The Extraordinary Blessing of Forgiveness Psalm 51:1-12
I don’t know how many of you saw this as it happened but an extraordinary exchange took place on a couple of very prominent news shows this past week. I call them extraordinary because you don’t often hear the Christian faith discussed in such forums in such a clear, passionate and genuine way. Veteran news reporter, Britt Hume, was at the center of both of the exchanges. The first took place last Sunday morning in a roundtable discussion on one of the weekly news shows as the topic turned to Tiger Woods’ recent and very public downfall and the follow up exchange took place the very next night on The O’Reilly Factor as Bill O’Reilly asked Brit Hume to explain more fully the point of his comments. Here’s what happened.
Brit Hume Tells O’Reilly: Tiger Woods Needs Something Christianity Provides – 01/04/10
Now, I showed that extended segment from the show because I thought you would find it interesting on a lot of different levels and in the hope that it might spark some good conversations over your lunch but I want to focus your attention specifically, this morning, on what Brit Hume was saying about the blessing that comes from knowing that you’ve been truly and completely forgiven. One of the most beloved public figures of our days has crashed and burned morally before our eyes. And he is, as Brit Hume said, “paying a frightful price for these revelations” about his behavior. He’s already lost a number of his endorsements…which means future earnings…but far more significantly, as Hume also pointed out, he may also have lost his family. And unless he’s just been completely faking his love for his wife and his children, he’s got to be in tremendous pain. So, against the backdrop of all of that Hume offers what he believes to be a message of hope and restoration, saying, “If Tiger Woods were to make a true conversion we would know it…it would show through in his being…and he would know it above all…(then, here’s the line that really jumped out and grabbed my attention)… and he would feel the extraordinary blessing that that would be…and it would be a magnificent thing to witness.”
I love the way that Brit Hume said that. He captures in that line what I have personally experienced…the extraordinary blessing of knowing that you’ve been forgiven. Fully and completely forgiven. Have any of you experienced the blessing of forgiveness? If so, can you relate with Brit Hume’s description of, “the extraordinary blessing of forgiveness.”
Last week, we gathered around the Lord’s Table and took a very serious look at the seriousness of our sinfulness and the extraordinary price that Jesus paid to secure the forgiveness of our sin. I want to continue that discussion, this morning, by looking at the path that we must walk in order to receive that forgiveness and the extraordinary blessing that God’s forgiveness brings. And let me just go ahead and tell you up front that the path that leads to the extraordinary blessing of forgiveness is called, “confession.”
Let me also tell you that we’re going to be guided, this morning, by the example David. We’ve been studying the life of David with the men on Tuesday nights for several weeks now. For those of you who haven’t been with us, let me refresh your memory with a very condensed version of his story.
As our story begins, God is searching for a successor to Israel’s King Saul. His search ends in the most unlikely of places. David is a shepherd, a musician and the youngest son of Jesse’s 8 boys. Once selected, however, the spirit of God came upon David in a mighty way.
David would rise to become a national hero as a great military commander and, after Saul’s death, David was anointed as Israel’s king. It’s an incredible story of success. Sadly, David’s legacy was forever tainted by a terrible lapse in judgment.
Walking on the roof of his house one afternoon he notices a woman taking a bath. He makes some inquiries and learns that her name is Bathsheba and that she is the wife of Uriah, one of his soldiers. David yields to the temptation and Bathsheba is soon pregnant with his child.
When David learns of her pregnancy he sets in motion a series of deceptions in the hope that he will not be found out. When his initial plans fail, David devises a plan to get her husband killed. The once great and godly king had fallen into a pit of moral bankruptcy.
But, of course, the sin that David had hoped to conceal had never been concealed from God and God sent a messenger named Nathan to assure David that God knew all about his sins and failures. Every last one of them. Shamed and humiliated, David finally did what a man of godly character does, he stopped trying to deny, avoid or cover up his sin and simply confessed it. In 2 Samuel 12:13, David finally acknowledges the truth, “I have sinned against the Lord.”
In fact, David went on to write an entire psalm, Psalm 51, about this experience and in doing so he offered us a wealth of lessons about the kind of confession that leads to the extraordinary blessing of forgiveness. Let’s begin by reading the first four verses. In Psalm 51:1-4 David writes,
“Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against you, you only have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge.”
Does that sound sincere to you? Does it ring true? It sure does to me. And here’s why—Genuine confession…the kind of confession that leads to the extraordinary blessing of forgiveness…is always rooted in a spirit of humility.
–A confession that is carefully constructed to make it sound as though we haven’t really done anything wrong is not confession. It’s just a subtle expression of pride.
