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 forgave the guilt of my sin. Psalm 32:5
Back in the late 1970s when there were still Christian bookstores, I bought a little blue book of Bible memory verses. I was doing a long commute at the time so I set out to memorize the verses one at a time on those long drives. The above verse was first so I worked on it first. I used a memory system that called for creating memorable silly images to make the process easier and faster. Within a day or two, I had it down. Later the images faded and I began to focus on what it was really saying. That little blue book stayed in the console of my cars for more than 20 years, becoming worn and tattered, and eventually falling apart. The verse, however, remains etched in my brain to this day.
Some people are quick to confess their sins without specificity in an attempt to clear the decks. Others may air their dirty laundry to the world just to get a “been there, done that too.” Misery loves company. This verse is not about the horizontal but the vertical. That’s why “you” is capitalized in the first phrase.
The way to have an intimate and growing relationship with God is to keep close accounts with him, to have no unconfessed sin still in the deep dark recesses of your heart. All sin needs to be acknowledged and recognized as an affront to him and quickly and decisively divulged. There is no hiding it anyway. Ask Adam and Eve. The longer it remains on the shelf, the deeper the wedge is in our relationship with Him.
In this regard we must be resolute and own up to what we’ve done. The Bible talks about “boldly accessing” the throne (Ephesians 3:12). This boldness is never more necessary than when we’ve egregiously sinned against God. Yet, if we fess up, we will be forgiven not for the sin, which has already been accomplished through the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, but of the guilt besetting us. The Christian life properly lived is quilt free, and the only way this gets done is through the constant acknowledgment and confession of our sins.
12 “For I will be merciful to their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.” Hebrews 8:12
I now know why this verse was placed first in that little blue book.
Leave a Reply