In his sermon on Romans 4:7–8, Stephen Davey explains Paul’s use of King David as a striking example of undeserved forgiveness, showing that justification by faith alone brings both God’s satisfaction and the sinner’s joy. Davey surveys humanity’s long history of trying to appease the gods—through sacrifices, rituals, penance, or purgatory—and contrasts these efforts with Paul’s clear teaching that sinners are made right with God not by payment or suffering but by faith in Christ alone. Turning to David’s confession in Psalm 32, which Paul quotes in Romans 4, Davey highlights three key words that describe the believer’s rescue: forgiven—sin carried away by Christ our scapegoat; covered—sin atoned for through Christ’s blood; and not taken into account—sin erased from the divine ledger. Davey emphasizes that David’s sins were great, his case humanly hopeless, yet God removed his guilt entirely—“forgiven and forgotten”—an assurance every believer shares because of Christ’s completed work.
Forgiven … Forgotten
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