Psalm 51 - Confessions, Part I: The Nature of Sin

You are listening to a message from Southwood Presbyterian Church in Huntsville, Alabama.

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Those great words are from Psalm 51, David's psalm of confession that we sang earlier,

as God be merciful to me. And the same psalm that we're going to be looking at together

for the next three Sundays. It's going to be a short break from our study through the Gospel of Luke

over these next three weeks to talk together about confession. We'll talk about the nature of sin,

the heart of repentance, and the God of forgiveness as well over the next three weeks.

We're doing this for several reasons. One is that Luke is not the only book in the Bible,

and we don't want you to forget that. That the Old Testament is also God's Word, and sometimes

when you study through a particularly long book of the Bible, it's helpful along the way to

take some breaks and expose your heart to other parts of God's Word. So this will be helpful in

that. Another reason is that this is a time in the church calendar where we often spend some time

considering our sin, our weakness, our need for Jesus' life and death and resurrection for us.

We're preparing to celebrate that at Easter, and so we consider our need for it as we lead up

to that celebration. And to be honest, any time is a good time to consider sin and repentance

and forgiveness because those are to be regular parts of all of our lives as followers of Christ.

One final reason that we're doing this now is that your session, the group of elders that you elected

to lead, to shepherd this flock, has been wrestling for the last year and a half or so

with our hearts before God. He's been showing us more of our own sin, more of his grace and forgiveness

and teaching us what repentance looks like. Most of you know that several years ago, Southwood

experienced a particularly difficult season of church conflict. One of the primary things that made that

such a difficult season for us is that we as church leaders sinned deeply. We as church leaders failed to

love God as we should. We failed to love our neighbor as God commands us to. Your church session failed to

love others and failed to pursue reconciliation in a manner that was biblical and God

dishonoring. As a result of those sins being a group that was called by God to represent him to his people

and to this entire community. Instead, in many ways, we brought dishonor to his name. And as you can imagine,

when godly leadership fails like that, and as we did, there are many people who are impacted by that. Many people

who are hurt by that sin. Some of those dear brothers and sisters that we love are no longer a part of this

congregation. Others of you are sitting right here this morning looking at me and you were hurt by our sin as well.

And so we wanted all of you, whether you were here during that season or not, we wanted all of you to know

that as a group, God has broken and continues to break our hearts over our sin. We've been as a group for some time

in many different ways, confessing our sin to God and clinging to his forgiveness. You've heard previously,

if you've been here several years, you've heard different people confess in different contexts, individuals

confess sin from that season. But this confession is a corporate one from the session of Southwood.

We wanted all of you here during that time or not to know how sorry we are for our sin

and to know that it's a chapter in the story of this church. And if you're a part of it, then a chapter

in your story, it's not our favorite chapter. It's not one that you perhaps hear a lot of discussion

about on a regular basis. And it's not one that defines who we are as a church. But it is a chapter

in our story. And it's one that can show us more of God's glorious grace and faithfulness and teach us

to depend more desperately on Jesus than we naturally do. It's something he's been teaching us.

We want you to have the opportunity to learn that along with us.

It's also our heart in sharing this that anyone who is still confused, hurting, lacking resolution

from this season in the life of the church would hear from us a warm invitation to talk more,

to talk with us personally, that we could be in any way we possibly could a help, a part of the healing

wherever we can. Now I'm sensitive to the fact that that's a weighty thing to throw at you during

a sermon introduction. It's a weighty thing for me to say. It's been a weighty thing for us to

wrestle with. But I want you to know some of our heart. I also want you to understand some of the

context for what we're talking about here in this sermon series right up at the front

as we look to God and His Word to teach us. We want to share with you some of what God's been

teaching us, some of what He's been doing in our hearts. So we'll talk a little bit more about our

confession and what we mean by that a little bit later. But for now let's pray. Let's ask God to teach

us from His Word. Father, it's natural for there to be in our minds questions, confusion, noise in our

heads that might prevent us from hearing well from You that would hinder our hearing of Your Word.

Father, there is sin in all of our hearts that this morning would distract us from hearing and hinder us

from hearing Your Word. And so Father, what we all need is to hear from You. And we ask that You would

speak clearly to us. Speak to our hearts. Holy Spirit, we're in different places. We come from different

weeks. We come from different experiences of our own sin and of Your grace. And we need You to speak to our hearts

through Your Word. We ask that You would do it for Jesus' sake. Amen.

