5
Recovering from a Fall into Temptation
Question 1:
When has a fresh set of eyes really changed your perspective?
THE POINT
Return to God for
forgiveness and restoration.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
Anyone who has ever purchased a home knows there can be a big difference in what the buyer or seller sees and what a certified home inspector sees. We may try to look beyond the things that appeal to us—the layout of the house, the size of bedrooms, and so forth—or see a crack in a ceiling or a door that doesn’t shut well, but the inspector doesn’t stop there. He’ll investigate why the ceiling is cracked. He’ll crawl under a house and see problems we don’t. His trained eye sees things we can’t with our limited view.
We can also have a limited view of God. For example, the way you deal with sin says a lot about what you believe about God. If you think God will forgive your sin because it’s no big deal, your view of God is too small. If you think God will not forgive your sin because He is a harsh and angry God, your view of God is too small. Let’s discover the right view of God, one that will move us to run to Him when we sin.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
Psalm 32:1-2
1 How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! 2 How joyful is a person whom the Lord does not charge with iniquity and in whose spirit is no deceit!
The message of Psalm 32 is that there’s greater joy in uncovering our sin and finding forgiveness than in trying to cover up our sin. And a right view of God allows us to do just that. But to understand and experience the joy and blessing of God’s forgiveness, we not only have to understand who God is, we also must understand the nature of sin. David used three words that help us with this.
- Transgression. This is an act of rebellion against God. It’s crossing God’s line.
- Sin. This is a term that refers to missing the mark. Whether it’s intentional or unintentional, we fall short and that’s sin.
- Iniquity. Iniquity indicates crookedness, a wrong act, and a conscious twisting of God’s will.
Notice how David describes the source of his joy. Transgression was forgiven; the guilt was removed and carried away. Sin was covered; atonement was made, and the sin was dealt with. Iniquity was not counted against him; instead, he was counted righteous before our holy God.
The joy and blessing of forgiveness is granted to all persons who come before God with humility, not hiding their sin. David described such an individual as one “in whose spirit is no deceit!” This person “comes clean” and confesses his sin.
Question 2:
What good news do you see in these verses?
One of Satan’s great lies is that God won’t forgive us. Satan wants us to believe that God is a harsh judge. If we believe those lies, we will run away from God when we sin. We will try to cover up our sin. There is nothing “freeing” about hiding our sin; we cannot escape the burden of our guilt. But when we admit our sin and turn from it, joy and forgiveness follow. We experience immense joy when our sin is forgiven, covered by God, and not counted against us.
God can forgive us in this way because He has dealt with our sin in His Son. Jesus is the one who has not sinned; He never sinned. And God “made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor. 5:21). Our transgressions were carried away because they were nailed to the cross of Jesus; our sin was covered with the blood of Christ, and our iniquity is not charged against us because it was charged against Jesus.
When we understand who God is and what He has done for us in Jesus, we can run to Him when we sin and confess our sins. The joy and blessing of forgiveness far outweigh any guilt or shame we may have over our sin. The joy and blessing of forgiveness eclipse any reputation or power we think we will retain if we cover up our sin instead. The joy and blessing of forgiveness far surpass any temporary pleasures sin provides.
Psalm 32:3-5
3 When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s heat. Selah 5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah
David penned this psalm after confessing to his most well-known sins. In 2 Samuel 11, David took advantage of Bathsheba and committed adultery with her. He tried to cover up his sin by calling her husband Uriah home from battle in hopes he would spend intimate time with his wife. When that didn’t work, David sought to get Uriah drunk so he would go to her. When that didn’t work, David had Uriah murdered.
It wasn’t until the prophet Nathan confronted him that David confessed his sin. David’s description of the effects of unconfessed sin presents a powerful image. Covering up our sin makes us miserable—physically, mentally, and emotionally. We tend to think of sin as a spiritual issue, but sin affected David down to his bones. “When I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. . . . my strength was drained” (vv. 3, 4b).
