Why Should We Talk About Sin? (Revelation 17)

VIDEO 

Why Should We Talk About Sin? (Revelation 17)

GIST: Sin is seductive & destructive, and it pulls us away from God’s glorious grace!

Today, we’re picking up in Revelation 17. From here until chapter 19 verse 15, we have a continuous picture of the impact and fall of sin. Of course, John is inspired to use several images to describe sin, but they all point to a contrast between lives destroyed by sin and lives redeemed by Jesus. The impact of sin is symbolically called Babylon, the great city of sin, which comes in direct contrast to the “city of God” imagery we’ve seen and will continue to see describing people belonging to Jesus. The more dominant image today is that of a prostitute riding on the beast from the bottomless pit. This comes in direct contrast to the Bride and Christ… which happens to be exactly what is described starting in chapter 19 verse 16—right after this section! (Man, I used the word sin a bunch in that paragraph!)

I have often seen these two and a half chapters discussed in one sermon, but that would probably take us at least an hour to walk through ☺️, so we’re going to just camp out in chapter 17 this morning, which, honestly, is still a ton to cover, so let’s dive in! 

“1 Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls came and said to me, "Come, I will show you the judgment of the great prostitute who is seated on many waters, 2 with whom the kings of the earth have committed sexual immorality, and with the wine of whose sexual immorality the dwellers on earth have become drunk." 3 And he carried me away in the Spirit into a wilderness, and I saw a woman sitting on a scarlet beast that was full of blasphemous names, and it had seven heads and ten horns. 4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls, holding in her hand a golden cup full of abominations and the impurities of her sexual immorality. 5 And on her forehead was written a name of mystery: "Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations." 6 And I saw the woman, drunk with the blood of the saints, the blood of the martyrs of Jesus. When I saw her, I marveled greatly. 7 But the angel said to me, "Why do you marvel? I will tell you the mystery of the woman, and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns that carries her. 8 The beast that you saw was, and is not, and is about to rise from the bottomless pit and go to destruction. And the dwellers on earth whose names have not been written in the book of life from the foundation of the world will marvel to see the beast, because it was and is not and is to come. 9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction. 12 And the ten horns that you saw are ten kings who have not yet received royal power, but they are to receive authority as kings for one hour, together with the beast. 13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful." 15 And the angel said to me, "The waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages. 16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out His purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.”

Again, there is a ton in those verses, but let’s hit our big picture gist statement, then we’ll walk through a couple questions and hit some takeaways. Here’s the gist: Sin is seductive & destructive, and it pulls us away from God’s glorious grace! Now, before I say anything else, let me try to make this clear. Today, we’re going to talk about the impact of sin. However, what I’m not trying to do is tell you how careful all of you should be because you haven’t quite ascended to my level. 100% not. I am just as susceptible to temptation, and I need to hear God’s Word and be transformed by His grace just as much as everyone else, maybe more.

I. Who Is The Beast?

Even though this is technically the second of the images we’re given, let’s talk about the beast first… because we’ve already seen this creature before. Back in Revelation 13, we were shown this same beast. When we talked about those verses, we said this first beast is frequently referred to as the Antichrist, but that it would be better to see this as a broader description of anti-Christs. 

Anti-Christs: Direct Opposition (Individual And Systemic) To Jesus. There will be constantly changing faces but the same mission: mislead and deceive the world to distract them from Jesus’ grace. That’s the same image we have here. Let’s look a bit at the details we’re given in this chapter. 

A Scarlet Beast Full Of Blasphemous Names. This anti-Christ spirit is defined by blasphemy. Those who directly oppose Jesus are living lives that spit in His face. 

7 Heads. Again, seven is a number of completion, so the opposition isn’t half-hearted, but this is also one of the many times we see the sinful world trying to imitate God in this passage. Who is that number typically associated with? God and His perfect plan. Here, the beast has seven heads, as well—and we’ll see more sevens before this chapter is over.

