Forget Sin, Forget God

For I know my transgressions,

and my sin is always before me.

-Psalm 51:3

Before sin can be behind you, it must come before you. You must see the eyes of those you have hurt. You must come to know that the faces you see full of hurt and anger are really reflections of your own. Sin must come before you so that you know your transgressions. Such intimate knowledge is not something you forget.

Forgetting your sin is forgetting God, because at the heart of all sin is a God who has been hurt. He is not hurt by self-pity, but by deep concern for us and those we have hurt. Forgetting our sin means accepting it. It remains too close for us to see and fear. Without fear of sin, there can be no fear of God.

The cross of the suffering Christ is a deep, still pool in which we see our sin. We swear friendship, loyalty, and love to Jesus, but cannot stay awake with him. We curse ourselves and swear we do not know him with our actions if not our very words. We strike out with swords and anger instead of standing firm beside him. We run off naked into the night, exposed as foolish, frightened children.

The One who would not save himself hangs before us. He is the mirror of each of us, caught in sin, nailed to that which kills us, unable to save ourselves. Empty religion builds the cross and leaves us there to die. It points out the futility of our lives and cries out to God, "Why have you forsaken me?" but waits for no reply and anticipates no rescue. Empty religion is the cross with no crown, Adam in futility working the soil for thorns, Eve in pain bearing only a still-born child. It puts us on the cross and makes us self-pitying martyrs instead of the New Creation.

The One who is innocent and yet condemned stands before us. Mocked and beaten with a crown of thorns he is hated for no reason, for being with the wrong people, being guilty of telling the truth about himself and our sin. Brutal government finds it necessary that the innocent should die rather than a whole nation perish. Unsubstantiated claims drown out true confession. The howling crowds dictate justice, wanting to see punishment rather than seek vindication and reconciliation. Whether we are unwilling to help or a party to his condemnation, our brutality is shown in the flogged, spat-upon Savior who stands before us.

We remember our sin so we can remember God. Nothing else. Our personal sins will make us run and hide. Our empty religion will crucify us. Our brutal politics will bring us to hate and blame. 

"I know my transgressions" so that I might know you, Jesus. You bore the cross, but you did not stay there, but you did not stay there, and neither must I. Amen.

Restore the Joy

THE JOY OF SALVATION

Let's say that joy can be understood as a deep sense of well-being.  Such a feeling cannot be merely a feeling, but is also an persistent thought as well as a recurrent choice.  It is not merely cosmetic, like the seed in shallow soil that showed joy at the message of God's kingdom, but quickly withered when trouble and persecution came in Jesus's parable of the seed and the sower.  Like a house built on rock instead of sand, the storms blow over it and by it, but do not blow it down.

Let's say that salvation can be understood as deliverance.  Being delivered implies slavery or captivity or prison.  I am caught with no way of escape.  I am locked away with no hope of freedom.  Then my freedom is purchased, my debt is paid, or my sentence removed.  I am moved from the realm of darkness and hopelessness into a bright, new place of hope.  My prospects are open.  My life stands before me.  I am saved.  I am delivered.

The joy of deliverance then is the sense of well-being that comes from or belongs to life that is free, open, and safe.  This is where forgiveness leads.  This is the resting place of each person who is redeemed or bought back by God.  The prayer for restoration is a prayer for continued fellowship with God when I have left him.  The return of the prodigal son is a picture of such restoration.  It is not merely a recognition of some transaction that takes place on my account to "pay for my sin."  It is coming home to the Father.

THE ROAD HOME

The road home has some landmarks that are familiar to those who travel in this way.  "Hide your face from my sin" (Psalm 51:9) is the request for relief from guilt.  The NET Bible notes that this means, "Do not hold me accountable for my sin."  Take no notice of it.  Do not bring it up before me.  Can God really do that?  Yes, he can.  Yes, he must.  Forgiveness must be freely given to be forgiveness at all.  God is fully willing to forgive.

The barriers belong to me.  Guilt and shame make it impossible to receive forgiveness.  I'm too busy beating myself up to lift my face up for mercy.  Guilt and shame lead to a warped picture of God as one who is tight-fisted and "reaps where he does not sow."  The first hill on the road to forgiveness is releasing my sin to God for him to hide and blot out.

"Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me." (Psalm 51:10)  A clean heart and a right spirit come from forgiveness.  God must not only forgive, but enable me to receive such forgiveness.  A clean heart is one that has one pure motive.  A right spirit is pointed in the right direction.  Such intention comes from God.  I cannot merely make it happen; I must humbly receive it.  The gate is small, but God can bring me through it.

"Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me." (Psalm 51:11)  The creation of a new heart comes from God's grace present in his Spirit.  He grants that I can remain with him and be drawn to him through his Spirit.  The means by which God renews my spirit is by his Spirit.  A right spirit is aligned with his Spirit.  Apart from him I can do nothing.  Again, I ask, I wait, I receive.   The road is narrow, but his leading is sure.

SIN LEFT BEHIND

"Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit to sustain me." (Psalm 51:12)  I am never merely saved from guilt and shame even though they are the front door of my salvation.  Salvation is about a new creation, a clean heart and a right spirit.  Salvation is about living in the presence of God, indwelt and guided by his Holy Spirit.  Such a salvation makes war on more that guilt.  I am saved from my sin.  The joy of salvation is sin left behind.  The joy of salvation is a heart that does not want sin.  The joy of salvation is a spirit that chooses the right way.  The joy of salvation creates a willing spirit that sustains me through trial and temptation.

What does this all look like?  It is hard work, but not the kind I expect.  I am not asked to make up for my sin.  I am not asked to forgive so I will be forgiven.  I am asked to let go of guilt and shame through trust.  I am asked to seek out the God who forgives, strengthens, and leads through prayer and discipline.  I am asked to exchange my heart for a new one that beats with God's, the heart of Jesus.  I lay aside the work of trying to make up for my sins and accept the work of being with God every moment or every day.

Lord, I deviate easily.  I find myself trying to manage my sin instead of giving it up and following you.  Give me the will to let go.  Give me the love to run after you.  Amen.