Embracing the Joy of Forgiveness in Christ

Good morning! I'm Pastor Nathan, the pastor of children and family here at TBC. I'm glad to be able to speak to you guys today through Psalm 32.

Aurelius Augustine was a fourth and fifth century North African anti-Christian philosopher who battled Christians and their philosophies. He had a deep sexual addiction and was dramatically converted to Christianity when reading the Bible in a garden. He went on to become what is considered to be the most important and influential Christian after the apostles, with major contributions to theology, philosophy, poetry, and ethics. As he lay on his deathbed, they printed a handful of Psalms on the wall next to his bed so he could read them every single day. Among them was his favorite Psalm, Psalm 32.

Martin Luther, the 16th century German reformer who kicked off the Protestant Reformation, lived at a time when the church was teaching a works-based salvation. He admitted that he hated God and his righteousness because it was a standard he could never reach. When studying Galatians and Romans, Luther became convinced of salvation through grace through faith, but by his own testimony, it was when teaching through the Psalms that he actually gave his life to Christ. When pressed on what the best Psalm is, he replied 51, 130, 143, and 32.

I'm going to stop there at two examples and post a question: why is this Psalm so beloved? What is it about this Psalm that historically people have been drawn to it and love it? There are many Psalms about praise, there are many songs about Thanksgiving, there are many Psalms about confession, but I think 32 stands out as one that is clearly about Thanksgiving and praise for the gospel. It is completely about the gospel, and it's a great reminder of the wonderful gospel that saves us, and it shows us how we should respond to this gospel.

I titled the sermon "The Joys of Forgiveness," that's kind of like what you see in Psalm 51 when David said the joys of salvation. But I want to see how we can experience the joy of forgiveness by this gospel in Psalm 32.

So I'm going to read Psalm 32:

"Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no iniquity, and in whose spirit there is no deceit. When I kept silence, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. 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. Therefore let everyone who is godly offer prayer to you at a time when you may be found; surely in the rush of great waters they shall not reach him. You are a hiding place for me; you preserve me from trouble; you surround me with shouts of deliverance. I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my eye upon you."

David begins explaining how we can experience the joys of forgiveness and ways we could praise God by telling us we need to praise God for the conviction of sin. Unconfessed sin has many effects; it affects us spiritually, mentally, emotionally, and as David describes here, even physically. He describes his bones wasting away, his groaning, and his strength being dried up by the heat of summer. David is describing the effects of unconfessed sin.

We can understand this burden by thinking of a hard day's work in the sun. It is hot, making us sweat, and our arms and legs are sore. This is how David is describing the burden of unconfessed sin.

In Psalm 51, David records his confession of sin. In Psalm 32, he is telling us how we can experience the joys of forgiveness and how we can praise him. He says, "Many are the sorrows of the wicked, but steadfast love surrounds the one who trusts in the Lord. Be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy all you upright in heart."

Pray, dear Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for giving us this chance to gather together to glorify you, to learn about you, and to worship you. Please give me the words to use as I preach this Psalm. And God, just anyone here who doesn't know you, bring them to faith and repentance this morning. Anyone who does know you, bring them to a greater joy in you. Thank you for everything you do. In Jesus' name I pray, Amen.

David was burdened by his sin. He attributed his physical burden to God, saying that God had laid his hand heavy on him. This is called conviction, when God challenges you and points out your sin, and you feel burdened by it. This is God's work in David's life and in the lives of others.

I want to tell a story about my family. I have two sisters, Brooke, who graduated college a couple of years ago, and Molly, who just graduated high school. Molly has a habit of borrowing Brooke's things without permission, mostly clothes. On one occasion, Brooke and my mom were on a mission trip to Mexico. Molly was driving her car, and it broke down, so she asked my dad if she could drive my mom's car. He said yes, and without calling Brooke or getting her permission, Molly drove off in Brooke's car. Unfortunately, the car broke down, and Molly was left stranded.

My parents were burdened by this, as Brooke was in Mexico for a week and wouldn't be back for a while. My dad got only an hour and a half of sleep that night, burdened by the fact that they would have to tell Brooke. When they picked her up from the airport, they went to Culver's, and Brooke was enjoying her cheese curds when my dad, with a choke in his throat, said they had to tell her. Brooke thought somebody had died, but when they told her her car was wrecked, she started laughing because it was so minimal compared to how they were acting about it.