10 Horns. Horns represent power. That’s what we see here for sure. Sin will be in places of power. We’ll see this represented in lots of different ways. Organizations, nations, and individuals will rise up and seem unstoppable… until they’re not. Then, after God defeats them, we’ll see others rise up and seem unstoppable… until they’re not. And this pattern will continue until we see Jesus’ return and the ultimate defeat of sin. That’s what’s in view with the was, is not, and will rise up language.

Those Not Written In Book Of Life From The Foundation Of The World Will Marvel. Ok, there are several points to make here. First, notice that those who are not saved, whose eyes are not on Jesus will be impressed by the rise of sin. That might be convicting for you. How impressed are you with the rise of sinful movements? How much of the koolaide are you willing to drink? The beast will be impressive, but we don’t have to be deceived.

Notice also that salvation has always been in God’s hands! Those who are saved have been written in His book from the foundation of the world. Your salvation is all wrapped up in His love, and His desire to save you, and you have been part of His plan…forever! 

7 Mountains & 7 Kings. Let’s look at this verse again because it gets discussed a lot, and it is hard. “9 This calls for a mind with wisdom: the seven heads are seven mountains on which the woman is seated; 10 they are also seven kings, five of whom have fallen, one is, the other has not yet come, and when he does come he must remain only a little while. 11 As for the beast that was and is not, it is an eighth but it belongs to the seven, and it goes to destruction.” There has been a lot of discussion about this verse, and lots of camps come down in lots of directions trying to use this to point to who the specific Antichrist will be. Let me just share my thoughts on this, though I do not claim any kind of superior knowledge. 

The last time John told us something required “wisdom” like this, was when we saw the number of the beast (666) which could have been used to point out a particular person in John’s time, but was meant to point to something much bigger—the power of sin over everyone’s lives when they haven’t received the rescue of Jesus. I think a similar message is being conveyed here. Traditionally, scholars have pointed out that the “7 mountains” was an illusion to Rome—the evil empire of John’s day. Therefore, the 7 kings could be seen as 7 Caesars…etc. The problem is, anytime someone tries to follow that logic, the math gets really messy. There are more than 7 Caesars, so you have to get really creative determining where you start and who you’ll skip. However, if this is a bigger picture, it makes more sense to me. I think we’re seeing the power of sin in all ages. This isn’t just Rome, but all the other “Rome-like” institutions that will follow until Jesus returns. There are 7 because this is a complete picture. The eighth that comes from them is then either just expressing that they are “still coming”, or that there will be a final “anti-Christ” that will come and have influence just before Jesus returns but it, like the rest, won’t last long. Which is what we see with the→ 

10 Kings With 1 Hour Of Power From The Beast. The spirit of anti-Christ will have prominence & importance. It will carry a mighty reputation, but no lasting power. Why? Because it is not Jesus! In fact, it will go to→ 

War With The Lamb & His People… & Lose! “13 These are of one mind, and they hand over their power and authority to the beast. 14 They will make war on the Lamb, and the Lamb will conquer them, for He is Lord of lords and King of kings, and those with Him are called and chosen and faithful.”

So, that’s the beast. 

II. Who Is The Prostitute?

You’ll probably see some similarities here. Let’s hit some key points. First, the image is of→

Prostitute: Deliberately Betraying True Love. We live in a day and age where individuals are forced into prostitution. It’s a serious and terrible reality, so we need to be very clear: that is not what this image is talking about. This prostitute is one on purpose. And this isn’t actually all about sex either. All throughout the Old Testament, prostitute imagery was used to describe God’s people rejecting His love and chasing after their own sinful desires. That’s what we are seeing here. This is a picture of the sinful world betraying true love and seeking fulfillment in, as cliche as it sounds, literally all the wrong places. 

Seated On Many Waters & Making Kings & Normal People Drunk On Her Sexual Immorality. What is that imagery about? Influence. In fact, verse 15 tells us “the waters that you saw, where the prostitute is seated, are peoples and multitudes and nations and languages.” Who is outside the grip of sin? No one. 

And this sinful life is→ 

Sitting On The Beast. What does that mean? Embracing sin and opposing Jesus go hand-in-hand.

