Evidence of Pardon
Text: Isaiah 55:7
Introduction
1. Pardon: “To absolve from the penalty for a fault or crime; to free from penalty as a person.”
2. Pardon is the only remedy for sin.
a. The penalty for sin is death. (Rom. 6:23)
b. Since all have sinned all need pardoned. (Rom. 3:23) 3. God is the source of the sinner’s pardon.
a. Since all sin is against Him, pardon must come from Him. (Psa. 51:4) b. If the wicked forsakes his way, God will pardon him. (Isa. 55:7)
c. God sent His Son to die as a sacrifice to be able to pardon man’s sins. (2 Cor. 5:21)
4. In order for us to be truly happy, we must know that we have received this pardon. a. Knowing you have been pardoned involves evidence.
b. What does Scripture reveal concerning the evidence that one has been pardoned of sins?
I. Man's False Evidences of Pardon A. Feelings.
1. Feelings are the fruit of what we believe. (2 Thes. 2:10-12)
2. Feelings, though genuinely felt, can be wrong when they are based on that which is false.
a. Jacob’s feelings of loss over the supposed death of Joseph.
b. The woman who felt she was floating on air as evidence of her pardon.
1) “Were you really floating on air?” “No.” 2) “Then maybe you were not really saved.”
3. Joy accompanies salvation but it is the fruit of obedience. (Acts 8:39) B. Conscience.
1. Paul possessed a good conscience even though he had done many things contrary to the will of God. (Acts 23:1; 2 Tim. 1:3)
2. Conscience by itself is not an adequate measure of pardon.
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C. Being honest and sincere.
1. Pardoned people should be honest and sincere but honesty itself is no evidence of pardon. (Prov. 14:12)
2. Cornelius was honest and sincere but he needed words to save him. (Acts 11:14; 10:47-48)
D. Strange occurrences in one’s life.
1. A dream (Jer. 23:25). If a sign of anything, it might be of old age (Acts 2:17; cf. Heb. 1:1)
2. Seeing a light.
a. Saul saw one (Acts 9:3-4), but it did not grant him pardon. (Acts 22:16)
b. God’s word is our light. (Psa. 119:172) 3. Seeing an angel.
a. Cornelius saw one but it was no evidence of pardon. (Acts 10:2) b. An angel who would speak anything other than the gospel is
cursed and those who would heed him are also cursed. (Gal. 1:6-9)
II. Pardon Is Revealed in Scripture as a Matter of Certainty A. The apostles wrote with certainty to those who had received pardon. B. Some examples:
1. Paul: 2 Corinthians 5:6-8; Romans 6:17-18; 1 Thessalonians 1:4;Ephesians 1:7. 2. Peter: 1 Peter 1:2.
3. John: 1 John 3:2.
III. The True Evidence of Pardon A. Pardon is in the mind of God.
1. Man is converted but evidence of pardon must come from God. 2. It is as certain as the Governor’s seal on the pardon of a prisoner.
B. The evidence of the spirits. (Rom. 8:16)
1. There are two spirits mentioned: the Holy Spirit and man’s spirit.
2. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit not to our spirit. (With: in agreement.)
C. How does the Holy Spirit bear witness?
1. It is a speaking spirit. (John 16:13; Acts 2:4; 1 Tim. 4:1)
2. It directed men to infallibly record God’s conditions of pardon. (1 Cor. 2:9-13; 2 Pet. 1:20-21; Eph. 3:1-5; Acts 2:4, 36-38)
3. Our spirit must agree with the Holy Spirit if we are children of God or pardoned of our sins. (Rom. 8:16-17)
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4. The Scriptures are the words of the Holy Spirit.
a. The scriptures tell us what to do to be saved.
b. It is only when we know we have obeyed what they reveal as conditions for pardon that our spirit is in agreement with the Holy Spirit and we are the children of God—pardoned sinners.
Conclusion
When these two witnesses, the Holy Spirit and your spirit, agree, you have been pardoned of your sins, you are a child of God, His heir, a joint heir with Christ.
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