Unconfessed sin can make us emotionally depressed. I don’t mean to imply that clinical depression is due to unconfessed sin; there is depression that is connected to mental illness and calls for medical attention. But David helps us understand that unconfessed sin can lead to being depressed or despondent. His emotions were wrapped up in “groaning all day long.”
For the believer, our sin doesn’t destroy our relationship to God our Father, but it does harm our fellowship with Him. When we sin and don’t confess it, we begin to feel distant from God. But because we are His children, He will not let us go. One of the ways He pursues us—“For day and night your hand was heavy on me” (v. 4)—is by convicting us of our sin and allowing us to become miserable in unconfessed sin. David understood that God was doing just that because it was God’s hand that was heavy on him.
It’s an act of love when God’s hand is heavy on us because of our sin. The good news is that with confession and repentance comes forgiveness. In verse 5, David used the same three words he had used earlier—transgression, sin, iniquity—but in reverse order. David held nothing back in what he confessed! There is no sin that our God will not forgive when we confess it. There is no guilt He will not take away when we reveal it.
Question 3:
Why is confession such an important step in our journey back to God?
Psalm 32:6-7
6 Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately. When great floodwaters come, they will not reach him. 7 You are my hiding place; you protect me from trouble. You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance. Selah
The great irony of Psalm 32 is that when we sin, we try to cover it up. But God invites us to run to Him and uncover our sin. When we do, He covers our sin in the blood of His Son. What a glorious gospel! God wants to do the very thing we want done: cover our sin. When we turn from our sin to Christ, He forgives us and our fellowship with Him is restored.
Because only God can forgive our sin against Him, He is the only one we can run to for forgiveness. “Therefore let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately.” There is good news in that statement, because it applies to everyone. It’s an offer to anyone who recognizes their sin and comes to God.
God forgives the sin of those who are faithful. In the immediate context, this points to the one who is faithful to the covenant God made with Israel on Mount Sinai (Ex. 19–24). Even when the people of Israel so quickly sinned against God after receiving the covenant (Ex. 32), God did not abandon them. Instead, He renewed the covenant. The one who believes in God and is faithful to the covenant will receive forgiveness as often as he or she comes to God and confesses their sin.
Hear the urgency in this passage. We are to seek God and pray immediately. When we sin, we’re tempted to run and hide from God. David knew from personal experience that the best thing to do was run to God immediately and lay his sin before Him.
It’s far easier to do that when we know and understand who God is. David described God as our refuge, a fortress we run to in times of trouble. David called God “my hiding place.”
Question 4:
How have you experienced God as your hiding place?
When we see God in His graciousness, mercy, and love, not only will we run to Him when we sin, we will also want to avoid sinning against Him again. Love draws us to worship Him and please Him. Let’s praise this wonderful God who surrounds us with joyful shouts of deliverance!
Question 5:
How can our group help one another recover from temptation when we fall?
FORGIVENESS
God has forgiven us, and we are called to extend forgiveness to others. Choose one of the scenarios below, and then describe what you would do to offer forgiveness in that situation.
A lazy coworker left you to pick up the slack on a big project.
You encounter an old high school bully who often embarrassed you.
A neighborhood kid hit a baseball through your window.
A friend is unable to pay back money you lent them.
“As many as I love, I rebuke and discipline.
So be zealous and repent.”
REVELATION 3:19
LIVE IT OUT
Return to God for forgiveness and restoration. Choose one of the following applications:
Confess. If you are still groaning under the weight of your sin, make Psalm 32:5 your prayer. Confess your sin to God and embrace His forgiveness.
Rejoice. Write a note or prayer, rejoicing in God’s forgiveness. Consider God’s goodness and mercy and express to Him your thankfulness.
Talk. If you struggle with continuing pangs of guilt, talk to your pastor or a trusted Christian friend. Seek support and assurance in discovering the truth and reality that, when God says He forgives, He forgives completely.
Just as our vision can be flawed when it comes to a house or other structure, so can our perspective on God be skewed. But when we have our vision cleared by the Holy Spirit, we can see ourselves the way God sees us—and respond appropriately.
Teacher Notes:
From our 1st lesson: How we respond is our internal choice; nothing forces us to behave the way we do.
