“Your sins are forgiven.” Mt 9:2 NAS
Jesus said to a quadriplegic lying on a cot, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.” Perhaps you’re asking, “What sins could a quadriplegic commit?” There are three ways to sin: (1) Commission: the things we do. (2) Omission: the good we fail to do. (3) Disposition: our wrong attitudes. Why didn’t Jesus just say, “Arise, take up your bed and walk?” Because when you know that your sins are forgiven you have the confidence to ask God for what you need, and the courage to rise up in faith and do what He tells you. Knowing his sins were forgiven enabled this man to do what everybody thought was impossible. There’s an important lesson here. After Adam sinned he hid from God. When God said to him, “Where are you?” he replied, “I heard Your voice in the garden, and I was afraid” (Ge 3:9-10 NKJV). How can you know when something is wrong for you? When it causes you to hide from God! When it makes you avoid prayer, Bible reading, and fellowship with God’s people. The Bible condemns sins such as stealing and lusting, but what about other things that are not so clearly spelled out in Scripture? To know whether something is right or wrong for you, you need only ask one question: “How will this affect my confidence before God?” You’ll never go wrong asking that question. “If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (1Jn 3:21-22 NKJV).
