The Cooling Stream

Forgiveness is the very core of the gospel message.

We are Christians only because God forgave us everything.

There is no other ground on which we stand.

It was not our repentance.

It was not our praying the sinner’s prayer.

Nothing made us children of God except God forgave.

And God did it through His Son on the cross 2000 years ago.

Jesus took all that sin and nailed it to the cross.

And He commanded us to do the same.

We must keep to Jesus’ teaching.

We must learn to forgive.

Let us learn to let go of our right for revenge.

Let us try not to be bitter.

Let us forgive others their sins just as God had forgiven ours.

Forgiveness can stop the cycle of blame, pain as well as vengeance and violence.

Forgiveness is to release, to hurl away, and to free ourselves.


The only thing harder than forgiveness is the alternative.



Let us give ourselves the gift of forgiveness. Is there someone we need to forgive?

John 1:4-5

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John’s Preaching. “Preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” (4b).

• John's message was a message of confrontation. He confronted sin and calling on people to repent. They had sinned and they must change their minds regarding sin. They must clean up their lives in preparation for the advent of Jesus!

• John's message was a message of change. He told the people that their repentance would result in the forgiveness of sins. Their repentance would result in God’s forgiveness!

Preachers of our day must preach like John the Baptist! They must confront sin and call people to repentance for the forgiveness of sin. They must tell the people the truth!

John’s Practice. “Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River” (5b).

John baptized people. He did not baptize people to make them right with God. People were not being baptized to have their sins forgiven; they were being baptized because their sins had been forgiven.

They went to John and were immersed into the river Jordan to declare publicly that their lives had been changed by the power of God. They were baptized to give glory to the God Who had forgiven their sins and made them whole.

This baptism was about a change of life! It is a picture of a person dying to the old life of sin and rising again to a new life of holiness.

John’s Power. “The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him” (5a).

Many people came to John to be baptized by him. Some traveled many miles on foot.

They made a break with their past and were changed by the power of God. They responded to the preaching of John and they came to him confessing their sins and turning from their sinful lifestyles.

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People still need to be told they are sinners.

They still need to be confronted with the need for genuine repentance.

Then they will come confessing their sins and turning from their sinful lifestyles. They will want to be baptized!