WE SIN WHEN WE FORSAKE THE LORD

PROCLAMATION

“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken Me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”  Jeremiah 2:13 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

These are the words of The Lord God which were spoken to the prophet Jeremiah to be proclaimed to the people of Judah.  Jeremiah told the people that The Lord God said that He remembered the devotion of their youth when they followed Him through the wilderness. (Jeremiah 2:2)  He questioned them as to what fault they found in Him that caused them to stray from Him and turn to worthless idols. (Jeremiah 2:5-8)  Because of their sins, The Lord God was going to punish them, their children, and their children’s children. (Jeremiah 2:9)  He said that they brought this upon themselves by forsaking Him. (Jeremiah 2:17 and 2:19)  He told them that they turned their backs on Him and worshiped idols made of wood and stone, but every time that they got into trouble, they would call on Him and say, “Come and save us.” (Jeremiah 2:27) 

APPLICATION

Today, most of us do not worship idol gods.  We sin by forsaking The Lord God and by putting other things ahead of Him.  We offer many different excuses for the things that we place ahead of God.  Because of these things, we don’t pray as we should, praise Him as we should, or worship as we should.  Some of the time we turn to sinful wickedness, and other times we just backslide. (Jeremiah 2:19)  We need to turn away from whatever it is that causes us to forsake The Lord God and return to Him. (2 Chronicles 7:14)

WHEN THE LEADER SINS THE PEOPLE SUFFER

PROCLAMATION

“David was conscience-stricken after he had counted the fighting men, and he said to The Lord, ‘I have sinned greatly in what I have done.  Now, Lord, I beg you, take away the guilt of Your servant.  I have done a very foolish thing.’ …  He said to The Lord, ‘I have sinned;  I, the shepherd, have done wrong.  These are but sheep.  What have they done?  Let Your hand fall on me and my family.’”  2 Samuel 24:10-17 (NIV)

EXPLANATION

David commits a sin by taking a census and putting his trust in the size of his army instead of trusting in The Lord.  He confesses his sin and asks for God’s mercy.  David was given the opportunity to choose the punishment for his sin. (2 Samuel 24:11-14)  Each of the three punishments that he had to select from was also going to affect the people of Israel.  He could not make a choice, so The Lord chose for him and sent a plague over Israel which killed a large number of people. (2 Samuel 24:15)  Then David prayed that The Lord would punish him and his family and not the innocent people of Israel. (2 Samuel 24:17)

APPLICATION

Sometimes when we sin, we also hurt others.  Our punishment for our sins can also cause them pain. (2 Samuel 24:17)   Some of the bad times which we endure are the punishment for the sins of our grandparents. (Numbers 14:18)  We need to pray for ourselves and for others because our sins may be the cause of their suffering.

All Sin Is Against God

"For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.  Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight, so that You are proved right when You speak and justified when You judge."  Psalms 51:3 (NIV)

This psalm was written by King David after the prophet Nathan had confronted him regarding his committing adultery with Bathsheba, Uriah's wife, and then had him killed. (2 Samuel 11:1-17)  David admitted that he had sinned and he knew that his sin was a sin against The Lord God.  

We know when we sin, and usually we have made a conscious effort to do so.  We never really forget that we have sinned.  In fact, we frequently remember our sins, sometimes we relive them vicariously, and we even recount them to others.  However, more often we are embarrassed and guilt ridden when we remember our sins because we knew that we were wrong and we did it anyway.  As believers, we need to understand that when we sin, we may do wrong to others, but the sin that we commit while we are doing wrong is a sin against The Lord God Almighty.  All sin is a sin against God, and it is all done in His sight.  Even though He already knows the sins that we thought, said, and did, we must still confess our sins and ask Him to forgive us.  (1 John 1:9)  We need to be cleansed of our unrighteousness and only He can do that.  Let us not let our past sins ruin our present, or our future.  Once we are forgiven, He will remember our sins no more. (Jeremiah 31:34, Hebrews 8:12, and Hebrews 10:17)

Pray Like David

"Look upon my affliction and my distress and take away all my sins."  Psalms 25:18 (NIV)
King David prays and pleas to God for deliverance and forgiveness.  David is in trouble and suffering, he knows that he has done wrong, and he is asking God to forgive him and to help him.

We could learn a lot from David.  When he did wrong and sinned, he confessed and asked God for forgiveness.  When he was in trouble, he asked God for help.  He also praised God in good times and in bad times.  (Psalms 103:1-5)   As we endeavor to be more Christ-like, maybe we should start by being more like David.

Lord Have Mercy

"Have mercy on me, O God, according to Your unfailing love; according to Your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned and done what is evil in Your sight ..." Psalms 51:1-4 (NIV)

David sinned, he knew that he had sinned, and he prayed for mercy and forgiveness. He wanted God to cleanse him and take away all of his sins (stated here and repeated in verse 7).

