“THE BLESSINGS OF FORGIVENESS”
PSALM 32:1-11

I. Introduction
A woman went to court and told the judge she wanted a divorce. The judge asked, “Do you have any grounds?” She replied, “We have two acres.” The judge said, “No, that’s not what I mean. Do you have a grudge?” She said, “No, we park the car on the street in front of the house.” The judge said, “No, that’s not what I mean either. Does your husband beat you up”? To which she replied, “No, I always get up before he does.” At which point the judge, clearly frustrated, asked, “Then why do you want a divorce?” Her answer was, “Because we just don’t seem to be able to communicate.”

Obviously, these two people were not communicating with each other. Why? They were using the same words but they didn’t mean the same things. So when the judge asked a particular question and the woman answered as though he had asked her a completely different question. They just weren’t saying the same things. We cannot communicate effectively unless and until we say and mean the same thing. We must be “on the same page” or we will just talk in circles and never truly understand each other.

This is one of the greatest challenges we face when it comes to understanding, and applying biblical truths to our lives. We use the same words without meaning the same thing. But if we don’t mean the same thing we’ll never be “on the same page.”

This is why there is so much miscommunication and misunderstanding within the Church of Jesus Christ. One person uses a word and attaches a certain meaning to it. Another person uses the same word but attaches an entirely different meaning to it.

For example, the word “repentance” has a very specific meaning. Yet it seems that few Christians fully understand what it is. A common misconception of repentance is that it’s “a feeling of sorrow about one’s sin.” But you can feel sorry for your sin and still not repent of it. Sorrow may well accompany repentance, but repentance is not sorrow.

Another common misconception of repentance is that is “a turning around and going in a different direction,” or as “a turning away from one’s sin.” Turning away from sin is a result of repentance, but by itself, turning away from sin isn’t repentance either.

Yet another misconception is that repentance is “changing what one is doing.” Again, true biblical repentance results in changing what we do, but that still isn’t what the word itself, actually means.

The biblical definition of repentance is “a change of mind that leads to a change of direc-tion.” (repeat) True biblical repentance is both of these things. They must go together. In other words, a change of mind without a corresponding change of direction can be called many things, but it cannot be called repentance as the Scriptures define it.
It isn’t hard to see how repentance, one of the most basic truths of Christianity and salva-tion in Christ, can be so thoroughly misunderstood when people have such different ideas about what repentance means. Can you see how that affects the preaching of the gospel?

The first time the word “repent” is used in the NT we hear John the Baptist saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Matthew 3:2).” The time has come for Jesus to begin His three-year ministry. The kingdom of heaven, in the Person of Jesus Christ, is about to appear. So John is preparing the people to receive their Lord, and he tells them that they must repent.

Is John telling people that feeling bad about their sin and being sorry for it will save them? No, he is not! Is he telling them that putting forth their best efforts to turn away from sin and live better lives will save them? No, he is not! He isn’t telling them either of those things.

What John is telling them is this: People need to change their minds about God and the salvation He offers. John is telling the people to agree with what God says about them and what Jesus will teach them over the coming three years. He is telling them that it is only when they change their minds about God that they will they change their minds about what they believe. And it is only when they change their minds about what they believe that they will change what they do. That is the definition of biblical repentance.

Remember that biblical repentance is not merely sorrow for sin or a change of direction. You can be sorry for your sin and still reject Christ. You can change the direction of your life for the better and still reject Christ. But biblical repentance requires that you change your mind about Him. Only then will you be saved and only then will the salva-tion of your soul accompany your sorrow and your new direction in life.

You can see why we need to understand the words we use, can’t you? There is another word Christians frequently use that means different things to different people. But we need to “be on the same page,” to understand its meaning as we come to the communion table this morning. That word is “confess.”

In Romans 10:9-10 we’re introduced to a Greek word that means something different than most of us think it does. The word is “hŏmŏlŏgĕō.” It’s a compound word derived from “hŏmŏu,” meaning “the same,” and “lŏgŏs,” meaning, “words – something said.”