Psalm 51. We'll read the first five verses. This is the Word of God.

Psalm 51.

Psalm 51.

Psalm 51.

Psalm 51.

comes before God. He thinks about His sins. He thinks about His sins, the specific ways in which He has violated God's holy law.

And He uses even several different words for them. You may have noticed in this particular psalm alone. We translate them things like sin, transgressions, iniquities, doing evil.

Here in verse 3.

Here in verse 3. David is what he's talking about the words he's using here. He's confessing these particular thoughts and actions.

And the pictures, the words he's using here. And the pictures, the words he gives are that his sin has built up a great debt for him in the ledger, so to speak, of his account.

Another word references that his sin is dirt that clings to him really tightly and is very difficult to wash off. He's dirty from his sin. And David feels this, doesn't he?

I know my sin. I know my sin. I know my sin. I know my sin. I know my sin is ever before me. This is how I feel before you, God.

He's begun to see his sin for what it really is. But it's important for us to ask, has David just become dirty or indebted because of his mistakes?

Or was he dirty and in debt and so made some mistakes? In other words, is David a sinner because he committed sin?

Or does he commit sin because he is a sinner? He answers these questions clearly in verse 5.

Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity. And in sin did my mother conceive me. Sinful from birth. Sinful even from conception.

Not only is David a person at conception, he's a sinner. From the moment he was conceived, David says, this is my nature.

I was born self-focused with a heart, mind, and will broken and bent against God.

We call that original sin. That's the theological term. Original sin that all of us descended from Adam, David included, you included, me included.

All of us have a sinful nature. We're not born perfect the way God originally created.

So the question of, am I a sinner because I commit sin? Or do I commit sin because I am a sinner?

Is not just some silly chicken or egg kind of question that really makes no difference.

It matters deeply.

It matters not because David is trying to excuse his sin, to blame it on that old sinful nature,

so it's not really his fault.

That's just the way that I am.

No, that's not the point.

Rather, it matters because we often try to excuse our sin,

our sinful words or actions,

by saying, well, that's really not the way I am.

That's not really me.

I know that sounded very prideful, but I'm not really like that.

I know it looked like I have an anger problem,

but really I'm quite a good person.

That was an aberration.

That's not like me.

I'm a very good person when you get to know me.

Except that we're not.

We're not naturally good people.

But we often function that way, don't we?

To my shame, I have spent a lot of time trying to convince my wife

that I'm a really good husband who just did something totally inexplicable.

When the reality is I'm a broken husband

who just did something inexcusable,

but not entirely unexpected.

I need to deal with my heart,

not merely just clean up my out-of-character actions

that happen occasionally.

In his first inauguration address,

former President Bill Clinton said,

there is nothing wrong with America

that cannot be cured by what is right with America.

That's a nice sentiment.

A nice, hopeful, positive thing to say about your country.

And my point is not at all a social or political one this morning.

But rather, I know I tend to feel that way about myself personally.

That really, if you just get to know me,

there's nothing wrong with Will

that can't be cured by what's right with Will.

Just hang around long enough,

you'll see what a great guy I am.

I'll fix it.

I'll balance the scales.

I'll make up for it.

It was just a little mistake after all,

and I'm good enough to clean it up.

I'm quite sure.

I'll do it differently next time.

That's no problem.

I'm capable of that.

God's Word is reminding us this morning

that that is not the case at all.

We need outside help.

We are so deeply sinful at our core.

When we sin,

that's not so shocking

as it is us being exactly

who we are broken by nature.

David sees the depth of his sin.

That his sins are not merely outward violations of God's law,

although they are that.

But that the sinful actions flow from a sinful man

with a sinful heart.

Do you see why that difference matters

when we begin to face the depth of our sin,

when we're actually dealing with the things that we've done?

It pushes us to see what truly needs to be repented of,

what needs to be forgiven.

It's not merely a surface issue,

something that is easy to see.

In fact, the iceberg underneath

is probably a much bigger issue.

For instance, in regard to this particular confession

we're communicating to you about today,

it means you don't have a pastor who messed up.

