True Confession

True Confession

Psalm 51:3-6

Intro

This Psalm speaks of David's fall in overt, gross sin.David had committed adultery with Bathsheba and was responsible for having her husband, Uriah, killed in battle. The prophet Nathan comes to David to expose the gross sin and evil that he had committed. In the midst of his penitence he wrote this psalm asking God to have mercy and to forgive his sin.

David's sin is recorded as a warning to all. Living in sin makes our heart grow cold and callus to God.In this Psalm we see God recovering David through confession and repentance.

In the Amorin family we have technically 3 children. Years ago we were occasionally visited by a fourth child called "Nobody" during the early years of childhood.Nobody spills juice on the sofa and carpet. Nobody leaves doors wide open during the wintry winds. Nobody wrote on the wall with the crayon. And nobody left the toys and dishes on the living room floor.Nobody gets the blame, receiving full accusations by 3 kids. "Nobody did it".Rosalind and I would probably discipline nobody if we could ever catch the little rascal.

From the very beginning in Genesis, Adam tries to avoid responsibility by blaming Eve for eating the fruit from the forbidden tree. In fact, Adam even seems to insinuate that perhaps God is at fault for giving him Eve as a flawed mate. Eve blames the serpent who deceived her.

Adam and our invisible child "Nobody", are reflections of the IRRESPONSIBILITY of people in our society.They want to clarify their "rights" but when accountability and responsibility come knocking, they flee for the back door.

Personal Responsibility for Sin

Throughout Psalm 51 David often uses the phrase "my sin", "my iniquity", "my transgression". He takes full responsibility for his deliberate actions.

Psalm 51:3“For I know my transgressions,and my sin is always before me.”

David is conscious and aware that he has broken God's moral and spiritual law.His heart and conscious is heavy. He understands what he has done and he sees the great transgression committed on his part against God.

Before, David was insensitive to the seriousness of his sin. He treated it lightly and felt he could get away with it. He probably thought it was not that serious since he was the king and he could do anything he pleased.For about a year he kept it in and did not confess his sin. He was hiding in his sin and perhaps he was hoping that through time it would just go away or be forgotten. BUT that is not what happened.

In Psalm 32 David writes about the agony of being silent in carrying his sin.

"When I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me my strength was sapped as in the heat of the summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said I will confess my transgression to the Lord - and you forgave the guilt of my sin."(Psalm 32:3-5).

Verse 3b“…my sin is always before me”

Most likely wherever David turned he saw Uriah, it was his guilty past.He probably saw it in the sad eyes of Bathsheba, and in the cynical eyes of Joab, his military leader.

For about a yearDavid was haunted by his evil criminal act. He was living with unconfessed sin and that is why his sin was always before him.

Isaiah 59:12 "For our offenses are many in your sight, and our sins testify against us. Our offenses are ever with us and we acknowledge our iniquities." If we don’t confess our sins they will be with us always. We need to confess and repent to be cleansed from sin.

Psalm 51:4a"Against you, you only, have I sinned, and done what is evil in your sight."

What an evaluation of sin!David did not only sin against Bathsheba and Uriah, he did not only sin against the people, over whom he ruled, he not only sinned against the little baby boy who eventually died.But he sinned against God. His was a deliberate act of rebellion against God and his commandments."You shall not commit adultery", "You shall not kill."(Ex. 20:13-14).

The prodigal son said to his father, "I have sinned against heaven and in your sight." (Luke 15:21).

You see, humanity is held accountable to God for the wrong and evil they commit. That’s why we need to confess our sins and ask for forgiveness.

Jesus said, "Truly I say unto, inasmuch as you have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, you have done it unto me." (Matt. 25:40). Even when we wrong someone or commit a sin against someone it is also done against the Lord.

David was sorrowful for what he had done. His repentance was deep and real.He was not just sorry for the consequences of his sin or that he was eventually found out but he realized he had hurt God.

Yes, God is hurt by our deliberate sin. He is a person who feels. We read in Genesis 6:6 "The Lord was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain." You see, God grieves over our sin and the evil we commit. He heart is filled with pain because He loves us and desires the best for our well-being.