It is this word, “hŏmŏlŏgĕō,” that is translated “confess,” “confesses,” or “confession” that Paul uses in Romans and is found more than two dozen other times in the NT.
*Romans 10:9-10
9 …if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved;
10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.

So “confess” in v. 9 and “confesses” in v. 10 mean that we must say the same thing about the Lord Jesus Christ as the Scriptures say about Him. That is, we must come into agreement with God about His Son.

Confession is more than saying, “Yes, I did it.” With regard to our sin, such admission is part of what we must do to be saved, but it’s only a part. You won’t agree with God – say the same thing about your sin that He says about it – if you haven’t already agreed with Him about His Son. So the question is, “Do you agree with God that Jesus is Lord, and do you say so?” That’s Romans 10:9-10. What exactly is it we need to confess?
Philippians 2:10-11
10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heav-en, and on earth, and under the earth,
11 and that every tongue should confess (agree with God) that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

We need to confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. God wants us to say the same thing so many others have said about Him. Here are quotes from just two of the people who came to agree with God and change their minds about the identity of God’s Son.
Matthew 16:15-16 (Peter)
15 (Jesus) said to them, “But who do you say that I am?”
16 And Simon Peter answered and said, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

John 11:25-27 (Martha)
25 Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me shall live even if he dies,
26 and everyone who lives and believes in Me shall never die. Do you believe this?”
27 She said to Him, “Yes, Lord; I have believed that you are the Christ, the Son of God, even He who comes into the world.”

Both Peter’s and Martha’s statements are confessions the way Romans 10:9-10 defines confession. Neither of them explicitly said they were sinners. Neither one of them admitted to a particular transgression, or “came clean” about a regular pattern of sin in their lives. They didn’t say, “We did this or that. We are sorry and we admit our guilt.” That would have been confession as you and I normally think of it.

And let’s be clear; such confession is a good thing. I am in no way trying to dismiss or minimize it. Believers need to engage in such confession. Scripture repeatedly tells us that we are to confess our sins. But we need to remember what confess means. It means to say the same thing about our sin that God says about it. (repeat)

It is a fact that no one can ever hope to be saved without saying the same thing about Jesus as God says about Him.
And it is also a fact that no one can be forgiven unless he says the same thing about his sin that God says about it. Can you see how the two things are inextricably linked together? Here’s the bottom line: You cannot agree with God about Jesus and disagree with Him about your sin. And so you and I are admonished to “say the same thing…”
*1 John 1:8-10
8 If we say that we have no sin, we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
9 If we confess (hŏmŏlŏgĕō – say the same thing about) our sins (as He says), He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
10 If we say that we have not sinned (if we do not say the same thing God says), we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us.

So before we can confess our sins and have it mean anything of eternal value, we must first confess Christ. “…if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved (Romans 10:9).”
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II. Text
This morning we are coming to the communion table to receive the elements that Jesus prescribed for us at the Last Supper. The elements that are here – unleavened bread that represents Christ’s body and the physical life He had when He walked this earth, and the juice of the grape that represents His blood and the physical death He endured – these elements are for Christians alone. They are for those who have already confessed Christ.

But there is one more thing. They are solely for those who have also confessed their sin, those who “say the same thing” about their sin as God says about it. Just before we go to the table we will all have an opportunity to do that, to examine ourselves.
*1 Corinthians 11:28-31
28 But let a man examine himself, and so (then) let him eat of the bread and drink of the cup.
29 For he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself, if he does not judge the body rightly.
30 For this reason many among you are weak and sick, and a number sleep.
31 But if we judged ourselves rightly, we should not be judged.

After King David’s sin with Bathsheba he tried to cover it up and ignore it, no doubt hoping that God would somehow forget it or overlook it, but of course, God would do no such thing.

