Sin: Where do we go from here?
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Photo by Leland Francisco
This past Sunday at Vintage we continued our 2013 journey through the Bible with our Story Series. Our topic was not an easy, feel good message. Pastor Rob talked directly about our sin & rejection of God. Watch and listen to the sermon HERE.
As I listened, I personally reflected on Psalm 38. In Psalm 38 David is experiencing trouble as a result from his own sin. In this text God shows a picture of repentance. When failure happens in our life, God desires for each of us to respond in a certain way. Repentance is a biblical word we might not truly understand, especially in relation to what it looks like practically lived out in our daily life.
So, note the progression of repentance from Psalm 38
- The Anguish (v.1-8)
- David describes his anguish and acknowledges that he deserved it because of his sin. Repentance begins at this point of humility. First, we tell God that we messed up and did what we wanted, not what He wanted.
- The Loneliness (v.9-14)
- David describes his loneliness because his friends have deserted him. As king, David felt vulnerable to his enemies in this trouble. In our repentance we must also reach this point where we realize that nothing around us (spouse, family, friends, counseling, therapy, or a monthly meeting) ultimately can fix our situation. The reason is because when we’ve tried everything else like David we must come to realize that we have a issue in the heart that is only for God. He alone is our Hope.
- The Desperation (v.15-22)
- David declares his desperation on God alone for salvation. Repentance happens at this exact point when we confess and apologize for the sin that we have committed against God (v.18). Amazingly we have a God that hears our cries for help no matter who we are or what we’ve done. His salvation has no limits. His response to our sin is salvation only through Jesus’ death, burial, and resurrection. Through surrendering our life to Christ we are forgiven and restored to a right relationship with God. Once this happens we can begin to deal with the effects of the sin and those around us who have been affected. Then forgiveness and restoration are lived out towards others.