Notice also, like the beast→ 

Sin Is Appealing & Powerful.  “4 The woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and jewels and pearls… 6b… When I saw her, I marveled greatly…. 18 And the woman that you saw is the great city that has dominion over the kings of the earth.” She’s impressive. People flock to her. Sin seems like the right thing to do. It’s what all the voices in our culture will be pressuring us to embrace. In fact, rejecting sin will feel like doing the wrong thing because embracing it sounds so right. But it’s a counterfeit. 

Look at this next image→

Golden Cup Pouring Out Destruction. Do you remember what else we’ve seen in golden cups or containers in Revelation? We’ve seen God’s wrath being pour out of cups, but back in chapter 8, there was a moment of silence in Heaven before that picture of the end, and a golden censer was pour out that held the prayers of the saints. This echoes that moment, but the purpose is very different because the heart is 100% different. Notice we have more→

Forehead Tats. “Babylon the great, mother of prostitutes and of earth's abominations.” Like before, these aren’t literal tattoos, but labels that describe the true natures of our hearts. Sin is completely devoted to self. In fact, look at the end result of sin here→

“Drunk With The Blood Of The Saints, The Blood Of The Martyrs Of Jesus.”

That’s where sin leads. So we have the beast and the woman. Let’s really quickly look at what they’re doing. After this, we’ll also really quickly hit our takeaways ☺️. So→ 

III. What Are They Doing?

Let me just make 3 observations. 

1. Appealing To The World. People will buy in. It won’t seem wrong. Sin will look good and feel right.

2. Trying To Replace Jesus. Brett Davis put this so well in See The Strange: “We’re always being offered counterfeits, and we frequently settle for them. We crave intimacy; we settle for “casual” sex. We thirst for inner peace; we settle for numbing the pain. We hunger for satisfaction; we settle for the next big purchase. We ache to be truly known; we settle for applause and popularity. We yearn for significance—to know our lives matter—but we settle for busyness. We’re parched for True Life; the Enemy offers to quench our thirst with Death. We thirst for the cup of salvation; we settle for the cup of abominable things.” 

3. Destroying Themselves. Look at the end here again:  “16 And the ten horns that you saw, they and the beast will hate the prostitute. They will make her desolate and naked, and devour her flesh and burn her up with fire, 17 for God has put it into their hearts to carry out his purpose by being of one mind and handing over their royal power to the beast, until the words of God are fulfilled.” 

Here is the great irony of sin—it is sought for pleasure, but only brings destruction. We’ve been told all along that this destruction is going to come in judgment on sinful mankind. Now, we have a little glimpse of how this will come about. Just like in chapters 8-9 where we saw the forces of Satan attacking those following after him, we are told now that God will use the powers of sin to judge...itself. These rulers and institutions and movements, which the culture supports, will lead to their own downfall. Sin might be appealing, but it is self-destructive—and God’s hand is 100% on this destruction. He is in control!

Ok, so that was a lot to chew on. Let’s hit some quick→ 

TAKEAWAYS

1. Guard your heart. Are you called, chosen, and faithful? Do you see yourself as set apart for Him?

2. Evaluate your love. What do you find most appealing?

3. Devote your life to truth. Know His Word, and don’t be taken in by the counterfeits which will continue to come.

4. Pray for those consumed by this world. This is serious. Self-destruction is real. 

5. Praise God for His marvelous rescue.

PONDERING... Are You Tempted? (James 1:13-18)

VIDEO

Are You Tempted? (AM Sermon Notes)

GIST: Yes, and your heart is the cause, so seek His gracious rescue. 

SCRIPTURE: James 1:13-18

This morning, we’re continuing our journey in James. Honestly, these past few Sundays have been such a blessing to me, and how God has used these passages to speak to my heart as I’ve moved through my “normal life” throughout the week has just been incredible. I encourage you to look for that this week, as well. Be conscious of the fact that what we’re coming to this morning is not by chance. You stumbling on this blog post is not by chance. God wants to use His Word (not mine) to speak to your heart. Let Him. That’s my prayer today.