This story shows how we should be infinitely more burdened when we sin against God and don't confess it to him. If you claim to be a Christian today and you feel nothing when you sin, you could hide your sin all day long, and it does not impact you. I would take that as a warning that you should check to make sure you're actually saved. If you don't feel anything when you sin, the Holy Spirit's not moving you, not convicting you, not pointing out your sin. I would be concerned.

Thirdly, if you're here today and you're not a Christian, maybe this is your first time in church, maybe you've come for a while, stopped going, you're back, maybe you went as a kid, you haven't come since, whatever it may be, if you are feeling conviction for the first time, if you're recently just feeling the weight of your sin, not fear of the consequences of your sin, but actually feeling the weight of your sin, that is God calling you to repentance. He is convicting you. Don't run away from it, don't ignore it, because he is calling you to him. Conviction is a gift; it's something that God brings, and as Christians, we should praise God for this conviction because it is a good thing.

Now that we've established the conviction of sin as a blessing worthy of praise, let's look at the solution. David tells us the solution in verses 5 and then in verses 1 and 2. We are to confess our sins to God. Additionally, we are to praise God for the forgiveness of sins. I want to just take a minute to look at the beauty of this passage in the poem that David has constructed here.

If we look at verse 5 and the one and two, there's some awesome parallels. David did not cover his sin; blessed is the one whose sin is covered. David confesses his transgression; blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven. God forgave David's iniquity; blessed is the man whom the Lord counts no iniquity.

First John 1:9 says that God is faithful and just to forgive us if we confess. If you're not a Christian this morning but you're feeling the burden of conviction, the solution is simple: We confess, God forgives.

Paul is defending justification by grace through faith, and he is using the example of Abraham, and then he is using a second example of David in the Old Testament. Abraham lived before the law and was not justified by the law but by faith. Paul quotes Psalm 32 as his defense. David says that the Lord counts no iniquity, but Paul says David said the Lord counts righteousness. This is what we call the Great Exchange, where Christ took our sin, and we take his righteousness. It is not only that our sins are not counted against us, but Christ's righteousness is counted to us. If we confess with our mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in our heart that God raised him from the dead, we will be saved (Romans 10:9).

If we are not believers today, we should not hide our sin. If we are feeling conviction, it is a good thing. We should confess our sin, repent of it (turn away from our sin), and believe in the Gospel. Jesus lived a perfect life; he loved us so much that he died for us, and three days later he rose again. When we believe in him, our sins are forgiven, and Christ's righteousness is applied to us. This is the glorious gospel that the Bible continually praises God for and that David can't help but praise God for as well.

We should always remember that God took us and gave us forgiveness. Being reminded of it should cause us to praise God for the forgiveness of sin. When we sin, we should not hide it, but confess it and rejoice in this gospel that we hold so dear.

He's speaking to us, and he's giving us instruction on how to praise him. He says, "Oh taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." So God is telling us to taste and see that he is good and to take refuge in him.

So how do we do that? How do we taste and see that the Lord is good, and how do we take refuge in him? Well, we do that by following his instruction, by following his word, by following his commands, by following his statutes, by following his precepts, by following his teachings, by following his example, by following Jesus. We take refuge in him, and we taste and see that he is good.

David begins Psalm 32 by instructing us to pray to God. Given the context of this Psalm, he is telling us to pray prayers of confession when we sin and to ask for forgiveness. We can model our prayers for confession like Psalm 51 and the Lord's Prayer.

David then describes God as being high above tumultuous waters, where the waters can't reach him. He describes God as a hiding place, a safe and comforting place, who preserves us and surrounds us with shouts of deliverance. We are to praise God for his protection through prayer and for his deliverance.

God then takes the reins of the psalm and speaks to us, giving us instruction on how to praise him. He says to "taste and see that the Lord is good, and blessed is the man who takes refuge in him." We do this by following his instruction, his word, commands, statutes, precepts, teachings, and example. We take refuge in him and taste and see that he is good.

God tells us that He will instruct us and counsel us with His eye upon us. His instruction is found in the Bible. Timothy 3:16 says, "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness." This is God's Word, and it is good for many things, including our training and instruction.

Another verse that is relevant is Titus 2:11-12, which says, "For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age." The subject of this sentence is the grace of God, and one of the verbs is "train." The object of this sentence is us; the grace of God trains us. The Gospel trains us. This very Gospel that David is talking about is what instructs us.

