Forgiven Much

Luke chapter 7 and verse 36. And then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them, and poured perfume on them.

When the Pharisee who had invited him saw this, he said to himself, If this man were a prophet, he would know who is touching him and what kind of woman she is, that she is a sinner.

Jesus answered him, Simon, I have something to tell you. Tell me, teacher, he said. Two men owed money to a certain moneylender. One owed him 500 denarii and the other 50.

Neither of them had the money to pay him back, and so he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more? Simon replied, I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled.

You have judged correctly, Jesus said. Then he turned toward the woman and he said to Simon, Do you see this woman? I came into your house.

You did not give me any water for my feet, but she wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss, but this woman from the time I entered has not stopped kissing my feet.

You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven, for she loved much.

But he who has been forgiven little loves little. Then Jesus said to her, Your sins are forgiven. The other guests began to say among themselves, Who is this who even forgives sins?

And Jesus said to the woman, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace. Well, the eternal Son of God became a man, And he walked among us for over 33 years.

And the gospel writers have recorded for us some of the incidences that our Lord met with in his life and ministry. And what we find this morning in Luke chapter 7 is another day for the Lord Jesus Christ.

And I'm struck how many of the things we know from Jesus' lips came in just ordinary conversations around a table, in an ordinary situation of life.

And it was such a day, just another day in the life of our Lord. Another dinner. Another sinner. Another wrong understanding.

Another opportunity taken. And important lessons taught. And they're lessons that you and I need as well. So, we begin with the situation.

And Luke explains it to us. There are two other characters in the passage besides Jesus. And they're about as different as two people can be. We have on the one hand a self-righteous man.

And on the other hand an immoral woman. He was a Pharisee. He was a part of that religious group. That had the reputation for being very serious about keeping God's law.

And he would have thought that he did a great job at keeping God's law. He's an outwardly moral man. And he thinks that his good character merits acceptance with God in a place in heaven.

He's the host of the dinner. And Simon is his name. We don't know her name. Luke just says she was, quote, a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town.

That's Luke's kind way of saying she was a prostitute. A woman of the street. And everybody knew her reputation as a marriage breaker.

And knew of the unholy life that she had lived. There was no pretense in her of having done a good job at keeping God's moral law.

So here we have these two very, very different people. They're kind of at both ends of the spectrum, aren't they? And yet they're brought together by the Lord Jesus Christ.

And what we are meant to see is that Jesus Christ is a savior for all kinds of sinners. And I can't help but see that that's a theme that runs through all the gospels.

So we're reading John's gospel. In chapter two, Jesus is sitting down at night and he's talking to a Pharisee, Nicodemus. One of the leading Pharisees, the leading teacher of Israel.

And we turn the page and in chapter for the very next chapter, chapter four, Jesus is sitting on a well and now he's talking to a Samaritan woman who's been married five times and she's shacking up with a man that's not her husband.

A very self-righteous man and a very immoral woman. Strange. We keep seeing that as you go through the gospels.

Notice how often you find those two groups brought together in the same passage. What they both have in common is their need for Jesus Christ and his salvation.

And so the sinless savior ate with both kinds. We often and indeed the gospels tell us that he ate with sinners. He was called the friend of sinners. And sometimes we immediately run to the prostitutes, the tax collectors and those really bad people.

But Jesus also ate with self-righteous sinners. He ate with real religious sinners like this guy, Simon. As well as others like Nicodemus.

And he confronted both, both the self-righteous do-gooders and the immoral people. He confronted them both with their need to repent and believe the gospel.

We find these two mentioned not only in the gospels as to the people that Jesus met, but we also find them in Jesus' parables, don't we?

So he's telling the parable of the prodigal son. And what do we meet? We meet an immoral younger son and a very self-righteous older brother. The same two. Then there's that parable of the two men in Luke 18.

They both went up to the temple to pray. One was a self-righteous Pharisee. The other was a tax collector. A down and out sinner. A thief. A bum. And Jesus and the Bible are making a point and they're making it over and over again.

That Jesus Christ is the Savior for all kinds of sinners. And brothers and sisters, that ought to encourage you as you go out with the gospel. Into your workplace. Your community. Your family network.

We have a Savior to offer to all kinds of sinners. It doesn't matter who you're talking to. How immoral their past has been.

