The Forgiveness We Forgot About | Forgiveness Is Free | Judah Smith

Hey everybody, welcome back to another weekly service here at Church Home. And I can barely wipe the smile off my face because we're going to talk about my favorite subject this month. Ultimately, my favorite person is Jesus, but the subjects that surround him are many. But this month, we get to talk about my favorite, and that is the subject of forgiveness.

Now, maybe you hear that word and almost immediately uh you bristle. Almost immediately you feel a little bit resistance, but I got some encouraging uh news. First, we're going to talk about how freely you have been forgiven. And uh it's really good news. Before we even get into maybe people we need to forgive because I know it's pending, it's looming, it's there.

I want to talk to you about how truly forgiven you are. And I think it's going to give you energy. I think it is going to inspire you. I think it's going to help you. I talked to a friend on the way into the studio today to record this message who is just facing significant anxiety.

And I got to tell you, I think the person of Jesus and the subject of forgiveness can help even as specific with things like anxiety, maybe fear, worry. Um, I am so excited to share the month of June with you. The whole month of June, we are going to be looking at forgiveness.

And as of right now, we are considering titling this the forgiveness we forgot about. The forgiveness we forgot about. And the reason I'm titling it that is because truth um the revelation that is Jesus and all of his implications through what he has done for you and me.

Well, we can kind of drift from those things and through tradition and circumstance and context and experience and surrounding, we can forget. So, I don't mean forget like you forgot about forgiveness. I think forgiveness is kind of always around and always there. But oftent times we lose track and drift from the outrageous reality of God's actual forgiveness for you and for me.

So in five weeks in the month of June, I love June. Um and in LA they say June gloom, but I'm not going to accept that. I think it's going to be June bloom. All that just came to me. All right, everybody relax. Uh, but for the next five weeks, we're going to talk about how forgiveness is free.

We're going to talk about how forgiveness is for everyone. We're going to talk about how forgiveness is forever. We're going to talk about forgiveness is for fulfillment. And then, I don't want to tell you this because maybe you'll avoid this one, but we're going to end the whole month of June talking about forgiveness is for your enemy.

Um I think these five aspects of forgiveness we easily drift from. We easily become forgetful about them when in reality they can transform whatever you're facing whenever you're watching this. It might be earlier in the morning, might be in the middle of the day during lunchtime. It might be late at night.

Wherever you are and whenever you're watching this, forgiveness well and truly, demonstrated through the person of Jesus, can heal you, can set you free, can give you peace, can help you get up in the morning, it can help you sleep well at night. I am so excited to share forgiveness with you.

I want to start the whole series with one of my favorite family stories. One of my favorite family stories is we're driving in the car. Now, if you're a parent out there and you have small kids that have grown up or you used to have small kids, now you have grown-up kids.

Chelsea and I were 201816 right now as we record this June 2025 series and couple of nights ago friends were over and we got into old photos and we were screen mirroring on our TV old photos particularly my middle son Log who was the chubbiest happiest little guy you ever met and now he's this tall handsome potentially college basketball player.

I'm so proud of him. But Elliot had the most insane like um uh kidish accent and lisp and uh it was hard for him to say his Rs, I think is what it was. And there was a word that he couldn't pronounce. Tell you the truth, there were a lot of words he couldn't pronounce.

But his older brother oftentimes would correct him like older brothers do. Uh like firstborns do. Uh exact uh kind of uh firstborns do. And so he would tell Elliott, you know, that's that's not how you say it. I think if I'm not mistaken, it was will you forgive me?

Will you forgive me? Now, this is something we taught our kids that when there was full reconciliation, when there was full conclusion of a matter, if they were fighting over a toy, as they became of age and could understand the concept of forgiveness, we wouldn't in the Smith family say sorry.

We would say, "Will you forgive me?" And then their um uh sibling would have to say, "I forgive you." That was kind of how we did it. Elliott used to say, "Will for you give me." And I remember, "Will for you give me changed my life. Will for you give me."

