Saved from Sin
Psalm 51
Introduction
In
the next few weeks, we are going to begin a church-wide emphasis on evangelism
and outreach, called One Focus. This
shouldn’t come as a surprise for several reasons. First, you have probably heard me talking
about this over the past couple of weeks.
We even had about 90 people show up for a Sunday evening meeting to talk
about One Focus. Second, this was one of
the recommendations from our Long Range Planning process last year. We have spent the first eight months of 2012
preparing our church for evangelism and outreach. (I don’t think we were ready to do evangelism
and outreach at the beginning of this year.
We were like the dog who liked to chase cars. He chases and barks, but he doesn’t know what
to do with one if he ever catches it.)
Third, you shouldn’t be surprised about a Baptist church emphasizing
evangelism and outreach, because that is what Baptist churches have done as
long as I can remember. I guess we can
think of this as getting back to basics.
I’m
sure you know where the word “evangelism” comes from. It comes from the Greek word, euangelion—which means “good news.” Perhaps we could say “evangel” means good
news, and “evangelism” means to share the good news with others.
In
our modern world, the words “evangel” and “evangelism” are distinctly Christian
words. This was not the case in the
ancient world. In the Roman Empire, for
example, there was probably an “evangel,” or announcement of good news, every
time a new Caesar came into power. A
copy of one of those evangels announcing the new reign of Caesar Augustus has
been found, and reads:
The
providence which has ordered the whole of our life, showing concern and zeal,
has ordained the most perfect consummation for human life by giving to it
Augustus, by filling him with virtue for doing the work of a benefactor among
men, and by sending in him, as it were, a savior for us and those who come
after us, to make war to cease, to create order everywhere…; the birthday of
the god (Augustus) was the beginning for the world of the good news that has
come to men through him…(N.T. Wright, What Saint Paul
Really Said. [Grand Rapids
On
one hand, I am tempted to think those are some bold claims to announce a new
king in the land. Perfect consummation
for human life…Benefactor among men…A savior for us…To make war cease…To create
order everywhere… Did people truly
believe a new king was going to solve all their problems?
On
the other hand, I think it sounds rather familiar. We just finished watching the Republican
National Convention and the Democratic National Convention on television. And, both of our political parties made the
same kind of announcements about their candidates. The wars will cease…The economy will turn
around…American independence from foreign oil…A new health care system…A job
for everyone who wants a job…
I
am going to do my very best to offend every person in church this morning. There is only one Good News that brings
salvation and a new life. It is not the
good news of Caesar Augustus. It is not
the good news of Barack Obama. And, it
is not the good news of Mitt Romney. The
only Good News that can save you and change your life is the Good News of Jesus
Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God.
The
Good News of Jesus Christ addresses our basic and universal human need. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory
of God (Romans 3: 23).” Because we are
sinners, we are separated from God and deserve to feel the wrath of God’s
judgment against our sins. Every person
will one day stand before God in judgment.
Those who remain in their sins will be sent to a literal and eternal
Hell. Those who have been saved from
their sins will be accepted into a literal and eternal Heaven. Or, as Romans 6: 23 says, “The wages of sin
is death, but the gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.”
If
all have sinned, how can anyone be saved?
And, what exactly is sin?
Psalm 51
Psalm
51 is a rare Psalm, because it is a Psalm that has a story. Tradition tells us these are words written by
King David to confess his sins and seek God’s forgiveness after he had broken
five out of the Ten Commandments.
While
Israel’s army was off at war, David coveted another man’s wife, Bathsheba. Then, David committed adultery with her. When David discovered Bathsheba was pregnant,
he devised a lie to cover up his sins.
When the lies did not work, David had Bathsheba’s husband murdered. Then, he stole another man’s wife. Coveting, Adultery, Lying, Murder and
Stealing…He broke five of the Ten Commandments!
The
Prophet Nathan, at great risk to his own life, confronted the king with his
sins. David immediately confessed his
sins and sought God’s forgiveness. We
believe these are David’s words of confession—confessing that he has sinned
against God.
In
describing the context of Psalm 51, I have used several words that are not very
popular words in Twenty-First Century America.
For example, when was the last time you heard someone talk freely and
openly about “sin?” Or what about
“confession?” One of the reasons we
don’t hear people talk about confession, is because we don’t really like to
talk about sin. Confession is about
admitting guilt.
I
believe these are the most difficult words in the English language: “I was
wrong… It is my fault… I am guilty…”
There are not many people in our culture who are willing to admit they
are guilty. We might even have a
difficult time finding a guilty person in the Huntsville
Confession
is admitting that we are guilty of sin.
But, what exactly is “sin?”
Three
Words for “Sin.”
There
are three Hebrew words that we translate as “sin” in the Old Testament. The interesting thing is that all three of
these words show up in the first two verses of Psalm 51.
Verse
1 b: “…according to your great
compassion blot out my TRANSGRESSIONS.” This
is the Hebrew word “pasha…”
Verse
2 a: “Wash away all my INIQUITY…” This is the Hebrew word “avon…”
Verse
2 b: “…and cleanse me from my SIN.” This is the Hebrew word “hatah…”
Hatah (translated “sin” in the NIV) is a
term from the world of archery. It
paints a word picture for us. The
translation would be something like “to miss the mark.” The archer takes careful aim at either a
target or at his supper. He draws the
bow string back and releases the arrow.
He is doing everything in his power to hit the target or to kill the
animal. BUT, he missed his mark. If we apply this to sin, then we can say that
there are times in our own lives when we tried to do the right thing. We wanted to do the right thing. We might even have thought we were doing the
right thing. BUT, we missed the target.