How with it or out of it they are. How interested or uninterested they are. How religious or how sunk in sin. We know that their greatest need is salvation from sin.

And we have a Savior for them regardless of who they are and what they've done. Isn't that encouraging? We don't have to know everything about.

We have the answer for everyone we meet in the gospel of Jesus. And sinner friend, it doesn't matter who you are and what you've done. I have a Savior for you.

He is Jesus Christ the Lord. So when a self-righteous Pharisee named Simon invites Jesus to come for dinner. Jesus goes.

He goes. And he's there. And he's reclining at the table. And as you know, the tables were not as high as they are today. They were sawed off little things.

And they would just recline on little mats and couches. And so Jesus is reclining at the table with his feet lying out behind him. And then she made her appearance of all the gall to venture into the strict and separated Pharisee's house.

And she made her face. Scum that she was. And she immediately went behind Jesus and stood at his feet. And began weeping.

And her tears rolled off of her cheeks and splashed onto his feet. In sufficient quantity to wash them.

And then she stooped down and using her own hair as a towel. She dried his feet. And then she stooped even lower and kissed them and poured expensive perfume upon them.

That's the situation. There we are. It was an ordinary day. Another day in the life of Jesus. And we're immediately thrust in this dinner party to a very uncomfortable situation that's going on.

Well, the second thing we see is a mistaken Pharisee. Simon the Pharisee is just watching all of this. He's taking it all in. He's sizing it all up in his mind.

And he thinks he's got it all figured out. The woman, Jesus, the situation, himself. I'm good.

She's bad. Jesus is a fake. He couldn't be more mistaken, could he? Consider his view of Jesus, first of all. He says to himself in verse 39, If Jesus really was a prophet, well, then he would know who is touching him.

And what kind of woman that she is. That she is a sinner. And that's, again, parochial for one of those really bad ones. You see, a prophet has supernatural understanding.

A prophet knows things supernaturally. God reveals to a prophet things that nobody else knows. And, well, if Jesus is a prophet, then he should know who this is that's touching her.

And the Pharisee just assumes that if he knew who she was, he would shun her. He certainly wouldn't let her carry on like this. Do you see how wrong he is about Jesus?

He thinks Jesus doesn't know what kind of woman she is. Jesus knows everything she has ever done in her life. And he also knows every thought that is passing through the mind of Simon.

As he sits there speechless. As we'll see in a moment. Many of the people believe Jesus was a prophet, didn't they?

Jesus asked his own disciples, who do people say that I am? And they, well, Lord, they think you're John the Baptist or Isaiah, Jeremiah, one of the prophets. They thought of him as a prophet, didn't they?

And that seems to be what this Simon the Pharisee had heard about Jesus. Oh, he's claiming to be a prophet, isn't he? But Simon knows better than the dumb crowd, you see.

He's figured it all out. He's just seen something that tips him off. That Jesus is really a false prophet. He's no true prophet at all. But oh, how mistaken he is.

Jesus is not only a prophet. He is the prophet. He's that prophet that Moses wrote about. Peter preaching in Acts chapter 3, verses 22 and 23.

Quotes Moses. He says, for Moses said, The Lord your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own people. You must listen to everything he tells you.

Anyone who does not listen to him will be completely cut off from among his people. Little does Simon know that the one reclining at his table is that prophet that Moses had spoken of.

And that heaven and hell hung in the balance for him based on what he did with Jesus' words. He thinks he knows the truth about Jesus.

But in fact, he doesn't have a clue. Do you know, many are still confused about the identity of Jesus. Oh, if we could only find the historical Jesus.

Theologians are forever searching to try to sift through all the gospel accounts to what is really historical about Jesus. And what was just the fanciful dreams of people who really wanted to hold Jesus high in their thoughts.

And so they can't figure out who Jesus is. Others think, well, he was a good man. That's all. He was a good teacher. He said a lot of good things. You know, the world would be better off if we just all would follow his example.

And that old golden rule to treat others as you would want to be treated. But the world does not know that this is God in the flesh. This is God, the maker of all things.

This is God, the judge of all men. This is the only way of salvation. This is the substitute lamb of God who alone can take away sin.

And what you do with his words will determine whether it's heaven or hell for you forever. Do you know who Jesus is? Have you bowed to him?