Psalm 32:1-2
How
joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered! How joyful is a person whom the Lord does not
charge with iniquity and in whose spirit is no deceit!
How can you tell if a confession is true or is
just words?
Does true
repentance mean that we never ask for God’s forgiveness for the same sin twice?
(Discussion)
1. Joy and blessing flow from God’s
forgiveness.
Psalm 1
tells the way to be blessed: Don’t walk in the counsel of the wicked, don’t
stand in the way of sinners, don’t sit in the seat of mockers but delight in
God’s word – thinking deeply on it all the time. Yet if one has failed to do
this and fallen into sin, Psalm 32 shows another way to be blessed – to make
full confession and repentance of sin.
In these first two verses, David used three
words to describe sin:
· The idea behind transgression is crossing a
line, defying authority.
· The idea behind sin is falling short of or
missing a mark.
· The idea behind iniquity is of
crookedness and distortion.
In the first two verses, David used three terms
to describe what God does to put away sin.
· The idea behind forgiven is the lifting
of a burden or a debt.
· The idea behind covered is that of sacrificial
blood covering sin.
· The idea behind does not impute
is bookkeeping; it does not count against a person.
And in whose spirit there is no deceit: The
prior life of sin and double-living was over for David, the repentant and
forgiven sinner. The forgiven life needs no more deceit to cover one’s ways.
“The lesson
from the whole is this: be honest. Sinner, may God make you honest. Do
not deceive yourself. Make a clean breast of it before God. Have an honest religion
or have none at all. Have a religion of the heart, or else have none. Put aside
the mere vestment and garment of piety, and let your soul be right within. Be
honest.” (Spurgeon)
Psalm 32:3-5
When
I kept silent, my bones became brittle from my groaning all day long. For day
and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was drained as in the summer’s
heat. Selah Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not conceal my iniquity.
I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord,” and you forgave the
guilt of my sin. Selah
What are some of the ways that confession
produces freedom?
What happens when we harbor unconfessed sin?
2. There is no forgiveness without confession of
sin.
The consequence of unconfessed sin is the burden of guilt and a stifled conscience that can affect the totality of our being. Confession, the acknowledgement of our sin, is essential to forgiveness. Forgiveness brings release from guilt and freedom of spirit.
When I kept silent, my bones grew old:
The now-forgiven David remembered his spiritual and mental state when he kept
his sin hidden and was silent instead of confessing and repenting. The stress
of a double life and unconfessed sin made him feel old, oppressed, and dry.
“I kept silence, not merely I was silent, I
kept silence, resolutely, perseveringly; I kept it notwithstanding all the
remembrance of my past mercies, notwithstanding my reproaches of conscience,
and my anguish of heart.” (Evans, cited in Spurgeon)
For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me:
No doubt David was slow to acknowledge this, yet in looking back he understood
that his misery was directly connected to the oppression of unresolved sin and
rebellion against God.
“God’s hand is very helpful when it uplifts,
but it is awful when it presses down: better a world on the shoulder, like
Atlas, than God’s hand on the heart, like David.” (Spurgeon)
David seemed to ache under the result of his
sin (guilt and the lack of true fellowship with God) more than the sin itself. Ideally,
we are all terribly grieved by sin itself, but there is something to be said
for confession and humility for the sake of the result of our sins.
This work of the Holy Spirit, convicting the
man or woman of God of his or her sin and hardness of heart, is an essential
mark of those who truly belong to God. The consideration of this work is so
important that David gave the pause for meditative consideration, Selah. “The
Selah indicates a swell or prolongation of the accompaniment, to emphasize this
terrible picture of a soul gnawing itself.” (Maclaren)
V. 5 - I acknowledged my sin to You, and my
iniquity I have not hidden: David’s first problem was the sin he committed
– in this context, probably the immorality with Bathsheba and the murder of her
husband to cover the immorality. David’s second problem was the double life he
lived to hide those sins. It was only as David was ready to repent and end the
second problem that God would graciously forgive the first problem.
