Recently I heard a challenging message on the question, "Do you really love God?" The speaker's premise was, given the nature and magnitude of God's love for us, we surely ought to love Him. But, the argument was made, we sometimes mistake religious activity for love of God, and this to our detriment. Church attendance, and all that relates to it, is sometimes offered in proof of our love for God, but it can be undertaken as a matter of pride, a mere exercise of religious discipline or for a number of other reasons.
We ought to love God. John declares, "We love Him because He first loved us [I John 4:19]." And Jesus indicated that our love for God is manifested in obedience across the board, not just in "churchy" things. (Cf. John 14:15). And when He declares, "This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you [John 15:12]," it gets even stickier, because our love for God is measured against our love for "one another," insofar as it reflects the unconditional love of God for failed human beings. When contention and strife and schisms characterize our churches, our love for God is surely to be called in question.
There is, however, another area in which our heart condition is tested, as reflected in our text for today: "Do we really hate sin?" This, too, tests our love for God. The scriptures declare, "Ye that love the Lord, hate evil… [Ps. 97:10]." And, since love and reverence are closely associated, consider that "The fear of the Lord is to hate evil… [Prov. 8:13]."
David was not sinless, any more than you or I. But what distinguishes him and manifests his love for God is his attitude toward sin when it overtakes him. Observe first of all his recognition of the seriousness of sin. He saw it as arousing the anger of a holy God (v.3). He does not view sin as trivial, but terrifying : there is "no rest in my bones because of my sin." He does not compartmentalize sin, but sees it as permeating his whole being; "For my loins are filled with a loathsome disease: and there is no soundness in my flesh." (v. 7) Here is a man who takes sin seriously and understands its devastating power. It is not that he never sins, but when he does, he cannot rest.
As David opens thus opens his soul to us, it becomes evident how reprehensible sin has become to him. So ought it to be for every believer who has experienced the love of God.
David knows the moral anguish of sin in a true believer's life. But he knows too the magnitude of God's mercy, and as a result his self judgment does not lead to self destruction. He knows where to go with his sin. "Feeble and sore broken (v.8)," he brings his case to the righteous Judge. "For I will declare mine iniquity; I will be sorry for my sin (v.18)." He understands the New Testament principle, "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness [I John 1:9]." And the love of God is magnified again!
Because our adversary is powerful and crafty, we will have to do battle with sin until the day we die. But, there is a way of deliverance. First, there must be conviction. Just as a lost soul cannot be saved until he is convinced he is a sinner, so cannot a sinning child of God be forgiven until he is smitten with a proper sense of guilt. Second, there must be confession of sin to God. That is not just an offhand admission of wrong, but a genuine brokenness over the sin and what it does to our relationship with God. "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper, but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy [Prov. 28:13]." Then there follows forgiveness and cleansing from the God of all grace.
"If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us." — I John 1:10
For His glory and our good,
"Pastor" Frasier
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