The verses we’re coming to this morning have stuck with me for a long time now. We’re actually just going to look at six verses, but within these verses, we’re going to see both a very hard, though practical, reality and an incredible truth. This comes after James telling us to find joy in trials because they can be used to grow our faith and, because this won’t be easy, to seek wisdom from God rather than letting our circumstances blind us to His purposes. Right after that, we’re told→ 

“13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one. 14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death. 16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change. 18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

This passage is packed! Here James moves from trials to temptations. While God allows trials to come your way, He will never deliberately entice you to sin. In fact, that is in direct opposition to both His nature and His plan for your life. So where does temptation come from? Our guiding question this morning was “Are You Tempted?” The answer, and our gist, is: Yes, and your heart is the cause, so seek His gracious rescue. Let’s break that down. 

I. YOUR HEART IS THE CAUSE (13-15)

Look at that first verse again. “13 Let no one say when he is tempted, "I am being tempted by God," for God cannot be tempted with evil, and he himself tempts no one.” There are two big observations to be made here. First, temptation is a → 

When. It’s not an “if”. Just like with trials, temptations are an inevitable part of life. None of us are exempt from them. I don’t think I even need to try and make that case. Just looking at your life you’ll see this. However, unlike trials which God can use to help you grow closer to Him, temptations are→ 

Not From God. Oh, it’s really easy to try and blame Him for them. Maybe you haven’t thought about it in these terms before, but there is a really good chance you’ve either thought this or heard others express this thought: “Well, I’m only struggling with this because God made me this way”. When things are going well, we like to pretend like He had nothing to do with it. That’s all us. But when we’re struggling? Oh, now we want to talk about Him. It’s so much easier to push off responsibility and try to make our struggles with sin about Him. It’s His design flaw, so it’s not my fault. But, that’s not how sin works. 

In fact, sin is contrary to the nature of God. He doesn’t fall into temptation like we do, and cannot tempt anyone. When Jesus was on earth, He faced every temptation we do, but what was the defining difference between His reaction and ours? He didn’t sin. He overcame every single time. God is good. Your temptations to sin don’t come from Him. 

Many of us here would be quick to agree with this actually, but we’d still want to push them off and claim, instead, that the “devil made us do it”. But that’s not where James tells us sin comes from either. Look at the next two verses. “14 But each person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by his own desire. 15 Then desire when it has conceived gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings forth death.” First here, we see sin’s→ 

Source. It’s an inside job! The devil and his demons might nudge us toward sin, but they can only use what’s already in our hearts to do so. Sin isn’t some external problem we have to deal with living around. Sin is the result of our own evil desires. We are only tempted by things something inside us wants. Otherwise, sin wouldn’t be... tempting. 

I want to make sure I’m clear on this. We’re led away by sins because we already have desires within us that make us susceptible. Some of those desires aren’t even inherently bad. Hunger is a good desire because it helps ensure eating...which keeps us healthy. Pursuing that desire to the point of gluttony is sin. God designed sexual desire to be enjoyed in the fulfillment of a marriage relationship. Pursuing that in any other context though— sleeping with people before marriage, viewing pornography...etc— is a corruption of that desire. The fact remains, we are led away...by ourselves. In fact, what this passage goes on to describe, which is actually incredibly helpful, is that→  

Process. First, we see the process begins with being lured and enticed. Both of these words are connected to bait. It’s what a lure does when you’re fishing. It entices the fish because it looks like something they want. We’re no different. We see something or hear something or smell something (☺️less often on that last one), and we want it. If it stops there, we could avoid sin. 

However, when it moves beyond the fleeting thought and starts consuming our heart or is acted upon, then we’re moving to the next part which is sin being conceived. Obviously, the metaphor here is childbirth. Now, an action has been performed. Here we’re moving from desiring something to being captured by it. And don’t think this capture is only done if you physically go through with something… or if you get caught. If your heart is consumed by sinful desires, if your mind is flooded with thoughts that you know do not honor God, that is sin consuming you as well.

And what happens when we follow through, when we act upon our corrupted desires or allow them to consume our minds? Any pleasure is fleeting and just leaves us destroyed. Not only does sin often result in negative outcomes here, but even if you think you’re getting away with it now, the end result of living consumed by sin is Hell. Without exception, the end result of a life lived for sin is always death. 