I will confess my transgressions to the LORD: Forgiveness was ready and waiting for David
as he agreed with God about the nature and guilt of his sin. Restoration was
ready, but the confession of sin was the path to it.
“Ah! but there are too many who make confessions,
having no broken hearts, no streaming eyes, no flowing tears, no humbled
spirits. Know ye this, that ten thousand confessions, if they are made by
hardened hearts, if they do not spring from really contrite spirits, they shall
be only additions to your guilt as they are mockeries before the Most High.”
(Spurgeon)
And You forgave the iniquity of my sin: David’s confession of sin did not earn forgiveness
of his sins, but he did receive it. Fellowship with God was restored. David
confessed and experienced this forgiveness immediately, just as the prodigal
son confessed and was immediately forgiven. There was no probation, no
wait-and-see period.
Psalm 32:6-7
Therefore,
let everyone who is faithful pray to you immediately. When great floodwaters
come, they will not reach him. You are my hiding place; you protect me from
trouble. You surround me with joyful shouts of deliverance. Selah
What are the benefits of a restored
relationship with God?
When have you experienced God being your hiding
place?
3. Living in a restored relationship with God
helps us avoid future sin.
People of faith are to seek out the Lord with
an attitude of confession and repentance. People of faith are not to assume or
to presume upon the Lord’s willingness to forgive. The Lord is our hiding place
from all that threatens the believer. The forgiveness and the deliverance of
the Lord gives the believer cause to rejoice.
For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray
to You: Knowing that God is so
great in forgiving mercy gives the godly a greater reason to seek God in the
confidence that He may be found and is therefore ready to connect with His
servant.
You are my hiding place; You shall preserve me
from trouble; You shall surround me with songs of deliverance: Setting one term upon another, David gloried
in the protection he now felt as one in fellowship with God and under His care.
God Himself was his hiding place, a secure
shelter. A good hiding place has strength and height, is not easily seen, and
is reliable. In more modern phrasing we might say that Jesus is our safe-room or
panic-room.
Psalm 32 is identified as a psalm of David,
meaning he authored it or it was part of a collection he authorized. It is also
called a maschil (maskil), an instructive or didactic poem of contemplation.
Views differ about the background of this psalm. Some think it was written in
the aftermath of having been healed from a devastating sickness. Many others
think the psalm expresses David’s joy of having been forgiven by the Lord
following his great confession in Psalm 51.
Psalm 51
3 Lessons from David’s Fall and Forgiveness
As we face our sin, we must navigate between
two unbiblical ditches.
1. One is despairing that our sin is beyond
forgiveness.
2. The other is carelessly thinking we can violate
God’s commands without experiencing painful repercussions.
The fall of David in 2 Samuel 11 is one of the
saddest accounts in all of Scripture. Yet it also has great value as it offers
us hope about the greatness of God’s forgiving grace — while also warning us
about the terrible consequences of sin, even forgiven sin.
As we reach 2 Samuel 11, David is at his
pinnacle. His throne has been established, his enemies have been subdued, and
preparations are being made for building the temple in Jerusalem. Then suddenly
David falls into heinous sin when he steals a man’s wife and then has her
husband murdered as part of the coverup (2 Sam. 11). The Lord then sends the
prophet Nathan to confront David over his sin (2 Sam. 12). David repents. God
forgives. But David still has to suffer the consequences of his sin.
There are at least three practical lessons we
can learn from the aftermath of David’s sin in 2 Samuel 12.
1. God’s Amazing Grace to Those Who Repent
When David is confronted by Nathan, he confesses: “I have sinned against the LORD” (2 Sam. 12:13). Then Nathan the prophet declares, “The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die” (v. 13). God’s forgiveness of David includes:
Temporal judicial forgiveness. The Lord sets aside the requirement of the law that murderers and adulterers be put to death (Lev. 20:10; 24:17). David’s life is spared, and his throne is not taken from him.
Spiritual forgiveness. God reconciles David to himself. David later writes, “Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the LORD counts no iniquity” (Ps. 32:1–2). Paul later uses the example of God’s forgiveness of David to show that God’s way of salvation has always been to the unworthy, by grace through faith (Rom. 4:4–8).