Are you glorifying him as God? Are you trusting in him? Are you obeying him? We've considered Simon's view of Jesus. Now consider his view of this woman.

He's equally confused as to the identity of this woman. He says to himself, if Jesus really was a prophet, then he would know what kind of woman that she is. That she's a sinner.

She is a sinner. He thinks she is what she's always been. A wicked woman with loose morals. But in reality, she is a new woman.

It's not the same woman weeping now that was on the streets of yesterday. It's a new woman. The truth is she had recently repented and received forgiveness from Jesus Christ.

This forgiveness from Jesus is what explains her lavish outpouring of love at his feet. As Jesus will make abundantly clear when he says, she has been forgiven much.

For she loved much. He thinks Jesus doesn't know what kind of woman she is. But Simon is the one who doesn't know what kind of woman she is.

And the self-righteous often despise those who are below them on the morality scale. As if they're doomed for the way that they've lived in the past.

There can't be salvation for her because of how bad she is and has lived. She'll always be that way. And the self-righteous tend to lock them in a box that they can't get out of.

The box of past behavior. It defines them in the eyes of the self-righteous. She is a sinner. A sinner is all she ever was and it's all she is today and all she ever will be.

Her past defines her. That's this man's idea of her. Mr. Know-it-all Simon. He's the one who doesn't know who Jesus is.

What kind of savior he is. A savior for all kinds of sinners. Even like this woman. He doesn't have a clue. And therefore he doesn't know that this woman.

Has actually been forgiven by Christ. Saved by him and is a new creature. So we've seen the situation and we've seen the mistaken Pharisee.

In his mind. He's thinking. Highly of himself. And lowly of this woman. And lowly of Jesus.

I'm good. She's bad. Jesus is a fake. And the lesson that comes to us from this is that man left to himself is mistaken about Jesus Christ. About himself.

And about others. We see it in this man. So Jesus is out to correct this Pharisee's mistaken notions. Well you say Simon hadn't said a word.

That's right. Jesus read his mind. And answered his thoughts. How's that for being sought. And found. And realizing this man.

Does know. What's going on. He knows what passes through my mind. And he says Simon I have something to tell you. Tell me teacher.

He must have said with apprehension. And Jesus tells him. A story with a lesson. That's the next thing we have. It's a story. And as every good story is. It has a lesson.

That we're meant to learn. And Simon was meant to learn. And here's the short story. Two men owed money to a certain money lender. One owed him 500 denarii.

That's the equivalent of one and a half years wages. So man you go to work. A year and a half. And you make 500 denarii. That's how much you owed. To this money lender.

Another man owed 50. That's two months wages. Ten times less than the other man. But what they had in common. Is that neither of them had the money.

To pay back the money lender. So he canceled the debts of both. Now which of them will love him more? That's the question Jesus puts to him.

And Simon replied. Well I suppose the one who had the bigger debt canceled. You have judged correctly. Jesus said. So the story lesson is plain.

And this is our third point. Love grows with the amount of debt canceled. Love grows with the amount of debt canceled. Even a mistaken Pharisee can get that much right.

He's wrong about everything else. But he's right about that Jesus says. But what he doesn't realize. Is that he had just. He's just condemned himself. By his own words.

He will stand condemned. So that's the story with a lesson. And now we have the lesson applied. Jesus is not content just to tell stories.

He's not content just to tell stories with lessons. And leave them in the abstract. But he now personally applies the lesson.

Showing that the two debtors are right there in this room. The immoral woman knew her many sins had been forgiven her. And showed it by her lavish and grateful love for Jesus.

Simon the self-righteous Pharisee. Thought he only needed forgiveness for a few rare sins. And he shows it by his lack of love for Jesus. So the lesson applied.

Jesus puts Simon and the woman in the balance together. On one side is Simon. And on the other is the woman. He's comparing or contrasting them. And the contrast couldn't be greater.

Her great love for Jesus. And his lovelessness for Jesus. So Jesus turned toward the woman. As he's speaking to Simon.

Simon I came into your house. You did not give me any water for my feet. Now that might sound strange to us. But you've perhaps read the Bible enough to know that that was just.

A common courtesy of hospitality. If you're traveling in Palestine in the heat. In sandals and sweaty feet and dusty roads. When you come to someone's house.

