INTRODUCTION
OPENING SLIDE
• Have you ever found yourself doing something you shouldn't have been doing?
• What do we typically do when we get caught?
• Excuses and blame are what we usually offer.
• Consider yourself as the victim in this scenario.
• When someone throws excuses and blame at you, how do you feel?
• You probably do not feel positive about the situation.
• When someone sins against you or hurts you in some way, what do you want from them?
• You want them to repent and not do it again.
• If you are the guilty party, what should you do?
• Repent and do not do it again.
• The way one reacts when they have done wrong will tell you if they are sorry they did what they did, or are sorry they got caught.
2 Corinthians 7:9–10 NET 2nd ed.
9 Now I rejoice, not because you were made sad, but because you were made sad to the point of repentance. For you were made sad as God intended, so that you were not harmed in any way by us.
10 For sadness as intended by God produces a repentance that leads to salvation, leaving no regret, but worldly sadness brings about death.
• If we are sorry we got caught, we will not change; if we are sorry we did what we did, we will want to repent.
Big Idea of the Series: This five-week series explores the gift of repentance by considering moments of genuine sorrow in the Bible. We will be challenged to look for the fruits of true repentance in our lives.
• Our focus today will be on the concept of confession.
• Confession goes against our natural tendency to rationalize or deny our sin.
• True confession is defined as “a way of opening myself to God within the safety of the divine love so I can authentically seek transformation.
• Confession embraces Christ’s gift of forgiveness and restoration while setting us on the path to renewal and change” (Adele Ahlberg Calhoun, Spiritual Disciplines Handbook: Practices That Transform Us [Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2005], 101).
• Today we will be looking at Psalm 51.
• Psalm 51, attributed to David, expresses deep contrition after personal sin. It emphasizes the need for genuine repentance, underscoring God’s readiness to forgive.
• The overarching theme is the transformation of a contrite heart by the mercy and cleansing power of the Lord.
Big Idea of the Message: David trusted in God’s forgiveness and praised God before, during, and after confession.
Psalm 51:1–5 NET 2nd ed.
1 Have mercy on me, O God, because of your loyal love. Because of your great compassion, wipe away my rebellious acts.
2 Wash away my wrongdoing. Cleanse me of my sin.
3 For I am aware of my rebellious acts; I am forever conscious of my sin.
4 Against you—you above all—I have sinned; I have done what is evil in your sight. So you are just when you confront me; you are right when you condemn me.
5 Look, I was guilty of sin from birth, a sinner the moment my mother conceived me.
SERMON
POINT 1 SLIDE
I. Even a king needs mercy.
• Psalm 51 is a psalm of repentance, traditionally ascribed to King David.
• The historical context behind this psalm is closely tied to a significant event in David's life: his sin involving Bathsheba and the subsequent confrontation by the prophet Nathan, as recorded in the biblical narrative of 2 Samuel 11-12.
• King David, having seen Bathsheba bathing, desired her and engaged in an adulterous affair with her, leading to her pregnancy.
• To conceal this, David called her husband, Uriah, back from battle, hoping that Uriah would sleep with his wife and believe the child to be his.
• However, when Uriah refrained out of solidarity with his fellow soldiers, David resorted to ensuring Uriah would be positioned at the front lines of battle, where he was killed.
• After Uriah's death, David took Bathsheba as his wife. God then sent Nathan to confront David with a parable that revealed the king's wrongdoing.
• Upon realizing the depth of his sin, David repented deeply, which is believed to have inspired Psalm 51.
• When Nathan the prophet revealed his story to David, King David responded immediately:
2 Samuel 12:13–14 NET 2nd ed.
13 Then David exclaimed to Nathan, “I have sinned against the LORD!” Nathan replied to David, “Yes, and the LORD has forgiven your sin. You are not going to die.
14 Nonetheless, because you have treated the LORD with such contempt in this matter, the son who has been born to you will certainly die.”
• David did not make excuses or blame other people; he said, I have sinned against God.
• David was busted, and he did not try to get out of it; he confessed his sin.
• Notice he did not say he sinned against Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband, and as horrible as that was, David ultimately knew that when he sinned, it was against God; Uriah was the victim of the sin.
• When David penned Psalm 51, he poured out his confession, along with his feelings.
DAVID’S CONFESSION SLIDE
• David appeals to the character of God as he confesses.
• David is not saying, God, you owe me forgiveness; he asks God to forgive him based on who God is.
• Because of YOUR great compassion, please wipe my rebellious acts away.
• God had given David everything, yet it was not enough.
• When we sin, we are in active rebellion against God; the people we sin against are the damage that comes from our rebellion.
• In verse two, David asks God to wash away my wrongdoing and cleanse me from my sin.
• In verse 3, David acknowledges he was aware that what he did was wrong; nevertheless, he did it anyway.
• Consequently, the notion of rebellion emerges.
• To confess and repent, we must admit who we are sinning against.
• David goes deeper into verse four when he says, God, against you, I have sinned above all.
• He says I have done evil in your sight, so therefore it was just that God confronted him.
• Have you ever had to confront your child, only for them to try to turn the situation around and blame you for discovering their actions?
• David was not interested in playing that game.
• A remorseful individual will engage in the deflection game.
• In verse 5, David says sin has been a problem since birth.
• This verse has been subject to many false views, so I like how the NET2 translates it because it captures the flavor of what David said.
• David does not disparage his mother's character or suggest that his sin stems from a genetic influence.
• He is born of flesh, yes.