While I’m saddened by the account of David’s
great sin, I’m thankful that these events are recorded in Scripture.
2. Forgiven Sin Still Has Consequences
While it’s wonderful to read of God’s lavish
forgiveness, we should also pay careful attention to the painful and fitting
consequences the Lord brought upon David for his sin. We’re told David’s
chastisement was necessary both to uphold the Lord’s reputation (2 Sam. 12:14)
and also to teach future generations that sin has consequences (1 Cor. 10:11;
Rom. 15:4). As I’ve studied the latter part of David’s life, I’ve often
wondered if it would’ve been easier on him not to have lived to see the
horrible events of his final years (recorded in 2 Sam. 13–24).
Just consider how God’s words through Nathan played out:
“The sword shall never depart from your house” (2 Sam. 12:10). God shatters the peace and stability David had spent a lifetime establishing, as his kingdom is torn apart by two civil wars.
“I will raise up evil against you out of your own house” (2 Sam. 12:11–12). The shameful sexual sin and murderous violence in which David engaged secretly is practiced openly by his sons, Amnon and Absalom.
“The child . . . shall die.” (2 Sam. 12:14). The baby conceived by David’s sin died seven days after he was born (2 Sam. 12:15–23).
Many professing Christians take sin far too
lightly. The example of David should remind us that God doesn’t. As Calvin
asked, “If God did not spare his servant David, what right do we have to expect
to be exempted?” I have counseled sexually immoral believers who have
contracted a disease and were divorced by their spouses. I’ve known child
abusers who have gone to prison. I’ve counseled men who lost their jobs for
looking at porn at work.
3. We Need a Better King Than David
This is a central theme in 1 and 2 Samuel.
While David surpasses those who came before (and after) him as leaders in
Israel, he still falls short of what God’s people need. While his good
qualities as the man after God’s own heart point ahead to Christ, his fall into
sin reminds us that we need a worthier king.
Jesus, the Son of David, is the flawless leader
who never failed when he was tested. He had no sins to cover up. He never once
abused his power. Israel’s daughters were safe with him. Moreover, it was
because of God’s plan to put Jesus forward as a propitiation 1,000 years later
that he was able to forgive the sins of Old Testament saints like David (Rom.
3:25–26), along with all the rest of us who fall short of God’s standard (Rom.
3:23–24).
Scripture is wonderfully balanced.
While God’s grace encourages sinners to turn to
him for forgiveness, his chastisement should also encourage us not to take sin
lightly (Heb. 3:15; 12:5). David’s example reminds us that forgiven sin still
has consequences, but that bitter consequences don’t mean we’re not forgiven.
Behold the
kindness and severity of God as you read 2 Samuel 12. Don’t doubt God’s
willingness to forgive even the greatest sins, and don’t test God by indulging
in sin while assuming you’ll be able to repent later. Many other sinners
(including Saul and many of the kings who followed David) were hardened in
their rebellion and did not find repentance. Don’t use the pretext of
forgiveness to rationalize your sin. Sin is never worth it.
King in Trouble
2 Samuel Chapters 11 and 12 record a very sad
period in the life of a king of Israel. The man was King David. Whilst his army
was away at battle he committed adultery with the wife of one of his army
generals. Then, when he learnt that she was pregnant, David arranged for her
husband to be murdered. Summarizing the two chapters which speak of this event
we see the following:
What about Us?
What we have been looking at is not simply a
Bible story. The New Testament says David’s experience can be ours. For in
Romans chapter 4 the apostle Paul quotes Psalm 32:1-2 to describe the wonderful
position of those who have been forgiven by God. Paul takes the personal
experience of David “the man” (in Psalm 32:1) and shows it has a general
application to all who would repent saying “those” (in Romans 4:7).
David also describes the blessedness of the man
to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose
lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are covered; blessed is the man to
whom the Lord shall not impute sin” (Romans 4:6–8).