Therefore, we need to realize this and→ 

Be Aware & On Guard. Let me just read four verses to you guys real quickly here→ 

John 3:19-21 “19 And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. 20 For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed. 21 But whoever does what is true comes to the light, so that it may be clearly seen that his works have been carried out in God."”

1 Corinthians 10:12 “12 Therefore let anyone who thinks that he stands take heed lest he fall.”

Ephesians 6:13 “13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”

2 Corinthians 10:4-5 “4 For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. 5 We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,”

Man, we could camp out on all these verses all day long, but let’s just make this clear. We’re in the midst of a spiritual war. Passively living the Christian life is simply not a reality. We must be vigilant. We must be purposeful. And NONE of that comes from us being tough enough or strong enough. That all comes from us giving every single day to Him. We must live seeking Jesus every moment, knowing we need Him, and clinging to His guidance constantly…. not just on Sundays.

The source of sin is our own corrupted hearts→ 

II. SO SEEK HIS GRACIOUS RESCUE (16-18)

Oh, how I love these next verses. “16 Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” I know I went long on that first point, so I will try to be brief here with a few observations. First, → 

“Don’t Be Deceived” Is A Cry Of Love. It’s just so beautiful here. James is pleaded with his beloved brothers and sisters, Christians scattered across the known world, and warning them not to be deceived. Why? Because it’s so easy to get this wrong. It’s so easy to blame God for all the terrible things we see happening all around us. This perspective is wrong, but it’s also destructive. It’s robs you of the joy of knowing, contrary to being the cause of your sin, God is→

Source of ALL Good. Every. Single. Blessing. In. Your. Life. Is. From. God! (Please pick up on the emphasis here ☺️!) And there is SO much good around us. I know I hit this a lot, but I never want us to miss out on it. Our default perspective is to major in the despairs and heartbreaks of life and skim over the incredible blessings that pursue us every day. Don’t. Don’t miss them. Don’t take them for granted. And never forget where they’re from. I know I talk about living with joy a lot, but I’m not advocating some kind of generic optimism. There are blessings, and they come from God who is the creator of all good. Apart from God, no good could exist. (Do we remember that?). He’s the source of all good→  

Because He Alone Is Perfect. I’m not. You’re not. He is. And unlike earthly light, His light is never diminished by shadows. Nothing can detract from His goodness or change it in any way. He is perfect now and forever more! Man, that’s awesome, but there’s even more here. 

After this wonderful picture, we’re given another beautiful truth. In this perfection, →  “18 Of his own will he brought us forth by the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.” Let me break this down like this:

The God Who Made Us…

CHOSE To Rescue Us… By His will. He wanted to do this!

And Give Us LIFE... Contrast this with the death which results from sin! Sin brings death. Jesus gives life! How? → 

Through His Word Of Truth… This is the Gospel working in us. Knowing we need Him and coming to Him. This is the message we should be carrying to the world because He did this→ 

So We Could Be Firstfruits… What are those? Firstfruits are that which are set apart for God! He came to give us life, so we (those who are the sources of our own sinful corruption) could be His! Amazing grace!

TAKEAWAYS

1. Seek His rescue.

2. Guard your heart by clinging to Him and fleeing even opportunities for sin to entice.

3. Look for His goodness and rejoice in it!

PONDERING... Does The Truth Of Jesus Bring You To Your Knees? (Psalm 19:12-14)

VIDEO

Does The Truth Of Jesus Bring You To Your Knees? (AM Sermon Notes)

GIST: Nature reveals God’s glorious power; the Bible reveals His glorious grace; seeing Him reveals your desperate need.

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 19:12-14

Last week, we began Psalm 19 and saw the big picture truth of how God reveals Himself generally through nature and specifically through His Word. This morning we’re wrapping up that psalm by looking at just the last three verses which tell how we should react to these truths. Really, it ends with a prayer. These verses have always been very close to my heart. I want them to be how I live my life. I pray this morning, you’ll be hit by them as well. Let’s read verses 12-14 and then talk about them.

"12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults. 13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me! Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression. 14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer."

