Psalm 38 reveals David's raw and honest reaction to sin in his life and it really struck a chord with me. It made me take a hard look in the mirror and consider my own perspective on sin.
Psalms 38:1-22 NLT [1] O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage! [2] Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me. [3] Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins. [4] My guilt overwhelms me— it is a burden too heavy to bear. [5] My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. [6] I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. [7] A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken. [8] I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart. [9] You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh. [10] My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind. [11] My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance. [12] Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me. Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me. All day long they plan their treachery. [13] But I am deaf to all their threats. I am silent before them as one who cannot speak. [14] I choose to hear nothing, and I make no reply. [15] For I am waiting for you, O Lord. You must answer for me, O Lord my God. [16] I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies gloat over me or rejoice at my downfall.” [17] I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain. [18] But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done. [19] I have many aggressive enemies; they hate me without reason. [20] They repay me evil for good and oppose me for pursuing good. [21] Do not abandon me, O Lord. Do not stand at a distance, my God. [22] Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior.
I know how we often view sin in other people’s lives, many times being quick to highlight it. My concern is not about sin found in other people, but for us to consider what happens when we sin in our own lives. I wonder if we have the same attitude as David.
The Horror of Sin Has Not Changed
Regardless of how the world feels about sin, the way God feels about it has not changed. It seems as if today the church has slowly been adopting worldly attitudes toward sin. Instead of calling people to repentance, it is as if we give people justifications for continuing in sin. Yet, the way God sees sin is still the same. He hates it. He hates it because it destroys you and also because it drives a wedge in your relationship with him because he is a holy God.
Psalms 5:4-5 NLT[4] O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. [5] Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you hate all who do evil.
I am not saying we become judges of people in the world. We need to share the gospel with them and allow the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sinful condition. We also should not expect people in the world to react like David did over his sin. But, for believers, it is a different story. We have the Word of God and the Spirit of God, so our mindset towards sin should differ from those in the world.
Instead of focusing on what people in the world are doing first, I am saying we start by changing our attitude towards sin.
Questions to Ask Yourself about Your Own Sin
Like I said before, I don’t want this to be a focus on someone else. I want you to think about yourself. Here are some questions that are introspective. Ask them of yourself, just as I am doing the same thing.
Think on these questions for a moment, but go beyond the surface, go deep. So often we think of the big sins, maybe adultery or some kind of fornication, but we miss the little things such as how we love our neighbor or harbor anger towards someone. When was the last time your heart was anguished over those “insignificant” sins that are just as destructive?
I don’t know the answer to these questions in your life, but I know if we are not careful, the attitudes the world displays toward sin can become the attitudes believers display towards it as well.
3 Key Motivators for Changing Your Attitude toward Sin
1. Because You Love Him
John 14:15-17 NLT [15] “If you love me, obey my commandments. [16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. [17] He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. (emphasis mine)
Could it be that part of David’s anguish and grief over his sin was because he knew God and loved him? I think so. After all, the Bible called him a man after God’s own heart.
Acts of the Apostles 13:22 NLT But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’
You should have the same attitude about sin as David shows in Psalm 38l. When you love God, then you know how much sin hurts him and if you love the Lord, why would you want to hurt him?
Think about how your children responded when they knew they had disappointed you. That’s the way God feels when we sin and disappoint Him.
For those of us who claim to love Jesus, we simply cannot continue to have casual attitudes towards sin in our lives. Again, I am not saying we become judges of others; I am saying we become judges of ourselves.
2. Because You Know Him
1 John 3:4-6 NLT [4] Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. [5] And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. [6] Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.(emphasis mine)
If you claim to know God, then sin cannot be an ongoing part of your life. This scripture is not saying you will never sin. It is saying you don’t live to sin or for sin. When you do sin, your response becomes like David, one of grief and a call to repentance. This happens because you know him and are in fellowship with him. When that fellowship is broken, you quickly seek to repent and restore it.
