The just shall live by faith
“And, behold, they brought to him a man sick of the palsy, lying on a bed; and Jesus seeing their faith said unto the sick of the palsy; Son, be of good cheer; thy sins be forgiven thee. And, behold, certain of the seribes said within themselves, This man blasphemeth. And Jesus knowing their thoughts said, Wherefore think ye evil in your hearts? For whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Arise, and walk? But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power on earth to forgive sins, then saith He to the sick of the palsy, Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house. And he arose, and departed to his house. But when the multitudes saw it, they marveled, and glorified God, which had given such power unto men.” Matt. 9:2-8.
Christians often say, “I can understand and believe that God will forgive my sins, but it is hard for me to believe that He can keep me from sinning.” These have much to learn about what is meant by forgiveness of sins. It is true that they often have a measure of peace in believing that God does forgive their sins. But they deprive themselves of much blessing through their failure to grasp the power of forgiveness.
“These are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through His name.” The scribes did not believe that Jesus could forgive sin. In order to show that He had power to forgive sins, He healed the paralyzed man. This miracle was worked for the express purpose of illustrating the work of forgiving sin, and demonstrating its power. Jesus said to the paralyzed man, “Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house,” that you might know His power to forgive sin. So the power exhibited in the healing of that man is the power given to you in the forgiveness of your sins.
Note particularly that the effect of the words of Jesus continued after they were spoken. They made a change in the man, and that change was permanent. It works the same way in the forgiveness of sin. It’s easy to think that when God forgives your sins that the change is in God and not in you, that God finally ceases to hold anything against you. But this implies that God had a grievance against you, which is not the case. God is not a man; He does not hold a grudge against you. It is not because He has a hard feeling in his heart against you that He forgives you, but because of something in your heart. God is all right; you are all wrong. So God forgives you so that you may also be all right.
To illustrate the forgiveness of sin. Jesus said to the man, “Arise, take up thy bed, and go unto thine house.” The man arose, obedient to His voice. The power that was in the words of Jesus, raised him up, and made him well.
The power that removed his paralysis and gave him strength remained in him as long as he kept the faith. This is illustrated by the Psalmist, when he says: “I waited patiently for the LORD; and He inclined unto me, and heard my cry. He brought me up also out of an horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my goings.” Ps. 40:1, 2.
There is life in the words of God. Jesus said, “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” John 6:63.
The word received in faith brings the Spirit and the life of God to your soul. So when you hear the words, “Son, be of good cheer, thy sins be forgiven thee,” and receive those words in penitence, as the living words of the living God, a new life is begun in you and you are a different person. It is the power of God’s forgiveness, and that alone, that keeps you from sinning. If you continue to sin after you receive pardon, it is because you have not grasped the fullness of the blessing that was given to you in the forgiveness of your sins.
In the story we read the man received new life. His paralyzed condition was his natural life wasting away. He was partially dead. The words of Christ gave him fresh life. This new life that was given to his body enabled him to walk. This is an illustration to you of the unseen life of God which he had received in the words, “Thy sins be forgiven thee,” and which made him a new creature in Christ.
This simple and clear illustration will help you understand some of the words of the apostle Paul. “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light; who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of His dear Son; in whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.” Col 1:12-14. See the same statement concerning redemption through Christ’s blood, in 1Peter 1:18, 19; Rev. 5:9.
Notice two points: You have redemption through Christ’s blood, and this redemption is the forgiveness of sins. But the blood is the life. See Gen. 9:4; Rev. 17:13, 14. Therefore Col. 1:14 is telling you that you have redemption through Christ’s life. But doesn’t the Scripture say that we are reconciled to God by the death of His Son? It does, and that is just what is taught here. Christ “gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from all iniquity.” Titus 2:14. He “gave Himself for our sins.” Gal.1:4. In giving Himself, He gives His life. In shedding His blood, He pours out His life. But in giving up His life, He gives it to you. His life is righteousness, even the perfect righteousness of God, so that when you receive it you are “made the righteousness of God in Him.” It is the receiving of Christ’s life, as you are baptized into His death, that reconciles you to God.
That is how you “put on the new man which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness,” “after the image of Him that created him.” Eph. 4:24; Col. 3:10.
Now read Rom. 3:23-25, and it will be easier to understand: “For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; being justified [that is, made righteous, or doers of the law] freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus; whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission [sending away] of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God.” You have sinned. Your whole life has been sin. Even your thoughts have been evil. Mark 7:21. And to be carnally minded is death. Therefore your life of sin is a living death. If you are not set free, you will die an eternal death. You have no ability to get righteousness out of the holy law of God, so God in His mercy puts His own righteousness on you when you believe. As a free gift, out of the riches of His grace, He makes you righteous. He does this by His words. He declares- speaks His righteousness unto and on you through your faith in the blood of Christ. In Him is God’s righteousness, “for in Him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily.”
When He speaks the righteousness of God on you this takes away your sin. God takes away your sinful life by putting His own righteous life in its place. This is the power of the forgiveness of sin. It is “the power of an endless life?
When you receive the life of God by faith your Christian life begins. How do you continue? The same way you began. “As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in Him.” Col. 2:6. For “the just shall live by faith.” The secret of living the Christian life is simply to hold fast to the life of Christ, which you received from Him when He forgave your sins. God forgives your sin by taking it away. He justified you by making you godly. He reconciles your rebellious self to Himself by taking away your rebellion and making you loyal and obedient.
Is it difficult for you to understand how you can have the life of God as an actual fact? Does it seem unreal because you have it by faith? It was by faith that the poor paralyzed man received new life and strength. Was his strength any less real? Wasn’t it an actual fact that he received strength? You can’t understand it?
Of course not, for it is a manifestation of “the love of God that passeth knowledge.” But you may believe it, and realize the fact, and then you will have eternity to study the wonder of it. Read again and again the story of the healing of the paralyzed man, and meditate on it until it is a living reality to you. Then remember that “these are written that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that believing ye might have life through His name.”
Living By Faith- E.J.W, and A.T.J
Maranatha