Clearing
the Slate
Psalm
32[1]
I would venture to say that one of the last things someone
in our day and time might expect to hear as a means of deepening our trust in
God is by confessing our sin. Many of us
these days are uncomfortable admitting that we have sinned, and even more so that
we are sinners. But from the biblical
perspective, both are fundamentally true:
we have sinned--that relates to our actions. And we are sinners--that relates to who we
are.[2] But that’s not always an easy thing to
do. In the evangelical world, Christian
people can tend toward the thinking that “I’m saved, I asked Jesus into my
heart and confessed my sin on such-and-such a date.” They may feel the need to confess really bad
actions here and there, but they tend to think that they’ve already confessed
to being a sinner. They’ve already got
that part covered. In our branch of the
Christian world, Christian people can tend toward the thinking that “I’m a good
person, I go to church, I try to help people and be kind to them, I volunteer
my time.” They may feel like the demand
to confess they are sinners is offensive given all their efforts at living the
Christian life.[3]
And yet, the Psalmist insists that acknowledging our sin is
something that remains an important part of an ongoing relationship of faith in
God. In fact, he warns that when we
refuse to acknowledge our sin, it tends to fester inside us and comes out in
all kinds of ways that aren’t so pleasant.
Pride, anger, bitterness, and perhaps even behaviors that are attributed
to a more “psychological” origin may relate to repressed guilt.[4] From the Psalmist’s perspective, refusing to
clear the slate made him feel like God’s hand was “heavy” upon him (Ps.
32:4). I think we can all relate to the
sense of foreboding when we know we’ve messed up, and there are going to be
consequences to pay, but it hasn’t happened yet. That’s one more clue that we all need the
relief and release the Psalmist says comes as a “blessing” when we confess our
sin (Ps. 32:1-2).
And that is precisely what the Psalmist promises in response
to the heartfelt, genuine confession that “I have sinned, and I am a sinner”:
relief from the burden and release from the sense of guilt. That’s why the confession of sin is such an
important part of learning to trust in God.
As long as we hold back, as long as we refuse to acknowledge who we
really are and what we’ve done, there must be some doubt in our minds about
whether God really accepts us. But when
we stop fooling ourselves and let go the burden, we find God’s love embracing us,
God’s grace abounding, God’s mercy healing us.[5] When we make ourselves vulnerable by
approaching God with the confession, “I am a sinner,” and experience not
condemnation or rejection but acceptance and love and forgiveness, we walk away
from that experience with a stronger sense of trust in the one who has embraced
us.[6]
Unfortunately, for most of us, “confession” is only
something we do at the beginning of a
worship service. And even then, because
we do it every Sunday, in the same way, and at the same time, it can begin to
feel like something routine. But for
confession to be genuine, it has to be more than a routine. It has to be something that is heartfelt. It cannot be relegated to a few words we
mumble on Sunday morning. Ongoing
confession is an integral part of the life of faith. If we need to be reminded why it is so
important to confess our sin, all we have to do is remember that it is God’s
love that exposes our sin. [7]
There is something about sin so damaging to the human condition that God felt
it necessary to die for us all in order to set us free. If our sin is that serious to God, maybe we
should take it more seriously.
This particular perspective on developing a deeper heart of
trust in God is one that is not easy to swallow. The very words, “I am a sinner” get caught in
our throats as we say them. Yet, they
are so very important for us to say. Our
confession of sin, our clearing of the slate before God, is a necessary step
for us to experience the unconditional love and acceptance God offers us all. [8] And when we take the risk, when we make
ourselves vulnerable, then we know the release and joy of the restoration that
God holds out to all of us as a free gift.
When we clear the slate by confessing our sin we can learn to trust God
enough to know the joy of God’s embrace.
[1] © 2013
Alan Brehm. A sermon preached by Rev.
Dr. Alan Brehm on 3/10/2013.
[2] cf. Paul Tillich, Systematic Theology, II:50,
where he defines sin as “hubris” or pride and says, “It is sin in its total
form, namely, the other side of unbelief or man’s turning away from the divine
center to which he belongs. It is
turning toward one’s self as the center of one’s self and one’s world.”
[3] cf. J.
Clinton McCann, Jr. “The Book of Psalms,” New
Interpreters Bible IV:807. Cf. also
Katharine Grieb, “The Real Prodigal,” The
Christian Century (Mar 9, 2004):21: “It is said that there are two kinds of
sinners in the world: those who know they're sinners and those who don't.”
[4] Cf.
James L. Mays, Psalms, 147: when we refuse to acknowledge our sin, “the wrong
retained and sheltered begins to become part of one’s identity. It harms and hardens and diminishes. ... In
the silence, every affliction and problem takes the form of judgment of God” Cf.
also Karl Menninger, What Ever Became of
Sin?, 178: “I believe that all the evildoing in which we become involved to
any degree tends to evoke guilt feelings and depression. These may or may not be clearly perceived,
but they affect us. They may be reacted
to and covered up by all kinds of escapism, rationalization, and reaction or
symptom formation.” Cf. also Karl Barth,
Church Dogmatics, 4.1:578: in his
silence the one who refused to acknowledge sin “could only be broken on God.”
[5] Cf. Barth,
Church Dogmatics 4.1.576: “The divine
pardon does not burst into man’s willingness but his unwillingness.”
[6] Cf.
Mays, 147: “Confession is the knocking to which the door opens, the seeking
that finds, the asking that receives.
Confession of sin to God is confession of faith in God. ... faith
understands that we are sinners and God is gracious.”
[7] Cf.
Mays, Psalms, 148: “the practice of
repentance can become so routine, inconsequential, shallow, lacking in real
seriousness, ... that it is a presumption on the mercy of God and a belief in
cheap grace. For the Christian, the cure
for [this]deceit comes by keeping the
crucified Christ in view as God’s judgment on and pardon for our sin.” Cf. also The Confession of 1967, inclusive
language version, 9.12, which puts it this way: “The reconciling act of God in
Jesus Christ exposes our sin in the sight of God.”
[8] Mays, Psalms, 146: “God’s way is to forgive
sinners, and we do not acknowledge his grace unless we present ourselves to him
as sinners.” Cf. also Barth, Church
Dogmatics, 4.1:579.
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