Monday Club Sermons Mark 2:7-11 Why does this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?… I. It is evident THAT CHRIST CONSIDERED HIS CHIEF CLAIM TO THE REVERENCE OF MEN WAS HIS POWER TO FORGIVE SIN. There is no want of man so central as his need to be rid of the power and guilt of sin. What costly expedients the world has adopted in the endeavour to free itself from the burden and the torture. That sense of unworthiness and ill-desert can neither be cajoled nor hunted cut of our being. It may not be an ever-present force. There are times when in the engrossments of business and the excitement of pleasure we forget what we really are. But in the depths of our nature the serpent lies coiled, only silent for a while, not destroyed, and in time we feel the old sting. Men exalt Christianity as the great civilizer, but it is the redemptive power of the gospel that sets it above all other agencies. II. CHRIST EVIDENCES HIS POWER TO FORGIVE SINS BY VISIBLE MIRACLES. The transforming influence of grace is seen in individual character; also in the history of Christian missions. III. If Christ has "power on earth to forgive sins," THEN CHRIST IS DIVINE. No man and no wisdom of men can ever effect the pardon and deliverance of the transgressor. Science has no remedies strong enough to expel the poison from the spiritual nature. By doing this Christ makes good His claim to be Divine. IV. And if Jesus Christ has "power on earth to forgive sins," THEN IT IS OUR DUTY TO URGE MEN TO GO TO CHRIST THAT THEY MAY RECEIVE THE BLESSING OF PARDON. (Monday Club Sermons.) Parallel Verses KJV: Why doth this man thus speak blasphemies? who can forgive sins but God only?WEB: "Why does this man speak blasphemies like that? Who can forgive sins but God alone?" |
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