Seeing Sin as God Sees It

Today, we seem to live in a world without boundaries. The code for living is “If it’s right for you, do it.” As believers it is good to keep an open heart before God and rely on the convicting presence of the Holy Spirit, day by day, so that the world can’t shape us into its mould. The nearer we are drawn to Jesus, the more conscious we will be of any undealt sin in our lives.

David wrote Psalm 51, from which our text is taken, after Nathan the prophet met him and confronted him about his adultery with Bathsheba, another man’s wife. He tried to hide his sin and asked God for mercy – almost a quick fix. Psalm 32 is about the same event. It is written later, after David had taken time to reflect on his experiences and face the truth. Covered sin had affected him physically – pain in his bones. He had lost his vitality, was self-focussed, proud, and independent, and not prepared to admit how bad his sin was. ‘When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer’ (Psalm 32:3-4).

David used a variety of words to describe his sin. Firstly, he called it transgression. It had been deliberate. He had chosen to do it, which in God’s eyes is rebellion. He then used the simple word ‘sin’, which means going astray. Deceit is the very nature of the enemy. We can deceive others, and even deceive ourselves, when we rationalise sin. Keeping silent and pretending everything was right brought physical pain to his bones, and drained him of strength. He had clearly gone against God’s moral law, which the Bible calls iniquity.

Tormented by his guilt, David came to the Lord humbly, with an open heart. Unconfessed sin stood between him and His Lord. When he had nothing to hide, forgiveness took him into a new secure relationship. ‘Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit’. (Psalms 32:1-5).

He was assured that the Lord would protect him from trouble, surround him with songs of deliverance, instruct and guide him on the right way to go, and he would be counselled with God’s loving eye upon him. ‘Then 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’ (Psalm 32:7-8).

It may be good to ask ourselves if there are areas of our lives which have never been brought into God’s light – areas we have covered, convincing ourselves that all is well. Forgiveness has to be preceded by repentance, which gives us a heart and mind devoted to following God’s way from now on. Confession is the true abandoning of deceit and uncovering of hidden sin before God, and sometimes also with another person.

Because openness, true confession, and forgiveness draws us into intimacy with Jesus, there is a genuine desire to make Him the very centre of our hearts, and live life for His glory and His kingdom.