Rev. David Holwick
First Baptist Church
West Lafayette, Ohio
October 5, 1986
The Joy of Forgiveness
Psalm 32, King James Version
"Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered."
Sin and transgressions. To many people these sound like words from the dark ages. Something a Puritan would worry about. Sin is a willing disobedience of a known standard.
If you don't believe in absolute standards, you don't have to worry about sin, because it ceases to exist. For many people, this is just fine. They do what seems right, or what feels good. And they leave it at that.
This kind of set up would make a life a lot easier it if it were true. But it isn't. God as established standards and requirements whether we like it or not. When we break them, or try to hide from them, it catches up with us. It's just a matter of time.
Psalm 32 is the account of someone who tried to hide from God, but wised up. And he was glad he did.
This person, of course, is King David. He begins by exclaiming the happiness of being forgiven. Most of us can relate to this in human terms. The time you smashed the car, and you Dad of husband, totally out of character, told you not to worry about it. Or the time you deeply hurt someone, and they accepted you back. Forgiveness by God is even better, because it has eternal consequences.
David describes forgiveness 3 ways.
The first description is the word, "Forgiven". In Hebrew it is related to the word for removing something.
The second description is the word "covered." This means our sin is concealed from sight. To be covered might give the impression the sin is still there, lurking under the surface. But it's not, because God has also removed it. As Psalm 103:12 puts it - "As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us."
Verse 2 gives the third description of forgiveness, and it's the most important. The apostle Paul even quotes it in Romans 4. When we are forgiven, God does not impute our iniquity. You would appreciate this if you knew what it meant. To impute means to reckon, or count against. We deserve to have our sins counted against us. Criminals put it this way. Commit a crime, do the time. We deserve this. But God lets us off.
The New Testament goes farther. The Old Testament tells us that God does not count us as sinners. The negative is erased. The New Testament tells us that he counts us as righteous, able to stand in his presence. This is a positive that is added. God does not treat us as we deserve. He deals with us according to his love. But you have to be careful that you don't abuse it. Christians have no right to sin to their heart's content and expect automatic forgiveness without sincerity.
It is great to be forgiven. But it can really wear on you if you hang on to quilt. For some reason David did not want to face up to his sin. Verse 3 says he kept silent. And he paid a price.
When we hide things in our subconscious, they don't stay there. They filter out. Your mind will play tricks on you. Or your body will act up. That's what David means when he says his bones waxed old and his body felt dried up. Day and night he felt God's pressure on him.
Then David got smart. In verse 5 he says: "I acknowledge my sin unto thee." God knows everything we've ever done. Confessing our sin to him is just as much a way to face up to it ourselves. We have to recognize how our sin destroys us, and separates us from other people and God. Verse 5 uses 3 words for disobedience, the same ones found in verses 1 and 2. Sin is the outward act. Iniquity is the inward corruption. And transgression is rebellious disobedience. Every dimension of sin is removed when we sincerely repent before God.
The blessing of forgiveness should not be put off. Because it can slip away. Verse 6 tells us to pray to God for forgiveness while he can be found. God is always available to us. But the longer you continue in sin, the harder your heart becomes. Till you feel God will no longer take you back.
Time is always running out. Don't take the chance it will run out on you. If we are wise enough to renew our fellowship with God, we will be ready when the hard times come.
In verse 8 God seems to be speaking. Several psalms have this feature. If we are following the Lord, he will teach us and watch over us. This is the one thing that is better than forgiveness, fellowship with God.
Verse 8 describes someone who is sensitive to God. Verse 9 is the alternative, being stubborn like a mule. We always face the 2 options, surrender or stubbornness.
Are you standing in forgiveness right now? Suffering from sins effects? Stubbornly refusing to let go of sin? The solution is up to you.
Copyright © 2024 by Rev. David Holwick
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