"Who Can Forgive Sins?"
Luke 5:18-21
"And, behold, men brought in a bed a man which was taken with a palsy: and they sought means to bring him in, and to lay him before him. And when they could not find by what way they might bring him in because of the multitude, they went upon the housetop, and let him down through the tiling with his couch into the midst before Jesus. And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee. And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?"
Augustus Toplady's father was a member of the British Royal Marines and died in the Caribbean while he was fighting against Spain just a year after his son was born. Toplady was converted to Christ as a teenager after attending a Methodist service held in a barn. He studied for the ministry and spent many years in the pulpits of various churches. But he is best remembered today for his poetry, especially for the hymn Rock of Ages, which he wrote when he was just twenty-three years old. In these lines he highlighted his desperate need of a Savior.
Not the labor of my hands
Can fulfill Thy law’s demands;
Could my zeal no respite know,
Could my tears forever flow,
All for sin could not atone,
Thou must save, and Thou alone.
As believers, we are called to do good works, but we do them as a means of glorifying God—not in atonement for our sins. Nothing we can do earns us God's favor—we receive it by grace alone. Those of us who have been saved for many years must never forget what we were and where we were headed before grace stepped in. We must not lose our joy and gratitude at our salvation, and we must never forget that only God could have provided the forgiveness we needed.
Growth Principle:
We must never lose sight of the wondrous grace that placed us in the family of God.