IF WE CONFESS OUR
SINS…
Sin is a burden we all bear. Even as Christians we
struggle with the constant reality that we sin. If we deny our sinfulness we
deceive ourselves.
We also
know the joy of forgiveness. Christians of all people should know that sin has
no chain that God’s grace cannot break. Sin has been defeated and the
confession of our sin makes it roll off of our backs.
The Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan
illustrates this beautifully. This is an old classic story that I encourage you
to read. The Pilgrim’s Progress has
been largely forgotten in our time. But the dramatic picture of forgiveness
speaks to our hearts today even still.
Pilgrim leaves
his wife, children, and village to seek out the calling of his soul. He is
restless and keenly aware that his life is headed for destruction. So Pilgrim
sets out with a large burden on his back to find the truth that will set him
free.
Through
a series of adventures on his long journey to find redemption while carrying
this burden on his back, Pilgrim finally comes to a cross on a hill. There
Jesus appears and Pilgrim hears him say, “Father forgive them.” Pilgrim
realizes his sin put Jesus on the cross and says, “Forgive me.” Immediately the
burden on his back loosens and rolls down the hill. Jesus tells Pilgrim his
name is now Christian.
The joy
we know in the confession of our sins, the freedom of forgiveness that we
experience ought to compel us to run to Jesus whenever we sin. Sadly, we carry
our sin around with us like Pilgrim’s burden for various reasons.
David
wrote Psalm 32 with both of these perspectives in mind: the joy of forgiveness
and the pain of unconfessed sin. We are going to study the first five verses of
David’s maskil. A maskil is a term of instruction meaning
that David wanted his readers to learn from his own experience how wonderful it
is to know God’s forgiveness and to seek it for themselves.
1. The Power of Forgiveness
Two decades ago a nationally-known pastor in the US
resigned, explaining to his congregation “Along the way I have stepped over the
line of acceptable behavior with some members of the congregation. He added
that “he tried on his own to face unspecified childhood issues and had been
involved in years of denial and faulty coping techniques.”[i]
David
does not say, “Blessed is he whose unspecified childhood issues are forgiven
and whose denial and faulty coping techniques are covered…” David uses direct
language to tell us about his moral failing. Psalm 32 is a companion piece to
Psalm 51, both expressing David’s remorse over his sin with Bathsheba. He felt
his sin deeply and names it pointedly.
“Blessed is he whose transgressions are
forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does
not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit,” (1-2).
David
uses four words for sin and four concepts for forgiveness to make his point. Hebrew
is very much a picture language and so the words need unpacking:
a) Transgression
is a word that means “to step over the boundaries.” We know that God has set up
laws for human behavior, a code of ethics for right living, but we choose to go
against those laws even though we know better. Transgression refers to human
defiance of God’s good and perfect will.
David
says that his transgressions are forgiven. Forgiven
means “to bear, carry off, or take away a burden.” Our sin is a burden which
God bears and takes away through Christ on the cross. Christ is our scapegoat,
an animal designated in Hebrew Scriptures to take the blame while everyone goes
free.
b) Sin means
“to miss the mark” and is an archery term referring to an arrow missing the
target altogether. Sin is coming short of what God intended for us in terms of
righteousness.
David
says his sins are covered. We might
use the common colloquialism today, “I’ve got you covered,” when we think of
someone taking care of our debt. But God puts our sins out of His sight; as far
as East is from West, so far has He removed our transgressions; we are covered
by the blood of Christ.
c) Iniquity as
a term is not used in the NIV here but KJV and NASB do. It means “bent or
twisted.” Iniquity is the result of our twisting or perverting that which is
good and using it for wickedness.
David’s
iniquity, he says, was not counted
against him. It was not charged to his account, in other words. Romans
4:1-8 tells of how Abraham believed God and it was credited to him, or counted
or reckoned to him as righteousness. Paul goes on to explain that a man’s wages
are not a gift but an obligation, but a man who trusts in God to forgive his
sin is credited with or gifted with righteousness apart from works.
d) Deceit is
the deliberate cover-up of sinfulness. We present a false front to look good
even though you know you are not. “If we claim to be without sin we deceive
ourselves…”[ii]
David
says “happy is the one in whose spirit is no deceit.” There is no guile, no pretence, no falseness
before God. The person who is happy is the one who comes before God and says “I
sinned” and does not cover it up with psychological terminology such as “faulty
coping techniques.”
We live
in a time when we are afraid to call sin what it is – “Sin.” Sexual promiscuity
is sin; pornography is sin; gossip is sin; adultery is sin; lying is sin;
slander is sin; rebelling against your parents is sin…and we are all guilty.
But there is joy in forgiveness. David tells us that these burdens can be
rolled away the moment we come to the cross of Christ and confess that for
these sins Jesus died.
2. The Problems Associated with Concealed Sin
David tried to go on living with his sin, ignoring it,
pretending it was not a thing, and discovered three problems with hiding his
sin. David’s disavowal of sin led to three results:
a) Physical
Effects – David discovered that concealing his sin from God produced
physical problems in his body so that he felt like an old man. “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away
through my groaning all day long,” (3). Sin takes a physical toll on us.
