Day #16: “Prayers of Confession” – Psalm 51: 15-17 (Joseph Bianco)
Psalm 51 is described as a Psalm of David which correlates to a prayer he said after being caught in grievous sin. It is a helpful place to look as we seek to learn about prayers of confession.
Psalm 51:15-17 O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.
For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.
The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.
We live in an interesting age for many reasons, but especially because the general attitudes of our society change so quickly. I remember as a child the big idea was something like, “you be you and I’ll be me and we’ll get along fine.” It was an attitude of tolerance for differences but lacked the Biblical grounding of absolute truth. “Postmodernism” they called it.
Today it’s changed again and one of the main changes I’ve observed is that the tolerance of the “twenty-aughts” has morphed into a judgmentalism. Any leader that makes a public mistake is publicly disgraced, and quickly. There is some goodness in this because we want our leaders to be above reproach, but there is also some evil in this because society has lost all understanding of repentance and forgiveness.
I find it strange that King David, perhaps the greatest leader in the Bible (outside Jesus of course), committed such horrible sins and yet remained the king of Israel. Today he’d be crucified, publicly disgraced and brought down. Why did God choose to reinstate a man who not only committed adultery with another man’s wife, but went on to murder the man in order to cover up his own sin? Doesn’t God want our leaders to be perfect?
Actually, I do think our leaders should be above reproach and God forbid there be a scandal like this in the church. I don’t think God is showing us that it’s okay for our leaders to have great moral failings; that’s not the point. However, what God is showing us is that redemption is possible from even the deepest and darkest sins. The teaching is that if confession of sin is full, if repentance is deep and if there is a real turning away from that sin and towards God, then forgiveness and restoration is possible. Overall, I think we are too quick today to confess our sins and think that’s good enough. Here is a way to know if you have really repented over a sin… You don’t keep doing that sin.
Yes, all of life is repentance, but the Bible is clear in saying that if anyone makes a practice of sinning then he is not a believer (1 John 3). At the same time, 1 John also says that anyone who says he has no sin makes him a liar (1 John 1). Christians must be deadly serious in repenting of our sins, while at the same time relying entirely on the grace of Christ for salvation.
In this way, the broken and contrite spirit that David is talking about in Psalm 51 is like the marker or sign of a changed life. Turning from sin then, is confirmation that your heart was broken and contrite. As someone who works with men struggling with sexual addiction, I’m highly aware of what I’m saying. Addiction does not excuse our actions. It may make breaking the cycle harder, but it’s a cycle that must be broken nonetheless. Now, for those sensitive souls out there who struggle with shame, let me remind you that our theme this week is from Romans 8 and Romans 8 begins with one of the most shame removing verses in the Bible. “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”. Let the broken and contrite heart go only so deep to where it slams into the Holy Spirt, who reminds us that we are God’s children forever.
Questions for reflection:
Are you overly judgmental of others who are disgraced? What is this saying about your own heart?
Does shame actually keep you from proper repentance? What would repentance look like if you were not struggling with shame?
Is there some sin in your life for which you are not truly repentant? If so, what steps do you need to take to fully walk away from that sin and toward Jesus?
Why did God allow a king of Israel who did such wicked things to be our teacher on confession and repentance?
How does the Christian view of confession and repentance give you a proper tolerance/discernment when dealing with the world?