You have a messed up pastor.

And I say that not to be cute or funny,

but rather because it's true.

And because we've got to remember that reality

of who we are, who I am.

We as a church must remember that's true.

If that's true, I need to repent,

not merely of missteps and mistakes I've made,

but of my heart attitudes beyond my actions.

If that's true,

then your session is capable of sinning deeply again.

And you need to be praying

that God would protect us from that.

Because we're not just really great guys

99% of the time who messed up once a few years ago.

But rather broken people.

If that's true, then we are married to sinners.

We work with sinners.

We parent sinners.

We worship with other sinners.

And so we need to expect

that we need God a lot.

We must trust Him more than we trust our pastor.

More than we trust anyone in any of our relationships.

We have to trust Him as wholly reliable.

Our sinful nature is not just active from birth.

It also loves to keep fighting against us, doesn't it?

Even after Jesus rescues us,

it loves to fight back.

So that's the first thing about the nature of sin here.

Sinful actions flow from sinful hearts.

But the other thing that's so important for us to see here

is that our sinful nature that we have

stands in stark contrast to God's holy nature.

And this is the real issue with our sin.

This is the problem.

Look at verse 4.

David says,

Now, stop and think for a second.

Can you make a pretty good list of the people

impacted by David's sin?

Remember the context of this psalm, right?

Who all has been hurt by David's sin?

I mean, you can start with Bathsheba herself

who's been violated deeply.

You can add Uriah who's now dead

as a result of David's sin.

Think about David's family

that is thrown into tumult

and suffers the effects of this for years

and for generations.

The entire nation of Israel

who's looking to their king

to be godly leadership

that points them to follow after God.

And what are they finding from their king?

And yet, with all of that being true,

David says to God,

Against you, you only, have I sinned.

What is he thinking?

Could he really be right?

What he's teaching us is the nature of sin

is that all sin

is first and foremost against God.

And it's against God

in a completely different way

than it is against anyone else.

You see how David looks to God's holy character?

That you may be justified in your words

and blameless in your judgment.

God's utter righteousness,

his perfect justice are highlighted.

David says he's holy, holy, holy.

And we're not.

And this is the glorious God

against whom our seemingly smallest sin

because of his holiness

is an odious, treasonous offense.

One of my favorite prayers

from the Valley of Vision

includes this section.

Let me never forget

that the heinousness of sin,

how awful it is,

how terrible my sin is,

lies not so much

in the nature of the sin committed

as in the greatness

of the person sinned against.

How bad my sin is,

the level to which

its offense rises

is measured by God's greatness,

his holiness and perfection.

It makes our little white lies

and momentary lusts

and careless words

loom a lot bigger

all of a sudden, doesn't it?

You see, we forget this so easily.

We so easily engage with our sin

merely in terms of others harmed

or in how others are going to think of us.

How badly is it going to reflect on me

when someone knows about this?

If they find out,

what will they think?

And we miss the real issue

that's going on

and even the smallest sin

that our heart is rebelling

against the King,

the one who created us,

the one who loves us,

the one who designed us

and we're rejecting

his good design.

This is probably the aspect

of our sin

that God has most deeply impressed

upon the hearts of the session

in the last several months.

If you're a people pleaser at all

like me,

then when you have sinned

and other people have been deeply hurt,

when people you love deeply

have been impacted by your sin,

it's very difficult to consider

the weight of your sin

without seeing faces

and stories

when you think of how awful

your sin is.

You immediately think of

his angst

and her tears

and their relationship.

And your sin feels heavy.

And we as a session

focused a lot there

because as I said,

many people we love

were hurt

by our sin.

But it was

only when we

realized this,

the nature of our sin

against God

that the true weight

of it really began

to settle in

when we considered

first and foremost

on a unique level

our sin

was against

the name of Christ

and the glory

of God.

He was the great

one

against whom

we had sinned.

So, Will,

are you saying

you just stopped

caring about

those people

and how they felt

when you realized that?

Is that what

David is saying?

Is that what

this means?

No.

Actually,

understanding

this part of the nature

of sin

increases

the gravity

of my sin

against another person.

Not diminishes it.

Let me see

if I can explain

what I mean.

when I sin

thought

word

deed

whatever it is

it is the law

of God

that I am

first and foremost

violating.

