Mood: not sure
Topic: Sermon Staging Area
Last Sunday, the message was presented by a representative of Voice of the Martyrs. So, I'll be picking up the current series with Lent 5, focusing on David's confession and lament in Psalm 51. The message will be primarily concerned with what constitutes authentic confession of our sin to God.
Confession ...
> 1 John 1:9: A beautiful verse, a comforting verse---but one of the most misused and misunderstood verses in the Bible: "If we confess our sins, God is trustworthy and in the right to release us from our sins and to wash us clean from everything in us that isn't right [with God]."
> Confession is good for the soul---it's needed. (http://www.dailyconfessions.com). "I have no one to forgive me of my sins."
> When I was younger ... "God, forgive me of everything I've done wrong today," each night.
--> What was wrong with that? I wanted to avoid God's punishment, and I was confessing my sins to God, wasn't I?
--> No ... what confession isn't: (1) Confession is not simply admitting that you've done wrong. This is how it's used in our culture---when someone is accused of a crime, as well as, in some sense, in Roman Catholic tradition. (2) Confession is not for the purpose of avoiding divine punishment.
-----> If you are a Christian, your punishment has already been taken on the cross [When some tragedy strikes, "What is God punishing me for?" ... your punishment has already been taken.]
-----> God does let us experience the natural consequences of our sin. [Drink poison? Leap from a building? This falls into the general theological category of don't be stupid.]
-----> God does discipline his children---God allows events to happen in our lives to remind us that we are not in control, to call us back to him. He does this in love. [Hebrews 12]
> Homologeo: To have the same viewpoint or idea ... to confess sin to God is to agree with God's view of the sin. The goal is not simply release from punishment; it's release from the sin itself---the goal of confession is to break the grip that a sin has in your life!
> To defeat sin in our lives, we must learn to confess our sins---really confess.
> Psalm 51
Ascription: After sin with Bath-Sheba
51:1: Chanani elohim k'chesedek: In three words, David gives up any illusion that he is in control. He's the king! But he recognizes that there's a king greater than he---and what he deserves (cf. 51:11). Then, "according to your abundant mercy": Rachamim: "Because I am your child" (the root racham means "womb").
51:2, 7: "Wash me thoroughly": Not "take away the consequences" but "take away the sin itself": David doesn't want to remain in this sin. 51:13: Wants this so deeply that he wants to lead others out of sin.
51:4: "Against you only": Every sin is ultimately against God---a violation of the image of God in that person.
51:5: Not that his conception itself was sinful---every human being is born with a tendency toward sin.
51:6: Confession is about no longer hiding from God.
51:9: "When you look at me, please don't see this sin anymore."
51:17: You are the sacrifice that God wants---confession is ultimately about sacrifice.
"Create in me a clean heart": Bara, creation from nothing ... none but God is ever subject of this verb! ... Confession recognizes, "I am the problem."
--> Many prayers ask, "Change my situation so I may praise you." David says, "Change me, and I will praise you regardless."
"Peek-a-boo" ... hiding from God (Adam and Eve) ... town in Italy (?) that received money but with requisite that embarrassing details about family had to be read publicly.
Story from David Lodge about play wherein news of John F. Kennedy's death burst in ... reality broke through the play-acting.