A Soul Set Free

Text: Psalms 32

 

I.         Every person is guilty of sin - Romans 3:10-23

            A.        Therefore, we all need forgiveness from God

                        1.         It is found in Jesus Christ - I John 2:1; Ephesians 1:7

            B.        Only with forgiveness can we enter into God’s presence - Revelation 21:27

II.        How blessed is a forgiven man - Psalms 32:1-2

            A.        Transgression

                        1.         It refers to a broken relationship - Genesis 50:17

                        2.         To break away from the covenant relationship with God - Psalms 51:4

                        3.         When we go too far, we lose our relationship with God - II John 1:9

            B.        Sin

                        1.         In Hebrew it means doing what God commanded not to be done - Leviticus 5:17

                        2.         In Greek it means to fail, such as missing a target, not finding the right road, or not understanding a point being made - Romans 3:23

                        3.         Due to dozing off (such as through intoxication) - I Corinthians 15:34; Joel 1:5

                        4.         Or uncontrolled emotions - Ephesians 4:26-27

            C.        Iniquity

                        1.         In Hebrew means to bend, twist or distort. It is taking something intended to be good and twisting it into an evil

                        2.         Those who tried to discourage the builders of the wall were guilty of iniquity - Nehemiah 4:5

                        3.         The Israelites involved in fornication and idolatry - Numbers 25:1-3

                        4.         In Greek it means wrongdoing, unrighteousness, or injustice

                        5.         The unjust or unrighteous steward - Luke 16:1-8

            D.        Deceit

                        1.         Interestingly, the word in Hebrew can be translated as either laziness or deceit, fraud, or treachery.

                                    a.         Of course, a lazy worker is attempting to deceive his boss - Proverbs 10:4

                        2.         God uses it to describe the unreliable Israelites - Hosea 7:10-16

                        3.         People love lying too much - Psalms 52:1-4

III.       But before there was forgiveness - Psalms 32:3-4

            A.        My body wasted away

                        1.         Literally my bones wore out, like joints wearing out in old age

                        2.         Sin unresolved destroys a person’s health - Psalms 38:2-7

            B.        Groaning all day long

                        1.         Unrelenting sorrow - Psalms 38:8; Isaiah 59:11

            C.        Your hand was heavy on me

                        1.         Feeling the burden of God’s rebuke - Psalms 39:10-11

            D.        My vitality was drained away like a land suffering drought - Psalms 102:3-5

            E.        Truly the way of the treacherous is hard - Proverbs 13:15

IV.      The relief of confession - Psalms 32:5-7

            A.        I acknowledge my sin

                        1.         The first step is to admit that sin is sin and that I sinned.

                        2.         After all the accusations of God, Israel still claimed to be innocent - Jeremiah 2:35

                        3.         Must admit to the sin - I John 1:8-10

            B.        I did not hide my iniquity

                        1.         The second step is to stop trying to hide your sins.

                        2.         Hiding is just a way of trying to pretend they are not there

                        3.         Cannot succeed in hiding sin - Proverbs 28:13

                        4.         The adulterous woman removes the evidence and claims she had done no wrong - Proverbs 30:20

                        5.         Justifying sin is an attempt to hide it - Luke 16:15

            C.        I confess my transgressions

                        1.         God asked Israel to just admit she was wrong - Jeremiah 3:13

                        2.         You have to admit to the one you wronged - Luke 15:21

            D.        Everyone needs to pray to God

                        1.         God is ready to forgive - Psalms 86:5

                        2.         He was willing to forgive Israel - Jeremiah 31:20

V.        Notice the words of forgiveness - Psalms 32:1-2,5

            A.        Forgive - to carry away a load, to remove a burden - Matthew 11:28-30

                        1.         Jesus is the lamb who takes away the sins of the world - John 1:29

            B.        Covered - to put out of sight

                        1.         Sin is disgusting and shameful - Proverbs 13:5

                        2.         God throws are sins behind His back - Isaiah 38:17

                        3.         He throws them into the sea - Micah 7:19

            C.        Not imputed - Not charged to our account

                        1.         God records all that we do - II Corinthians 5:10

                        2.         But God cleanses us of all sin - I John 1:9

                        3.         We are freed of all things - Acts 13:38-39

                        4.         God doesn’t count our sins against us - II Corinthians 5:18-19

VI.      The result is that we are surrounded by God’s protection and love - Psalms 32:6-7

            A.        This is the way we should go, without dragging our feet or being pulled to do right - Psalms 32:8-9

            B.        The wicked have many sorrows. The righteous have joy - Psalms 32:10-11

            C.        But there is limited time to respond - Psalms 32:6

                        1.         We can become hardened by sin - Hebrews 3:13

                        2.         We can’t wait to the last moment - Proverbs 1:24-33

            D.        Will you not come now to the Lord?