The way

He has created

me to live

reflecting

His image

in true

holiness.

And then

when others

are involved

when they're

impacted

my sin

against someone

else

is always

grievous

first and foremost

because of how

I'm mistreating

the image

of God

in them.

So when you

run someone

down behind

her back

the size

of your sin

the weight

of your sin

the seriousness

of your sin

is measured

not so much

by whether

she finds out

or by how

hurt she is

and how much

damage you've

done

to her

reputation

rather the

severity of it

is measured

by the image

of God

in her

that you

defamed

when you

violated

God's law.

when an elder

neglects

or misleads

one of

Christ's

sheep

a precious

lamb

created

in His

image

and purchased

with the

blood of

His Son

it is

that reality

that makes

the sin

so awful

that

drives us

to desperate

confession

temptation

oh we care

about the

one who's

been hurt

because of

God's

care for

them

you see

you're still

heartbroken

over the

harm you

did to

another

but it's

not just

sad that

they caught

you

or sorry

that they

feel frustrated

with you

but rather

grieved

that you did

violence

to the image

of God

in them

or that you

denigrated

someone

that God

values

and treasures

that's

where our

sin gets

weighty

John Calvin

said what

David meant

in verse 4

against you

and you

only

have I

sinned

is that

God

Himself

was the

holy

and righteous

judge

David was

facing

Calvin

wrote

the voice

of man

could administer

no relief

to him

however much

that man

might be

disposed

to forgive

or to

excuse

or to

flatter

he stood

guilty

before the

one

ultimately

in charge

the one

who created

and owned

him

regardless

of what

men knew

about

or felt

about it

against

you

you

only

have

I

sinned

I don't

know if

you can

see or

feel it

this morning

but maybe

as you

reflect

you'll

begin

to see

how that

reality

can turn

your stomach

at sins

that you

otherwise

might have

only given

a passing

thought

because

because you

haven't

seen

much

damage

but all

of a

sudden

you

see a

holy

God

against

whom

you

have

sinned

David

knew

well

that he

could not

walk

into the

presence

of this

holy

God

without

a

sacrifice

for his

sins

even

on a

good

day

for

King

David

that the

sacrificial

system

in the

nation

of

Israel

reminded

him

that

by

nature

he

could

not

get

near

the

place

where

God

lived

in the

holiest

part

of the

temple

where

God

had

taken

up

residence

among

his

people

David

couldn't

get

near

there

even

on a

good

day

he

certainly

could

not

approach

without

a

sacrifice

right

much

less

after

adultery

and

murder

and

that's

the

reality

that brings

him

to his

knees

so to

speak

in

this

prayer

of

confession

have

mercy

on

me

oh

God

my

sinfulness

and

my

sins

are

utterly

repugnant

to

your

holiness

you

are

righteous

you

are

just

nothing

you

could

do

to

me

would

be

an

overreaction

in

response

to

my

sin

that's

what

David's

saying

in

these

words

God

you

couldn't

possibly

be

unfair

no

matter

what

you

did

to

me

and

this

is

David's

problem

right

God

is

the

only

one

who

can

truly

forgive

him

for

who

he

is

and

what

he's

done

the

one

owed

the

debt

is

the

only

one

who

can

forgive

it

right

we

know

this

if

I

owe

Peter

a

hundred

dollars

you

can't

come

walking

up

to

me

right

now

and

say

don't

worry

about

anymore

let

me

forgive

that

debt

for

you

if

I

punch

James

in the

face

you

can't

come

running

up

here

and

say

well I

forgive

you

for

that

don't

worry

about

it

no

he

must

forgive

the

one

who's

owed

the

debt

must

be

the

one

who

forgives

it

and

when

I

transgress

God's

law

when

I

mar

his

image

when

I

mistreat

someone

or

something

that

he

made

he

is

the

only

one

who

can

forgive

me

and

so

I'm

stuck

David's

stuck

why

what do

we both

know

about

God

God's

just

David

says

it

God

must

punish

sin

even

if

it

carries

to

the

third

or

fourth

generation

in

order

to

see

the

debt

repaid

right

God's

told

him

that

about

himself

when

he

introduced

himself

to

his

people

so

David

has

a

problem

and

you

and

I

have

a

problem

and

God

has

a

solution

we'll

talk

about

it

more

the

next

couple

of

