Let God Do The Finger Pointing

“Finger pointing.” What thoughts do those two words bring to your mind? For the most part they are probably negative thoughts. At a very early age we are taught not to point at people. It’s considered impolite. As we get older we experience finger pointing in many different ways. If we had brothers and sisters around when we were growing up we pointed our finger at them and they pointed right back at us when there was trouble in the house. It may have sounded something like this, “She did it,” or “He hit me first!” Something very similar happens throughout our years at school. Blame is placed and passed with pointing fingers. As husbands and wives we have to confess that finger pointing probably began shortly after we were married. We follow the pattern of Adam and Eve after the fall into sin. “It’s your fault this happened. No, it’s your fault!” Perhaps at work we have experienced the negative side of someone pointing a finger of blame at us.

Now if finger pointing is impolite and it is so often connected to self-centered, sinful behavior why does God do it? Why is God allowed to do something that we would most frequently see as a bad thing? It all comes down to God’s motive. Often he points his finger at people to call them to repent. He points out the sins that separate someone from him. God does this so that when sinners see their lost condition he can point them to the cross of his Son. There forgiveness is found. There salvation and eternal life are offered.

Since repentance isn’t a one time action on our part we need God to keep up his finger pointing in our lives. Every day we need him to point out very specifically the sins we have committed. Only then can we see our need for forgiveness. Through God’s finger pointing we are then prompted to cling more tightly in faith to Jesus. And through a closer relationship with him we are empowered to live a new life each day. In view of our ongoing need for it let’s ask the Holy Spirit to enable us to again:

“EXPERIENCE GOD’S FINGER POINTING”

I. Let him point out your sin and guilt

II. Let him point out his forgiveness

David’s secret sins seemed safely hidden. His Commandment breaking spree began with lust and coveting as he let himself be enticed by the beauty of another man’s wife. Left unchecked those sins led David to commit adultery and even murder. The first two verses of the Old Testament Lesson for this Sunday tell us the story of how David attempted to cover up his sins. Bethsheba mourned for the husband whose trust she had betrayed. David then took her to be his wife. They both attempted to sweep their sins under the rug of their new life together. But the last verse of 2 Samuel 11 says all that needed to be said, “But the thing David had done displeased the LORD.” God knew what David had done. And God knew that David’s sins were standing like a wall between the two of them. Because David refused to acknowledge his sins and repent of them his relationship with the LORD was broken. In the Psalm for this Sunday, Psalm 32, we heard David describe his misery as he lived with a guilty conscience. And God couldn’t ignore what David had done. He is holy and just and cannot tolerate sin.

I.

In such a situation something has to give as they say. Because David had severed his relationship with the LORD through his unrepentant sinning he was unable to make the first move back to God. Thankfully, because God is merciful and forgiving he made the first move toward David. The first verse of 2 Samuel 12 tells us, “The LORD sent Nathan to David.” Again, we could see that God made the first move. He loved David and he wanted their relationship restored.

Today as you and I consider our relationship with God we see it mirrored in this account of King David. The Bible says we were born dead in sin, blind to spiritual truth, and enemies of God. So God had to make the first move to us. We could not nor did we want to have a relationship with him and yet in love he came to us first. And like King David our natural reaction to our sins is to hide them from others and to attempt to hide them from God. Every chance our sinful nature gets it will do the opposite of what God says to do. And so on a daily basis we again and again disrupt the loving relationship between God and us through our sinning. And yet again and again God comes back to us. And because our sinful nature will deny that we have done anything wrong God must do his finger pointing. He must repeatedly point out our sin and guilt.