Anyone who has ever purchased a home knows that there is a big difference in what the buyer or the seller sees and what a certified home inspector sees. We may try to look beyond the things that appeal to us like the layout of the house, the size of the bedrooms, and so forth, and see a crack in a ceiling or a door that doesn't shut just right. But the inspector doesn't stop there. He'll investigate why the ceiling is cracked. He'll crawl under a house and see problems that we don't. His trained eye sees things we can't with our limited view.
We can also have a limited view of God. For example, the way you deal with sin says a lot about what you believe about God. If you think God will forgive your sin because it's no big deal, your view of God is too small. If you think God will forgive your sin because he is a harsh and angry God, your view of God is, again, too small. Let's look and see if we can find the right view of God, one that will move us to run to Him whenever we sin. Today we're going to use the 32nd Psalm. Prayer.
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I think we can all agree that we face temptations to sin daily. So, what are we supposed to do when we sin? Well, the message given to us in Psalm 32 is that there is greater joy in uncovering our sin and finding forgiveness than in trying to cover up our sin. And a right view of God allows us to do just that.
Before we get to our passage of Scripture, let me get your thoughts flowing by asking a few questions. Have you ever committed a sin? Sure you have. Have you ever asked forgiveness for a sin that you've committed? Has God forgiven you of that sin? That is the foundation of what this message is about.
A Christian knows the joy of forgiveness that Jesus gives us when we place our faith in Him. But what happens when we sin after we have come to Jesus for salvation? Do we still sin after becoming a Christian? We sure do. When we accept Christ, He is in us, but we still can falter and sin. In those moments, His forgiveness still applies. Our human tendency is to berate or punish ourselves for failing God. But we only need to confess our sin, turn away from it, and return to walking with Christ. That is the precise definition of REPENTANCE. Let's see what Scripture tells us about this.
Psalm 32:1-2 – “How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! 2 How joyful is a person whom the Lord does not charge with iniquity
and in whose spirit is no deceit!”
For those of you that have raised children, when they were little, could you tell by the look on your child's face when they weren't telling the truth? Somehow, we just knew when they were lying to us.
***Do you remember the look of relief on your child's face when you thanked them for telling you the truth and forgave them where they messed up? It was just a look of relief on their face that even though they had done wrong, you corrected them but forgave them as well. It showed them that you still loved them. Do you think God knows when you lie to Him? Do you truly believe that God will forgive you of that sin if you tell Him the truth and come to Him with a heart of repentance?
One of Satan's great lies is that God will not forgive us of our sins. Satan wants us to believe that God is a harsh judge. If we believe those lies, we will run away from God when we sin. We will try to cover up our sin. There is nothing freeing about hiding our sin. We cannot escape the burden of our guilt. But when we admit our sin and turn from it, joy and forgiveness follow. We experience immense joy when our sin is forgiven and not counted against us.
God can forgive us in this way because He has dealt with our sin through His Son. Jesus is the one who has not sinned. He never sinned. And the Bible tells us that God made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. Our sins were dealt with because they were nailed to the cross of Jesus, our sin was covered with the blood of Christ, and our iniquity is not charged against us because it was charged against Jesus.
To understand and experience this joy and blessing of God's forgiveness, we not only have to understand who God is, but we also have to understand the nature of sin. When David wrote this Psalm, he used three words that help us understand this.
TRANSGRESSION
This is an act of rebellion against God. It's like drawing a line in the sand and saying, “Don't cross this line,” but the rebellious person crosses that line just to be defiant. Our culture tends to live in defiance against God. Our culture shakes its fist at God's moral law. And that rebellious streak is in our sinful nature.
SIN
This is a general term that refers to missing the mark. We missed the mark of God's will. Whether it is intentional or unintentional, we fall short and that's sin.
INIQUITY
Iniquity indicates crookedness, a wrong act, and a conscious disregard for God's will. Iniquity is willful, planned sin.
And it is only when we understand the nature of sin that we can see our need for God's forgiveness. And only when we understand the seriousness of our sin will we even seek the joy of forgiveness.
Look at those verses again and notice how David describes the source of his joy. His transgression was forgiven - the guilt was removed and carried away. His sin was covered - an atonement was made, and the sin was dealt with. It was not counted against him. Instead, he was counted righteous before God.
When we try to cover up our own sins, we're missing out on the joy and the blessing of forgiveness that comes to anyone who will come before God with humility, and not hide their sin. David describes such an individual as one in whose spirit is no deceit. This person doesn't try to be deceptive about his sin. He comes clean and confesses his sin.