Our sin is God’s sorrow

God said of King Saul, "Then the word of the Lord came to Samuel, "I am grieved that I have made Saul king, because he has turned away from me and has not carried out my instructions." (1 Sam. 15:10-11).

Mark 3:5 "He [Jesus]...deeply grieved at their stubborn hearts."

Eph. 4:30 "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God..."

Psalm 51:4b"So that you are proved right when you speak and justified when you judge."

David vindicates God, not himself. There is no self-justification; no defense and no escape. God is justified and He is absolutely blameless.

How did God speak to David? Was it not through the voice of Nathan the prophet?Nathan used an example, the story of a rich man and a poor man to show David's injustice and God's justice (2 Samuel 12:1-10). The word of God judged his heart and actions; its light exposed the darkness in David’s heart.

Psalm 51:5"Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me."

David confesses his original corrupt nature. David intensifies his guilt by admitting his inborn corruption. Some people use their inborn corruption to diminish their personal responsibility and guilt. David does the opposite. For him the fact that he committed adultery and murdered and lied are expressions of something worse: He is by nature that way, depraved. If God does not rescue him, he will do more sinful acts and more evil.

Arthur Clarke made an interesting comment: "Modern theologians hate verse five they like to talk about the 'God in humanity' instead of the 'sin in humanity'.

David is not making any excuse for his sin but rather he in essence is saying, "Lord, I have not only committed adultery and murder, but I have an adulterous murderous nature."

Where does adultery and murder come from? It comes from our depraved fallen nature, our sinful nature.

Gen. 8:21 "Then Lord said in his heart: Never again will I curse the ground because of men, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from childhood."

Rom. 3:23 "For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God."

Psalm 51:6"Surely you desire truth in the inner parts you teach me wisdom in the inmost place."

The heart of humanity is deceitful and desperately wicked (Jer. 17:9) and David understood that.

Complete honesty and sincerity is what God wants. To confess is to admit openly and truthfully who we are and what we have done - nothing to hide or conceal.It is to say about my sin what God says about – that’s true confession.

Dick Eastman, who has written a lot on prayer says, “Confession is a heartfelt recognition of what we are. It is important to God because it indicates that we take seriously our mistakes and failures.”

Also when we confess the truth about our sin it brings healing.I like what Harold Lindsell said about confession, he said, “It works healing to the wound incurred in the heart, just as the surgeon lances a boil to permit the infection to drain and to heal from the inside, so confession opens the sore, drains the poison, and heals from within.”

Truth in the inner most being

Confession is so crucial for our lives and relationship with God. It clears the conscience and opens the heart to God. God is most concerned about “truth in the innermost being” (Psalm 51:6), and this is the essence of confession. It is to agree with God that we have transgressed His moral spiritual law.

Through David's honest and sincere confession he is attaining wisdom. He sees who he really is and how he needs to safeguard himself against sin.For a year he did not deal with his sin, he kept it in. He was not truthful about it and in the end he was deceiving himself. Now in his inner most being he has learned his lesson.In verse 17 David realizes that God desires a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart - truth in the inner most part.

Conclusion

We need to model this example of David in our lives and homes.When you have a conflict, quarrel or disagreement, take responsibility for resolving it. Often when someone takes the initiative for taking blame the others involved admit that they too are at fault. IT JUST TAKES ONE PERSONTO START IT!

It starts in our heart and in our home. We need to cultivate personal responsibility in the home and model it to our children.Instead of finding flaw in your spouse's argument and blaming him or her, take responsibility and say you're sorry.I am confident that you don't want to be married to "Nobody" and have Nobody hanging around your home!

Some feel that Christians after the death of Jesus do not need to pray and confess this way as David did. Christians should not think and feel this way. I don’t think that’s right. Jesus, once for all, by his life and death, purchased our forgiveness and provided our righteousness. We can add nothing to the purchase and provision. We share in the forgiveness and the righteousness by faith alone in Christ. But in view of the holiness of God and the evil of sin, it is fitting that we appropriate and apply what Christ bought for us by prayer and confession every day. “forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors” (Matt. 6:12).

Also 1 John 1:8-10 teaches,“If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”

Confession brings forgiveness, cleansing and healing…

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