28. Remission of Sins

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Hymns: RHC 3 Love Divine 334 Sweet Peace the Gift of God’s Love 289 Grace Greater Than Our Sin

Acts 10:36-48

36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) 37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: 40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly; 41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. 43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. 44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word. 45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

Remission of Sins

OUTLINE

  • By Jesus Christ (v36-39)
  • By God’s Witnesses (v40-44)
  • By the Holy Ghost (v45-47)

INTRODUCTION

Remission of sins – Acts 10:36-48. God’s plan to save mankind from the eternal ravages of hell fire was enacted from the time man first fell into sin. 

How can the disease of sin be cured? The word “remission”[1] literally means to cause to stand away. How to release one’s sins from the sinner? How to find forgiveness or remission for sins? 

This required Christ’s sacrifice as punishment of sin, hence the putting away of sin and the deliverance of the sinner from the power of sin.

The psalmist understood this when he said in Psalm 32:1-5.

Psalm 32:1-5 A Psalm of David, Maschil. Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile. When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long.4-5 For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. Selah. I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah.

Blessed is the man whose transgression is forgiven. 

Transgression is from the  root, to break or to break with, hence to break covenant with God is to rebel, to transgress, to revolt, to sin. In the majority of the 40 times the word is used in the Old Testament, it describes direct rebellion against Jehovah, Israel’s covenant God. 

The Mosaic covenant depicts Jehovah as the only one who can grant or refuse to grant forgiveness for sin. Our sins alienate us from God, unless we repent of them, the psalmist’s experience is a guilt-plagued conscience. Transgression is rebellion against God. It begins with a thought, like the arch angel Lucifer, then another thought then another thought, 5 thoughts later, he fell, God judged him (Isaiah 14:12-14).

To forgive means “to lift, to carry, to take away”, to take away guilt or to forgive our transgression – rebellion against God.

To be forgiven is to have sins taken away, lifted off, like the taking away of a weight. This word is in the passive meaning that we cannot take away our own sins. It is being taken away by an external party – God. 

Remember in Pilgrim’s Progress, how the burden of Christian’s back was lifted off him when he came to the cross? How the paralytic man experienced exuberant joy was able to walk again and experienced the forgiveness of his sins when he came to Jesus by simply faith, just believing that Jesus is God (Mark2).

Blessed is he whose sin is covered.

Sin is “missing the mark against the standard of God’s Word”, as delineated most emphatically in the Ten Commandments. It also describes to miss the step or footing, and to stumble – hence to err, go astray, trespass. Every departure from God’s law is therefore a missing of the mark and trespass against Him.

First we saw rebellion is against God, then here we see how to identify sin, it is against God’s laws (its measurement).

This is the word in the passive meaning being covered. The action of covering is done on the subject, the sinner. Again the word is in the passive, we cannot cover our own sins. The Bible tells that our sins are covered by the righteousness earned on our behalf by the shed blood of Christ. Hence God now longer hold His wrath against the sinner. 

To “cover” means “to clothe, to conceal”, atoned for. 

Verse 2 Blessed is the man whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity. 

Iniquity means a bending or curving, speaks of actions, acting crookedly or perversely. It is generally rendered perverseness. This is the outward manifestation of sin in perverted behaviour. The word “imputeth” means to ascribe, to credit, not to count against us, not remembered is the sense in this verse. Sin is the measure – against God’s law and iniquity is the outworking of sin in wicked deeds.

Testimony

I know of a man after his stint in the army sport long hair and wears make-up. We are told that he worships a Thai god. He made his house to become literally a temple. When we enter the house, there are the idols facing you as you enter and at the side, a box that says “Ai Xin”, a donation box. Departure from the living and true God results in perverted behaviour. 

Psalm 32:2 “Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile.”

The word “impute” means “ascribe” or “credit” is the think, account, charge, with the negative particle “not”. Describing how we are justified, God no longer hold us guilty, God does not credit our sins on us. 

We no longer have to pay the penalty but Christ had paid the penalty for us. The wrath of God is no longer upon us. 

The word “guile” means “deceit” or “treachery”. David, therefore, means that no man can taste what the forgiveness of sins is until his heart is first cleansed from deceit and treachery. 

Contrast the iniquity and “no guile”. Unless we cleanse our hearts by coming to Jesus for forgiveness, the deceit and treachery in the heart remains. This is the sin nature in us. David is a child of God, yet he needs God’s forgiveness. 

Dear brethren, even after we come to know Jesus, sin wars in our hearts with the law of God and this battle rages hard, we struggle with sin. But here David is providing for us a way of making right with God.

The way to be right with God comes

  • By Jesus Christ (v36-40)
  • By God’s Witnesses (v41-44)
  • By the Holy Ghost (v45-47)
  • By Jesus Christ (v36-39)

36 The word which God sent unto the children of Israel, preaching peace by Jesus Christ: (he is Lord of all:) 37 That word, I say, ye know, which was published throughout all Judaea, and began from Galilee, after the baptism which John preached; 

The gospel is a message of peace with God, made possible by the work of Jesus Christ. This is the peace that comes from the Messiah prophesised in the Old Testament.

The word “peace”goes beyond the cessation of strife and war. Paul says in Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:

The word “peace” comes from the Greek verb eirō which means “to join” and the noun eirēnē refers to “the things joined together”. To make peace, therefore, means “to join together that which is separated”. 