You need some water to wash your feet. And that's what was provided. Water, basin, towel. Sometimes even a servant. To wash the guest's feet. Simon you didn't even give me the common courtesy of the day.

But she wet my feet with her tears. And wiped them with her hair. You did not give me a kiss. Now again.

He's talking about the common courtesy of hospitality. When you see someone. You met someone at the door this morning.

As you came into church. You greeted the usher. Didn't you? Now you may not have kissed him. You might have. I wasn't there to see.

But. The greeting. Is what he's talking about. And people greet differently in different countries. Don't they? You probably shook his hand. You probably said hello.

Good morning. There was a greeting exchanged. And. That's common courtesy. You don't just act like he's part of the door. And you walk by. But.

Simon. Didn't even give him the common. Decency. Of the greeting. Which was. The kiss. But this woman.

From the time I entered. Has not stopped kissing my feet. You did not. Put oil on my head. Now again.

That was. Customary. In Palestine. The. The heat would have dried up. The face. The head. Of. Of the guest. And so.

One of the ways to refresh. And. Yeah. Refresh your guest. Was to. To put oil on their head. To. To keep their. Chap skin. Moist. But not you.

You didn't even put the cheap oil on my head. But this woman. She has poured. Expensive. Perfume. On my feet. So at every point.

She's outstripped. Outstripped you. Simon. You've been completely outdone. In your service to me. By this. Woman. What motivated. Her self-giving.

Sacrificial love. To Jesus. She loved much. But why? Because she was forgiven much.

She was forgiven much. Now. That's the conclusion of the matter. Verse 47. That's what Jesus. He's drawing up the conclusion of this lesson applied. Therefore.

I tell you. Her many sins have been forgiven. For she loved much. But he who has been forgiven little. Loves little. Don't miss.

The searching punch line of Jesus lesson. It's the fourth. Point. Those forgiven much. Love much. Those forgiven little. Love little.

Little. Now. That punch line. In verse 47. Is connected back. To. The story. That Jesus told Simon. In verses 41.

And following. This. This punch line. Is connected. To that story. That. The debt. That was owed. And canceled. We now learn. Later.

That that. Debt. Was sin. And the cancellation. Of it. Was forgiveness. So there's. There's four lessons. We learned from that story. That now appear clear to us. And the first is. That sin.

Is an offense. That puts us in debt. To God. Sin is an offense. That puts us in debt. To God. It's sin. That makes us debtors. And we owe big time.

We owe him. Eternal suffering. Under his wrath. For our sin. There is a wage. To pay. There is a hell. To pay. For sin. The wages of sin. Is death.

And not just physical death. But on top of that. The second death. In the lake of fire. And brimstone. And. Sinners. Are said to be.

Storing up wrath. For the day. Of wrath. You see. It's God's wrath. For our sins. That keeps. Piling up. Until that. Last payday. And you remember.

In the story. Neither one of the debtors. Had any money. To pay. And that is true. Of us. That none of us. Could pay back. The debt. We owed to God.

Sinners. Will be paying. For all eternity. For their sins. And hell. But they will never. Get to the end. Of the payment. They'll never be able. To make the last payment. And tear up. The bill.

That says you owe. No. They'll go on. Owing. Such is sin. That it incurs. A debt. Before God. The second lesson.

We see. Is that forgiveness. Is the cancellation. Of that debt. By God. The story. Talks about. Him. Forgiving. The debt. Or. Canceling. The debt. Well. That's. Later. Seemed to be.

God's forgiveness. Sin's debt. Can only be canceled. Because someone else. Paid the debt off. In their stead. If you owed me. A hundred thousand dollars.

And you said. I can't pay you. John. And then somebody else. Walked up. And said. John. Here's a hundred thousand dollars. For him. The debts. Cancel. The debt is forgiven.

It is no more. You don't owe me anything. You have paid the debt. In your. Substitute. You see. The debt. Has to be paid. God is too holy. Just to ignore the debt.

To write it off. As bad debt. No. The reason. God can cancel. The sinner's debt. Is that it was paid. In full. By Jesus Christ. On the cross. For his people.

And that's where. The punishment. That brought us. Peace. Was endured. Full force. The full. Infinite debt. Was poured out on him.

He drank the cup. Dry. He bore God's wrath. The curse. Fell on him. So whoever repents.

