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Psalm 32:5  I acknowledged my sin to you, and I did not cover my iniquity; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD,” and you forgave the iniquity of my sin.  Selah 

We live in a society that is uncomfortable with the concept of sin.  Preachers are often criticised for emphasising sin in sermons; and when things go wrong in our lives we search desperately for explanations other than that we are personally guilty of sin.  Psychologists are clever at thinking up all manner of reasons for misbehaviour that put the blame somewhere else – our genetic make-up, our environment, the abuse we’ve received from others way back in our childhood, etc.  Whereas some, or all, of these things may be significant factors in what set us in the wrong direction, the saddest thing about all this is that it flies directly in the face of God’s formula for happiness and peace of mind!  In attempting to alleviate the pain with our ‘wisdom’, we are forfeiting the opportunity to receive the blessing that he, our Creator, has in store for us if we would but ‘follow the manufacturer’s instructions’!

This psalm begins (literally):  ‘O the happiness of the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered’ … not ‘… the one who tries to convince himself of his innocence and blame someone/thing else!’  If God had not so graciously provided a solution for our sin, a firm basis on which to forgive us – the atoning sacrifice of a crucified Saviour as our substitute – then there would be some sense in the ‘solutions’ based on human ‘wisdom’.  But to pursue this deceitful option when God has designed things otherwise is extremely foolish.

John emphasises the same point in 1 John 1:8-10 – “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and will cleanse us from all unrighteousness.  If we say we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar, and his word is not in us,” 

My sentiments are with Horatio Spafford, “Though Satan should buffet, though trials should come, let this blest assurance control, that Christ has regarded my helpless estate, and hath shed his own blood for my soul.  My sin, oh, the bliss of this glorious thought!  My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more, praise the Lord, praise the Lord, O my soul! It is well, (it is well), with my soul, (with my soul); it is well, it is well, with my soul.”.  Please excuse my quoting (yet again, as I often do) Dr John Simpson (Queen Victoria’s Royal Physician, and the man who discovered chloroform to revolutionise surgery) who, when asked in an interview the ‘leading’ question, “Dr Simpson, What was your greatest discovery?”, answered simply, “My greatest discovery was that I am a sinner, and that God has provided for me a Saviour.”

– Bruce Christian