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04.06.08
“Victory!”
(Matthew 5:27-29; Psalm 51)
The
story is told of an ancient wrestling match
that was particularly gruesome.
This not an ordinary fight to the death.
Each man knew that if he lost the contest, his
opponent would put his foot on his neck and call for a
sword. He
would then poke that sharpened sword into the eyes
of his conquered foe.
For the remainder of his days, the weaker
wrestler would grope in blindness throughout the city
as a public display of his DEFEAT.
è
Jesus
also spoke some very sobering words in Matthew
5:27-29, “You have heard that it was said, ‘Do
not commit adultery.’ 28—But I tell you that
anyone who looks at a woman lustfully has already
committed adultery with her in
his heart. 29—If
you right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and
throw it away. It
is better for you to lose one part of your body than
for your whole body to be thrown into hell.”
[Jesus quotes the 7th commandment-
which protects
Marriage; and He is telling us that we violate
that command FIRST in our hearts]
è
In
These words, our Lord is telling us something
important: We
are at war with SIN.
We
live in a time of unbridled sexually immoral behavior,
which our society largely justifies as acceptable.
Jesus
uses an extreme & unthinkable example of gouging
out our eye in order to drive home His POINT:
We must
WIN the war at all costs!
Peter knew about this war, and he said,
“keep away from evil desires because they FIGHT
against your very soul” (I Pe. 2:11)
James
said there is a “whole army of evil desires at
work” within you!” (Ja. 4:1).
Paul
confessed: “the sin in me is waging war and
making ME its prisoner!” (Rom. 7:23).
All
different ways of saying WE ARE AT WAR with sin---and
the sin is WITHIN.
The HEART of this battle is a battle FOR the
heart---which is where all SIN comes from, according
to Jesus. And
all sin begins with a thought, a desire, which we
refuse to let go of; but instead we PURSUE it, we
EMBRACE it...Until finally we are defeated by it.
Think
about that
wrestler. Even
tho’ he was on his back, as long as he had at least
one shoulder above the mat, the fight was NOT OVER.
Friends, now is the time to follow Christ’s
command and win victory over the sinful, selfish
desires within us.
Psalm 51 was written by David when the
prophet Nathan confronted him after David committed
adultery with Bathsheba.
David also had tried to cover up his sin by
having Bathsheba’s husband killed in battle.
He was truly a godly, but yet defeated man.
Yet
Psalm 51 is the record of David’s VICTORY
over sin. His
lustful looking was NOT what caused sin in his HEART.
No, it was the sin in his heart that caused the
lustful looking—which led to the ACT of adultery
with Bathsheba. The thought always precedes the deed.
.
I
don’t believe most of us understand WHAT WE ARE
DOING WHEN WE SIN. But
clearly this "man after God's
heart" knew about sin.
The three things David asked for reveal that he
understood some things about sin.
Sin
is a CRIME: If
a criminal is going to be delivered from the
effects of his crime, what
does he need? JUSTICE?
No, he needs MERCY!
Sin is an illegal act, a violation of justice,
an act of lawlessness.
It is REBELLION and therefore requires mercy,
even though we deserve justice.
Justice
for DAVID would have meant only one thing:
DEATH! So
in verse 1, he prays, “Have
MERCY on me, O God, according to your unfailing
love.”
Next
David says, “According
to Your great compassion, blot out my
transgressions.”
He understands
that sin is like a debt.
Sin
is a DEBT:
sin
is something OWED, an account that has accumulated to
the point that it simply cannot be paid---it just
needs to be ERASED---BLOTTED OUT!
Like a debt forgiven.
There’s NO other way.
“I owed a debt I could not pay, but on the
Cross, Christ paid a debt He did not owe!”
Finally,
David cries out to God:
(v. 2)
“Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me
from my sin.”
David understands that Sin
is a STAIN:
like an UGLY STAIN.
You ladies know about stains!
Some stains NEVER come completely out, no
matter how many times or what you use to wash them.
ð
Sin
is a DEFILEMENT upon the soul.
Like a soiled garment that even after being
repeatedly washed, even though the ACT of SIN fades
into the past, the dirty, defiling stain remains like
a STIGMA upon the heart.
So David cries out for God to deliver him from
his own sin---he wants desperately to be CLEAN INSIDE!
In v. 7 he says, “Wash me, and I will be
whiter than snow.”
This
sounds great, but What is the BASIS upon which we
receive forgiveness?
David
has come to know God, and he knows God through the Law
of God, which he says is good (read Psalm 19).
Through
God’s Law and through His saving acts in history,
David asks for forgiveness on the basis of TWO THINGS:
1.
on
the basis of God’s unfailing LOVE.
(v. 1a)
“…according
to your unfailing love.”
David understands that in himself he doesn’t
DESERVE ANYTHING from God, that God is NOT BOUND to
forgive him. Some
people have the idea that God owes them forgiveness;
That they have earned it, and deserve it.