The Bible is constantly pointing to this Gospel from Genesis to Revelation. It is all about Jesus. Jesus even says so on a couple of occasions, one of which is on the road to Emmaus, where He shows the disciples that the entire Bible is about what He did on the cross. From Genesis 3, with the initial promise of a serpent crusher, the seed of the woman, all the way through the rest of the Old Testament, this promise is unfolding and getting us ready for this Messiah, the Savior, when He comes. The Gospels are about what He did on the cross, and then the rest of the New Testament is expanding on, explaining, and showing how it applies to us. Revelation gives us hope for the future.

The Bible is constantly leading us to the foot of the cross. We should be continually praising God for His instruction and His Gospel, thanking Jesus for dying for our sins.

God also gives us a command with an implicit warning. He says, "Be not like a horse or a mule, without understanding, which must be curbed with bit and bridle, or it will not stay near you." Horses and mules are famously stubborn animals, and they are willful. We cannot just tell them to do something and expect them to obey. In the same way, we must be obedient to God's instruction and His Word, or we will not stay near Him.

God tells us not to be like a horse or a mule, but to follow His instructions willingly. Jesus says that if we love Him, we will keep His commands. I had a professor who said that Christianity is simple: do what the Bible says, don't do what it says. We need to have faith in Jesus when it comes to actually following Him. The gospel gives us the ability to do that, but God gives us an implicit warning: follow Him willingly, or He will curb us with a bit and bridle.

Jonah was told to go to Nineveh, but he did not go willingly, so God sent a fish to swallow him and bring him back to his purpose. Samson was told to deliver Israel from the Philistines, but he did not do so willingly, so he was captured and blinded so that in his death he could fulfill his purpose. The nation of Israel was constantly turning to idols, and every time they did, God would have them be conquered and taken into captivity by a nation so that they would turn back to Him. Kings were told not to increase gold, horses, or wives, but David took on another wife, and God took his son. Only after that was David called a man after God's own heart.

In Hebrews 12, it says that God disciplines those whom He loves. We are children of God, and He will discipline us, so we should follow God willingly and joyfully take delight in following His instructions.

David concludes this psalm by calling us to worship. To the unbeliever, if you have never placed your faith in Jesus, your life is full of sorrows because you are separate from God, who is love and life. Romans 3:23 says that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, and for the wages of sin is death. David calls you wicked, and apart from Christ, your life is full of sorrows. But you can experience the joys of forgiveness: repent of your sin and believe in Him. Believe in this wonderful forgiveness, and you will be glad in the Lord and rejoice, O righteous, and shout for joy all you upright in heart.

Christian, rejoice! You are forgiven! David committed adultery and murder, yet here he is praising God for his forgiveness. You don't need to hold on to your grief over your sin anymore. You were meant to have joy. Don't hold on to your shame or guilt. It doesn't matter if you have hated, lusted, had a bad attitude, or whatever other ways you may have sinned. Christ's righteousness is counted to you, and He has covered your sin. Believe it and rejoice in the forgiveness that you actually have.

Herman Bavinck, a 19th and 20th century Dutch theologian, wrote, "Who reflecting on all this and experiencing it can believe in the complete forgiveness of all his sins? But the Church of Christ dares to believe it and can and may believe it, and with humility and excitement of heart it confesses: 'I believe the forgiveness of sins.' I believe it even though I do not see it. I believe it even though my conscience accuses me of having sinned grievously against all the commandments of God, of having kept none of them, and of being prone to all evil still."

The church stands on solid ground in making this confession of belief. Believe it and praise God for it. David, Augustine, and Luther recognized the wonder of this gospel and couldn't help but cherish it and praise God for it. This should be something we do daily - praise God for the gospel. The gospel should be the most important and dearest thing to you. Jesus died for you to save you. Cherish it, rejoice in it, and experience the joy of forgiveness every single day. Praise Him in song, by reading your Bible, and with everything you are because He alone is worthy.

Let us pray:

Dear Lord, thank you for this day. Thank you for your gospel and for loving us enough to die for us and save us. God, I pray that if there is anyone here who does not know you and has never experienced your forgiveness, that they would experience it today. I pray that everyone here who does know you will be stirred by your Word and brought to you so they can joyfully worship you through every action they take. We praise you, God, and we thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.