercy is Great

November 21, 2011 in Sermons with 0 Comments

I’ve been working through some of Edward’s sermon Great Guilt no Obstacle to the Pardon of the Returning Sinner, based on Psalm 25:11. We’ve looked at three excellent points that serve as reminders on how we must come to God for mercy. His first point is that we see our misery and need for mercy. His second point is that we should be sensible that we aren’t worthy of God’s mercy. His final point is that you can only receive mercy through Jesus Christ. From here, Edwards launches headlong into the beautiful and majestic gospel truth of God’s great mercy offered through his Son. So amazing and encourage it is to meditate on Edwards’ words. Read them and let the magnitude of God’s mercy towards sinners great and small set in.

1. The mercy of God is as sufficient for the pardon or the greatest sins, as for the least; and that because his mercy is infinite. That which is infinite, is as much above what is great, as it is above what is small. Thus God being infinitely great, he is as much above kings as he is above beggars; he is as much above the highest angel, as he is above the meanest worm. One infinite measure doth not come any nearer to the extent of what is infinite than another.—So the mercy of God being infinite, it must be as sufficient for the pardon of all sin, as of one. If one of the least sins be not beyond the mercy of God, so neither are the greatest, or ten thousand of them.—However, it must be acknowledged, that this alone doth not prove the doctrine. For though the mercy of God may be as sufficient for the pardon of great sins as others; yet there may be other obstacles, besides the want of mercy. The mercy of God may be sufficient, and yet the other attributes may oppose the dispensation of mercy in these cases.—Therefore I observe,

2. That the satisfaction of Christ is as sufficient for the removal of the greatest guilt, as the least: 1 John 1:7. “The blood of Christ cleanseth from all sin.” Acts 13:39. “By him all that believe are justified from all things from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” All the sins of those who truly come to God for mercy, let them be what they will, are satisfied for, if God be true who tells us so; and if they be satisfied for, surely it is not incredible, that God should be ready to pardon them. So that Christ having fully satisfied for all sin, or having wrought out a satisfaction that is sufficient for all, it is now no way inconsistent with the glory of the divine attributes to pardon the greatest sins of those who in a right manner come unto him for it.—God may now pardon the greatest sinners without any prejudice to the honour of his holiness. The holiness of God will not suffer him to give the least countenance to sin, but inclines him to give proper testimonies of his hatred of it. But Christ having satisfied for sin, God can now love the sinner, and give no countenance at all to sin, however great a sinner he may have been. It was a sufficient testimony of God’s abhorrence of sin, that he poured out his wrath on his own dear Son, when he took the guilt of it upon himself. Nothing can more show God’s abhorrence or sin than this. If all mankind had been eternally damned, it would not have been so great a testimony of it.

Mercy Only Comes Through Jesus

November 14, 2011 in Sermons with 0 Comments

In his sermon Great Guilt no Obstacle to the Pardon of the Returning Sinner, based on Psalm 25:11, Jonathan Edwards offers three excellent points that serve as reminders on how we must come to God for mercy. His first point is that we see our misery and need for mercy. His second point is that we should be sensible that we aren’t worthy of God’s mercy. His final point is that you can only receive mercy through Jesus Christ. Emphasis below is mine.

They must come to God for mercy in and through Jesus Christ alone. All their hope of mercy must be from the consideration of what he is, what he hath done, and what he hath suffered; and that there is no other name given under heaven, among men, whereby we can be saved, but that of Christ; that he is the Son of God, and the Saviour of the world; that his blood cleanses from all sin, and that he is so worthy, that all sinners who are in him may well be pardoned and accepted.—It is impossible that any should come to God for mercy, and at the same time have no hope of mercy. Their coming to God for it, implies that they have some hope of obtaining, otherwise they would not think it worth the while to come. But they that come in a right manner have all their hope through Christ, or from the consideration of his redemption, and the sufficiency of it.—If persons thus come to God for mercy, the greatness of their sins will be no impediment to pardon. Let their sins be ever so many, and great, and aggravated, it will not make God in the least degree more backward to pardon them.“

Hallelujah! What a savior.

Seeing Our Need For Mercy

October 31, 2011 in Sermons with 0 Comments

In his sermon Great Guilt no Obstacle to the Pardon of the Returning Sinner, based on Psalm 25:11, Jonathan Edwards offers three excellent points that serve as reminders on how we must come to God for mercy. His first point is that we see our misery and need for mercy. Emphasis below is mine.

That we should see our misery, and be sensible of our need of mercy. They who are not sensible of their misery cannot truly look to God for mercy; for it is the very notion of divine mercy, that it is the goodness and grace of God to the miserable. Without misery in the object, there can be no exercise of mercy. To suppose mercy without supposing misery, or pity without calamity, is a contradiction: therefore men cannot look upon themselves as proper objects of mercy, unless they first know themselves to be miserable; and so, unless this be the case, it is impossible that they should come to God for mercy. They must be sensible that they are the children of wrath; that the law is against them, and that they are exposed to the curse of it: that the wrath of God abideth on them; and that he is angry with them every day while they are under the guilt of sin.—They must be sensible that it is a very dreadful thing to be the object of the wrath of God; that it is a very awful thing to have him for their enemy; and that they cannot bear his wrath. They must be sensible that the guilt of sin makes them miserable creatures, whatever temporal enjoyments they have; that they can be no other than miserable, undone creatures, so long as God is angry with them; that they are without strength, and must perish, and that eternally, unless God help them. They must see that their case is utterly desperate, for any thing that any one else can do for them; that they hang over the pit of eternal misery; and that they must necessarily drop into it, if God have not mercy on them.

As I read through this portion of Edwards’ Sermon, I had 3 main thoughts:

  1. You just don’t hear preaching like that very often. Phrases like “God is angry with them” and “have him for their enemy” are just not the kind of thing you hear in most evangelical sermons these days. Yet, at Edwards points out, these are the very things one should embrace as a sinner seeking pardon of sin. This is the bad news that make the good news so good. Why would we ever seek to minimize it?
  2. Not only do I not often hear sections of sermons like this, but my own heart rarely convicts me to think like this. On “this side” of the gospel, I some times minimize the magnitude of my sin. Though atoned for at the cross, it is no less vile to God. It should be to me as well.
  3. I am a sinner in need of mercy.