Avon (translated “iniquity” in the NIV) is
a term from the world of shepherding. It
also paints a word picture. The
translation would be “to stray off the path.”
Think about the nature of sheep.
Individual sheep do not consider the needs and desires of the rest of
the flock. All they think about is
themselves and what they want or need at any given moment. And what is a sheep’s most immediate
need? Usually, it is food. A shepherd cares for the flock and provides
food and water for the flock. He also
wants to keep the flock together, so they will be easier to protect from
predators. But the sheep don’t think
about things like this. Individual sheep
only think about eating the grass in front of them. A sheep might put his head down and move from
one clump of grass to the next without ever paying attention to where he is
going or where the rest of the flock is.
After moving from one clump of grass to the next, a sheep might look up
and discover he is all alone. He has
strayed away from the path and is separated from the rest of the flock. Again, we can apply this to sin in our own
lives. We might move closer and closer
to the boundaries, thinking, “I’m not hurting anyone. What I am doing is really not sin. This is the Twenty-First Century. No one follows those out dated rules
anymore.” Then one day, like the sheep,
we look up to find ourselves all alone.
We strayed away from God’s will and purpose. And we wonder, “How did I get to where I am
now? How did I become this person? This is not who I am!”
Pasha (translated “transgressions” in the
NIV) is a strictly moral term. There is
no word picture associated with this type of sin. Its translation is “willful violation of
God’s standards.” Another word we might
use here is “rebellion.” We know what
the right thing is, but we don’t care.
We know what the Bible says, but we ignore it. We seek to please ourselves and satisfy our
own desires with no regard for what is right.
If you want a word picture, we might compare this to an angry bull that
charges and injures others. He does not
care about your feelings or your pain.
He only cares about himself.
We
could build a case here for what we might call “Hebrew parallelism.” This is a poetic device often found in the
Psalms and other Hebrew poetry. The
author repeats himself using similar words and phrases to communicate one idea
multiple times. However, we could also
build a case for a comprehensive view of sin.
Such
a comprehensive view would mean that all sin separates us from God. It does not matter which kind of sin you
might commit. You might have TRIED to do
the right thing and failed. You might
have WANDERED away from God’s plan. You
might have REBELLED against God willfully.
It doesn’t matter. Sin is
sin. Any sin—no matter how small you
think your sins are—needs to be forgiven by God. And the pathway to forgiveness is confession.
Confession.
Again,
let me point out that confession is not very popular, because at its very root,
confession is an admission of guilt. We
cannot be forgiven if we never admit we are guilty of sin. That is the first step to confession. Confession is the opposite of pride.
The
second step is to say it out loud. You
cannot keep your confession of sin inside.
God has already told us he is willing and able to forgive our sins, so
why would we remain silent? Are we
trying to hide our sins from God? It is
like Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden.
Once they realized they had sinned against God, they hid from God. But God knew about their sin and confronted
them. God already knows about our
sins. God has already told us he is
willing to forgive. We should have no
reason to remain silent out of fear.
The
third step of confession is to be specific.
We are not told to pray, “Lord, IF I have sinned forgive me of however I
have failed you.” Confession is not
supposed to be general. Confession is
when we admit the specific ways we have sinned and failed to do God’s will. We need to name the ways we have sinned
against God. If you want to be forgiven,
you must tell God what you want him to forgive.
Confession Reveals Something about
Me.
All have sinned and fall short of
the glory of God…None of us is innocent of sin.
We do not measure up to the standards God has set for us to live as his
people.
God has a standard he wants us to
live. God’s standard is recorded in the
Law. We are to be different from the
rest of the world. We are to be set
apart from the rest of the world. Our
lives are to be devoted to God and his purposes, not the world and its
purposes.
Confession Reveals Something about
God.
God is holy and righteous…Another
way of saying this is to say God is not like us. We are sinful and evil. God is perfect and set apart. If God is holy and perfect, how can he be in
relationship with sinners? There are two
choices. Either God must compromise his
holiness by entering into a relationship with sinners, or God must fix our sin
problem before we enter into relationship with God.
That leads us to the second thing
confession reveals about God: God is
approachable and forgiving…God has provided the only way to fix our sin problem
and enter into a relationship with God.
In the Old Testament this was symbolized in an elaborate sacrificial
system. Then, God sent Jesus, his Only
Begotten Son, who lived a sinless and perfect life and then voluntarily gave
his life as the final sacrifice for our sins.
Because of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus, we can be forgiven
of our sins and have relationship with God.
Relationship on earth and throughout all eternity in Heaven.
Confession Reveals Something about
Salvation.
God is the only one who can provide
the way to salvation…We cannot solve our sin problem. We cannot work our way to a position which is
pleasing to God. The Law describes God’s
expectations for our lives. But there is
only so much the Law can do. The Law can
COUNT our sins, but the Law cannot COUNTER our sins. Only Jesus can fix our problem.
Salvation is grace through faith—or
no one could be saved…No one deserves to be forgiven. It is simply a free gift of Grace. Just like any gift, it can be accepted or
rejected. We accept God’s gift through
faith…Believing God wants to save us, and believing that God will keep his
promises. Since God has already offered
the gift of salvation, there will be no room for excuses when we stand before
God in judgment.
Conclusion
God
doesn’t want you to remain in your sin.
God has provided a way out of sin.
The way out is not the Law and keeping a list of rules. The way out is to receive God’s free gift
through faith. You will never receive
this gift, if you cannot admit you are guilty.
Faith begins when we confess our sins.
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