Grace and peace to you who are in Christ,
Cancer. It is one of the more dreaded words in the English vocabulary. The mere mention of the word can give shivers to most people. Cancer is the last diagnosis any patient wants to hear from his doctor. Science has made many advancements in the treatment of many cancers, but often cancer eludes a cure. Patients who do come through treatments, must undergo many examinations. After awhile, when there is no sign of cancer, doctors may give some hope, but they don’t talk about a patient being cured. They talk about remission. Even then, there really is no guarantee that it won’t reappear years later.
As horrible and dreadful cancer may be, there is something worse. Sin is an even uglier disease. It affects and infects all people. NAME OF DECEASED knew this well. He knew what sin was. NAME OF DECEASED knew that He was a sinner. NAME OF DECEASED however knew the cure for his sinfulness. NAME OF DECEASED knew that Jesus Christ had granted him salvation. NAME OF DECEASED had the same convictions as the Psalmist had. He recognized that a forgiven person is truly blessed. He is blessed because his confession is heard by the Lord, and also because his deliverance is certain.
Theme: Blessed are the Forgiven
I. Their confession is heard (1-5)
Sin is a heavy load. Some people, not knowing to whom they should confess their sins, have had mental breakdowns. Others have had long bouts with depression because of the guilt of their sins. Sin is a load that God never intended humanity to bear. In fact, when God created this world, it was perfect. There was no sin in it. But sin soon came into this world; Adam and Eve transgressed God’s holy will. They were tempted, and they fell from that perfect existence into a sinful existence. Since then, sin has infected all men.
Sin has consequences. Scripture says, “The wages of sin is death.” Because of sin, death is the outcome of everyone who sins. The writer of Psalm 32, King David, knew that. Because of his sins, he lost a son, his family was divided, and his kingdom was thrown into chaos. Many times David sinned against the Lord. When he didn’t repent, he felt the guilt. In this Psalm, he talks about those times. He wrote, “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.” Physically and psychologically he was devastated by the guilt of his sin. David was in the dungy cellar of depression. Doctors today would probably have ordered David to have some counseling and perhaps proscribed some Prozac for him. This wouldn’t have helped any, though.
David had a real problem that no one on earth could fix. He felt his sin bearing down on himself. In fact he uses three different words to describe his condition. In verse five, he wrote, “Then I acknowledged my SIN to you and did not cover up my INIQUITY. I said, "I will confess my TRANSGRESSIONS to the LORD". In David’s native tongue, these words pictured every aspect of sin. The first was a general term for sin. Literally, it was “a missing of the mark.” The LORD had said, “Be perfect as I the Lord your God am perfect.” David knew he had not been perfect. He had fallen short of that mark. “Iniquity” relates the depravity, or perversity of a person, displayed in all that he thinks, says or does wrong. “Transgression” describes the sinner who steps over the line which he was told not to step over. For instance, the Sixth Commandment states, “You shall not commit adultery.” David transgressed that Commandment when he adulterated with Bathsheeba. He stepped over the line which God said, “Don’t”.
David knew that he couldn’t “cover up” his sinfulness before God. David recognized that he was not worthy of God’s love but deserved only his wrath and punishment. David also recognized that the Lord was faithful to his promises. He knew that the Lord would hear his confession. Why? He was confident that the Lord would hear his pleas for mercy, and would be merciful because the Lord had promised to be merciful. Like David, NAME OF DECEASED was confident that the Lord heard his confession. He knew that the Lord had freed him from the bondage of his sin and guilt.
Like a doctor that is truly concerned about a patient suffering from cancer, so the Lord tends to a sinner who confesses his sin. The Lord not only hears the confession, he promises to forgive sins. He forgave David’s sins. He forgave NAME OF DECEASED’s sins. Not only does the Lord forgive sins, he promises deliverance from sin’s outcome. The Lord promises us deliverance from death by giving us new life.
II. Their deliverance is certain (6-7)
As a child of the Lord, King David understood that the Lord abounded in mercy and was going to send the Savior, the Messiah, to pay for his sins. With eyes of faith, David looked forward to the day when God would ransom his people from their sins. The Lord released David from the guilt of his sins. The Lord delivered David from sin not by what David did, but because of what the Lord promised to do! The Old Testament gives many pictures of the Messiah, one of which is the work of the priests, the offering of daily sacrifice for sins. David knew that sins had to be paid for, and the promised Messiah would pay for those sins. The author of the Hebrews, explained this about Jesus, “Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”(He. 9:29) The cure for our sin is Jesus Christ, who paid for our sins and promised forgiveness.
The cure for our sins is proven! Jesus Christ, who died an innocent death on the cross for our sins, also rose from the dead! Jesus himself said, “I am the Resurrection and the Life, he who believes in me, will live, even though he dies.” ( John 11:25) The same Jesus assures us that those who believe in him will also be given eternal life, even though we will all die a physical death.
Amazingly, the one who hears our cries for forgiveness is himself the cure! We can trust that this life, though it ends with physical death, will be followed by eternal life because of what Jesus, our Savior has done. We can be sure that one who confesses such faith is given eternal life. We can be confident that the Lord will deliver us from sins’ punishment of eternal death. By his confession of faith, NAME OF DECEASED showed that he believed in Christ as his Savior. He trusted that the Lord would deliver him from the penalty of sin and carry him into eternal life.
David, even though he was a sinner all his life, turned to the Lord for forgiveness time and time again. Time and time again, the Lord heard his confession and in mercy forgave his sins. David trusted in the Lord’s mercy and in his promises. David inherited the eternal life which Jesus won for him. NAME OF DECEASED ‘s passing brings sorrow to you who loved and knew him. Such loss always brings sorrow. It is only natural. But beyond the sorrow, we have a certain hope that NAME OF DECEASED understands completely now how blessed it is to have forgiveness from the Lord. He is enjoying the bliss of heaven right now, praising the Lord who delivered him from his sins and gave him life eternal.
I am sure that NAME OF DECEASED wants each of you to share in the glory he is experiencing right now. His faith testified to it. You know what? We can. Because the Lord hears our pleas for forgiveness and promises to deliver us also who believe in Jesus as our Savior, we can be confident that we too are blessed. We can trust that our Savior will also deliver us whom NAME OF DECEASED left behind. That same Lord who called NAME OF DECEASED to be his child and redeemed NAME OF DECEASED, called and redeemed you too. That same merciful God who took NAME OF DECEASED home to heaven because he confessed Jesus as his Lord, will take all of you who confess Jesus as Lord home to heaven someday, also. May the Lord keep us in that faith, so that one day we too may join NAME OF DECEASED in the presence of our gracious and merciful Lord. The Lord is faithful and just and will deliver us. Amen.
