Tag Archives: John 8:32

Knowing God’s Forgiveness

Posted on by

How often is your life burdened down by a guilty conscience? Do you struggle with moving on from past sins? Do you find God’s forgiveness seemingly just out of reach? King David knew the struggle of being burdened down with a guilty conscience. He understood the weight and struggle of living a burdened life not enjoying God’s forgiveness. From his own experience he gives us a precious truth to consider.  He shows us how we can go from burden to blessing in Psalm 32:1-5.

Consider the Blessed Life:  These first two verses give us the result of forgiveness which results in a blessed life. “Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man unto whom the LORD imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no guile” (Psalm 32:1-2).

When someone is “blessed” their life is a life that is envied by others because it is a life filled with peace and joy. The life that others look upon and desire to have is the life the one who knows they have been forgiven as they live in the reality of this truth.  O how very happy is the man who knows he has been forgiven.

The person “in whose spirit there is no guile” is the person who has dealt honestly with his sin.  He has confessed his sin before God. In other words, he has defined his own sin just like God defines it.  This is a humble response to God’s convicting us of our sin. He then has taken God at His Word where it says, “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).

To be forgiven from our transgressions, sin and iniquity is to be free of a life of guilt.  That is a person who is to be envied.  We all should desire to be in this state for it is a state that God desires for us to be in.  This is His will for each of our lives. Consider how far God removes our sin that has been confessed and that He has forgiven…“As far as the east is from the west, so far hath He removed our transgressions from us” (Psalm 103:12). The eternal distance between the east and the west is the distance that God removes the sin which He forgives.  The reality of this in one’s life is blessing—this is the blessed life!

Consider the Burdened Life: In these next two verses we see the results of a life of consumed and weighted down by guilt. “When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the daylong. For day and night Thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer Selah” (Psalm 32:3-4). This is the burdened life!

The heavy hand of God was David’s conscience bearing witness against him as it pressed down upon him convicting him of his sin.  A guilty conscience can bring physical discomfort along with the obvious mental discomfort.  A guilty conscience is designed by God to reveal to us the intrusion of sin into our lives in order to move us to deal with that sin.

Consider your conscience as a smoke detector. The smoke detectors in your house are designed to go off when smoke is present.  Our conscience “goes off” when the intrusion of sin comes into our lives.  To roll over and cover your head with a pillow when the smoke detector is sounding would be tremendously foolish.  So too when our conscience is guilty, to disregard it is to act foolishly. Consider reading “Silencing the Sin Detector” here.

Consider the unBurdened Life: Here in verse 5 we see the remedy as David shares with us the process of getting right with God therefore going from burden to blessing.  We must confront the intrusion of sin through confession of sin. He says, “I acknowledged my sin unto Thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid. I said, I will confess my transgressions unto the LORD; and Thou forgavest the iniquity of my sin. Selah” (Psalm 32:5).

To “acknowledge my sin” is to take responsibility for my sin by saying the same thing about it that the Lord says.  It is to see my sin as the Lord sees it.  My sin is a trespass against His infinite holiness. My sin is an act of “cosmic treason”[i] against the holy God in which I fail to achieve His holy and righteous mark of obedience that He has set for me.

David speaks of his openness before the Lord.  He had concealed his sin, in that he did not confess it for about a year.  His actions, now in humility, are to lay bare his heart and mind before the Lord as he confesses his sin and seeks reconciliation.  He stopped trying to cover his head with his pillow in hopes that the “smoke” might go away.  Instead he took action, confronted the intrusion of sin and found peace in his life once again. He returned to the life of blessing.

The precious truth of this verse is the fact that God ALWAYS forgives the sin of a repentant heart.  Keep in mind that David was forgiven for his sins of adultery and murder.  God desires to forgive ALL the sin that is in your life, even the ones you don’t feel like He can forgive. We must move past feeling and rest in truth. Move beyond living in the reality dictated by your feelings and learn to live in the reality based upon what God says.

Because of our “forgiving God” we can have great joy and peace as we learn to find it in Him.  When we confess our sin He, in His great grace, forgives us and covers our sin as if it never existed.  In His great mercy He removes from our account the record of that sin.  What a Great God we serve!

The wisest man who ever lived stated, “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13). The truth of this verse is foundational to moving from burden to blessing. A pastor friend of mine put it well when he said, “When I cover my sin, the Holy Spirit will uncover it.  When I uncover my sin, the Holy Spirit will cover my sin with the blood of Jesus Christ” (Steve Motes, Pastor of Chadds Ford Baptist Church).

It is the truth of God’s Word that sets us free. “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:32). When you rest in the stabilizing truths of God’s Word you move from living a reality based upon how you feel to a reality based upon truth. Let His truth truly set you free and move from a life of burden to a life of blessing.

[i] “Any sin is more or less heinous depending upon the honor and majesty of the one whom we had offended. Since God is of infinite honor, infinite majesty, and infinite holiness, the slightest sin is of infinite consequence. The slightest sin is nothing less than cosmic treason when we realize against Whom we have sinned.”—Jonathan Edwards

Knowing God—Forget none of HIS Benefits

Posted on by

How well do you know HIM?  How well do you want to know HIM?