Are there any among us who have not found ourselves in the same predicament? How long has it taken us to confess, to admit, acknowledge, and agree with God about our sin? How much needless suffering have we subjected ourselves to because we refused to say the same thing about our sin as God says about it?
*Psalm 32:1-11 (Please stand with me in honor of reading God’s Word.)
1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!
3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groan-ing all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.
5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You did forgive the guilt of my sin.
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; You do preserve me from trouble; You do sur-round me with songs of deliverance.
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked; but he who trusts in the LORD, loving-kindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice you righteous ones, and shout for joy all you who are upright in heart.

David, a man after God’s own heart (1 Samuel 13:14), but a sinner saved by grace, knew full well how painful it could be, and how ultimately futile it was, to try to hide his sin. It took a while, but he eventually learned of the blessings of confession and the blessings that God poured out upon him because of his agreeing with God about his sin.

Consider David’s words and how they apply to you as you prepare your hearts to receive communion. Think about how his words will encourage you to confess your sin, to say the same thing about it that God says about it. You’ll be able to do this because, as a Christian, you’ve already confessed (said the same thing about) His Son that He has said.
*Psalm 32:1-2
1 How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!
2 How blessed is the man to whom the LORD does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit!

David speaks of the joy of knowing his sins are forgiven. Jesus had not yet gone to the cross to pay the price for David’s sin. But David believed God’s promise that the price would be paid. By faith, he looked into the future, and saw his redemption.
And by faith, you and I believe God, look back through history at the cross, and see our redemption as well.

Just like David’s sins, our own sins, past, present, and future are forgiven, never again to be charged against us. They were all paid for and done away with at the cross. Saving faith in Jesus Christ includes such forgiveness. But the question arises, “If our sins are already forgiven, why are we told to seek forgiveness?”

When Jesus gave us what we call the Lord’s Prayer, He told us to ask for forgiveness. He sais, “…forgive us our debts [sins] as we also have forgiven our debtors [those who sin against us] (Matthew 6:12).”

And we have already quoted the Apostle John. “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:9).” So again, if all our sins are forgiven, why do we ask for forgiveness? Why pray for what we already have? Isn’t that like praying for our supper after we have eaten it?

The answer can be best understood when we make the distinction between what might be called “positional forgiveness” and “relational forgiveness.” Positional forgiveness means that your position before God has changed. You are no longer lost; you are saved. Your salvation is guaranteed and you have a home in heaven. When you stand before God your sins will not keep you from entering into His eternal presence.

But 1 John 1:9 isn’t talking about positional forgiveness. It’s talking about relational forgiveness. When we commit sin, we offend God, we grieve His Holy Spirit, and we break fellowship with Him. Our position in Christ doesn’t change (it cannot change), but our relationship to Christ is hindered or blocked. Our salvation is unconditional, but our relationship to our Lord and Savior is altered until we confess our sin. Only then is the intimacy of our relationship restored.

That can only happen when we acknowledge our sin, admit it, and agree with God about it, confess it. There’s 1 John 1:9 – “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us…and to cleanse us…” That’s why we confess our sins – not to keep our salvation, but to be “clean” before Him, to return to close fellowship with the God who loves us and has already forgiven us and saved us from the penalty of eternal punishment.

It is the joy of that restored relationship and renewed fellowship with God that David is referring to in Psalm 32:1-2. David knows the pain of unconfessed and unforgiven sin.
*Psalm 32:3-4
3 When I kept silent about my sin, my body wasted away through my groan-ing all day long.
4 For day and night Your hand was heavy upon me; my vitality was drained away as with the fever heat of summer.

Who among us does not know this pain? Why do we put ourselves through it?
Let me suggest that we do it because of stubbornness and pride. We somehow think that it will go away if we ignore it. But like a disease, if we ignore it, it only gets worse.

In vv. 1-2 David spoke of his transgressions and his iniquity. Now in v. 3 he speaks of his sin. The three words in our English Bibles were not used by the translators for the sake of variety. On the contrary, each Hebrew word has a distinct meaning.