weeks

but

here's

the

heart

of

it

Romans

Romans 3 · chapter mention

chapter

3

God

presented

Christ

as a

sacrifice

of

atonement

through

the

shedding

of

his

blood

to

be

received

by

faith

he

did

this

why

was it

that

God

had

to

send

his

son

he

did

this

to

demonstrate

his

righteousness

that

he's

righteous

and

just

because

in

his

forbearance

he left

sins

committed

beforehand

unpunished

and God

can't do

that

forever

he did

it to

demonstrate

his

righteousness

at the

present

time

so as

to be

just

and

the

one

who

justifies

those

who have

faith

in

Jesus

my

sins

rightly

deserve

death

my

blood

deserved

to be

shed

the

just

God

had

to

meet

out

the

death

penalty

that

my

sins

had

deserved

but

Jesus

shed

his

blood

in

my

place

so that

God

could

remain

just

and

punish

sin

and

at the

same

time

and this

is

amazing

the

just

and

holy

God

could

stay

just

and

I

could

stand

before

him

justified

embraced

by

him

how

because

my

sin

had been

given

to

another

a

sinner

by

nature

and

by

action

finds

himself

covered

by the

blood

of

another

by the

sacrifice

of the

son

of

God

covered

in his

shed

blood

and his

perfect

righteousness

God

is both

just

and

the

one

who

justifies

those

who

hide

themselves

in

Jesus

who

have

faith

in

Jesus

so

in

his

day

David

would

place

his

hands

on

a

lamb

confess

his

sins

watch

it

die

in

his

place

as

a

picture

of

the

lamb

of

God

who

would

come

to be

the

full

and

final

sacrifice

for

sins

and

just

as

David

placed

his

hands

on

that

lamb

we

now

lay

hold

of

Jesus

sacrificed

on the

cross

for us

and we

find

as we

do

that

the

only

one

who

can

truly

and

fully

forgive

us

has

already

done

so

he's

forgiven

messed

up

pastors

sinful

sessions

and

struggling

sinners

because

that's

who

he

is

and

that's

how

great

his

love

is

let's

pray

father

that there

is any

hope

for us

is a

miracle

of your

grace

and

kindness

to us

and we

thank you

for it

we are

grateful

that that

hope allows

us to

look at

our sin

honestly

so even

as we

confess

our sin

this morning

even as

we grieve

over it

we look

to you

and we

depend upon

you

and we

even rejoice

through tears

that you

love us

because of

Jesus

we thank you

for that

in his name

amen

as some of our

elders come

forward

and two of our

ruling elders

Skeet Simonis

and Alan Judge

are going to

speak to you

just briefly

this morning

good morning

I am

Skeet Simonis

and I do

serve as one

of your elders

here at

Southwood

and I've

been asked

on behalf

of the

session

to come

and speak

to you

for a few

minutes

I'd like

to begin

my remarks

by reading

a statement

from your

Southwood

session

a few

years ago

our church

endured a

season of

conflict

that impacted

many people

both in our

own congregation

and in the

broader Huntsville

community

during this

season in

particular

we corporately

as church

leaders

failed to

love

as God

has called

us to

and sinned

against the

name of

God

the church

in general

and many

brothers and

sisters

we care for

deeply

rather than

focusing on

the glory

of God

and our

own sin

we focused

on our

own agendas

and others

sin

in our

zeal for

being right

and defending

ourselves

in our

positions

we neglected

to love

well

spoke

harshly

to some

overlooked

the concern

of others

and so

wounded

many

we are

sorrowful

over our

sins

and in

particular

we grieve

the dishonor

they cause

to the

name

of

Christ

and then

the pain

they cause

to others

we desire

to humbly

repent

to

and be a

part of

healing

for anyone

still struggling

with the

consequences

of our

sin

we acknowledge

that we do

not know

all the ways

that our

sin hurt

and continues

to hurt

some

but the

heart of

our session

is to

listen to

to learn

from

and to

aid

in the

healing

process

for everyone

we can

we are

grateful

for God's

continued

mercy

upon us

and upon

Southwood

as well

as for

his faithfulness

to work

through

and in

spite of

us

to see

his

kingdom

advance

you may

be asking

yourself

so why

is the

session

doing

this

our

answer

is that

God

has moved

in the

hearts

of the

elders

who

currently

serve

on the

session

and

convicted

us

of the

need

to

repent

even