Sad to say, they will NEVER be forgiven upon
that basis.
But
David knows it is ONY upon the basis of God’s LOVE
that he even dares to ask!
2.
on
the basis of The multitude of God’s MERCIES
(v. 1b)
“According to your great compassion…” Actually
the KJV says it better:
“According to the MULTITUDE of your tender
mercies…”
Does
this sound like David is talking to a STINGY GOD?
No, God is not a penny pincher when it comes to
mercy. If
He gives it, it’s going to be in ABUNDANCE!
When God forgives, he goes ABOVE and BEYOND
what we could ever imagine:
(listen)
“As
far as the east is from the west, so far does he
remove our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12).
HOW
FAR is that? An
Infinite distance.
Here’s
another one: God
says He will “Cast
all our sins into the depths of the sea.” (Micah
7:19).
HOW DEEP IS THE OCEAN?
And
someone has added that God even puts up a SIGN that
says, “NO FISHING!”
He forbids anyone from “fishing out” old
sins once God has forgiven them!
Are
you beginning to understand the UTTER COMPLETENESS of
God’s forgiveness?
Let
me share a KEY factor to remember:
FORGIVENESS COMES from God alone—BUT only
comes on the basis of one thing:
David
found forgiveness through REPENTANCE.
Now this word has been greatly misunderstood,
so let’s understand it.
Repentance means 3 THINGS:
1.
We
ACKNOWLEDGE
our own sin (v.3-5)
We have NO excuses for sin.
WE don’t try to blame someone else.
Repentance means we take the blame for our own
sin, AND further more, we GRIEVE OVER IT.
Listen
to David’s repentant heart in verses 3-5:
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.
Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the
time my mother conceived me.”
2.
Repentance
means We accept the CONSEQUENCES
of our sin (v. 4)
“Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what
is evil in your sight, so you are proved right when
you speak and justified when you judge.”
Does
it sound like David is defending himself?
No. Is he trying to avoid being punished for
what he has done?
Does he try to work out a PLEA BARGAIN with
God? No.
David places himself at God’s mercy and says:
“God you are right when you accuse me and
justified when you judge me!”
In other words, he says to God: “I have
sinned, do with me as you see fit.”
ð
David
DID pay a terrible price for his sin.
The child which was born to Bathsheba died; his
son Absalom later led a revolt against him, forcing
David to become a FUGITIVE once again.
But just as these judgments unfolded in
David’s life, he never complained against God.
That’s how we know David’s repentance was
genuine----he submitted to the consequences of his
sin.
3. Repentance
also means We are committed to CHANGE
(v. 10-15).
Listen
to David’s heart desire:
v. 10
“Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a
steadfast spirit within me.
11—Do not cast me away from your presence or
take your Holy spirit from me.
12—Restore the joy of your salvation and
grand me a willing spirit, to sustain me.
13—Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will turn back to you.
14—Save me from blood-guilt, o God, the God
who saves me, and my tongue will sing of your
righteousness. 15—O
Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will declare your
praise.”
Repentance
is NOT REAL if we do not also have a HUNGER to change
& a COMMITMENT to change!
Ever instance in the scripture reveals these
two things about repentance.
David doesn’t want God only to forgive his
sin, he wants God to also CHANGE his HEART!
You
see, it’s NOT ENOUGH just to be forgiven. David
realizes he exists to be USEFUL
to God.
We
exist to PLEASE GOD, to be USEFUL to God.
So with God’s help, David commits himself to
living a pure life.
Notice also that David asks for VISIBLE
change---that people can SEE, and that he can bless
others by telling them what God has done.
ð
BUT
KNOW THIS! If
we will not CHANGE,
we have not repented.
ð
Did
you notice that David was truly sorry for his
sin---not just sorry he GOT CAUGHT!
The last time you were pulled over for
speeding, I’m sure you were sorry—but why?
The Bible speaks of GODLY SORROW—this is
sorrow over the pain & offense we have caused God.
ð
Remember
that true Repentance is marked by humbly
submitting to Sins’ CONSEQUENCES.
ILLUSTRATION:
let me help you visualize what real repentance
is. Let
the piano (on my right) represent sin,
and let the pulpit (on my left) represent God.
Now if I turn my face towards sin, where is my
back? (My
back is Toward God)
But if I turn and face God, what’s behind me
now? (SIN.)
If I run towards God, I run away from sin; Run toward
sin and I run away from God.
Can
I turn my face towards God and my face
towards sin at the same
time? NO.
Can I get CLOSER to God and get closer to SIN at the
same time?
NO. I
must make a CHOICE—You must make a choice—to turn
your face toward GOD or toward SIN.
Which will it be?
Turning
to Jesus and turning away from sin are one and the
same act. Faith
in Christ and repentance from sin are two sides of the
same coin.
I
encourage you to take some quiet time and ask God to
search your heart and help you to truly repent of
whatever may be pulling you away from your Lord….
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