FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
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Godly Sorrow "Works"
Psalms 32:1 "How blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered!" (quoted in Romans 4 to explain God's grace)
In this passage three main activities have taken place. First, a transgression has been committed. Someone has sinned (transgressed) against God. This act damaged this person's relationship with God. "But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear" ((Isaiah 59:1).We read of another activity that has taken place (verse 1). This is an act of God. Forgiveness has been granted to the sinner. The relationship is restored and renewed. This man is blessed. Without forgiveness this person's relationship with God would be permanently severed and he would face eternity alone and without God. What a blessing forgiveness is!
A third action is generally ignored by everyone. This occurs between the two activities mentioned, the sin and the forgiveness. What happened between the sin and God's forgiveness? Did God do something or did the sinner? The inspired Psalmist gives us a flashback in Psalm 32.
Both God and man did something! Observe that God did not automatically forgive this sinner. The sin was held against the sinner and God was not happy at all with him and He demonstrated it. "For day and night thy hand was heavy upon me: my moisture is turned into the drought of summer" (verse 4 of Psalm 32). This is God's child and God is chastising him (Hebrews 12:8). God's hand is upon the sinning child of God.
What did man do? According to verse 3 the sinner at first apparently did nothing. He has kept silent about his sin. Was he hiding his sin or just denying or ignoring what he had done? "When I kept silence, my bones waxed old through my roaring all the day long".
The action that made the difference is the sinner's confession of his sin in prayer! "I acknowledged my sin unto thee, and mine iniquity have I not hid" (verse 5). The inspired writer asserts that this is the key to God's forgiveness for the godly child of God (verse 6) when he sins. This is true under all God's covenants!
Paul quoted this passage in Romans 4 and used it to demonstrate to Christians how important obedience to the faith in the gospel is with its consequence of obtaining the favor of God.
We cannot sin against the Law of Moses for we are not under that Law (Romans 2, 3; Colossians 2:14-17). Sin is transgression of law (Romans 4:15). So what Law could we transgress? We can sin against the Law of Christ that "went forth from Jerusalem" and is the rule for the world of today (Isaiah 2:3; 42:4).
If you are a child of God, you can still sin. The apostle John says that if you say you don't sin, you a liar. But if we walk in the Light furnished us by Jesus through the apostles and prophets of the New Testament, we will confess our sins (like the Psalmist of old) and God is "faithful to forgive us our sins" (1 John 1:7ff).
Christian, take joy! You have the access to the greatest of blessings! Forgiveness of sins.