When I withheld a confession that I wrecked my car from my parents I lost my
appetite till I confessed.
Charles
Spurgeon wrote, “When through neglect I failed to confess, or through despair
dared not to do so, “my bones,” those solid pillars of my frame, the strongest
portion of my bodily constitutions, “waxed old,” began to decay with weakness,
for my grief was so intense as to sap my health and destroy my vital energy.
What a killing thing sin is!”
b) Spiritual
Effects – David also discovered a spiritual price to pay in concealing his
sin. “For day and night your hand was
heavy upon me,” (4a). Guilt can lie like a stone on your chest. David felt
as though God were pressing down on him so that he could not sleep. The truth
is that sin creates a barrier between us and God; sin hinders our relationship
with God.
c) Emotional
Effects – David tells us that he has dried up! “My strength was sapped as in the heat of summer,” (4b). I enjoy
warm summers but humidity always gets me. When we were in SD it was 40 degrees
and humid; I nearly fainted because of my high blood pressure issues. David’s
concealed sin was leading to depression; his emotional well-being was at risk
the longer he denied any wrong-doing.
These
verses remind us that when we don’t fully confess we will experience physical,
spiritual, and emotional distress. Anger and bitterness can come as a result of
unconfessed sin and will eat your insides out. Ulcers, high blood pressure,
migraine headaches, and lower back pain can come from concealing our sins. Karl
Menninger, the famed psychiatrist, once said that if he could convince the
patients in psychiatric hospitals that their sins were forgiven, 75% of them
would walk out the next day!
One
famous atheist said, "The one thing I envy about you Christians is that
you have someone to forgive you." Indeed, why carry sin and sin’s effects
when God is so willing to forgive you?
3. The Pattern for Confronting Sin
David knew that holding on to his sin was “killing” him.
He also knew that the cure for the effects of sin was personal confession of
sin. He said, “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,” (5).
a) Don’t cover it
up – Note that there is a difference between God “covering” our sins (1b)
and when we try to cover our sins (5a). Adam and Eve realized they were naked
in the garden following their sin, so they tried vainly to cover their shame
with leaves. This futile attempt at disguising sin is as bad as trying to cover
one’s nakedness with a washcloth. It just can’t be done.
Blessed
is the one…whose sins are covered…by God. When confess our sins and accept the
work of Christ on our behalf on the cross we are covered. “…for all of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves
with Christ,” (Gal. 3:27).
b) Confess your
sins – David said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD…” In
Hebrew, “confession” means “to throw down or to cast down.” The Greek word for
confession means “to agree, or to say the same thing.” Put these concepts
together and we get what God wants us to do with our sins. He wants us to say
the same thing that He says about our sins. He wants us to agree that sin is
wicked, to admit they are wrong. Then He wants us to cast down our sins. Throw
them down. Stop carrying them around.
John
seems to reflect Psalm 32 when he said, “If
we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and purify
us from all unrighteousness,” (1 John 1:9).
c) Receive and Leave
– The last thing David says in v. 5 is that God forgave the guilt of his sin.
Some
people have trouble accepting that they have been forgiven. They apologize to
you but then are still wracked with guilt and continue to apologize and beg
your pardon. You said, “I forgive you,” but they continue to seek peace and
assurance from you.
Here we
need to trust the Word of God. What John said in 1 John 1:9 is true – if you
confess, God will forgive. Peter told Cornelius, “All the prophets testify about (Jesus) that everyone who believes in
him receives forgiveness of sins through his name,” (Acts 10:43). So
BELIEVE it, RECEIVE it, and LEAVE it.
So why don’t we confess our sins to God? Thinking on this
I believe that there is an element of fear involved. We are afraid of what God
will do; we are afraid of what He might ask us to do; we are afraid of what
people will say when they find out.
We may
also feel that we have not suffered enough for our sins and we need to do more
penance for what we have done. Like we could ever really pay for our sins?
David
left us Psalm 32 to relieve such fears and feelings concerning sin. He left us
a testimony of what a sinner feels like when forgiveness comes showering down
like a refreshing rain on a thirsty land.
What
does the joy of forgiveness look like?
[Play
clip: The Mission (1986): Redemption (Redencion) on Youtube]
In the
film, “The Mission” Robert DeNiro plays a mercenary who has taken asylum in the
local church after killing his brother in a fit of jealous rage. He eventually
leaves the church and heads to a mission post located above the waterfalls in a
South American jungle. Because of what he has done, and how bad he feels, he
ties himself to a heavy bundle of armor, swords, and other weighty objects. The
bundle represents his sinful life. He feels compelled to drag this sack of sin
around with him as a way to do penance for what he has done.
Inexplicably,
one of the natives of the jungle has enough of this and cuts Rodrigo Mendoza
(DeNiro) loose. A flood of emotion overwhelms Mendoza as he receives this act
of mercy and forgiveness from God through the native’s knife.
If you
feel like Mendoza this morning, you are carrying an unnecessary burden around.
God’s forgiveness in Christ is graciously free and there for the asking.
If we
confess our sins…
AMEN
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