Confession allows us to return in fellowship to God!
Psalm 32:6-11
6 Therefore let everyone
who is godly
offer prayer to you at a
time when you may be found;
surely in the rush
of great waters,
they shall not reach him.
7 You are
a hiding place for me;
you preserve me
from trouble;
you surround me
with shouts of deliverance. Selah
8 I
will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go;
I will counsel you
with my eye upon you.
9 Be not like a horse
or a mule, without understanding,
which must be curbed
with bit and bridle,
or it will not stay near
you.
10 Many are the
sorrows of the wicked,
but steadfast love
surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord.
11 Be glad in
the Lord, and rejoice, O righteous,
and shout for joy,
all you upright in heart!
David began this psalm
praising God for the mercy He shows to those who repent of their sins. He knew
very well the freedom of assurance of forgiveness, as well as the burden of
remaining in a state of unconfessed sin.
After being
autobiographical in the preceding verses, David now invites all those who know
and love God to be swift to confess sin. David’s example through the inspired
Word of God should be a challenge to all of us. I trust that, as we read these
verses, we are reminded of the unnecessary weight we carry when we do not
confess our sin and turn to God for mercy.
Confession allows us to
return in fellowship to God and it brings freedom and peace that only those who
are God’s children can know. We should fear for our salvation, if we do not
feel the weight of sin and have never experienced the freedom of forgiveness. I
am not implying that one can lose his salvation, but that one who has never repented
of their sins has never become a child of God.
David speaks of the
instruction God gives His children. As we continue to progress in our spiritual
walk, the Word of God will continue to expose sin. The life of sanctification
of the believer has regular times of confession of sin.
John reminds us of this in
his epistle:
1 John 1:6-10
6 If we say we have
fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice
the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the
light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son
cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he
is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from
all unrighteousness.10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a
liar, and his word is not in us.
In these verses a few
truths become clear: believers sin, and when they do, they are not in
fellowship with God. We should never believe the lie that God is OK with our
sin. Our sin also affects our fellowship with other believers. The solution is
so easy! We must recognize and confess sin. There are no sins that God cannot
forgive and cannot cleanse us from.
When we allow sin to remain
in our lives, we forget the privilege of resting
in sweet fellowship, and we trade our relationship with God for some temporary
pleasure that will only bring sorrow and bitter consequences.
The imagery of this psalm
is so vivid: do not become like an animal that has no wisdom and has to be
controlled by his master!
There are blessings for
those who confess their sin, and sorrows for the wicked. Wise men turn to God
for cleansing! What a privilege we have, to know and enjoy the unconditional
and faithful love of God.
The last verse of this
psalm is truly glorious! David invites the righteous to be glad and rejoice in
the Lord. The amazing gift of grace is that a person who commits
transgressions, sins, and iniquities can be declared righteous! Even though we
rebel and sin, we can be washed by the blood of Christ and we can be restored
to fellowship.
We should, we must, live
differently because we know God. We are blessed! We do not have to carry the
weight of sin! We can hide in the loving care of our merciful God!
Dear friend, those who
know this love, this freedom, this joy, this peace should never be slow to
confess sin and should be a light to those around them.
Ephesians 2:4-7
4 But God,
being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved
us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us
alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved—6 and raised us up
with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,
7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of
his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus.
God, through the ages, has displayed His infinite grace
and love by saving sinners like us! We are blessed!
No comments:
Post a Comment