And believes. On Christ. Has the debt. Freely. And fully. Canceled. God says. You no longer owe me.

It's been canceled. The third lesson. Is that the woman's. Much love. Proves. That she already. Was forgiven much.

The woman's. Much love. Proves. That she was already. Forgiven much. It's clear. That she had already. Trusted in Christ. As her savior. And is aware. That Jesus.

Has already. Forgiven her. Her many sins. We're not told. When it happened. We're not. Told. How it happened. Whether she heard. Jesus. In a private conversation.

Like the woman. At the well. Or like Nicodemus. At night. Or whether she was just. In one of those crowds. That he preached to. But in one way. Or another. She had recently.

Believed on Christ. And was assured. That her sins. Had been forgiven. It's obvious. That that is the case. Look how much. She loves him.

And so her love. For Christ. Is not the cause. Of her forgiveness. But it is the result. Of forgiveness. Her love. For Jesus.

Is not something. That earns. His forgiveness. But it proves. That she has already. Been forgiven. Her love.

Is produced. By forgiveness. Already received. And those who know. They're forgiven much. Love much. Simon.

What you have just seen. Here in your house. Today. Is the love of a woman. Who is aware. That her many sins. Have been freely forgiven. You've seen the debtor.

Who knows that she could never. Pay off her debt. Come. As a bankrupt. To her debtor. God. And come as a bankrupt.

And claim. Nothing for herself. But for mercy. From God. God. And you have seen. That I have graciously. Canceled her debt.

And made her right. With God. Her debt is gone. Graciously forgiven. And she can't get over it. Look how she loves me.

And the fourth lesson. Is that Simon's little love. Proves. That he only. He thinks. He only needed. A little. Forgiveness. Simon's little love.

Proves that he thinks. He only needs. A little forgiveness. And in this. The self-righteousness. Of Simon. Is exposed. His high opinion of self. Is here seen. He flatters himself.

Too much. To detect. Or hate. His own sin. As we memorize. From Psalm 36. He's got such a high view. Of himself. He can't see his sin. He just has a few little things.

That might need. To be cleansed up a bit. But he's good. He's righteous. He's so law abiding. And so his heart. Is rock cold. Toward Jesus Christ.

The Savior. He doesn't think. He needs him. He doesn't see him. As a Savior. For his need. As a sinner. As goes your love.

For Christ. So goes your service. For him. Little love. Little service. Much love. Much service. Simon the Pharisee. Did not love.

Jesus Christ. And so his service. To him. Was therefore minimal. The reason he loved little. Was because he saw. But little need.

For forgiveness. And then. The story concludes. And the account. It concludes. We have concluding words. Verses 48 to 50. The sweetest words. That have ever been spoken.

To a human being. From the Son of God. Your sins. Are forgiven. Do you know that. For sure. As you sit there today.

That your sins. Are forgiven. This woman knew that. She had. God the Son. Tell her. Now she already knew this. That's why she loved Jesus.

That's why she's. Pouring out her love. At his feet. She knew. That her sins. Were forgiven. And it filled her with love. And praise. And humility. To bow. And reverent.

Thankfulness. And pour out her love. To her Savior. But now. It's publicly declared. Because there were others. In the room. Like Simon.

Who still viewed her. As a prostitute. She is. A sinner. And there were others. Who needed to know. That Jesus. Has authority. On earth. To forgive sins. So Jesus. Says.

Openly. And out loud. To them all. In their hearing. Your sins. Are forgiven. And the other guests. Are struck with those words. Saying among themselves.

Who is this? Who even forgives. Sins. You see what Jesus is doing. He's correcting. Their wrong. Ideas. About who he is. His identity. He's God.

Only God. Can forgive sins. And he does it. And he forgives sins. He forgives all kinds of sinners. Who come to him. In faith and repentance. And so Jesus.

Is correcting the. Mistaken Pharisees. View of this woman. She's forgiven. Of himself. You're a sinner.

And of Jesus. I am the Savior. Well Jesus is also. Reaffirming her forgiveness. For her encouragement.

He. He's encouraging her. You're. You're forgiven. That was music. To her ears. All of her past life.

Forgiven. Those wasted years. And sins. Gone. Her unfathomable debt. Canceled. Her guilt. No longer. Because her sins.