3. Because His Life Is in You
1 John 3:9-10 NLT [9] Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. [10] So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. (emphasis mine)
Since God’s life is in you, in the person of the Holy Spirit, and you have been born of God, this should change your attitude toward sin. If your attitudes towards sin are growing lukewarm, then maybe you need more of God’s Spirit working in your life. Remember, he has not changed, nor has his attitude toward sin. If yours has, then we know where the problem lies.
This post is not about judgment or condemnation. This post is really about a call to holiness. We must be holy because God is holy.
1 Peter 1:15-16 NLT [15] But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. [16] For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
For those who don’t know what that means, holiness is not a state of perfection. Holiness is when you are set apart for God’s use. When we are walking in holiness, we see sin the way God sees it and we see people the way God sees them.
I can’t say where, when, or how we got off course, but the remedy is simple. Return to your first love. It’s time we rekindle that love for Jesus we had when we first got saved, that passion that sought to please him in every area of our lives.
Revelation 2:1-4 NLT [1] “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands: [2] “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. [3] You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. [4] “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! (emphasis mine)
When we get back to that place, then our attitudes towards sin will change. Not only will we turn away from it, but we will grieve over it should we fall into it.
Psalms 38:1-22 NLT [1] O Lord, don’t rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your rage! [2] Your arrows have struck deep, and your blows are crushing me. [3] Because of your anger, my whole body is sick; my health is broken because of my sins. [4] My guilt overwhelms me— it is a burden too heavy to bear. [5] My wounds fester and stink because of my foolish sins. [6] I am bent over and racked with pain. All day long I walk around filled with grief. [7] A raging fever burns within me, and my health is broken. [8] I am exhausted and completely crushed. My groans come from an anguished heart. [9] You know what I long for, Lord; you hear my every sigh. [10] My heart beats wildly, my strength fails, and I am going blind. [11] My loved ones and friends stay away, fearing my disease. Even my own family stands at a distance. [12] Meanwhile, my enemies lay traps to kill me. Those who wish me harm make plans to ruin me. All day long they plan their treachery. [13] But I am deaf to all their threats. I am silent before them as one who cannot speak. [14] I choose to hear nothing, and I make no reply. [15] For I am waiting for you, O Lord. You must answer for me, O Lord my God. [16] I prayed, “Don’t let my enemies gloat over me or rejoice at my downfall.” [17] I am on the verge of collapse, facing constant pain. [18] But I confess my sins; I am deeply sorry for what I have done. [19] I have many aggressive enemies; they hate me without reason. [20] They repay me evil for good and oppose me for pursuing good. [21] Do not abandon me, O Lord. Do not stand at a distance, my God. [22] Come quickly to help me, O Lord my savior.
I know how we often view sin in other people’s lives, many times being quick to highlight it. My concern is not about sin found in other people, but for us to consider what happens when we sin in our own lives. I wonder if we have the same attitude as David.
The Horror of Sin Has Not Changed
Regardless of how the world feels about sin, the way God feels about it has not changed. It seems as if today the church has slowly been adopting worldly attitudes toward sin. Instead of calling people to repentance, it is as if we give people justifications for continuing in sin. Yet, the way God sees sin is still the same. He hates it. He hates it because it destroys you and also because it drives a wedge in your relationship with him because he is a holy God.
Psalms 5:4-5 NLT[4] O God, you take no pleasure in wickedness; you cannot tolerate the sins of the wicked. [5] Therefore, the proud may not stand in your presence, for you hate all who do evil.
I am not saying we become judges of people in the world. We need to share the gospel with them and allow the Holy Spirit to convict them of their sinful condition. We also should not expect people in the world to react like David did over his sin. But, for believers, it is a different story. We have the Word of God and the Spirit of God, so our mindset towards sin should differ from those in the world.
Instead of focusing on what people in the world are doing first, I am saying we start by changing our attitude towards sin.
Questions to Ask Yourself about Your Own Sin
Like I said before, I don’t want this to be a focus on someone else. I want you to think about yourself. Here are some questions that are introspective. Ask them of yourself, just as I am doing the same thing.
