Not Perfect, Just Forgiven

Assurance / Isaiah 43; Romans 8

Many of us carry a quiet, nagging doubt about our standing with God. We show up, we try, and yet somewhere in the back of our minds a voice asks: am I still OK with Him? This sermon addresses that voice directly. The problem is real, the truth is bigger than we think, and that truth is supposed to change the way we live.

1. The Problem Is Real — And We Need to Name It

   1. For decades, much of our preaching rightly warned against falling away — but left out the equally important message of assurance for those who are genuinely trying.

      1. We told people they could lose their salvation without also telling them God is relentlessly working to keep them.

      2. Those two truths must live together.

   2. The result: people who sin run from God instead of to Him.

      1. They imagine God with a clipboard, every failure another mark against them.

   3. John didn’t write for hopeful speculation — he wrote for certainty.

      1. 1 John 5:13: I have written these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life.

      2. Know. Not hope. Not suspect. Know.

1. The Truth Is Bigger Than You Think

   1. Consider Manasseh — the worst king in Israel’s history.

      1. Built altars to Baal inside the temple. Practiced witchcraft. Sacrificed his own sons. Shed blood until Jerusalem was filled.

      2. The Assyrians captured him, put hooks in him, and dragged him to Babylon.

      3. 2 Chronicles 33:12–13: When he was in distress, he sought the favor of the Lord his God and earnestly humbled himself... He prayed to him, and the Lord was receptive to his prayer.

      4. God forgave Manasseh — and gave him back his throne. If that man could be fully restored, what exactly have you done that puts you beyond His reach?

   2. Consider Paul — who hunted Christians, approved of Stephen’s murder, and called himself the chief of sinners.

      1. 1 Timothy 1:14: The grace of our Lord overflowed, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus.

      2. Not trickled. Not was technically available. Overflowed.

   3. We must abandon the split-screen view of God — a warm Jesus on one side, an arms-crossed Father keeping score on the other.

John 14:9: The one who has seen me has seen the Father. Same character. Same heart.

• God is not looking for a reason to reject you. He’s looking for a reason to bring you home.

1. Hebrews 7:25: He is able to save completely those who come to God through him, since he always lives to intercede for them.

2. Every sin. Every failure. Every repetitive struggle. Completely.

1. What This Truth Is Supposed to Do to You

   1. Salvation isn’t one frozen moment you’re constantly in danger of losing — it’s a living relationship.

      1. You were saved (Romans 8:24). You are being saved (1 Corinthians 15:2). You will be saved (Romans 5:9–10).

   2. Relationships don’t run on fear. They run on love and trust.

      1. 1 John 4:18: There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear.

   3. When someone actually makes this shift, everything changes.

      1. The way you pray. The way you treat struggling people. The way you talk about your faith.

      2. You can’t share good news you don’t actually believe is good news for you.

   4. Luke 12:32: Don’t be afraid, little flock, because your Father delights to give you the kingdom.

      1. He’s not reluctant. He’s not begrudgingly holding the door open. He wants this for you.

1. As We Close…

   1. Paul — the man who called himself the chief of sinners — builds the most confident declaration in all of Scripture.

      1. Romans 8:38–39: Neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

   2. Paul doesn’t say nothing can separate you except your own failures.

      1. Your worst day, your worst habit, your worst secret — that’s not outside of creation. It’s covered.

   3. You’re not holding onto God by your fingernails. You’re held — by Him.

      1. The posture He’s asking for isn’t perfection. It’s the posture of the returning son.

      2. Walking back up the road. Willing to say: I’ve blown it, and I need you.

   4. You don’t have to be perfect. You just have to be forgiven.

      1. If you’ve come to Him, if you’re walking in the light, confessing when you fail, and genuinely trying — you are forgiven.

      2. Not probably. Not hopefully. You are.