Luke 5:20 And when he saw their faith, he said unto him, Man, thy sins are forgiven thee.
21 And the scribes and the Pharisees began to reason, saying, Who is this which speaketh blasphemies? Who can forgive sins, but God alone?
22 But when Jesus perceived their thoughts, he answering said unto them, What reason ye in your hearts?
23 Whether is easier, to say, Thy sins be forgiven thee; or to say, Rise up and walk?
24 But that ye may know that the Son of man hath power upon earth to forgive sins, (he said unto the sick of the palsy,) I say unto thee, Arise, and take up thy couch, and go into thine house.
25 And immediately he rose up before them, and took up that whereon he lay, and departed to his own house, glorifying God.
26 And they were all amazed, and they glorified God, and were filled with fear, saying, We have seen strange things to day.

Introductory Thoughts

Everyone should and must learn how and when to forgive others. However, forgiveness has some inherent limitations. True forgiveness of sins comes only from Almighty God. People may and should forgive others for things in which they have been wronged, but only God has the capacity to forgive transgressions against Himself and His word. Once an individual has trusted Christ as Saviour, he has been forgiven of all trespasses and the shed blood of Christ serves as the sole basis for that forgiveness (Ephesians 1:7; Colossians 1:14). Though it is important to seek forgiveness from others whom you may have wronged, everyone must still go directly to the Lord to seek the forgiveness for sins. The forgiveness offered by others cancels the conflict amongst and between them; however, the conflict caused by sin between God and man may still remain even after reconciliation has taken place between individuals.

Devotional Thoughts

• (For children): The Bible commands you to honour your father and mother, yet you talk back to them. Not only do you need to tell your parents that you are sorry, but you also need to tell God that you are sorry for disobeying His word.
• (For everyone): Do you remember a time in your life when you realized that you were lost and you came to the Lord with a sincere heart asking Him to forgive you of your sins? Failure to seek forgiveness for your sin will lead to an eternity spent in the lake of fire.
• Do you often seek other’s forgiveness, but fail to seek the forgiveness from the Lord? Are there things right now that you need to take to the Lord and seek His forgiveness? Do it now!

Prayer Thoughts

• Think about the sins you have committed and ask God to forgive you for each and every one of them.
• Ask the Lord to bring to mind the sins for which you have never sought His forgiveness.

SONG: Grace Greater Than Our Sin