–When we labor to construct a confession that minimizes our offense, offers excuses and shifts the blame off of ourselves, that’s not confession. That’s just a subtle expression of pride.
Confession that leads to the extraordinary blessing of forgiveness does none of that because it’s rooted in humility. And that’s the spirit that we see here in David as he humbly and freely acknowledges that he and he alone is responsible for the wrong that he has done.
–“O God…blot out MY transgression.”
–“O God…wash away all MY iniquity…”
–“O God…cleanse me from MY sin.”
–“O God…” I have “…sinned and done what is evil in your sight…”
David is still the king, but he completely surrenders his pride, asks for no special considerations or treatment of any kind and simply confesses his sin and pleads for God’s mercy. Confession that leads to the extraordinary blessing of forgiveness is always rooted in a spirit of humility.
The second lesson that we learn from David’s example is that genuine confession is always specifically directed to the offended party. True confession moves us beyond generic apologies addressed to no one in particular to that point where we acknowledge that our actions have caused real offense to a real person or persons. And when the offending action is sin, the offended person is God so our confession must be directed to Him.
So, as David continues his heartfelt and humble confession to God he writes, in verse 4, “Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evil in your sight…”
Were other people impacted by David’s appalling behavior? Absolutely. But the sin was against God. And until the sin was confessed to God, David could not receive the extraordinary blessing of God’s forgiveness. And neither can we.
All sin is an offense against God. All sin. Consequently, while we may also ultimately need to confess to others, our first line of confession must be addressed to God.
We find a third lesson as we read a little further into the psalm. In verses 10-12 David writes,
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me.”
Did you see the third lesson? Genuine confession that leads to the extraordinary blessing of forgiveness always acknowledges the root cause of the offending behavior.
Genuine confession doesn’t stop:
–with the acknowledgement of our regret over the wrong that we’ve done;
–or, with the acknowledgement of our sorrow over the offense that we’ve caused.
True confession takes us all the way to that point where we specifically identify and acknowledge the source of our offensive behavior. And this is a critically important step in the confession process because until we honestly acknowledge the cause of the offending behavior we are doomed to repeat the offending behavior.
So, let me ask you: What was it that caused David to sin? Well, he didn’t sin because Bathsheba was flaunting her beauty in her rooftop bathtub. No, David sinned because he had an impure heart. And until his heart was changed, he would continue to be vulnerable to every Bathsheba who crossed his path. And, folks, there’s always going to be another Bathsheba. So, the key to victory for David was not to put up curtains around every bathtub in Israel. The key to victory for David was a changed heart. So he cried out to God in humility and brokenness and he prayed, “O God, create in me a pure heart and sustain me with a steadfast and willing spirit.”
DEMONSTRATION (Have a volunteer come forward and put a hand on my wrist as my arm is extended and I’m holding a cup of water in my hand. Have them shake my arm forcefully and then ask—Why is there water on the floor? After several suggestions give the right answer: There’s water on the floor because there was water in the cup.)
And, folks, as long as there is sin in our heart we are in danger of running across some situation that will shake it out. If we want to avoid that disaster, we need to deal with the sin in our heart before that happens. We need to deal with the sin in our heart preemptively by asking God to reveal our sin and convict us of it before it leads to disaster.
“Oh, God, I don’t want to dishonor your reputation and diminish your glory through some sinful failure. Oh, God, please, don’t let me get comfortable with sinful attitudes hidden in my heart. Oh, God, create in me a pure heart and sustain me with a steadfast and willing spirit.”
Now, the good news is that David’s confession led him to the extraordinary blessing of God’s forgiveness. And the even better news is that our confession can lead us to there as well.
“O God, against You and you only I have sinned and done what is evil in your sight. Wash me and cleanse me of all my sin. But, O God, don’t stop there. Create in me a pure heart and sustain me with a steadfast and willing spirit that I can turn from my sin and break free of it’s hold on me and sin no more.”
I don’t know the sin with which you struggle…but I know that you struggle with sin…because we all struggle with sin.
I don’t know the sinful attitude hidden in your heart, but God does.
I don’t know what you may need to confess, but I know this: when we confess our sin that God is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteous. And I know that because His word promises us that it’s so in 1 John 1:9.
And I know something else. The kind of confession we’ve talked about this morning can lead everyone us to the extraordinary blessing of God’s forgiveness. I invite you to experience it today by praying with me:
“Father, I confess my sin. I thank you for Jesus’ sacrifice, which makes forgiveness possible. I repent of my sinful ways. Forgive me. Wash away all my sin. Change my heart. Help me to live my life in a way that is pleasing to you.”
