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"Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace" (Luke 7:50).

There are people here from all walks of life this morning. Some of you have been to church many times, but you are not certain you are saved. This sermon is for you. If you follow what I say from this passage of Scripture you could go home from church this morning saved.

There are many of you here this morning for the first time. You may never have entered a gospel-preaching Baptist church like this before in your life. We welcome you! Thank you for coming! But this sermon is also for you. You may have entered the church this morning with no awareness of what it means to be saved. You may never have thought about being saved before. You may not even know what it means to be saved. But this sermon is also for you. I am going to do my very best to make it very clear - to tell you in very simple words what it means to be saved. Perhaps one of you who is here for the very first time, who has never heard a sermon on salvation, will be saved this very morning. My wife, Ileana, got saved the very first time she came to our church - as a teenager in high school. Listen  very  carefully,  and  you  may  get  saved  this  morning,  and  Jesus  will  say  to  you,

"Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace" (Luke 7:50).

Our Deacon, Dr. Chan, read Luke 7:36-50 in the Scripture reading this morning. It's a simple story. Jesus went to eat dinner at the home of a proud Pharisee, a very religious man. But this highly moral and religious man knew nothing about the mercy and love of Jesus. He thought that he could get to Heaven by being a "good" person. He didn't understand the mercy and love and forgiveness of Jesus.

A very sinful woman came in where they were eating. She had a box of expensive ointment. She was crying as she crawled up behind Jesus and rubbed the ointment on His feet. She wept so much that her tears washed His feet. And she dried them with her long hair. She kissed the feet of Jesus.

The religious man who had invited Jesus to dinner was aghast! He thought that her actions were disgraceful! He thought that Jesus should push her away and tell her to leave! The thought went through his mind,

"This man [Jesus], if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner" (Luke 7:39).

But instead of rebuking the woman who kissed His feet, Jesus scolded the religious Pharisee for his thoughts - because Jesus knew exactly what he was thinking. He was condemning this sinful woman for her act of repentance and faith in Christ. Jesus rebuked the Pharisee and corrected him. Then Jesus turned to the sinful woman and said, so that everyone could hear Him,

"Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little" (Luke 7:47).

The other religious people who were at the dinner were astonished when Jesus forgave her sins. They said,

"Who is this that forgiveth sins also?" (Luke 7:49).

They did not know who Jesus really was. They didn't know that He was the Son of God, who came to save sinners.

"The Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world"
      (John 1:29).

Then Jesus turned to the woman,

"And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace" (Luke 7:50).

This little story from the life of Jesus shows us very clearly how to be forgiven from sin and saved by Jesus. I want you to remember four things about how this woman got saved. If these four things happen to you, you will be saved also.

I. First, she was convinced of her sin.

That is clear enough. She was weeping. Great tears coursed down her cheeks. That happens to some people when God convinces them that they are sinners. Some people cry and tears come to their eyes when they realize how sinful they are. We see that many times in our own church, when people are convicted of sin.

But others go further than merely weeping. When revival comes to a church, some people "[cry] with a loud voice," as those people did in Samaria when they were confronted with their sin, and were troubled deeply by the grip Satan had on them. They are often so convicted that they are "crying with a loud voice" right in the church services (cf. Acts 8:7). Conviction of sin can make people scream, and cry out loudly, in times of revival. If that should ever come to our church, although it hasn't yet, I will not stop it. Lady Huntington told the evangelist George Whitefield, "Let them scream, it will do a great deal more good than your preaching." That sort of thing has always happened in times of revival.

Yet others may foam and gnash their teeth and fall on the ground, and wallow foaming at the mouth under conviction of sin, as that teenage boy did, recorded in Mark 9:20. This sort of thing has always happened to some people under deep conviction of sin in times of historical revival.

I personally saw a man come crawling on his hands and knees, screaming, to the front of the altar once - in a very conservative Baptist church - during a time of revival.

Jonathan Edwards, that wise leader of the First Great Awakening, saw many young people in his church do things like this, when under deep conviction of sin. He said,

Many others at the same time were overcome with distress about their miserable estate and condition; so that the whole room was full of outcries, faintings, and the like (Jonathan Edwards, Jonathan Edwards on Revival, Banner of Truth, 1999 reprint, p. 150).

Screams, and cries, and faintings were common during the Isle of Lewis revival in 1949, and have been a hair-raising phenomenon in virtually all classical revivals, among certain people experiencing deep conviction of sin. They forget all about what others may think, and are concerned only with the terrible, crushing load of sins on their consciences. Even small children experienced these things in the Great Awakening - and many other people did as well.

And then, of course, there are some people who have an inner turmoil of soul, with little outward manifestation, when God convinces them of their sins.

Yes, the woman in Luke 7 was deeply convinced of her sins, "which [were] many," according to Luke 7:47.

Do you feel at all convinced of your sin? Do you have any sense that you have offended God, and that your whole nature is sinful? Conviction, like this woman had, is often the first thing that happens when a person is awakened to the reality of sin.

Think of the actual sins you have committed. Think of some particular sin you have committed. Think of your rebellious and wicked heart. Think how awful your heart is in the sight of God. Think how utterly unable you are to change your own heart. Think of how you have sinned against your parents, your church, and your friends. Think of how badly you have treated God. Think of your secret sins. Think of your ruined and sinful mind. Are these not enough to humble you and convince you that you are ruined, rebellious, and lost? The woman wept because she was awakened to the horrible depths of her sin, and the ruined nature of her heart.