The opening verses of this psalm, which we walked through last time, hammered home two central truths. First, looking at nature we can see there is a powerful God behind its design. When we look at the beautiful and highly improbable nature of our existence, we cannot help but see that there is a God. However, this does not tell us specifics about Him. His Word does. His Word is trustworthy and true and directive and joy-bringing. In it, we see God’s grace. He has chosen to reveal Himself and speak directly to each of our hearts. The revelation in Scripture isn’t vague. It speaks of the real God who really loves you. It’s personal. So, if I were to finish off our gist from last week as it connects to what we see in these three verses this morning, I would say: Nature reveals God’s glorious power; the Bible reveals His glorious grace; seeing Him reveals your desperate need.

This morning, I really want to focus in on that last point and break down what this knowledge should drive us to. So, technically, this is a one-point sermon… but it’s going to feel like a four point sermon, so don’t get too excited ☺.

I. Seeing Him Reveals Your Desperate Need

Again, I want to walk us through each line here today. The verses we closed with last week told of that the precious Word of God works to warn us about our own sin and following them brings the ultimate reward of salvation! What is recorded in these verses is David’s prayer-reaction to these truths that have been revealed to him. Seeing the truth of Jesus should make us first cry out→

Show Me The Sins I Cannot See & Forgive Me (12) “12 Who can discern his errors? Declare me innocent from hidden faults.” I know when I first read this verse when I was young, I thought the hidden faults here were referring to the sins other people couldn’t see, the sins that stayed in my heart or weren’t obvious to everyone else. We do need rescued from these, and we’ll see them covered in the next part of this prayer, but that’s not what he’s talking about here. What he’s referring to in this line is sin he doesn’t even realize he’s committing. Before we’re saved, sin isn’t always shameful to us. Because of our upbringings, there might be things we feel like we shouldn’t be doing because “we know better”, but there isn’t a sense of breaking the design of the loving God or sinning against Him. We don’t see our sin for what it is—a desire for ourselves above all else that is running us straight toward destruction. We’re spiritually blind.

Salvation opens our eyes, but we still see through a mirror dimly (1 Corinthians 13:12). David is acknowledging this. He’s not just now becoming a believer, but he still knows there is much about himself that he doesn’t see. We need to know this too. There are sins we commit every day that we probably don’t even think about. In fact, knowing this should make us more patient with one another because sometimes that sin that was committed against you that made you so mad might have been done in complete ignorance. The offending party might be completely oblivious to the fact that they’ve offended you. Still… this isn’t an excuse either. David knows there are sins he commits that he doesn’t see, and he wants to see and be forgiven. That’s the only way he can be declared innocent. We should seek the same! We should want to see our sin and be forgiven for it. However, not content with just being forgiven and continuing in sin, we should then cry out→

Protect Me From My Enslaving Sinful Desires (13a) “13 Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me!” Presumptuous sins are sins you commit on purpose. You know what you’re doing, you know you shouldn’t be doing it, and you do it anyway! In our context, this makes me think of two “types” of sins if you will. First, there are those things we do that we think are secrets. This is what I was talking about before. These are the sins that are in our minds and in our hearts, but maybe we never act on them. Or, maybe we do, but we don’t think anyone knows about them. They’re our little secrets. They’re not hurting anybody, so they’re ok. But… they’re not. There is no such thing as a secret sin first off because God sees everything. Secondly, there is no such thing as a sin that doesn’t hurt anybody. You’re a somebody, and sins is a destructive evil that wants to enslave you and keep you from the fulfilled life for which you were made!

But let’s be real here too. You’re not the only one at risk. That secret sin you harbor is destroying more than your heart. It impacts your relationships. It impacts your family, your friends, and your witness to the world. How many times have we heard of the number 1 “secret sin” in our world today coming to light and ruining everything? Pornography and infidelity. If you’re harboring lust in your heart, it’s not just going to affect you. It will come to light, and it will break the hearts and shake the faith of those around you. Get rid of it. There is forgiveness, and we need it! If you’re harboring anger or unforgiveness or jealousy or attitudes of self-hate, it will come to light and it will be devastating. Get rid of it. Again, there is forgiveness, and we need it!

