Desperate For Forgiveness

Desperate For Forgiveness

If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins.

1 John 1:9

HAVE YOU EVER BEEN GUILTY? Not just felt guilty but actually been guilty?

In 2009 I moved from Virginia Beach, Virginia, to Las Vegas to start a new church. You may know that. Here’s something you may not know: when I moved to Nevada, I was wanted by the police in Virginia.

About a week before heading west, we went to visit some friends. We left our dog with a family in Virginia Beach. I was supposed to get back to pick up our dog on Sunday night around nine o’clock, but I was running late. Really late. And I felt really bad. The family had young kids. They were waiting up for me to arrive. So I was driving fast. Really fast.

I was praying, God, I know I’m speeding. But I’m doing it to be nice to this family. Please don’t let me get pulled over! when I saw the flashing lights behind me and heard the siren. Sometimes God doesn’t answer our prayers. Sometimes God shouldn’t answer our prayers.

The police officer asked, “Do you know how fast you were going?”

I told him, “It’s because of my dog. This family . . . I’m speeding to be nice.”

He said, “You were going ninety-two in a fifty-five.” In my defense, I thought I was going ninety-two in a sixty-five. But . . . I was guilty.

He gave me a ticket and informed me I had to be in court on February 20.

“I can’t be in court in February,” I told him. “I’m moving to Las Vegas next week. Can I just plead guilty and pay my fine through the mail?”

“This isn’t a traffic ticket.” He sounded angry. “You were going more than thirty miles per hour over the speed limit, so this is a Class 1 misdemeanor. That’s a criminal charge. You have to show up in court for a criminal charge.”

“I really can’t.” I sounded pathetic. “I can’t afford to fly back just for a trial.”

“If you don’t show up,” he said very sternly, “there will be a warrant out for your arrest. You will be wanted in the state of Virginia.”

The next week I moved to Las Vegas. And . . . I didn’t go back for my trial. And there was a warrant out for my arrest in Virginia.

I was guilty. And I needed help.

Fortunately, I had a friend in Virginia who was a lawyer.

I called on him, and he was able to take care of my problem for me.

Las Vegas

I didn’t plan on having a warrant out for my arrest when I moved to start a church in Las Vegas, but I hoped it might give me some street cred.

And, as it turned out, one of the first people I met and became friends with was a guy who had just gotten out of prison. Shortly after meeting, we sat at a breakfast restaurant. He was crying. He believed in God, and he wanted to believe that God believed in him. He wanted to love God, wanted to feel loved by God. But he couldn’t. He couldn’t believe that God could love him, because he had done some serious stuff, and he just felt too guilty. He knew his sin was a problem that had to be taken care of.

Not long after, I met and became friends with a guy who had just become a pimp. He moved to Vegas, got into the nightclub and strip club scene, started meeting girls, realized there was money to be made, and became a pimp. His wife found out he was sleeping with the girls he was selling, and she walked out with their two kids. When we met, he was also crying. Just like the guy I had breakfast with, he thought he was too guilty to be forgiven.

I explained to each of them, “God loves you so much he wants to forgive your sin so he can have a relationship with you. He hates your sin so much he had to punish it. But he loves you so much he took the punishment himself.”

I shared Bible verses, like Romans 4:25: “He [Jesus] was handed over to die because of our sins, and he was raised to life to make us right with God,” and 1 John 1:9: “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness,” and Ephesians 1:7: “He [God the Father] is so rich in kindness and grace that he purchased our freedom with the blood of his Son and forgave our sins.”

I told them yes, you’re guilty, and yes, you need help. But you have a friend who took care of your problem for you. Now you just need to call on him. God’s offered to take away your guilt, but a gift isn’t yours until you accept it. If you believe and say yes, you’ll be forgiven and God’s love will flood into your life and you will be free.

And the guy who had just been in prison . . . didn’t. I don’t know if he just couldn’t believe it, or if he just refused to receive it, but he never said yes. We met repeatedly, he came to our church a few times, but he never said yes. And I think his life is the same today as it was back then.

The guy who had ruined his life and his family by becoming a pimp . . . did. He believed, and he said yes. We kept meeting, he came to our church regularly, and his life completely changed. He quit taking advantage of girls. He restored his marriage and became a great husband and dad. He’s now changing the lives of other people. His life has become pretty amazing, pretty beautiful.

You

We’ve all sinned, and it leaves us feeling guilty and dirty. We want to be clean. I think we’re all desperate for forgiveness.

Have you said yes? Have you accepted Jesus’ death as the substitute for the punishment you deserve?

You may be nodding your head, but have you truly embraced God’s forgiveness?

Do you sometimes wonder if God can really use you in any significant way, because of all the things you’ve done wrong?

When you sin, do you feel too guilty to pray, instead of feeling drawn to talk to God to express how grateful you are for his forgiveness?

Does trying to live for God feel like a heavy burden to you, instead of “easy and light”^a?

When something goes wrong, do you suspect God might be paying you back for something you’ve done?

If so, you haven’t fully embraced God’s forgiveness. And you need to know that while God is perfect, he is not a perfectionist. He is perfect, but he is also perfectly compassionate. He loves you, and you have this promise: “If we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”^b

And when you truly embrace that, you’ll be transformed by it. Your life will become pretty amazing, pretty beautiful.

Now What?

• Read Romans 4:23–5:11.
• Get a piece of paper and write down all the things that you feel guilty about. Look over the list. Confess it all to God. Burn the paper. That guilt is gone.
• Now write a thank-you note to God for loving you and dying so you could be forgiven. Rejoice that you have been declared not guilty and made right with God.