“And this is life eternal, that they might know Thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom Thou hast sent.” (John 17:3)

“Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,” (2 Peter 1:2)

Knowing God is one of our greatest privileges.  As we gain a greater understanding of Him it will transform our lives.  Only then will we be able to worship and serve Him Biblically.  Let us “know the TRUTH” and let the TRUTH set us free to live for Christ, like Christ.

In Psalm 103 David shares with us some precious truths about our great God which gives us many reasons to “bless the LORD.”

“Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.” (Psalm 103:1)

How can a Christian bless God? It starts in knowing who God is and in turn responding to that knowledge.  Our response must be yielding our will to His will.  As we yield, we are submitting to His authority.  We are saying He is right and we will obey Him wholeheartedly or with “all that is within [us].”  In obedience, we are living out our worship to Him.  We are giving value to His way and therefore making Him THE priority.  This is “blessing the LORD.”

“Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits:” (Psalm 103:2)

We are a blessing to God as we make a concerted effort to keep Him and His works in the forefront of our minds. When the Word of God is on the forefront of our minds it will produce right living.

Right thinking produces right living.

“Thy Word have I hid in mine heart, that I might not sin against Thee.” (Psalm 119:11)

The word “forget” carries the idea of the memory softening over a period of time.  This happens when we stop making an effort to keep in our mind the truth of God.  It takes no effort to “forget” God’s truth but it takes much diligence in being in God’s Word and meditating upon it to remember these truths.  David challenges us to forget NONE of the ways of God—we are to remember ALL the “benefits” of God.

Notice also that they are “benefits.”  Everything about God is beneficial.  To those who walk in the ways of wickedness, God acts mercifully in bringing into their lives difficulties designed to help them by getting their attention in order turn from their wicked ways and turn to God.  This is a loving and merciful act of God.  Unfortunately these acts of God are often refused and God in turn responds by giving them what they want—a life without Him.

To those who walk in righteousness God mercifully brings difficulties into our lives in order to get our attention and draw us closer to Him. The “benefits” of God are of such infinite proportions that our finite minds cannot  fully comprehend.  The Word of God is filled with His “benefits.” Let us diligently seek to always be reminded of God’s “benefits” so as to not forget them and in turn live lives that “bless the LORD.”

Take a moment and read the remainder of the Psalm and consider the unparalleled greatness of God.

“Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; Who healeth  all thy diseases;” (Psalm 103:3)

God “forgives & heals”—God forgives our “iniquities” or our sins which alleviates the guilt brought on by sin. The forgiveness of sin opens the door to fellowship with God.  Without forgiveness of sin there is no reconciliation, there can be no spiritual healing, there can be no peace.

“Who redeemeth [delivers] thy life from destruction; Who crowneth [blesses] thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies [compassions]: (Psalm 103:4)

God “redeems & blesses”—Spiritual death is the consequence of sin and through Christ’s blood we have been “redeemed” or delivered from spiritual death as well as eternal death.  Christ as our great Substitute paid our penalty of death in our place.  This alone is a tremendous blessing. We are incapable of comprehending the magnitude of the spiritual blessings that we have been blessed with.  The Lord, by His grace and mercy, has blessed His children with such compassion in withholding from us deserved punishment.

“Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” (Psalm 103:5)

God “satisfies”—Dr. Jim Berg speaks of God being “more than enough.”  He is “more than enough” for every situation in life—He is all that we need. Consider why we are often dissatisfied. The reality is that when we have God we have everything that we need. We must learn to rest in Him and let Him be ALL that we need.

“ The LORD executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed.” (Psalm 103:6)

God is “righteous”—His righteousness is clearly seen in how He deals with all of mankind.  He always does what is right—ALWAYS!

“He made known His ways unto Moses, His acts unto the children of Israel.” (Psalm 103:7)

 God “makes Himself known”—The Bible tells us, “The heavens declare the glories of God” (Psalm 19:1).  God, through Creation and through His precious Word has made Himself known to us.  He has told us everything we need to know about Him—this is the transforming knowledge of God.  When we know God, personally, we are then transformed as we are changed into the image of His Son.

“The LORD is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and plenteous in mercy.” (Psalm 103:8)

God is “merciful”—Consider the punishment that God withholds from those whom He forgives.

God is “gracious”—Consider the undeserved, unearned, unmerited favor of God as He pours out His abounding grace upon us.

“And God is able to make ALL grace [divine help] abound [in excess] toward you; that ye, ALWAYS having ALL sufficiency [being satisfied] in ALL things, may abound to EVERY good work:” (2 Corinthians 9:8)

How great is the God that you and I get to worship?  Let us be diligent in “recalling to mind” His greatness and His gracious actions toward us and in turn “Bless the LORD, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless His holy name.”

“This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope [confidence]. It is of the LORD’S mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness. The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in Him. The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him, to the soul that seeketh Him.” (Lamentations 3:21-25)

“And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:32)