- When was the last time you felt guilt over sinful behavior?
- When was the last time you grieved over sin?
- When was the last time you felt burdened because of sinful actions you had taken?
Think on these questions for a moment, but go beyond the surface, go deep. So often we think of the big sins, maybe adultery or some kind of fornication, but we miss the little things such as how we love our neighbor or harbor anger towards someone. When was the last time your heart was anguished over those “insignificant” sins that are just as destructive?
I don’t know the answer to these questions in your life, but I know if we are not careful, the attitudes the world displays toward sin can become the attitudes believers display towards it as well.
3 Key Motivators for Changing Your Attitude toward Sin
1. Because You Love Him
John 14:15-17 NLT [15] “If you love me, obey my commandments. [16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. [17] He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. (emphasis mine)
Could it be that part of David’s anguish and grief over his sin was because he knew God and loved him? I think so. After all, the Bible called him a man after God’s own heart.
Acts of the Apostles 13:22 NLT But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart. He will do everything I want him to do.’
You should have the same attitude about sin as David shows in Psalm 38l. When you love God, then you know how much sin hurts him and if you love the Lord, why would you want to hurt him?
Think about how your children responded when they knew they had disappointed you. That’s the way God feels when we sin and disappoint Him.
For those of us who claim to love Jesus, we simply cannot continue to have casual attitudes towards sin in our lives. Again, I am not saying we become judges of others; I am saying we become judges of ourselves.
2. Because You Know Him
1 John 3:4-6 NLT [4] Everyone who sins is breaking God’s law, for all sin is contrary to the law of God. [5] And you know that Jesus came to take away our sins, and there is no sin in him. [6] Anyone who continues to live in him will not sin. But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know him or understand who he is.(emphasis mine)
If you claim to know God, then sin cannot be an ongoing part of your life. This scripture is not saying you will never sin. It is saying you don’t live to sin or for sin. When you do sin, your response becomes like David, one of grief and a call to repentance. This happens because you know him and are in fellowship with him. When that fellowship is broken, you quickly seek to repent and restore it.
3. Because His Life Is in You
1 John 3:9-10 NLT [9] Those who have been born into God’s family do not make a practice of sinning, because God’s life is in them. So they can’t keep on sinning, because they are children of God. [10] So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers does not belong to God. (emphasis mine)
Since God’s life is in you, in the person of the Holy Spirit, and you have been born of God, this should change your attitude toward sin. If your attitudes towards sin are growing lukewarm, then maybe you need more of God’s Spirit working in your life. Remember, he has not changed, nor has his attitude toward sin. If yours has, then we know where the problem lies.
This post is not about judgment or condemnation. This post is really about a call to holiness. We must be holy because God is holy.
1 Peter 1:15-16 NLT [15] But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God who chose you is holy. [16] For the Scriptures say, “You must be holy because I am holy.”
For those who don’t know what that means, holiness is not a state of perfection. Holiness is when you are set apart for God’s use. When we are walking in holiness, we see sin the way God sees it and we see people the way God sees them.
I can’t say where, when, or how we got off course, but the remedy is simple. Return to your first love. It’s time we rekindle that love for Jesus we had when we first got saved, that passion that sought to please him in every area of our lives.
Revelation 2:1-4 NLT [1] “Write this letter to the angel of the church in Ephesus. This is the message from the one who holds the seven stars in his right hand, the one who walks among the seven gold lampstands: [2] “I know all the things you do. I have seen your hard work and your patient endurance. I know you don’t tolerate evil people. You have examined the claims of those who say they are apostles but are not. You have discovered they are liars. [3] You have patiently suffered for me without quitting. [4] “But I have this complaint against you. You don’t love me or each other as you did at first! (emphasis mine)
When we get back to that place, then our attitudes towards sin will change. Not only will we turn away from it, but we will grieve over it should we fall into it.
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