Jesus Christ Himself is our peace (Eph. 2:14). 

Ephesians 2:14-17 For he is our peace, who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh.

By His atoning work on the cross, the shedding of His blood gives us reconciliation with God (Eph. 2:13). Jesus abolished our enmity with God in the flesh (Eph. 2:15) to make us a new man through faith in Christ’s finished work on the cross (Rom. 5:1). This is the peace of sins forgiven, reconciliation with God when we come in humble repentance confessing our sins.

The starting point for true biblical peace is peace with God through Christ. It comes as positional holiness to one who has accepted Jesus Christ by faith for His atoning work on the cross for our sins (Rom. 5:1). This is what is called a state of reconciliation with God (Friberg Lexicon) for one who accepts the gospel of Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit indwells such a person and he/she experiences a new birth. 

This salvation for sinners is solely by grace, the unmerited or undeserved favour of God. Grace expresses the cause, God’s gracious work, and peace, the effect of the work. The grace of God that brings salvation effects peace between them and God, and that same grace enables believers to live peaceably with one another (Gal. 1:3) [Adapted from Ephesians, Harold W. Hoehner, 150]. 

We can observe that holiness is an essential prerequisite of true, real, lasting peace with God. The tug of war between the nature of sin and the new nature existing as long as we are in this fleshly body. A holy life will bring the fruit of peace is the teaching of Apostle Paul in Galatians 5. 

Being himself reconciled to God, the Christian is the channel through which the good news of salvation is brought to the lost, separated from God as a result of sin! [Wuest, Volume 1]

The Person of Christ is a truth that is well-known to you Peter said. We are bearing this witness to you.

38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him. 39 And we are witnesses of all things which he did both in the land of the Jews, and in Jerusalem; whom they slew and hanged on a tree: 40 Him God raised up the third day, and shewed him openly…

Peter’s words echo and fulfil Isaiah 61:1-2.

Isaiah 61:1-2 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all that mourn;

Jesus read these words at the onset of His ministry.

Luke 4:17-21 And there was delivered unto him the book of the prophet Esaias. And when he had opened the book, he found the place where it was written, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, To preach the acceptable year of the Lord. And he closed the book, and he gave it again to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on him. And he began to say unto them, This day is this scripture fulfilled in your ears.

The anointing occurred when the Spirit came on Jesus at His baptism by John and empowered Him to carry out His work as God’s Deliverer.

The source of Jesus’ power is not the devil or Beelzebub (as the Pharisees accuse Him), nor is He a hoax. The true God is at work in and through Jesus of Nazareth.

For 3 years, Peter and the other eleven apostles can provide witness of everything Jesus did. They had watched Jesus, heard Him speak on repeated occasions, received personal training and instruction from Him, and saw Him after He rose from the dead. This is what the teaching of the Apostles was so important to the early church.

Country of the Jews – areas of Galilee and Judea. 

This is our second thought.

  • By God’s Witnesses (v41-44)

 41 Not to all the people, but unto witnesses chosen before of God, even to us, who did eat and drink with him after he rose from the dead. 42 And he commanded us to preach unto the people, and to testify that it is he which was ordained of God to be the Judge of quick and dead. 43 To him give all the prophets witness, that through his name whosoever believeth in him shall receive remission of sins. 

Salvation comes through faith in Jesus Christ. By us who ate and drank with Him after He rose from the dead.

The fact that Jesus took food proved the physical reality of the body of the risen Jesus.

Jesus did not appear to the disciples as a bodiless spirit-being. 

God appointed Jesus as Judge of the living and the dead. Jesus is not only the Redeemer, but He is also the end-time Judge.

  • By the Holy Ghost (v44-48)

44 While Peter yet spake these words, the Holy Ghost fell on all them which heard the word.45 And they of the circumcision which believed were astonished, as many as came with Peter, because that on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Ghost. 46 For they heard them speak with tongues, and magnify God. Then answered Peter, 47 Can any man forbid water, that these should not be baptized, which have received the Holy Ghost as well as we? 48 And he commanded them to be baptized in the name of the Lord. Then prayed they him to tarry certain days.

The Spirit comes on all these Gentiles with visible and unmistakable signs. The Spirit came spontaneously on them in response to their faith in the message about Jesus that Peter has just explained with them. 

God is now accepting Gentiles on the same basis as He did the Jews on the sole basis of believing in Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. These Gentile believers will not be required to be circumcised rather to undergo water baptism.

CONCLUSION

  • By Jesus Christ (v36-39)
  • By God’s Witnesses (v40-44)
  • By the Holy Ghost (v45-47)

[1] 859. ἄφεσις áphesis; gen. aphéseōs, fem. noun. from aphíēmi (G0863), to cause to stand away, to release one’s sins from the sinner. Forgiveness, remission. This required Christ’s sacrifice as punishment of sin, hence the putting away of sin and the deliverance of the sinner from the power of sin, although not from its presence, which will come later after the resurrection when our very bodies will be redeemed (Rom. 8:23). See Matt. 26:28; Mark 1:4; 3:29; Luke 1:77; 3:3; 4:18; 24:47; Acts 2:38; 5:31; 10:43; 13:38; 26:18…