We noticed that God waited almost a year before
sending Nathan to speak with David. Why did He wait so long? After all if God
had intervened immediately Uriah would not have been murdered by David. In the
way that He waited for David to repent we see how God works. The New Testament
explains it like this: The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some
count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should
perish but that all should come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9).
So, the question we need to ask ourselves is
how far are we along the road to repentance? How much longer will God have to
wait for us?
Scripture has this wonderful promise for all of
us: If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and
to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).
Discussion
2 – Sins / 2 - Confessions
Does true repentance mean that we never ask for
God’s forgiveness for the same sin twice? Numerous are the times that I have
had to ask for forgiveness for all manner of sin. But how can I say that I have
repented if I commit the same types of sin over and over?
Doug’s question is one of the most common
questions that an honest and serious Christian must ask, especially considering
the demands of the New Testament for holiness, along with its warnings:
· Faith without a changed life is dead. (James
2:17)
· There is a holiness without which we will not
see the Lord. (Hebrews 12:14)
· “If you love me,” Jesus said, “you will keep my
commandments.” (John 14:15)
· Many will say to Jesus at the last day, “Lord,
Lord.” He’ll say, “I never knew you because you didn’t do what I said.” (see
Matthew 7:22–23)
· How can you still walk in your sins if you have
died with Christ? (Romans 6:2)
This is an urgent and common, rightly common,
question amongst serious, honest Christians.
Daily Dealing with Sin
Let me start with a clarification of how to
even pose the question in language that I think is perhaps more consistent with
the way the New Testament speaks than the way Doug set it up. Doug uses the
word repent to pose the question that he has. He says, “Does true repentance
mean that we never ask God’s forgiveness for the same sin twice? How can I say
that I have repented if I commit the same types of sin over and over?” I would
suggest that we not use the word repent for the way we respond to daily sinning
as Christians. That may surprise people but let me try to explain.
“Sin is a condition of the heart that is bent
away from God in preference for other things.”
Yes, I do assume that Christians sin every day
because Jesus said alongside “Give us this day our daily bread,” “Forgive us
our debts” (Matthew 6:11–12). I take it for granted, then, that he wouldn’t
have said that if there weren’t a need for daily forgiveness of our sins, our
debt to God. Of course, I’m giving a very radical, New Testament definition of
sin when I say that. Here’s my definition: any thought, any attitude, any word,
any facial expression, any gesture, any action that does not flow from a
treasuring of Jesus is sin.
Sin is not just big, bad deeds like murder or
stealing or adultery, or even more regular sins like dishonesty or foul
language or impatience. Sin is a condition of the heart that is bent away from
God in preference for other things, and sin is any expression of that
preference in our mind or attitude or behavior. Sin will be with us — yes, it
will, sadly, and it breaks our heart. Sin will be with us until that inner
condition is wholly obliterated in the presence of Christ.
And I’m saying that the New Testament does not
encourage us to use the word repent for the daily activity of acknowledging
those sins, and bringing them to God, and expressing our sorrow, and hating
them, and turning afresh to walk in the light. Rather, the word repentance in
the New Testament refers to a more basic, fundamental change of mind, the kind
we experience at the beginning of our Christian life, and that we may have to
experience if our life takes a terrible turn into a path of destruction from
which we need to be called back — as in the churches in the first chapters of
Revelation, which were all called to repent, because they’re going to be
destroyed; their candlesticks are going to be removed if they don’t repent and
turn back from that pattern of life they’ve been living.
But the New Testament doesn’t use the word
repentance for the daily habit of dealing with our indwelling, recurrent sin.
Rather, I would suggest that 1 John 1:8–9 proposes the word confession:
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Two Kinds of Confession
What about sins, then, that we commit more than
once — indeed, so often that they are threatening to destroy our assurance of
being a Christian? Here’s the way I would put it: there are two kinds of
confession, and there are two kinds of sin, so test yourself now as
to which you are doing.
First, there is confession that, at one level,
is expressing guilt and sorrow for sinning, but underneath there is the quiet
assumption that this sin is going to happen again, probably before the week is
out.
