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The sermon presents forgiveness as God’s sovereign act: He alone can pardon sin, and His pardon is sufficient even when people, conscience, or the law condemn the sinner. God forgives not because sinners have earned mercy but for His own name and glory. Those who are penitent should therefore reject despair, believe that Christ receives them, and come freely for salvation. Forgiven sinners should respond with gratitude, prayer, worship, and service.
Theological center: God alone forgives sin by sovereign grace, blotting out the guilt of those who come to Christ for His own glory and assuring them that their sins will not be counted against them.
Applications: Come to Christ freely · Repent and seek God · Believe God’s mercy · Rest in divine forgiveness
Primary texts: Isaiah 43:25 · Revelation 22:17
“I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” Isaiah 43:25 THERE are some passages of sacred writ which have been more abundantly blessed to the conversion of souls than others. They may be called salvation texts. We may not be able to discover how it is, or why it is, but certainly it is a fact that some chosen verses have been more used of God to bring men to the cross of Christ than any others in His Word. Certainly they are not more inspired, but I suppose they are more noticeable from their position, from their peculiar phraseology more adapted to catch the eye of the reader, and more suitable to a prevailing spiritual condition. All the stars in the heavens shine very brightly, but only a few attract the eye of the mariner and direct his course. The reason is this, that those few stars from their peculiar grouping are more readily distinguished and the eye easily fixes upon them. So I suppose it is with those passages of God’s Word which especially attract attention and direct the sinner to the cross of Christ. It so happens that this text is one of the chief of them. I have found it, in my experience, to be a most useful one. For out of the hundreds of persons who have come to me to narrate their conversion and experience, I have found a very large proportion who have traced the divine change which has been wrought in their hearts to the hearing of this precious declaration of sovereign mercy read and the application of it with power to their souls. “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions for mine own sake, and will not remember thy sins.” Hence I feel this morning somewhat pleased to have such a text, because I anticipate that my Master will give me souls. And I feel likewise somewhat afraid lest I should spoil the passage by my own imperfect handling thereof. I will, therefore, cast myself implicitly on the help of the Spirit, so that whatever I speak may be suggested by Him, and whatever He says, that may I speak to the exclusion of my own thoughts as much as possible. We shall notice first, this morning, the recipients of mercy—the persons of whom the Lord is here speaking. Secondly, the deed of mercy, “I, even I, am he that blotteth out thy transgressions.” Thirdly, the reason for mercy, “for my own sake.” And fourthly, the promise of mercy, “I will not remember thy sins.” I. We are about to see who are THE RECIPIENTS OF MERCY. And I would have you all listen, peradventure there are some strayed in here who are the very chief of sinners—some who have sinned against l…