“The High Cost” Part IV of V

Preached by Rev. Ed Brouwer at The Gathering Place, Osoyoos
Pulpit Series Volume 19 Issue 10 March 29, 2009

We’ve discovered that Sin is the most expensive thing in the world. It is expensive to commit sin, to cover sin, and certainly there’s a price to confessing sin. However, these costs are minute compared to the cost of cleansing sin.

How marvelous that our God is able to cleanse the sinner! When you trusted Jesus as your Saviour, God forgave you. Not only forgiving but forgetting!

Psalms 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.

Romans 4:7-8 Blessed are they whose iniquities are forgiven… Blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. “Impute”: means to hold charargable.

When we are saved we are forgiven. God wipes the record clean. God never again puts to our account the sins we commit.

In Psalm 51 David used three different words to describe what he did wrong. Transgression, iniquity and sin. The word transgression emphasizes rebellion, iniquity refers to the deviousness, the word sin means to miss the mark.

God in forgiving David would have to deal with all the areas of his sin. David asked for mercy. Mercy: God not giving us what we deserve (death). Romans 5:8 God commended his love toward us, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

David used 3 verbs that are rather interesting: blot out, wash and cleanse.
· The term blot out refers to the blotting out of a debt. .
· The phrase wash me. Sin always defiles.
· David asked God to Cleanse him. As from a disease.


Psalms 51:1 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to your lovingkindness: according to the multitude of your tender mercies blot out my transgressions.

First of all there is a debt that has to be paid! There is no way that we can hope to pay this! Colossians 2:13-14 And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, has he quickened together with him, having forgiven you all trespasses; Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Right on! the Lord has blotted out the debt! But sin not only creates a debt, sin also creates defilement. David was dirty and God had to wash him. Psalms 51:2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.

· Revelation 1:5 washed from our sins by his own blood

Sin creates debt, defilement and a disease in our spirit that robs us of strength and of power. God has to deal with all of this! How is this possible? It is only possible through the blood of Jesus Christ. When Jesus died for us on the cross He died for all of our sins. I John 1:7 ....the blood of Jesus Christ God’s Son cleanses us from all sin.

For God to forgive our sin, He had to pay a High Price! Romans 6:23 the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ

FORGIVENESS LEADING TO ETERNAL LIFE MAY BE FREE, BUT IT’S NOT CHEAP!

Many people believe that Jesus only forgave their past sins when they got saved. But let me ask how many of your sins were past when Jesus died? All of them were future.

Jesus dealt with all of your sin for all time and eternity when he died on the cross and rose again. He was made sin for us - not just part of our sin, but all of our sin.

So what about when we as God’s children rebel or disobey God? Consider “family forgiveness” When our kids disobeyed us they didn’t stop being our children. They may have stopped being “happy children”, they may have stopped being in close fellowship with us their parents, but they never stopped being our children.

Folks in Psalm 51, David wasn’t an unconvertred man coming to be saved, he was a converted man coming to be forgiven and cleansed.

David prayed, “Purge me” Psalms 51:7 Purge me with hyssop and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Why did David mention hysop? Hysop is a little shrub which the Jews used for sprinkling blood and water in differeent levitical purifications.

For example when a leper was cured of his disease, the priest would examine him and declare him clean. Then the priest and the leper went through an interesting ritual described in the 14th chapter of Leviticus.
The healed leper would bring two birds an earthen jar some scarlet material and some hyssop. The two men would go out to some running water and do a strange thing. They would put one of the birds into the clay jar and kill it. Then they would sprinkle some of the blood on the living bird and turn it loose. The priest would then use the hyssop to sprinkle some of the blood on the healed leper. This was a picture of what Jesus did for us! His death and resurrection.

Birds aren’t supposed to be stuffed into clay jars! One day the Lord Jesus came down from the heavens and as it were put Himself into a clay jar - He took on a human body. Do you know why?
That He might die on the cross and shed His blood for the sins of the world. Jesus died for our sins, but rose again from the dead. Jesus went back to heaven; where He now reprersents us. His blood has paid the price for all sin and we can through faith in Him be forgiven and cleansed.

According to I John 1:9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. How? By shedding His blood for us! THAT IS THE HIGH COST OF CLEANSING SIN!

Plainly....
“Our sin put Jesus on the cross”
Isaiah 53:4-8 He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

· John 1:29 Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.
· Titus 2:14 Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity
· I Peter 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the cross

WHEN IS THE LAST TIME YOU REALLY STOPPED TO CONSIDER THE HIGH COST OF CLEANSING SIN?

Zechariah 13:6 And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.