Blessed is the man unto whom the Lord imputeth not iniquity, and in whose spirit is no guile
(Psalm 32:2)
This is the point that Paul was making in reviewing this verse in Romans 4:8. The righteousness of God comes from God, and our works are of none help to us, and actually hinder us if we trust in them. When we attempt to cover up our sin by circumstance or denial, or by shifting blame, we are in serious error. Even when we do not cover up, our brokenness before God is not a virtue that was not given us by God, it is all his doing; he is the one who causes our spirits to cling in true repentance to him.
This is an important distinction that David makes here, one that needs to be pointed out. Guilt is not guile, and David was truly repentant. He was guilty of his sins, but he also repented when confronted with them. He did not try and cover them up by saying that it was some psychological problem, or circumstance, or blame God for the temptation.
Hearken back to the Garden of Eden, and think about how human nature always tries to “pass the buck”. Adam blamed Eve, and was really blaming God for making her, and Eve blamed the serpent. This is such a valuable lesson for today, and one that shows us the true sinful nature of man. How many of us, reflecting upon the sovereignty of God, are quick to blame him. “Well, he is in control of us, isn’t he?” they might say.
How sad. The fact of God’s total sovereignty does not lessen our responsibility. The Puritans had a saying – what God sovereignly decrees in eternity, man will freely choose in time. Acts 2:23 presents this seeming paradox in beautiful tension and yet harmony. The first part of the verse shows God’s sovereign will – Him (Jesus), being delivered by the determinate counsel, and foreknowledge of God. The second part of the verse reveals man’s responsibility for his actions – ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain.
No amount of philosophical reasoning, or covering up, or passing the buck, no amount of guile will justify our evil actions before God. Truly, blessed is the man to whom the Lord will not impute sin. Amen.
Voice of Vision
5 comments:
Ummm, the buck stops here, not the comments, or maybe...
I guess I've got to go back to the more controversial stuff, eh?
Now, that in itself is controversial.
Deafening, isn't it? The silence, I mean.
One pastor said to me that he wants to be "careful" about his blog and what it can become because of how he is motivated or driven by responses on the computer. I have seen some people respond to blogs in ways that I doubt they would do live, and in person. That refers to "atta-boys" as well as dissention.
I had a private (via e-mail) conversation with someone who expressed ideas (a blog comment) I strongly disagreed with. I did not want to turn it into an "us versus them" thing, so I took the talking away from the blog. I'm glad I did.
A church-mate approached me a few days ago and commented on an old post. It felt good to know that more people were reading my blog besides... well, just me.
If the Holy Spirit takes you to the edge, that's cool. But don't let the silence bug you. It is entirely possible that the Lord is using your comment to bring healing or correction to someone's soul and they need to do some serious pondering or action before opening up about it.
Indeed...
I often get private emails about comments I made on other blogs...
Also, it seems as if no one wants to challenge bad stuff when it comes from the big boys...
I fear what is in men's minds, knowing what is in my own...
Yes, we are regenerate, but that old man has a way of reincarnating real quick if our buttons are pressed. Lots of sermon material there, for sure...
It's easy to be trapped by the desire to be liked. Most of us are not out here blogging because we want people to think we are ignorant.
Also, some people (I fear I may fall into this camp at times) tend to be too confrontational. Other people see this and don't want to get a negative reputation like some commentators have.
That said, I appreciated this post (and others this week), but I try not to comment unless I feel that I'm really adding something to the discussion. Also, for those convicting posts, I feel somewhat hypocritical to respond positively because I suspect it looks to others like I'm saying I have my act together.
The posts I post are usually things I worked through before but am having to learn all over again...
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