This morning we consider a topic which reminds us that the Christian religion is not merely helpful. Now, of course Christianity does help us to be better parents, husbands, wives, citizens. Following Christ has many practical benefits, and they are not trivial. But every once and a while, we need to be reminded that Christianity is about something far greater. Christianity is about God fulfilling the deepest longings of the human heart.
You and I, deep down, want more than anything else to be loved -- by God. And what makes Christianity more than just another helpful philosophy is that it offers us a way to experience that love. It provides a means of overcoming the barrier of sin that stands between us and God. It allows us to be forgiven, to have all the junk and filth washed away, so that there is no longer anything keeping us apart.
This morning, we’re going to look at how we can receive God’s forgiveness; how we can respond to the "ad" He’s placed in this book inviting us to return to Him. If we will follow these steps, we will find that all really has been forgiven, and we can know Him and be loved by Him as we have always longed to do.
Recognize that you are a sinner
"for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" -- Romans 3:23 (NIV)
"There is not a righteous man on earth who does what is right and never sins" -- Ecclesiastes 7:20 (NIV)
We’ve looked at these verses before, but they bear repeating. In order to be reconciled to God, we have to acknowledge that there is a separation between us, and this separation is due to our sin.
This is true both of believers and non-believers.
· For an unbeliever, sin prevents you from having a relationship, period.
· For a believer, sin prevents you from enjoying all the benefits of the relationship.
So the first thing necessary is to recognize that there is a problem, something standing between you and God, and that the problem is your own sin.
Confess your sins; don’t conceal them
What’s the natural human reaction to having our sin exposed? We try to hide it, either before the fact, or afterwards. We conceal, cover up, pretend, lie, deceive - anything to prevent our sin from being uncovered. Why? Well, we fear the consequences. But we also feel a sense of guilt and shame. In fact, you could almost say that the decision to sin carries with it the intent to hide the sin. Sin and concealment go together.
We have a vivid example in the behavior of our current President. And it would appear that this is not an isolated incident, but that he has maintained a pattern of deception in this area going back many years. Unfortunately, this is not a one-party problem. In fact, it would be difficult to identify a president in recent history who did not attempt to conceal his misbehavior.
But you don’t have to look to world leaders to prove the point. Look at your own children. Children are cute because their attempts at deception are so transparent. "No, daddy, I didn’t eat any cookies," while they have chocolate chips smeared all over their mouth. Incredible stories invented to explain a broken vase.
Or look at yourself. How often do you shade the truth to make yourself look better, or to avoid an argument? Let me ask you a question: Have you, in the past week, attempted to conceal something from your husband or wife because you knew that they would disapprove? (no hands)
It is a universal human impulse to hide our sin. However, there area a couple of problems with this strategy. First of all, it doesn’t work.
"Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of him to whom we must give account." -- Hebrews 4:13 (NIV)
"For God will bring every deed into judgment, including every hidden thing, whether it is good or evil." -- Ecclesiastes 12:14 (NIV)
’Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God." -- 1 Corinthians 4:5 (NIV)
What these verses tell us is simply that all attempts to hid our sin are doomed to fail. Nothing is hidden from God, not even our motives, our inner thoughts. We may look great to the outside world, but if there is sin in our hearts - envy, bitterness, anger, selfishness, pride, lust - then we are guilty before God. And He will judge us for those "hidden" sins.
Now, it’s possible to hide quite a bit from other people, even your own family. If you’re careful, you can avoid having your secret sins exposed. Your wife may never find out what you’re really doing when you log on to the internet at night. Your husband may never discover the brandy behind the spice rack. Your parents may never discover the marijuana hidden in your sock drawer. People who love you want to believe the best about you. If you believe the parents of the Columbine killers, they had no idea that their sons were planning a massacre and constructing bombs in the garage. So you may succeed in covering up your sin, with no one being the wiser. But God cannot be fooled. Nothing is hidden from Him, not your secret deeds, not the sin hidden deep in your heart, not your false motives, nothing. God sees and will bring into judgment every deed and every hidden thing.
The second problem with concealing our sin is that it destroys us spiritually and prevents us from receiving forgiveness. The more we deceive and cover up, the more we alienate ourselves from God and from other people.
"When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin." -- Psalm 32:3-5 (NIV)
Do you see the progression? When David tried to conceal his sin with Bathsheba, the weight of his guilt produced not only spiritual, but physical suffering. But when he confessed his sin and stopped covering it up, he was forgiven.
"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy." -- Proverbs 28:13 (NIV)
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." -- 1 John 1:9 (NIV)
Again, it is not just the sin, but the concealment of it, the deception and cover-up, that alienates us from God. As soon as we acknowledge our sin before God, He will forgive.
Let me ask you: What sins are you covering up? What sins have you been hiding, from your wife, your husband, your parents, from God? What are you thinking about when you say, "If they only knew . . . " Won’t you let go? Won’t you drop the weight of your guilt? God sees it anyway. He already knows all about it. He’s offering you forgiveness. Won’t you confess your sins to God and receive that forgiveness? [nonChristians / Christians]. Take his forgiveness before it’s too late.
Repent of your sins
It’s not enough just to acknowledge your sins. A remorseless confession is not enough. There must be a turning away from the sin, a change of heart that not only acknowledges the sin but renounces and rejects it. There must be remorse, not just at getting caught, but at offending God.
God doesn’t require that we change our lives before we can be saved. But he does require that our heart attitude toward sin change. Before we saw our sin as attractive and desirable, and had no intention of abandoning it. But when we repent, we come to see it as God sees it, and our desire and intention is to forsake it.
"I have declared to both Jews and Greeks that they must turn to God in repentance and have faith in our Lord Jesus." -- Acts 20:21 (NIV)
Trust in Christ
"As the Scripture says, ’Anyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.’"
-- Romans 10:11 (NIV)
(For an .rtf file of this and other sermons, see www.journeychurchonline.org/messages.htm)
