November 23 2024

Saturday November 23

“Your Faith Has Saved You”

Luke 7:44-50

44 Then He turned to the woman and said to Simon, "Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave Me no water for My feet, but she has washed My feet with her tears and wiped them with the hair of her head. 45 You gave Me no kiss, but this woman has not ceased to kiss My feet since the time I came in. 46 You did not anoint My head with oil, but this woman has anointed My feet with fragrant oil. 47 Therefore I say to you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little." 48 Then He said to her, "Your sins are forgiven." 49 And those who sat at the table with Him began to say to themselves, "Who is this who even forgives sins?" 50 Then He said to the woman, "Your faith has saved you. Go in peace."

In Luke 7 we have the story of Simon the Pharisee who invited Jesus to his house for a dinner and how it was interrupted by a sinful woman of the street who came in and washed the feet of Jesus with her tears and then anointed them with a very expensive fragrant oil. After Simon inwardly criticized Jesus allowing this sinful woman to touch Him, Jesus told the story of a creditor who forgave two debtors a debt neither one could pay. Then Jesus looks at the woman and speaks of her great expression of love because she knew she was forgiven for all her sins. Several thing we should notice as we conclude this chapter today.

The woman was guilty of sins of commission, but Simon was guilty of sins of omission. He had not been a gracious host to the Lord Jesus. Everything that Simon neglected to do, the woman did, and she did it better! There are two errors we must avoid as we interpret our Lord's words. First, we must not conclude that this woman was saved by her tears and her gift. Jesus made it clear that it was her faith alone that saved her (Luke 7:50), for no amount of good works can pay for salvation (Titus 3:4-7).

Nor should we think that lost sinners are saved by love, either God's love for them or their love for God. God loves the whole world (John 3:16), yet the whole world is not saved. "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast" (Ephesians 2:8-9). Grace is love that pays a price, and that price was the death of the Son of God on the cross.

Jesus did not reject either the woman's tears or her gift of ointment, because her works were the evidence of her faith. "Faith without works is dead" (James 2:14-26). We are not saved by faith plus works; we are saved by a faith that leads to works. This anonymous woman illustrates the truth of Galatians 5:6, "The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love".

How did the woman know that her sins were forgiven? Jesus told her. How do we know today that we have been forgiven? God tells us so in His Word. Here are just a few verses to consider: Isaiah 1:18; 43:25-26; 55:6-7; Acts 13:38-39; Romans 4:7-8; Ephesians 4:32; and Hebrews 8:12. Once you understand the meaning of God's grace you have no trouble receiving His free and full forgiveness and rejoicing in it.

Of course, the legalistic critics at the dinner were shocked when Jesus said, "Her sins, which are many, are forgiven." By saying this, Jesus was claiming to be God! (Luke 5:21) But He is God, and He died for the sins that she committed. His words of forgiveness were not cheap words; they cost Him dearly on the cross.

How was this woman saved? She repented of her sins and put her faith in Jesus Christ. How did she know she was truly forgiven? She had the assurance of His word. What was the proof of her salvation? Her love for Christ expressed in sacrificial devotion to Him. For the first time in her life, she had peace with God. Luke 7:50 literally reads, "Go into peace," for she had moved out of the sphere of enmity toward God and was now enjoying peace with God (Rom. 5:1; 8:7-8).

When Jesus healed the centurion's servant, it was a great miracle. An even greater miracle was His raising the widow's son from the dead. But in this chapter, the greatest miracle of all was His saving this woman from her sins and making her a new person. The miracle of salvation has to be the greatest miracle of all, for it meets the greatest need, brings the greatest results (and they last forever), and cost the greatest price.

Simon was blind to the woman and blind to himself. He saw her past, but Jesus saw her future. I wonder how many rejected sinners have found salvation through the testimony of this woman in Luke's Gospel. She encourages us to believe that Jesus can take any sinner and make him or her into a child of God.

But God's forgiveness is not automatic! We have the choice to either accept God’s pardon or reject it. Now is the time to believe and be saved. What will your choice be today?

God bless!