Are forgiven. And remembered. No more. The reassurance. That she receives. From Jesus. On this occasion. Was a great. Comfort. To her. Do you know. That's the reassurance. That we receive.

Every time we take. The Lord's Supper. The elements. Say to us. Your sins. Are forgiven. forgiven. My body.

Was broken. And my blood. Was spilt. So that. You might. Be. Forgiven. This is. My blood. Of the new covenant.

Which is poured. Out for many. For the forgiveness. Of sins. And it's our privilege. To taste. Spiritually. Taste.

The assurance. Of forgiveness. Each time. We take communion. Are you. Are you. Sure. To be here. And have your heart. Reassured. That your sins.

Are forgiven. This woman's. Reassured. By the Savior. And then. Jesus said to her. Your faith. Has saved you. Go. In peace. Please notice.

He did not say. Your love. Has saved you. Sometimes. Children. Want to know. What do I need to do. To be a Christian. And we may. Mistakenly.

Tell them. You need to love. Jesus. No. That's your problem. You don't love. Jesus. He doesn't say. Your love.

Has. Saved you. Your faith. Has saved you. It's faith. In Christ. That receives. Forgiveness. Of sins.

It's not loving. Christ. It's trusting. Christ. Faith. Is the empty. Hands. That we hold. Out to God. Bringing. Nothing. Of our own. Only bringing. What Christ.

Has done. For sinners. And faith. Empty hands. Receives. The free. Forgiveness. Of God. It's only. Faith. That saves. Faith. Alone. In what.

Christ. Alone. Has done. For poor. Sinners. And all. The prophets. Acts. 10. 43. All the prophets. Testify. About him. That everyone. Who believes.

In him. Receives. Forgiveness. Of sins. Through his name. Everyone. Who believes. Who trusts. Who has faith. Receives. Forgiveness. Of sins.

Faith. Is first. Forgiveness. Follows. And it results. In love. She trusted.

In the savior. He forgave. Her sins. And her. Response. Is lavish. Love. Don't get the cart. Before the horse. But all.

Saving. Faith. In Christ. Is a faith. That works. By love. All. True. Saving. Faith. Will. Eventually. Love. As Galatians.

5. 6. In the book. Of James. Would teach us. The only. Faith. That saves. Is a faith. That works. By love. Faith. In Christ. Brings. Forgiveness. And inspires. Great works.

Of love. So whenever. Jesus Christ. Finds. Saving. Faith. In him. And his promise. He. He says. Your faith. Has saved you. Go in peace. Go in peace.

Your past. Is forgiven. Now go live. A new life. At peace. With God. Life. As it was. Meant to be. Life. Under God's. Smile. And under. His. Shalom. His.

His. Blessing. His. Prosperity. Do you know. Your sins. Are forgiven. Lost friend. This could be you. This morning. You came in lost.

You could go home. Saved. You came in guilty. You can go home. Forgiven. Everyone. Who believes. In him. Receives. Forgiveness. Of sins.

How can Jesus. Say. Your sins. Are forgiven. Oh. It will cost him. Dearly. To say those words. He's going to have to go to Calvary.

And pay for. Those sins. That he's forgiven. Isn't he. So we. Come to the middle cross.

Outside of Jerusalem. And the God man. Is hanging there. And man's already done. His worst to him. And now the sins. Of that immoral woman. That he has forgiven. Must be placed upon him.

And now he must bear. What she would have bore. Forever in hell. And so he cries out. My God. My God. Why have you forsaken me? That's what it cost.

For our sins against God. To be forsaken by him. Forever. And ever. Jesus was forsaken. For her sins. Crushed.

The father. Crushed his son. Pierced him. And made hurt. Made him to feel. In his soul. What she would have felt. In hell. Forever. Hell came to Calvary.

That day. There's only two places. Where sins. Are punished. In full. One is in. Hell. The other is at the cross. In hell.

By the sinner himself. And it takes forever. And on Calvary. By the sinner substitute. And because of his infinite deity. That gives very merit.

And value to his death. He could suffer the whole of it. In that short span of time. So not to trust in the savior of sinners.

Is to be left to pay the bill yourself. So what are you going to do with your sins? We all have them. Do we excuse them? Couldn't help it.

