In a sermon, “Why Forgive?”, Coty Pinckney speaks of the extent of Joseph’s forgiveness:
Genesis 45:4a So Joseph said to his brothers, “Come near to me, please.” And they came near.
Oh, the call to come near! When Joseph could say instead, “Be gone from me! To the executioner!” But he says, “Come to me!”
Jesus says the same to us: “Come to me.”
And he said, “I am your brother, Joseph, whom you sold into Egypt. [That is, “You are guilty!”] 5 And now do not be distressed or angry with yourselves because you sold me here A(Genesis 45:4b-5a, emphasis added)
Stop there. Put yourself in Joseph’ shoes:
- Wouldn’t you want your brothers to be at least a little angry with themselves?
- Wouldn’t you want them to feel some distress?
Or let’s put it more generally: Isn’t it good for sinners to be angry at and distressed by their sin?
Yes it is. Speaking of those who recognize their sin, James writes:
Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. James 4:9
If there is no true sorrow for sin, there can be no true repentance
But do you see? The brothers already gave much evidence of such mourning. We see this most profoundly in Judah’s speech. But even back in chapter 42, we see such mourning when Joseph declares they must bring Benjamin to him, and that a brother must stay in Egypt to guarantee that that happens:
Then they said to one another, “In truth we are guilty concerning our brother, in that we saw the distress of his soul, when he begged us and we did not listen. That is why this distress has come upon us.” Genesis 42:21
So Joseph is not saying, “Never mourn about your sin.” He’s saying, “The time for mourning is past! The burden of guilt is lifted! I forgive you completely!”
Jesus says the same to us. God forgives the repentant sinner completely. That same passage in James that tells us to mourn for our sin continues:
Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you. James 4:10
He will exalt you! He will lift you up from your mourning, so you need not mourn again! Or as John puts it,
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
So if you have confessed your sin before God, if you acknowledge you are guilty and Jesus is your Savior and Lord, you need not continue to mourn. Rejoice! God forgives you! God cleanses you! The guilt is gone!
Knowing God through His Word ... Day by Day 