“Transgressions” is translated from a word that means deliberate and premeditated sin. It is conscious and willful revolt and rebellion against God. We do that!

“Iniquity” is translated from the Hebrew word for an offender, a criminal. We are all offenders and criminals because we have all broken God’s Law.

“Sin” in v. 3 is translated from a word that essentially means perversion. So the words are different but the effect is that they are all against God. They all overlap and define a fallen man as an offender, steeped in perversion, who constantly and deliberately breaks God’s Law.

That is our condition before God saves us and removes the penalty of our sin. David has been forgiven and he revels in the joy that accompanies his forgiveness. But no one knew better than David the anguish of trying to hide his sin from God and the broken fellowship that went with it. How descriptive he is! “Your hand was heavy upon me… my body wasted away through my groaning… my vitality was drained away…” But what happened when he confessed his sin?
*Psalm 32:5
5 I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the LORD”; and You did forgive the guilt of my sin.

David acknowledged all of his sin and called it what it was. He admitted he was in rebel-lion against God, that he had broken God’s Law like a common criminal breaks any law, and that he was a habitual sinner. In other words, in his confession, he agreed with God. Instantly, God forgave him and in doing so, their relationship was restored. The beauty and the benefits of this spiritual restoration become immediately apparent.
*Psalm 32:6-7
6 Therefore, let everyone who is godly pray to You in a time when You may be found; surely in a flood of great waters they shall not reach him.
7 You are my hiding place; You do preserve me from trouble; You do sur-round me with songs of deliverance.

David rejoices and praises God for His grace and spiritual protection. He encourages all of us to draw near to God and find refuge in Him. God is always faithful to His children. There is a lesson for us in vv. 5-7. We should never put off confession. When we do we not only presume upon His grace, but we allow ourselves to suffer needlessly. Why would we persist in either of those things?
We would never counsel anyone else to do those things. And yet, we do them ourselves. Why? Could it be our natural bent towards pride and stubbornness? I think it is!

Now an interesting thing happens. In the first seven verses of the psalm the Holy Spirit has been speaking through David even though he has been speaking in the first person – “I kept silent about my sin…I acknowledged my sin…I will confess my sin, etc.” But now something changes; God Himself becomes the “First Person.” He is the “I” in v. 8.
*Psalm 32:8
8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way which you should go; I will counsel you with My eye upon you.

The beautiful benefits and blessings of agreeing with God about our sin continue here and through the rest of the psalm. God says that He will be your teacher and that He will be your guide. Keeping His eye on us implies spiritual protection. Some believe that it also relates to our being able to see things as He does. If so, it tells us we will be given wis-dom that we might not otherwise have.
*Psalm 32:9-11
9 Do not be as the horse or as the mule which have no understanding, whose trappings include bit and bridle to hold them in check, otherwise they will not come near to you.
10 Many are the sorrows of the wicked; but he who trusts in the LORD, loving-kindness shall surround him.
11 Be glad in the LORD and rejoice you righteous ones, and shout for joy all you who are upright in heart.

The last three verses admonish us to take these things to heart and submit ourselves to the Lord. He tells us that we should neither be like the horse, which is often impetuous and tends to run wild, nor the mule, which is often stubborn and must be prodded to do what is expected of it. Both animals are controlled by the bit and bridle. The question for us – “Is that the way we want God to control us?” He will if He has to.

But if we will trust Him, go to Him when we sin, humble ourselves before Him, and say the same thing about it He says – confess it – “He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” As such, our relationship to our Lord and Savior will be restored and we will be able to “Be glad…and shout for joy.”
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III. Conclusion
As you come to the table this morning imagine that there is no one here but you and your Lord. We share these elements together, but we approach the Lord by ourselves. He loves you and welcomes you with open arms. He knows everything you have done and will cleanse you and make you whole the moment you confess. Say to Him, along with David, “I acknowledged my sin to You, and my iniquity I did not hide; I said, ‘I will confess my transgressions to the LORD;’ and You did forgive the guilt of my sin.”