Chelsea and I would fall asleep at night in bed going, "Oh, I love it when he says that. Will for you give me." And so he would say to his brother or to his little sister or to his mom and dad, "Will for you give me. will for you give me.

One time we're driving in a car and his older brother corrects him and Elliot just gets exasperated and he's in the back car and he goes, "I know I don't say it right. I know I don't say it white." And parents, you know what I'm talking about. There are those moments in your family that like live forever.

They are emlazing. They're branded on your brain forever. I know I don't say it right. will for you give me brings us to this entire exploration of forgiveness in the month of June. I know we don't always do it right. I know we don't always say it right.

Elliot's not wrong. The truth is that's your story and my story. I don't say it right. I don't do it right. I don't think about it right when it comes to forgiveness. Well, for many people watching this, forgiveness is a triggering concept because it's been used against you.

You have been forced to forgive. You have been said that you it's been demanded of you to forgive people who hurt you, used you, manipulated you, tricked you, gaslit you. And so when forgiveness comes around, the big f word in your life, you're like, I I don't want to really go there.

And so that's why we're not going to start the month of June. This message is not dedicated to forgiving your enemies. We'll get there, but we need to wade in to these waters and depths of forgiveness slowly. Imagine it like an ocean, an ocean of forgiveness. Let's first dip our toes in and then we'll go ankle deep, waist deep, and before you know it, by the end of this month of June, uh we're going to go all the way under and we're going to experience the full forgiveness of Jesus.

I want to remind you, we're committed to good news, not average, ordinary, and certainly not bad news, but good news here at Church Home. So for the next 10 minutes or so right here, I want to talk to you about how forgiveness is free. Forgiveness is free. Freely you have received.

Freely give. That's in the New Testament. I want to read to you a portion of scripture we're going to build from the entire month of June. Romans and chapter 3 and verse 23 starts with this bold statement. We have all sinned and we are in need of the glory of God.

Glory is we are in need of God's essence. We're in need of God's character because our character is flawed. Verse 24 says, "Yet through his powerful declaration of a quiddle, God freely freely God freely gives away his righteousness. His gift of love and favor now cascades over us all.

I love that. His gift of love and favor now cascades over us all because of Jesus, the anointed one. He's liberated us from the guilt, punishment, and power of sin. Jesus, God-given, his God-given destiny was to be the sacrifice to take away sins. He's our mercy seat because of his death on the cross.

We come to him for mercy. For God has made provision for us to be forgiven by faith in the sacred blood of Jesus. This is the perfect demonstration of God's justice because until now he had been so patient holding back his justice out of his tolerance for us.

So he covered over the sins of those who lived prior to Jesus sacrifice. And when the season of tolerance came to an end, there was only one possible way for God to give away his righteousness and still be true to both his justice and his mercy and his mercy, excuse me, to offer up his own son.

So now, because we stand on the faithfulness of Jesus, I'm going to say it again. Because we stand on the faithfulness of Jesus, God declares us right or righteous in his eyes. Where then is there room for boasting? Do our works bring us to God's acceptance? Not at all.

It was not our works of keeping the law, but our faith in his finished work that makes us right with God. So our conclusion is this. God's wonderful declaration that we are righteous in his eyes can only come when we put our faith in Jesus and not in keeping the law.

How amazing is that? Wow. Um, in a way, there are moments when we record these messages where I think if I just read that scripture to you, that that'd be enough for today. those ancient, supernatural, phenomenal, divine words written in the most magical book in human history and give you the energy and the strength and the stamina you need perhaps for the day ahead of you.

But I want to talk to you about how we have freely been forgiven. You heard that word used in Romans chapter 3. It's free. And that's where we start our journey here in June. Forgiveness, your forgiveness is free. It's free. In fact, Jesus while hanging on the cross for some 6 hours.

And what is Luke 23:34 says, "Father, forgive them for they don't know what they're doing." Forgive who? Jesus. Forgive the soldiers who crucified him. Forgive the crowd who chose Barabbus over Jesus. Forgive those who gambled over his clothing. Forgive those who stood silently and let it happen. Forgive everyone, Jesus says, for they don't know what they're doing.

