Love goes both ways Pt 17: Sins are covered
Psalm 32:1-5 1Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2Blessed is the one whose sin the LORD does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. 5Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.
Transgressions are covered and sins are forgiven
I suppose any of us realizes that no person is perfect except the one and only Son of God, so the question comes to mind, “How can I approach the Ancient of Days?” Psalm 32 answers that question by pointing out that if a person faithfully approaches God, that person’s “transgressions are forgiven and their sins are forgiven.” But for heaven’s sake, how are we to approach God? We are sinful after all, and He is holy and cannot have any consort with sin. The answer is in our attitude, and that attitude is described well in Psalm 24: 1-6…
1The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it; 2for he founded it on the seas and established it on the waters. 3Who may ascend the mountain of the LORD? Who may stand in his holy place? 4The one who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not trust in an idol or swear by a false god. 5They will receive blessing from the LORD and vindication from God their Savior. 6Such is the generation of those who seek him, who seek your face, God of Jacob.
We can approach God, not because we are righteous and holy, but because we attempt to turn away from sin and turn toward God. If we have clean hands and a pure heart we have turned away from the things of the world; we have given up allegiance to distractions, ‘idols’ even, like over-use of TV or video games, or sports. We spend more time turning to Him. God knows us and loves us in spite of us; He knows we have a propensity to sin, and He knows the only likelihood of success lays in our trusting of His Son.
Whose sin is not counted against them
One of the lies Satan has managed to imbed in modern society is that God maintains a ledger for each person which contains a list of every sin ever committed in a person’s entire life. I suppose that is true for the pagan unbeliever, but certainly for the believer that is not true. Romans 4:6-8 quotes this verse, but just before, in 1-5, Paul, shows that a person who has faith and trusts God has righteousness imputed to them. This means that God treats us as righteous, in spite of our sin; that He gives us this righteousness apart from the just consequence of our sinful lives; and that this gift of righteousness is received only by faith in Him alone.
This means that if there is a ledger containing the sins of every person, the ledger at the head of which is your name is completely blank. Here’s why: When we first came to Christ and trusted Him as our Savior, every sin we ever committed, or ever will commit has been washed clean by His blood. That is a literal truth: We are literally washed clean; God remembers those sins no more; it is as if they never existed.
On the Day of Atonement, when the High Priest made sacrifice for himself and for the entire nation for their sins for the previous year, you might think he was done. But no, because the very next day daily sacrifice for the forgiveness of sins was begun again; human atonement for sin is not efficacious. Only God’s forgiveness is permanent.
Which we achieve through acknowledgement of our sin
But this gift of righteousness, while not deserved, does require a response on our part. Jesus has poured out His grace upon us and we have been washed clean. The more cynical among us might be inclined to think, “Well then, I guess I can keep on sinning…He’ll always forgive me, won’t He?” That thought carries great danger with it. Look at Romans 5:1-4…
1What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? 2By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? 3Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.
The Romans verses are talking about hypocrisy. If we have been forgiven so much; if Christ has willingly sacrificed His life for us; if He has given us eternity through faith, then how can we wantonly continue to live our life in pride and arrogance. Doesn’t that mean we are taking Christ for granted? God forgive me if that has any place in my life.
The proper response to this free gift of righteousness lies in the humble turning away from sin. God has loved us so much that He sent His Son to die for us, even before we knew or acknowledged Him. We want to please Him and we want to love Him in the best way we can. Even though we find ourselves still sinning, we repent of the things we do and move on. We hit delete.
What about me?
Before I came to know Jesus, I was certain God couldn’t possibly love me. I knew what I was like on the inside. I knew my thoughts were too nasty, even evil, so I knew there was no hope. But still I felt God calling my name; still seeking my out. After a while I began to think that if He was still calling my name that there must be something to this Jesus thing.
My unknown friend, if you feel this way please try to understand God loves you no matter what. Nothing that happens is a surprise to God. He knew who you would become before your mother and father got together, and nothing you have done since has caught Him by surprise. The key to your anxiety about God is not caused by distance caused by Him, but distance caused by you. He is waiting to have a conversation with Him and is even eager for you to talk to Him. If you just say, “God I’m here!” He will answer.