Rebel Restored

What is sin? What comes to your mind? Would you call yourself a sinner? If so, could you name three specific sins you committed today? Are there sinful actions or attitudes in your life recently? While many believe sin exists and would reluctantly acknowledge that we sin we are often slow to list the specific sins we are struggling with at the moment. Let’s ask another question and that is why do we struggle with sin?

In Psalm 32, David uses three words to describe his offense against God. He calls it transgression, sin and iniquity. Remember the psalms are poems and a poet is very intentional in word choice. David is not trying to avoid a redundant use of the word sin as he uses these three different words. He is trying to teach us a lesson.

The word transgression has a meaning of rebellion. It is open, undefiled rebellion against God. David simply did not want to obey God. He rejected God’s authority, command and leadership in his life and chose lust, adultery and murder instead.

The word sin has a meaning of disobeying the law of God. David was a student of God’s Word and he knew the commands of God. Yet, in his sinfulness he disregarded those commands and chose to do what he pleased. His desires became his law.

The final word, iniquity, has a sense of knowing deep down what is right and doing the opposite. We might understand this by thinking of times we went against our own common sense. God has stamped certain laws in the human heart and there is a universal understanding that certain actions are simply wrong. Ultimately, we disobey God when we reject these things we know to be right.

So what is sin? It is rebellion against God, rejecting what He commands and doing what we please. In essence, it is making us the god of our lives. We want to be king, lord and ruler. Sin is how we carry this out.

But there is hope. God promises forgiveness to those that seek it. Psalm 32 is not about sin only. It is also about forgiveness and the joy of obedience. David says the burdening weight of his disobedience was lifted off of him when he repented. He says God replaced it with comfort and rest. Not only those, but freedom from guilt and shame as well. Want to know this hope and peace? Surrender your rebellion, embrace Christ and find the rest He freely gives.

Just Listen to Yourself

How often do you listen to what you’re saying? When you speak to others in conversation or instruction, do you take note of your tone of voice or the way you are talking to the other person? Often we are so busy trying to convey our own message that we don’t think about what we are saying and how we are saying whatever it is. I wonder if you would want to be talked to in the way you talk to others? Perhaps that’s a good place to start in this self-examination.

Would You Talk to Yourself Like That?
In Ephesians 4:31-32, the Apostle Paul says, “Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.” Think about each of those words for a moment. Bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, slander and malice. We would not want to be on the receiving end of comments or actions featuring those attributes. So, in the same way we ought to be careful to avoid speaking to others in that way. It will take intentionally listening to our words if change is going to come.

We are, though, supposed to fill our language with kindness, tenderheartedness, and forgiveness. Those are words we long to hear. Those are the tones we need to hear. When someone speaks to us in these ways, we are usually listening closely. Words spoken to us in kindness and tenderheartedness express love, concern and care. The earsplitting words previously mentioned express no love, only harshness. Who wants to be rubbed by words that are as coarse as sand paper? Not me. And probably not you either.

How Would Christ Speak?
There’s more to this story though. Paul says that we should treat one another this way because Christ treats us this way. To the disobedient and rebellious Christ offers forgiveness. To the wayward and down trodden He offers mercy and kindness. To the broken and hurting He offers tenderheartedness. We should express this love to one another because we have received it from Christ. I wonder if you have received it. Your words can only reflect His love when you have received it. If you have received the love and forgiveness of Jesus Christ, I wonder if you are extending it to others through your conversation. It will take paying attention. Are you listening to what you’re saying?