When we understand who God is and what He has done for us in Jesus, we feel like running to Him when we sin and confessing our sins. And those that have done this can tell you that the joy and blessings of forgiveness far outweigh any guilt or shame we may have over our sin. The joy and the blessing of forgiveness will blot out what we think we will accomplish if we cover up our sin instead. These next verses show us what happens when we try to cover up our own sin. David says:
Psalm 32:3-5 – “When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained
as in the summer’s heat. Selah 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah”
David wrote this song after confessing to his most well-known sins. We read in the book of 2nd Samuel that David took advantage of Bathsheba and committed adultery with her. He tried to cover up his sin by calling her husband, Uriah, home from the front lines of battle in hopes that he would spend some intimate time with his wife. When that didn't work, David tried to get Uriah drunk so he would go to her. When that didn't work, David had Uriah murdered. It wasn't until the prophet Nathan confronted him that David confessed his sin.
So David describes the effects of his sin. His description gives us a powerful image. Covering up our sin makes us miserable; physically, mentally, and emotionally. We tend to think of sin as a spiritual issue, but sin affected David down to his bones. The good news is that with confession and repentance comes forgiveness!
For us as believers, our sin doesn't destroy our relationship with God. Did you hear that? Sin doesn’t destroy our relationship with God, but it does harm our relationship with Him. When we sin and don't confess it, we begin to feel distant from God. But because we are His children, He won't let us go. One of the ways that God pursues us is by convicting us of our sin and allowing us to become miserable in unconfessed sin. Have you ever felt that sin weighing down on you until you know you have to do something about it? That is God pursuing you. David understood that God was doing just that because it was God's hand that was heavy on him.
But understand that it's an act of love when God's hand is heavy on us because of our sin. In His mercy, grace, and love, God seeks to pull us back from sin and back into a strong relationship with Him. God still wants a relationship with you.
David's son, Solomon, recognized that truth and he wrote this:
Proverbs 3: 11-12 – “Do not despise the Lord’s instruction, my son, and do not loathe his discipline; 12 for the Lord disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.’
Jesus told us basically the same thing when he told the Church of Laodicea in the book of revelation:
Revelation 3:19 – “As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline. So be zealous and repent.”
It is that UNCONFESSED sin that harms our fellowship with God.
Psalm 32: 6 – “Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately.
When great floodwaters come, they will not reach him.”
You can almost feel the urgency when we read this verse. We are to seek God and pray immediately. Like I said before, when we sin, we're tempted to run and hide from God. David knew from personal experience that the best thing to do was run to God immediately and pray and lay his sin before God.
God is the only one able to forgive us of our sin. So, He invites us to run to Him and uncover our sin. When we do, He covers our sin in the blood of His Son. What a glorious gospel message! God wants to do the very thing that we want done: cover up our sin. When we turn from our sin and turn to Christ, He forgives us and our fellowship with Him is restored. Just like that!
Did you know that the whole concept of forgiveness actually comes from the financial world. When someone incurs a debt, they must pay the debt in full. In the same way, our sin incurs a debt, except it's a debt we cannot pay. God provides a way for our debt to be forgiven through the death of His Son on the cross. That's why Jesus shed His blood to pay our debt. So now, anyone who confesses their sin and turns to God will find forgiveness. So, God is the only One we can come to and find forgiveness.
Because only God can forgive our sin against Him, He's the only One we can run to for forgiveness. Read Psalm 32:6 again. There is good news in that statement, because it applies to everyone. It's an offer to anyone and everyone who recognizes their sin and comes to God. And when you do, your joy will be restored.
Psalm 32:7 – “You are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance. Selah”
As a little side note, the word Selah is an invitation to rest in God's refuge and strength. As if saying, “Wait, stop here. This is important.”
It's so much easier to turn to God when we know and understand who God is. David describes God as our refuge, a fortress we run to in times of trouble. He called God my hiding place. He uses the word flood in this verse or flood waters. In Scripture, floods represent chaos and judgment, so we have a reminder that when we run to God and give Him our sin, the flood waters of chaos and judgment won't reach us. God is our hiding place, keeping us from getting caught up and drowning in the flood of turmoil and judgment.
So, if we didn't already know it, we now know that God forgives the sins of those who are faithful. The faithful are the Christians, the children of God. Essentially, the one who believes in God will receive forgiveness as often as he or she comes to God and confesses their sin.
Throughout this Psalm, David highlighted the personal relationship with God and His people. Our sin will always create a distance in our relationship with God, because He has called us to live righteously. But when we see God in His graciousness, mercy, and love, not only will we not be afraid to run to Him when we sin, we will also want to avoid sinning against Him again.
It's that love that draws us to worship Him and please Him. We should praise God, this wonderful God, who surrounds us with joyful shouts of deliverance.
So when we fall into Satan's trap of temptation, we now know that all we have to do is run to God. He's our hiding place. He's our protection from trouble. He's our refuge from the great flood waters of the chaos that comes about when we fall into temptation. We should shout with joy because of God's deliverance.
And if you are a child of God, that deliverance is available to you at all times. If you've never asked Jesus to be your personal Savior, you can't actually claim to be a child of God. But you can change all of that right now by praying and asking Jesus to come and change your heart and change your life.
Won’t you do that? You will not regret it. I promise you that.