II. Second, she touched Jesus.

The Pharisee said that Jesus should have

"known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him: for she is a sinner" (Luke 7:39).

But Jesus knew perfectly well that she was a sinner. Yet He did not shrink back from her. He freely allowed her to touch Him, and kiss His feet (cf. Luke 7:38).

We are often told that Jesus saved and healed those who touched Him. The woman with an issue of blood touched Him.

"And, behold, a woman, which was diseased with an issue of blood twelve years, came behind him, and touched the hem of his garment …And the woman was made whole from that hour" (Matthew 9:20, 22).

Again, we are told that

"He had healed many; insomuch that they pressed upon him for to touch him, as many as had plagues" (Mark 3:10).

And again we are told that the people

"Besought him that they might only touch the hem of his garment: and as many as touched were made perfectly whole" (Matthew 14:36).

Commenting on this verse, Matthew Henry said,

The healing virtue that is in Christ, is put forth for the benefit of those that by a true and living faith touch him…It is by thus touching, and we are made whole. On such easy terms are spiritual cures offered by him (Matthew Henry's Commentary on the Whole Bible, Hendrickson, 1996 reprint, vol. 5, p. 169).

This woman who came and touched Jesus as He was eating was instantly forgiven of her sin. She was saved when she touched Him, just like the woman with the issue of blood, and the crowds that pressed in "to touch him, as many as had plagues" (Mark 3:10). "And as many as touched were made perfectly whole" (Matthew 14:36).

You, too, can "touch" Christ by faith. As Matthew Henry said, "It is by thus touching, and we are made whole." Christ is now up in the Third Heaven (cf. II Corinthians 12:2), seated at the right hand of God (cf. Mark 16:19; Ephesians 1:20; Hebrews 1:3). But you can still come to Jesus and "touch" Him and be healed from the curse of sin. Jesus said,

"Him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out" (John 6:37).

Will you come to Jesus and "touch" Him, as this sinful woman did at the Pharisee's house?

III. Third, she was forgiven.

She was convinced of sin. She came to Jesus and touched Him. She was forgiven. Look at Luke 7:48,

"And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48).

Please notice two things. First, she did not confess every one of her sins. There is no record of that here. She acknowledged that she was a sinner. That is evident from her actions and demeanor. But she did not go through a list of sins. You need not go through a long list of sins. You might forget some of them, or you might not realize that some things you did were sinful. There is no need to go through a long list of sins.

Second, she did not pray at all. Many people think that they must pray and ask forgiveness. But that is not necessary. In fact, it may actually cause you to stumble. You may trust the prayer you say rather than Jesus, Himself. No, this woman did not pray. She simply came to Jesus and "touched" Him by faith.

"And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48).

Will you come to Jesus and be forgiven by Him?

Many people think that Jesus is angry with them for sinning. People with a Catholic background often think that Jesus is angry with them for sinning. But this passage of Scripture in the seventh chapter of Luke shows that they are wrong. Jesus was not angry with this sinful woman. When she came and touched Him, He said,

"Thy sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48).

When you come to Jesus, all of your sins will be forgiven as well.

Christ died on the Cross to pay the penalty for your sins. The Blood of Christ can wash away every sin. Christ is now alive, up in Heaven. Simply come to Him, and every sin will be forgiven.

"And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven" (Luke 7:48).

IV. Fourth, she was saved.

Notice Luke 7:50,

"And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace" (Luke 7:50).

Jesus said that she was "saved."

Many people make fun of us Baptists. They say, "You think you are saved." They mock us for saying we are saved. They often do this because they think that no one can be sure he is saved. But they are mistaken. If you come to Jesus and believe in Him, by a definite act of faith, you will be saved - right then! The Apostle Paul said,

"Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved"
      (Acts 16:31).

Again, the Apostle Paul spoke of "us which are saved" (I Corinthians 1:18). The woman in Luke 7 didn't need to be saved again. The moment she came to Jesus she was saved! Jesus said,

"Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace" (Luke 7:50).

"Hath" is in past tense. She was already saved when Jesus said this to her in verse fifty.

Are you convinced of your sin? Will you come to Jesus and "touch" Him? If you will, your sins, past, present, and future, will be atoned for by His death, and cleansed by His Blood, and you will be eternally forgiven and eternally saved! Jesus said,

"I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved"
      (John 10:9).

Will you "enter in" to Christ? Will you come to the Saviour? Will you be saved by Him for all time - and for all eternity? Then you can sing the song Mr. Griffith sang a moment ago:

Saved by His power divine, Saved to new life sublime!
Life is now sweet and my joy is complete,
For I'm saved, saved, saved!
      ("Saved, Saved!" by Jack P. Scholfield, born 1882).

And one more thing. This woman was saved in just a few minutes. There was no long process. She did not go through a long period of learning. She came into the Pharisee's house. She was convinced of her sin. She came directly to Jesus. Jesus saved her. It all happened in a few minutes. You could be saved right now - this very morning - if you will come to Jesus.

We are available to speak with you about that. Would you please come and talk to us about getting saved? If you want to speak with us about getting saved, please slip out of your seat and walk to the back of the room while we sing a chorus. Dr. Cagan will take you up to my office where he can explain all of this to you in private. Just slip out of your seat and walk to the back of the room, while we sing, "Why Not Now?"

Scripture Read Before the Sermon by Dr. Kreighton L. Chan: Luke 7:36-50.
Solo Sung Before the Sermon by Mr. Benjamin Kincaid Griffith:

"Saved, Saved!" (by Jack P. Scholfield, born 1882).