How far does this forgiveness go? That's the question pressing on me today. How far does the forgiveness of Jesus go? And this month, we're going to take it as far as it goes. And the reach and the extent and the length of his forgiveness is astounding. So, prepare yourselves accordingly.

Buckle up. This forgiveness flight that we're getting on in the month of June, I think, will change your perspective of yourself. of God and your world forever. The subject of forgiveness is what's sacred and it seems holy to me. It seems like a subject that as you approach you think to yourself, not that it's fragile at all for it's finished and it's secure and it's true and it's noble and it's astounding and it's resolute but it is so sacred.

Even those words that Jesus cries out, "Father, forgive them." They don't know what they're doing. Um, hard to ascertain, hard to understand. It's like he's from another world. I never heard of anybody pleading for the forgiveness for those who have tortured, beaten, and hung him on a piece of wood, naked and bare, waiting for him to suffocate in his own blood.

He utters, no doubt in an agonizing fashion, "Father, forgive him." His body convulsing, "Forgive them. They they don't know what they're doing. How far does this forgiveness go? Further than you could ever imagine. And so we start here and I end within the next five or six minutes by giving you three observations about the freess of forgiveness.

It's free. Its nature is free. That means three things. Forgiveness cannot be earned through merit. It cannot be achieved through effort and it cannot be purchased through transaction. Merit, effort, transaction. Think of those words for a second. Merit, effort, transaction. Well, that sounds like the world we live in.

Merit, effort, transaction. That sounds like every coach I've ever had. That sounds like the messaging of every coach I've ever had. That sounds like the messaging of highly efficient, effective people that I've ever heard. Merit, effort, transaction. That sounds like a business plan. That sounds like an athletic plan.

That sounds like an entrepreneur plan. That sounds like an investor plan. That sounds like the plan that people make here on Earth. I'm going to earn it through merit. I'm going to achieve it through effort. and I'm gonna purchase it through an honorable transaction. And yet, I'm here to tell you that all three of those things are actually not in play whatsoever as it pertains to God's forgiveness for you.

Now, they are necessary and they were involved in your forgiveness, but Jesus earned it through his merit. Jesus achieved it through his effort and Jesus purchased it through his transaction. And so one of the last things Jesus said on the cross after saying father forgive them they don't know what they're doing was it is finished.

What is finished? The merit effort and transaction necessary to secure your forgiveness forever. You cannot earn, achieve, or purchase the forgiveness I speak of. It is fundamentally, categorically, and emphatically free. It's free. It's free. Now, perhaps your brain does what my brain does. How free is free? How far does free go?

What's the catch? What's the catch? Um, that's our culture today. I don't know if cultures 100 years ago, 200, 300, 500, or thousands of years ago felt this way, but man, in 2025, you can you can add that to pretty much any conversation you ever have. What's the catch?

How free is free? How free is free? I was on a plane the other day and I came to realize that in a 5-h hour flight there was going to be no food service. Now, I might sound entitled, so bear with me. But I thought because I had purchased a pretty expensive ticket, I thought that that included some food, but it did not.

So, when the the the incredible flight attendant came by, we asked if we could get some food and she brought a couple boxes of food and said that will be $20. And I thought, wait, I thought I already paid for this flight. Furthermore, I've been on flights before and they say, "No, the food is free.

Is it free or did you pay for it in the price of the ticket?" We live in a culture of catches. Here's the catch. free but free 30 days and then we charge you $7.99 every month for the rest of your life. What's the catch? How free is free?

There is no catch here. It's truly free. In fact, the only thing required of you and me to experience the fullness of this forgiveness that is fundamentally free is to accept it as it is. When you attempt to earn this forgiveness, achieve this forgiveness or purchase this forgiveness, it ceases to be the forgiveness that it is.

It well it changes the whole experience. People try people try to earn the forgiveness of Jesus. People try to achieve through effort the forgiveness of God. And know people have tried for thousands of years to purchase through a transactional connection with God forgiveness, freedom or eternal security. But I got good news.