Secondly, there those sins of bold defiance. These are things we do that we know are wrong, but we just do them anyway, and we’re not even trying to hide them. I think a lot of times in our society we justify ourselves by allowing our culture to speak louder than God’s Word. If we see everyone else doing something the Bible clearly prohibits, we will rationalize that the Bible was writing that specific direction for an earlier time, and it doesn’t really apply to our unique modern context. Let’s be honest. These kinds of arguments have much more to do with you getting to do what you want to do than anything else. We can’t pick and choose with the Bible here. It’s the truth whether you like it or not. Why do so many Christians live in open sin? Within the church there are the same sexual sins and the same relational issues we see in the rest of the world. We have couples living together. We have grudges being held. We have people abusing drugs and alcohol. We have people watching filth on television. Why? Because it’s become just what you do. Frequently, students will tell me to watch a TV show, but will follow that up with, “But you shouldn’t watch it with your kids.” I know that there are some perfectly acceptable shows that aren’t appropriate for all ages due to the seriousness and intensity of the content. However, that’s not usually what their implying. Usually what they mean is there is a lot of foul language and near nudity or sexual content that kids shouldn’t be seeing. My response is always, “If I can’t watch that kind of stuff with my kids, then should I be watching it by myself?” Do I need that kind of filth in my heart? I don’t.

That’s what David is praying here. Stop me from doing things I know I shouldn’t do, things I know dishonor you. This includes not only sins of commission (doing dishonorable things), but sins of omission as well. That is, if we know we should do something—like read our Bibles, spend time in prayer, devout our time to serving with the local church, share the gospel with those around us—and we don’t do it, we’re willfully sinning in that as well.

And notice, David says stop me from doing this so that it does lead me into SLAVERY! Jesus came to free us from ourselves, the sins that hold us captive and control our lives and lead to our destruction. Why in the world would we want to me held captive again if we’re free? Like Paul wrote to the Galatians, “For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.” (Galatians 5:1) We don’t do this because we’re afraid of being caught doing the “wrong thing”, but rather because we’ve come to love the truth. We want to be like Jesus, so these cries will come from a heart that knows→

If You Do This, I’ll Be Clean! (13b) If you show me my sins, and forgive me, and protect me from falling right back into those same old traps, “Then I shall be blameless, and innocent of great transgression.” Sometimes we look at sin like a losing battle. We can’t be perfect, so why even try? Because God can make you clean. You won’t be perfect this side of Heaven, but you will be renewed day by day (2 Corinthians 4:16) into His image. If you’re set free, you’re free indeed (John 8:36)! See, these desires will also come from a heart that also cries out→

Oh, Let Me Live For You! (14) I absolutely love this last verse here. “14 Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O LORD, my rock and my redeemer." Words and meditations are connected here because we know that it’s from the overflow of the heart that the mouth speaks (Luke 6:45). It’s what we put into our hearts that eventually finds its way out of our mouths. That’s why it’s so important to fill our hearts with the things of Jesus. If we find bitterness and anger and filth coming out of our mouths and into our lives, we need to look and see what we’re putting into our hearts in the first place. Surround yourself with the things of this world and that’s what you’ll have. Surround yourself with the things of Jesus, and all the sudden life looks a little different. Turn your eyes upon Jesus. Look full in His wonderful face, and the things of earth will grow strangely dim in the light of His glory and grace! (“Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus”) Paul wrote to the Philippians and told them, “8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.” (Philippians 4:8). These things are the things of Jesus. Nowhere else will you find this kind of excellence. Think about these things. Be changed by these things! Fill your heart with the things of Jesus, and His truth will come out of your mouth.

The psalm then ends in wonderful praise. Seeing the truth lets you see your sin, so you can praise your Savior! I love that the psalm comes full circle here. He praises the personal God that is his rock—his foundation and strength—and his redeemer—his personal savior, the one who rescued him.  This echoes the beginning of the psalm where were told nature reveals God’s power and Scripture reveals God’s grace. Seeing this truth makes us want to praise Him for it!

TAKEAWAYS

Let’s recap!

1. See your need today. There is sin in your life.

2. Seek forgiveness and daily guidance.  This is not a one time deal. We need Him every hour.

3. Guard what goes into your heart. Be careful little eyes what you see!

4. Praise the God of power and grace! He is all powerful...and He loves you!