It has been said that David was "a man after God's own heart," not because he did not sin, but because his heart was in the right place. David prayed to God for forgiveness, mercy, and God's help after he sinned, and he did not continue to repeat the same sin over and over again. We need to sincerely pray like David did. We also need to ask God to help us, and to remove from us the desire for our sins, to create in us a clean heart and mind. We cannot become more Christ-like without God's help.

Blessed And Forgiven

"Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin The Lord does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit." Psalms 32:1-2 (NIV)

King David knew that a man was blessed if God has forgiven him or his sins. He also knew that when God forgives a man of his sins, the sins that he has committed will never count against him.

Believers know that the Bible states that if we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:9) Jesus died for our sins and it is by His blood that our sins are covered. When God looks at believers, He sees the blood of Jesus and not our sin sick souls. We are blessed because our sins are forgiven and not held against us thanks to Jesus, The Christ.

Confession Is Good For The Soul

"He who conceals his sins does not prosper, but whoever confesses and renounces them finds mercy. Blessed is the man who always fears The Lord, but he who hardens his heart falls into trouble." Proverbs 28:13-14 (NIV)

This Proverb of Solomon is one of several that deals with man's relationship to God. While we all commit sins, those in good standing with God will admit that they have sinned. He who conceals his sins through lies and deceit is not a wise man and he will be in trouble with God.

Sin should not be covered up or lied about. It is better to confess ones sins unto The Lord, and to ask for forgiveness and help in avoiding them in the future. There will be a price to pay for being less than truthful. God does not expect us to be perfect, but He does require that we are truthful and honest with Him about our behavior. When we mess up, we should "fess" up.

Caught In The Act

"The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group and said to Jesus, 'Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?' They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing Him. But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with His finger. When they kept on questioning Him, He straightened up and said to them, 'If any one of you is without sin, let him be the first to throw a stone at her.' Again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. At this, those who heard began to go away one at a time, the older ones first, until only Jesus was left, with the woman still standing there." John 8:1-11 (NIV)

When the woman that was caught in the act of adultery was brought before Him, Jesus said let the one among them who was without sin throw the first stone at her. No one knows what Jesus wrote in the dirt when He bent down. Jesus did not condemn the woman, but it is possible that the men were convicted by what He wrote in the dirt.

Be careful when you set out to trick someone, you may end up being the one that is embarrassed. Jesus taught them and us that we should not be so quick to condemn. Before we condemn others, we should take a look at ourselves. When you live in a glass house, you should not throw stones at others. Don't focus on the sins of others, deal with your own sins.

When You Know Better, You Ought To Do Better

There are sins of omission as well as sins of commission.

"Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't dot it, sins." James 4:17 (NIV)

Not only is it a sin to do wrong when you know it is wrong, but it is also a sin to do nothing when you know what good you ought to do. These sins are commonly called "sins of omission".

"When you know better, you ought to do better." Unknown author, but maybe this is where that old saying comes from.

So, not only can we sin by things that we do, say, and think, we can also sin by doing nothing when we should be doing good. We need to pray for forgiveness and for God's help to do better when we know better.

God Sees All That We Do And Judgement Is Coming

"For the ways of man are before the eyes of The Lord, and He pondereth all his goings." Proverbs 5:21

Some people say, "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas." It is as if they believe that God is not there and that He does not see all that goes on in Las Vegas and everywhere else. That which is done in the dark will soon come to the light.

Imagine a video camera being focused upon you, 24 hours each day, 365 days of the year. Would you want that recording played back to all of your family and friends in church, especially if it included all that you said and thought?

On judgement day, Jesus is going to judge each of us on all of our thoughts, words, and deeds. Read Matthew 12:36-37 and Revelation 20:12-13. Repent now and ask for forgiveness for all sins, and pray for help to avoid them in the future.

Create In Me A Clean Heart

"Hide Thy face for my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me." Psalms 51:9-10

All of us have sinned and we need to ask God for forgiveness daily. Sinful thoughts are still sins. We all need to be cleansed. We need God's help to create within us clean hearts and minds.

Be honest with God and confess to Him your short comings. Don't beat yourself up because of them. Ask Him for His help in making you more Christ-like. Be determined to be a better Christian today than you were yesterday.

We Can Be Forgiven

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith The Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." Isaiah 1:18

Like the people of Israel we are a sinful people. We have done things God said for us not to do, and we have not done what He said that we should do.

The colors scarlet and crimson of red are suggestive of the guilt for the blood that is on our hands. As if we ourselves had killed someone. The white snow and wool represent cleanliness.

The Lord will pardon the guilty who desire forgiveness and want to be pardoned. He will clean us up as well as clean up our record. However, we must repent and ask for forgiveness.

Even though we are guilty as charged, we will be presented as white as snow. Only Jesus can cleanse us of our sins and present us to God, The Father, free from sin.

Confess And Forgiveness

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." 1 John 1:9-10

"For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" Romans 3:23

The question is not did we sin, but did we confess our sins to God and sincerely ask Him for forgiveness.

Every sin is a sin against God. "Against Thee, and Thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Thy sight ..." Psalms 51:4

So, pray to God, confess your sins, ask for forgiveness, and He will cleanse you.