· I’m going to look at nudity in a movie or at
some website again (or worse).
· I’m going to overdo it with alcohol again,
probably this weekend.
· I’m going to laugh at those demeaning jokes at
work again tomorrow.
· I’m going to avoid confronting my colleague’s
dishonesty again.
· I’m going to respond in a belittling way to my
wife when she looks that way at me again, probably two days from now.
In other words, this kind of confession is very
superficial. It’s a cloak for fatalism about your besetting sins. You feel bad
about them, but you have surrendered
to their inevitability. That’s one
kind of confession.
The other kind of confession is that you
express guilt and sorrow for sinning, just like with the first kind, but your
hatred of sin is so real that you have every intention as you confess of making
war on that sin tonight, this weekend. You aim, by the power of the Holy
Spirit, to defeat it. You are going to seek out whatever ways are going to help
you put this sin to death. You are going to rob it of its power. That’s the
plan — no hypocrisy. Now, those are the two ways of confessing sin.
Two Sorts of Sin
The two kinds of sin that I’m referring to are,
first, the kind of sin that blindsides you. It’s not premeditated or
planned, and there is scarcely any battle in the moment when it happens. Before
you realize what you’re doing, it’s done. In my own experience, I would
illustrate with certain kinds of sinful anger that come over me, and almost instantly
I can tell it’s over the top — it’s not holy; it’s not righteous. Or maybe
spontaneous unkind words that just pop out of my mouth, and I’m ashamed of them
as soon as I say them. Or there could be a reflexive sexual fantasy owing to
some decades-old experience or a recent advertisement that you saw while you
were looking at the news or whatever.
I’m not excusing these things; they’re sin.
They’re sin. They show something about my heart. I’m calling them sin, even
though they are spontaneous and not premeditated.
Here’s the other kind of sin that I’m referring
to; namely, it is premeditated. You sit there or stand there weighing
whether to do it or not — whether to look at the pornography or not, whether to
stay and listen to the dirty jokes or not, whether to call out the injustice at
work or not, whether to be dishonest on your tax returns or not. You take ten
seconds or ten minutes or ten hours wrestling, and then you do the sin.
Path to Destruction
Now, I think it’s possible for a Christian to
commit both kinds of sins and get into patterns of both kinds of confession for
a season. But I would say that the confession that cloaks fatalism,
hopelessness, peace with sin, and the sin that is premeditated are more
dangerous to our souls. Both are dangerous. Don’t get me wrong; both are
dangerous. But the confession bordering on hypocrisy and the sin bordering on
planned unrighteousness are more dangerous.
“Sin will be with us until that inner condition
is wholly obliterated in the presence of Christ.”
Paul acknowledges in Romans 7:16–19, as I
understand it, “I do what I do not want, and I do not do the good I want.” He
cries out, “Wretched man that I am!” (Romans 7:24). Then he flies to Christ for
cleansing. As much as I would like it for my own soul, I don’t think we can
provide a list of sins or a number for the frequency with which you can sin and
get away with it. I don’t think we can do that in a way that answers the
question, How much sinning proves that I’m not a Christian?
Instead, I would say this: to the degree that
your confessing of sin has made a kind of fatalistic peace with sin’s
inevitability, and to the degree that your sin falls into the category of
premeditated unrighteousness, to that degree, you should be frightened that you
are on a path that may well lead to destruction. I think that’s what we can
say.
Faithful to Forgive
The book in the New Testament — interestingly
enough, paradoxically enough — that is perhaps the hardest on Christians
sinning is the same book that warns most explicitly about the dangers of
perfectionism. Let me close by reading that paradoxical section from 1 John
1:8–10. This is the way the Bible chooses to talk about this paradox.
If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves,
and the truth is not in us.
That’s the warning against perfectionism. Then
he continues,
If we confess our sins . . .
And that confession right there, I think, means
real confession.
. . . he is faithful and just to forgive us our
sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Then he goes back to the warning.
If we say we have not sinned, we make him a
liar, and his word is not in us.
John Piper
(@JohnPiper) is founder and teacher of desiringGod.org
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