Do we belittle them? It's not that bad. Do we deny them? Wasn't me. Do we ignore them? Try to forget it. Even worse. Do you try to make up for them?

By doing some good deeds. To make up for your bad deeds. That only increases your wrath. And God says. What? You mean to tell me? You think that something you do. Will make up for the offense.

That your sin has done against me. That doesn't. Help the situation. That is to pile up more wrath. Give up the whole mess. And come to this savior. He freely forgives.

Imagine with me. We can play this. Can't we? Pretend. What if. One of our country's multi-billionaires.

Just. Went on TV. And offered to pay off. All debts. That were brought to him. Until his money was gone. First come. First serve. No catch. No fine print.

He's just that kind. Well you'd be. Changing your plans. To get there. Wouldn't you? You'd make. Your way.

Quickly. To him. If you had debt. You would go. And you would have it paid. You would. Do all sorts of things. Flocking. To their door. To his door. But it's time to quit dreaming.

It's. To get back to reality. And the fact is. Is that God has made such an offer to sinners. You owe big time. But I for the sake of Jesus Christ. And his death on the cross.

Will forgive any. Who will repent of their sins. And come to this savior. Trusting in him. Saying God. Have mercy on me. Because of Jesus sake. And save me from these wretched sins.

And I will freely forgive you. That's not pretend. That's true. And there are a host of people. Gathered here this morning. Who would say. It's true.

I was the sinner. I came to Christ. And I trusted in him. And I have been forgiven. The guilt is gone. Praise God. Why would you not come?

What sins are so. Has. Offer such pleasures. That you would. Take hell. Over Christ. Hell.

Over forgiveness. And washing. And cleansing. In his blood. So we fast forward. To the. Day of judgment. And here comes. This immoral woman. Now to receive.

Her sentence. From almighty God. And she knows. That she's a sinner. She knows. What she's done. The books are open. The sentence is read.

Come. Come. You who are blessed. Enter into the kingdom. That God has prepared for you. Since the creation of the world. Your sins have been forgiven.

Paid in full by Jesus Christ. The next guy in line. Simon. The self-righteous Pharisee. He lived. A far more moral life. Than that woman ever lived.

God. And the books are opened. And because he thought. He didn't need Jesus cleansing. His sins are still on the record.

Unpaid. And so he receives the sentence. Depart from me. I never knew you. You worker of iniquity. And he must go into hell.

And be paying all eternity. For his sins. Now you're coming. You're coming to this place of judgment. What will be said of you? Forgiven fully and freely.

For Jesus sake. Or still a debtor. Don't show up in the day of judgment. With unforgiven sin. Don't die.

With unforgiven sin. And if you don't want to show up in the day of judgment. With unforgiven sin. If you don't want to die. With unforgiven sin. You better not live.

Another day. With unforgiven sin. You ought to run to this savior. And cast your faith upon him. And ask you to save you. From sin. And he will say to you.

What he said to this woman. Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Now go in peace. Go and live a debt free life. To the glory of Jesus Christ. The savior.

Believers. There's something here for us. There's the lesson that. That we are only in a healthy spiritual state. When we can't get over how much. Jesus has forgiven us. We're only as healthy as we are amazed.

At how much sin. Has been forgiven. Us. So how healthy are you. Those who are forgiven much. Love much. They want to pour out their love to Christ.

In worship. In prayer. In obedience. In serving him. On their jobs. In their homes. In their marriages. At their schools. In their church. All for Jesus.

All for Jesus. Serving him. Who forgave them. So much sin. Is that you. Christian. Or could it be that your lack of loving service to Christ.

Is due to just this. That you think. You only sin a little. Does little confession of sin in your life.

Reveal this. That you. Think you only sin a little. Examine your confession of sin. What does it say. That you're a great sinner.

Or you just sin a little. He who is forgiven little. Loves little. But I'm not like this immoral woman. I mean I.

I haven't robbed a bank. I haven't committed adultery. I haven't killed my neighbor. I'm not forgiven as much as she. That's the Pharisees mistake.

Don't make it. Yourself. You need to judge your sin God's way. Don't forget sins of omission. Not just things that we do. That we shouldn't do.

There's the host of sins that we. Things that we haven't done. That we should have done. Start with the greatest commandment. You shall love the Lord your God. With all your heart and soul.