• He succumbs to the temptations of his flesh.
• But to say, “I was born a sinner” would be to excuse the sin.
• “The [verse] implies no doctrine of ‘original sin,’ ” Mowinckel notes, “It is the strongest possible expression on the part of the author of the consciousness that as a weak and frail man he has never been without sin.”
• In our terminology, one would say, “I have been a sinner all my life.” Psalms, Volume 1 (2. Acknowledgment of Guilt (51:3–9))
• David's plea underscores his reliance on God's grace for mercy and forgiveness, recognizing that his transgressions are ultimately against God.
• Acknowledging sin is the first step toward true repentance.
• David confessed and his confession, showed God he was sorry for his actions.
• But does being sorry mark the end of the process?
Psalm 51:6–12 NET 2nd ed.
6 Look, you desire integrity in the inner man; you want me to possess wisdom.
7 Cleanse me with hyssop and I will be pure; wash me and I will be whiter than snow.
8 Grant me the ultimate joy of being forgiven. May the bones you crushed rejoice.
9 Hide your face from my sins. Wipe away all my guilt.
10 Create for me a pure heart, O God. Renew a resolute spirit within me.
11 Do not reject me. Do not take your holy Spirit away from me.
12 Let me again experience the joy of your deliverance. Sustain me by giving me the desire to obey.
POINT 2 SLIDE
II. Even a king needs internal transformation.
• David begins this section by confessing what he knows God desires from us: integrity in the inner person.
• David desires an inner transformation that transcends outward actions, emphasizing purity and a devotion that only God can instill in a penitent heart.
• He follows that statement with knowing that God wants us to possess wisdom.
• God seeks authenticity from people, meaning that God wants the heart and our actions to be consistent.
• God wants us to have a pure heart, not to pretend to be someone we are not.
• David emphasizes the importance of possessing God’s wisdom to combat our inclination toward sin.
• David allowed his sinful desire for another man’s wife to drive him to do what he did.
• In verse seven, David longs for a spiritual cleansing from God as well as transformation.
• The imagery of being washed and purified indicates a deep desire for internal transformation.
• Have you ever done anything that you were ashamed of?
• When you experienced the shame, did you want to look others in the eye and discuss what you did, or did you want to hide your face?
• David was so ashamed of his actions that he asked God to look away and not wipe away his guilt and shame.
• When we are ashamed of something, the last thing we want to do is to do a repeat.
• This is why David cries out to God to create in him a pure heart as well as a resolute spirit so he does not allow this thing to happen again.
• David desires a pure heart and a steadfast spirit.
• When we hurt someone, we fear them turning their back on us, and David does not want God to do that to him.
• He understands the importance of God's presence and seeks the Holy Spirit’s guidance.
• Restoration of the joy of salvation is central to David’s plea.
• Receiving forgiveness brings immense joy!
• David's plea for heart and spirit renewal underscores the conviction that genuine transformation must come from within.
• This signifies a plea for divine intervention in shaping one's character.
• When you are separated from someone due to your actions, it is hard to be happy, but forgiveness is a time to celebrate.
• At the end of verse 12, David asks God to sustain him by helping him have a desire to obey.
• David is sorry; he asks for internal transformation.
• Is that where it ends?
Psalm 51:13–19 NET 2nd ed.
13 Then I will teach rebels your merciful ways, and sinners will turn to you.
14 Rescue me from the guilt of murder, O God, the God who delivers me. Then my tongue will shout for joy because of your righteousness.
15 O Lord, give me the words. Then my mouth will praise you.
16 Certainly you do not want a sacrifice, or else I would offer it; you do not desire a burnt sacrifice.
17 The sacrifices God desires is a humble spirit— O God, a humble and repentant heart you will not reject.
18 Because you favor Zion, do what is good for her. Fortify the walls of Jerusalem.
19 Then you will accept the proper sacrifices, burnt sacrifices and whole offerings; then bulls will be sacrificed on your altar.
III. Even a king needs a new focus for life.
• We could call this section of the Psalm the fruits of repentance, and it's an essential part of the process.
NEW FOCUS 2 SLIDE
• A new focus for David, which lines up with some of the fruits of repentance, is that he wants to teach others who have strayed away to turn back to God.
• David vows to share God's grace with others, especially to bring them back to God, indicating the transformative power of divine forgiveness in one's life and influence.
• When you mess up, life is not over!
• David will rejoice when God rescues him from his guilt.
• When we are forgiven, it is a joyful time.
• To summarize verses 16-19, David states that rather than mere ritual sacrifices, the psalm emphasizes that God desires genuine repentance and humility.
• True worship is characterized by sincerity and a contrite heart.
• Living life in disobedience to God cannot be fixed by simply giving a sacrifice.
• When we rebel against God, performing any religious act is meaningless unless it comes from a sincere and repentant heart.
CONCLUSION
• Why do we avoid confessing our sins to God and those we've hurt?
• I believe we are afraid God will reject us as well as those we have hurt.
• We feel that we have to feed our sense of guilt by holding on to the guilt instead of going to God for forgiveness.
• In Christ, we do not have to be weighed down by guilt; we can experience forgiveness through him.
• Why?
• Application Point: Believers can trust that God will extend forgiveness when our hearts are truly repentant.
• Let’s all embrace confession, repentance, and renewal today.
• I also wish to inspire those who have experienced hurt from others.
• When the one who hurt you confesses to you and has a repentant heart, be willing to offer forgiveness.