Free is free. It's free for you. Especially you who just wondered when I said you. Me? Is your brain doing what my brain does too right now? Is your brain going, "Yeah, but yeah, but yeah, but to what he's not saying is then you got to attend church and then you got to read your Bible and then you got to pray and then you got to give money and then you got to Nope.

None of those things are required. Many people do those things because of appreciation, gratitude, and love for God or maybe for other reasons. And yet, none are demanded, commanded, or required to receive this forgiveness. So, we start the month of June here and I'm done. Can you and I have the courage to accept this formidable free forgiveness or will our humanness override the mystery and the majesty and the outrageous nature of the forgiveness?

Wherever you sit, whatever you feel, whatever you're facing, whatever you've done, no matter how embarrassed or shamed or grieved or proud you are of what you've done, this forgiveness, the forgiveness Jesus earned, the forgiveness Jesus achieved, the forgiveness Jesus purchased for you, is completely and utterly and eternally available to you.

And that's where it all starts. That's why I'm here. That's why I'm doing this. Because I've never heard a better story. I've never heard a greater truth. I've never heard of a more profound revelation. This is free. And so we can accept it. And so I'm going to lead you in a prayer.

And I wonder if you would want to right now accept for the first time or maybe accept for the 1,000th time is free forgiveness. Forgiveness for what, Judah? Well, Romans 3:23 says, "We've all lived selfish. We've all missed the mark. We've all made hairs." And so he will forgive us forever for all that we've done or will ever do in this one moment of receptivity.

So pray with me if you dare. God, I accept your forgiveness again. Where I sit right now, it is free. I refuse to try to earn, achieve, or purchase a freedom that you already got for me. I receive it. I accept it. I absorb ((music playing)) it. I believe it.

I'm free because of you. And I thank you for the forgiveness that you give so freely. I'm praying especially for those who are watching God whose bodies and brain and soul is racked with fear, worry, anxiety, fear of their past, fear of the future, a sense of isolation and loneliness and maybe helplessness and hopelessness.

I pray that your forgiveness would meet them exactly where they are right now in a way they can't even put in words. Let your forgiveness flow freely here now. I pray this using your name, invoking your name because it declares your character. You are Jesus and you are true and you are the savior and you're the greatest person we've ever known.

Thank you for these moments in Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for watching. I'm so excited to share this month of June with you as we take forgiveness as far as it actually goes. See you next week. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) In your kindness you call me yours. You share your glory. You make me whole.

After the suffering, I am restored. You establish me and make my heart your home. So hear my praise and adoration from the deepest of my heart. Every circumstance your name be lifted up. Firm foundation, solid ground, restoration, healing power. I behold you, Jesus Christ. I will praise your name because of who you are.

You are God. You are living. Holy one, God of healing. And you restore. The God who hears me. The God who knows and the God who sees me. So hear my praise and adoration. From the deepest of my heart, every circumstance your name be lifted up. Oh firm foundation, solid ground, ((music playing)) restoration, healing power.

I behold you. Jesus Christ, I will praise your name because of who you are. Oh, you are God. You are living holy one God of healing. The God who knows the God who hears me. You restore. God who sees me. So hear my praise and adoration. From the deepest of my heart, every circumstance your name be lifted up.

Firm foundation, solid ground, ((music playing)) restoration, healing power. I behold you, Jesus Christ. I will praise your name because of who I pour my wories on you because you care. I pour my stress upon you. I leave them there. I pour my wories on you because you care. I pour my stress upon you.

I leave them there. Oh firm foundation, solic restoration, healing power. I behold you, Jesus Christ. I will praise your name because of who you are. Oh firm foundation, solid ground, ((music playing)) restoration, healing power. I behold you, Jesus Christ. I will praise your name because of who you are. Oh, we behold you, Jesus Christ.

We will praise your name because of who you are. We behold you Jesus Christ. We will praise your name because of who you are. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing)) Heat. Heat. ((music playing)) ((music playing)) ((music playing))