And mind and strength. Have you ever lived one day. Loving God that way. And take the second. Which is like it. And love your neighbor as yourself. Have you lived one day.

Loving your neighbor. As much as you love for yourself. Have you done for others. What you do for you. All we are sins. How many are they.

Sins of omission. And don't forget the sins of the heart. Greed and pride and bitterness and envy. Jesus says a lustful look is adultery of the heart.

Jesus says hateful malice is murder of the heart. It's breaking the sixth commandment. And there are sins of the tongue. Our gossip. Our slander. Our unkind words.

Our untrue words. Our deceitful words. You know David. Shepherd of Israel David knew. That his sins were like the.

More than the hairs of his head. David. And when he's listing all the benefits of God. He's talking to himself in Psalm 103. Praise the Lord oh my soul.

And forget not all his benefits. The very top of the list. Who forgives all your sins David. And that all is a big all to David.

And it better be a big all for you and to me. Our hearts are only healthy. When we see. What is our great privilege to have all our sins forgiven.

There's that holy prophet Isaiah. And he sees the holiness of God. And he says. Woe is me. I'm undone. I'm a man of unclean lips. There's Peter.

That holy apostle. And it's Jesus in the boat with him. And he multiplies. He catches this great catch of fish. And he sees that it's God in the boat with him.

And he says. Depart from me. I'm a sinful man. This passage in Luke 7. Is not in our Bibles.

To make us think that this is an exceptional sinner here. Something serious is wrong with me.

If I cannot stand side by side with this woman. And be amazed at how much God has forgiven me. God help me.

God help me. Give me a right view of your law. And of my performance. That I can come to this same conclusion. That I have a whole mountain of sin.

That has been forgiven me. When we sing that song. My sin. Not in part. But the whole. That doesn't just mean. A dozen or two. Today. Today. But it means the whole mountain of my sin.

There's enough sin. In every one of us believers. To meld our hearts in love for Christ. Great forgiveness. To move us. To get down on our knees.

And weep before the Son of God. For love. Of what he has done for us. Would anyone think. That you've been forgiven much. By the way that you serve Jesus Christ.

Would any. Would Jesus himself know it. By the way that you serve. And obey him. The way you pour out your life. On his behalf. Doing what you do.

Unto him. We live on this side of Calvary. With much clearer views of Christ's love. Than even this poor woman at his feet had. We have seen the great cost of his love.

We have seen what it costs to forgive our sins. In a way that she hadn't even yet seen. So our hearts ought to be more moved. Than hers. We've seen our Savior damned in our place.

Oh what should our love for Jesus be? Well his feet are not here are they? That we can wash with our tears. The physical body of Jesus is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

But his spiritual body is here. Look around you. This is his body. His church. Are you pouring out your love to Jesus?

By loving his body? Serving his body? Does your love for your Savior move you to serve him? When the church gathers to meet with him?

As we heard this morning. As we meet to honor him with our prayers and our petitions and our praises and our songs? This woman sought for Jesus and found him at Simon's house.

And went in and poured out her love to him. Do you seek out Jesus in the places where he is appointed to meet with his people?

And see to it that you're here to pour out your love to this Savior. To serve him with your prayers and your petitions and your praises.

Will you be here tonight when he has promised to meet with his church? Love seeks him out. Wherever he is to be found.

Wherever he is said. That's where I will be. Where two or three have met in my name and my people are gathered. That's where I am. Will you be there to pour out your love to him?

Does your love for your Savior move you to serve? That's the picture we have here of this woman at Jesus' feet.

Until my heart is melted to where I pour my heart out in love and service to Christ and his church. And his causes and his kingdom. And I have not learned the lesson from this story.

From this account that God has put in the scriptures for me. Let's pray. Father come and open our eyes to see our Savior.

And the wondrous love that cleansed us from the whole mountain of our sins. We're asking to have more than a cold hearts response to that reality.

We're asking you to melt our hearts. To break our hearts. To bring us low before your feet. To pour out our love. For our Savior. And for the forgiveness of our sins.

We're asking you as well to bring some sinner who's never trusted in this Savior. To faith in him. That he too might. And she too might hear.

Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you. Now go in peace. So send us from this place. Rejoicing in the forgiveness of sins.

Forgive us for all the things that we have valued more highly than the forgiveness of all of our sins. We ask in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen. Amen.