though

it's

been

about

five

years

since

so many

left

our

church

as a

result

of

conflict

we know

that there

are some

here at

Southwood

and some

in other

places

who are still

struggling

with the

consequences

of our

sin

as a

result

as Will

mentioned

earlier

we began

to discuss

this about

a year

and a half

ago

since that

time

God

has used

our

discussions

his word

prayer

fasting

and his

Holy Spirit

to bring

us to

this

conclusion

but before

we communicated

anything

publicly

we wanted

God to

deal with

our own

hearts

as

individuals

on the

session

although that

certainly is an

ongoing process

we feel like

we have reached

the point

to publicly

confess our

sin

and humbly

we ask

the forgiveness

of those

who we've

sinned

against

you also

may be asking

yourself

why communicate

about this

publicly

it is typically

appropriate

that the

repentance

over sin

be as public

as the sin

committed

our corporate

sin

impacted

not only

the congregation

of Southwood

but also

the broader

Huntsville

community

we want

others to

know

of the

repentance

that God

has worked

in our own

hearts

and for

him to

be praised

because of

that work

we also

want those

who are

impacted

by our

sin

to know

that we

desire

healing

and

reconciliation

so as I

read in the

statement

from the

session

we as

your church

leaders

fail to

love

as God

has called

us to

love

thus we

sinned

against

God

himself

the church

in general

and our

brothers and

sisters

who are

in our

church

please

understand

that we

are

repenting

over our

attitudes

and our

actions

we are

not trying

to make

any kind

of statement

for or

against

either side

on any

issue

in the

conflict

that our

church

experienced

we are

seeking to

follow God's

leading

as we

trust him

to continue

to bring

healing

in our

own

hearts

and in

the hearts

of those

who we

love

and care

for

so we

wanted to

share our

heart as a

session with

you the

members of

our congregation

first

since our

church split

is part of

the story

of God's

work here

at Southwood

this week

we will begin

meeting with

some of those

who were here

during the

conflict and

who are no

longer part of

our congregation

we want you to

know that we

are eager to

speak with

anyone about

the nature of

our sin

the pain it

caused to

others

and our

desire for

reconciliation

so please

contact us

with your

questions and

feedback

feel free

to call

any one

of your

elders

or send

us an

email

our

email

addresses

are

listed on

the

Southwood

tower

and several

of your

elders are

seated down

here in

the front

rows

and we

would be

glad to

talk with

you about

this

after

today's

service

now my

brother

Alan Judge

will pray

for us

before I

pray I'm

going to

pray I

want you

to pray

with me

but I

want to

address a

couple of

things

one there

are many

sitting here

who have

no idea

really what

we're even

talking about

or

you know

this is

you came

since that

time

and only

have vague

references

of it

and

there are

others

who are

sitting here

saying I

didn't do

anything wrong

why would I

confess or why

would I be a

part of this

as I pray I

want to

encourage you

if you're

sitting here

this morning

and you

know that

you have

been wronged

and you

know

that you

feel in

your heart

that you

didn't do

anything

to justify

that wrong

but because

of that

you have

allowed

yourself

you have

justified

in your

own mind

of treating

someone

not like

you should

treat them

of not

loving

them

I'm

treating

them

the way

you think

the wrong

deserves

to be

treated

then this

confession

is for

you too

so as

I pray

pray with

me

oh most

merciful

loving

God

our

Lord

Savior

and Father

we have

sinned

against

you

and done

what is

evil

in your

sight

we

who

were

dead

in our

sin

who

formerly

lived

in the

lusts

of our

flesh

indulging

the

desires

of the

flesh

and of

the

mind

who

were

by

nature

children

of

wrath

but

you

oh

merciful

God

because

of

your

great

love

with

which

you

loved

us

even

when

we

were

dead

in

our

transgressions

made

us

alive

together

with

Christ

and

raised

us

up

with

him

seated

us

with

him

in

the

heavenly

places

in

Christ

Jesus

all

of

this

being

a

gift

of

God

for

by

grace

we

have

been

saved

so