EVENING SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR
4/20/2026 8:16 PM
My
Worship Time Focus: PT-2 “The Theological Setting”
Bible
Reading & Meditation Reference: Luke
3:3b
Message of the verse: “preaching a baptism of repentance for
the forgiveness of sins;”
I want to continue to quote from MacArthur’s
commentary as I begin this evening’s SD, as this morning when I stopped I was
in the middle of a paragraph and so I will pick up where I left off: “Iniquities prevail against me,’ David
lamented, but then added, ‘as for our transgressions, You forgive them’ (Ps.
65:3). In Psalm 86:5, he affirmed, ‘You,
Lord, are good, and ready to forgive.’
In Psalm 1-3:12, he expressed the magnitude of God’s forgiveness when he
declared, ‘As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our
transgressions from us,’ and in Psalm 130:3-4, he added, ‘If You, Lord, should
mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?
But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.’ Daniel took comfort in the knowledge that ‘to
the Lord our God belong compassion and forgiveness’ (Dan. 9:9). Isaiah pictured God’s forgiveness as washing
sin so thoroughly that they are white as snow or wool (1:18), casting them
behind His back (38:17; cf. Ps. 51:9), refusing to remember them (43:25), and
covering them with a thick cloud and a heavy mist (44:22); Micah depicts
forgiveness as God’s trampling sins under His feet and casting them into the
depts of the sea (Mic. 7:19).”
This ends the paragraph that I began
in this morning’s SD. 4/20/2026 10:17 PM
Now we want to talk about the father
of John the Baptist, as His father, Zacharias, had prophesied in Luke 1:76-77,
the Baptist proclaimed God’ forgiveness.
His message offered hope to a people staggering under the weight of sin
and guilt. As a result, there were multitudes who flocked to the wilderness to
hear the strange prophet with the profound, penetrating message that their
burdened hearts so desperately needed to hear.
However forgiveness comes only to
those who acknowledge and turn from their sins; so hence John also proclaimed
the need for repentance. That concept
was also familiar to the Jewish people.
In Isaiah 55:6-7 we see that God commanded, “Seek the Lord while He may
be found; call upon Him while He is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and
let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God,
for He will abundantly pardon.” Next we will look at Ezekiel 18:30-32 also
called upon the people to repent:
30 ¶ "Therefore I will judge you, O house of
Israel, every one according to his ways, declares the Lord GOD. Repent and turn
from all your transgressions, lest iniquity be your ruin. 31 Cast away from you all the transgressions that
you have committed, and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! Why will
you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I
have no pleasure in the death of anyone, declares the Lord GOD; so turn, and
live.’” Also I want to look at 33:19 “19
I am the LORD your God; walk in my
statutes, and be careful to obey my rules.”
I really want to write more, but
things have not gone well with me or with my wife this evening, so I will hopefully
pick up tomorrow morning where I left of this evening.
4/20/2026
10:25 PM
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