Over the past few weeks, I have had a chance to take time to review a few things about modern Christian music. Let me begin by saying that I like a lot of Christian music. My kids grew up and are growing up listening to Christian music. I have attended concerts and the like, spent money on cassettes and CDs, and I have sung songs in the car in times of deep sorrow and in times of joy as well. I love a lot of the Christian music out there. Christian music, like any other thing, can be abused and misused, and sadly that is happening.
The Psalms are the Songs of the Jews. They taught doctrine and told the story of the Bible in song. In the Psalms we can see the Creation – Psalm 139. We can picture the crucifixion in Psalm 22. We can find rest in Psalm 23. We can learn life lessons in Psalm 73, and on and on we can go. Many of the older songs of the Christian faith had doctrine to tell, songs like “It Is Well with My Soul,” “Blessed Assurance,” “How Great Thou Art,” and a myriad of others. Recently, there has been a drive toward the worship chorus, we have a few of these short Psalms as well, like Psalm 150.
One of the doctrines that has of late been watered down is that of sin. We hear a lot about mistakes, a lot about messing up and other things, but sin is not a big thing with many. It divides; it seems harsh, judgmental, and really is not inclusive. But in the Psalms that we will look at today, David is rather clear that we are sinners. He used words like iniquity; this means immoral, gross, and unfair; he uses words like transgressions, and, of course, sin. These are harsh words; they remind us that our sin, our grossness, our immorality put Jesus on the cross.
It was not a few mistakes, not a mess-up; no, my sin, your sin was the reason He was nailed to the cross. When we cheapen the language, we cheapen the sacrifice as well. Thus, when Horacio Spafford writes “My sin–oh the bliss of the glorious thought—My sin, not in part but the whole, is nailed to the cross, and I bear it no more,” it is a different understanding of what Jesus did.
We learn in Psalms 32 and 51 that confession is an essential part of the Christian walk. David tells us in Psalm 32:3-5 that keeping silent about his sin sapped his energy and that God’s hand was heavy on him in conviction; it was only when he confessed that there was forgiveness. In Psalm 32 we have the theory, so to speak, but in Psalm 51 we have the theory played out. Psalm 51 was written after Nathan confronted him, David, about Bathsheba in 2 Samuel 12. Notice the language in Psalm 51: transgressions, iniquity, sins, and in this Psalm, we see him begging for God’s tender mercies. David pleads with God to blot out his sins, to wash him, and to not remove the Holy Spirit from him.
At that time in the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit did not indwell the redeemed as He does today. David asked God to restore the joy of his salvation in verse 12; he asked to be delivered from guilt in verse 14, and then he can truly praise God.
Sadly, we have churches filled with people who have unconfessed sin. They have no understanding that, even as saved people, they need to confess their sin, their iniquity, and their transgressions often; it should be daily, and as we mature more and more, a moment-by-moment confession that runs all the day long. Notice in Job 1:4-5, he offered a sacrifice on behalf of his kids in the event that they had sinned. He, as the high priest of his home, was the mediator between them and God.
Is there unconfessed household sin that is stealing your joy, your praise, and your worship? Confession is an essential part of the Christian walk. 1 John 1:8-9 calls us to repent, to confess, and to tell God all; He knows everything. We are sinners, horrible sinners saved by grace. When we diminish the gravity and the true depth of our evil (Isaiah 64:4, filthy rags), when we sugarcoat how egregious sin is to God, when we water down how offensive evil is to God, we also water down and take for granted His loving kindness, His grace, His forgiveness, and His patience.
Most of us – me included – do not want to confront the evil that lies within. Most of us that are maturing in Jesus are only beginning to realize just how sinful we truly are. It affects the way we think about others; it affects the reactions we have in many situations, and it seems to show up in every situation. Sometimes we can see the horizon, and we plan ahead, and we still sin; we still say the wrong thing, do the wrong thing, and react the wrong way. Oh my, how sinful we are!
We are reminded that love covers a multitude of sins; we bring the multitude of sins that is being referred to, and only the Loving, Gracious, Merciful, Kind, Supernatural God can cover them. Now…go out and forgive people with the same love and frequency that God uses to forgive you (Matthew 18:22).
Dr. Sean Gooding
Pastor of Bethany Baptist Church
70 Victoria Street, Elora, Ontario