C.S. Lewis makes a profound statement in his book, Mere Christianity.

It says, everyone thinks that forgiveness is a lovely idea until they have to forgive someone.

How true that is. In fact, you know that next to the word love, the word forgiveness is the most

banded about word, most talked about word among Christians and non-Christians alike. And yet,

as Salis understood or practiced, if you listen to the secular preachers, you would discover that they're

constantly preaching to their congregations about how important forgiveness is, or how healthy

forgiveness is, and how freeing forgiveness is. But here's the problem. All of these secular preachers

who preach the virtue of forgiveness is like trying to describe the blue sky and the green grass to a blind

person. You can explain all you want, but it is not a substitute for experiencing

the forgiveness of others that can only come from experiencing the forgiveness of the Lord as a result of us being conscious of the sin that burdened us with

which we are born and then come to him in repentance and in faith and in confession and

receiving forgiveness from his hand. And then share it with others.

Here's another problem.

So much of modern day preaching in churches is so watered down that we are confusing the secular society.

So much of the preaching in churches for the past several decades, it goes something like

this. Take Jesus with you,

take Jesus along the way, and all your problems will be over. Everything will be fine.

Just to add Jesus to the list of your friends and you'll be saved. Beloved, the scripture makes

it very clear, namely that only when we recognize how our sins

have offended a holy God, a righteous God, only when we realize how dreadful condition

we were in without God, only when we experience the deprivation of sin and the burden

of sin, only then can we come to God in crying out to him and asking, not in remorse, but in true

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