A comedian once wryly observed, “Any good history book is mainly just a long list of mistakes, complete with names and dates. It’s very embarrassing.” Whether it be personal or civic life, all these “mistakes” might be best understood according to the biblical concept called sin; in fact, a meaning of sin is to “miss the mark.” As I have previously written, I believe that one of the most serious problems in American society today is a persistent denial of the reality of sin. Most think there is no real harm in disregarding what the Bible teaches about human sinfulness—many even argue that it is good to avoid talking about sin because it spares people from guilt and pain—but the Law is written on the human heart (Rom. 2:15) so the guilt of sin is inescapable inside the human psyche. The only solution or means of treating the spiritual wound of sin is with a divine absolution.
After the Israelite king David committed the sin of adultery and then arranged a murder to hide it (2 Sam. 11), God sent the prophet Nathan to confront him and expose his evil deeds. Instead of denying the truth of having violated the Law of God, David confessed, “I have sinned against the LORD (2 Sam. 12:13).” Feeling sorry for the grave evil he had committed and reveling in God’s mercy, which was extended to him upon his confession, David composed one of the richest, most instructive psalms in the Scriptures: Psalm 51. While everyone will fall into sin, one cannot lead a life with God by practicing evil and purposely living in falsehood.
Rather than humbly acknowledge sin, and cry with David, “Have mercy on me, O God (Psalm 51:1),” our first reaction is often to hide our sin from God and one another like Adam and Eve. But this attempt is futile and gets us nowhere fast. It is necessary for our wellbeing that we make our confession. In opposition to the will of God who made all life and created human beings in His image, sin is ordered towards death. As David writes in Psalm 32:3-4: “When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night, [God’s] hand was heavy upon me; my strength was dried up as by the heat of summer (ESV).”
God calls us into a life of daily repentance, where we turn from sin and walk in the light of God, the way of truth. Scripture says, “If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” But “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness (1 John 1:8-9, italics added, ESV).” To be in a right relationship with God, we need to get real with ourselves and God. Though we live in a world where there will be a long list of mistakes, “for we daily sin much…” as Martin Luther explained (Small Catechism, Lord’s Prayer, Fifth Petition), this need not be so much a cause for embarrassment but a humble realization that we need to confess our sins and receive forgiveness. May we take to heart what David learned himself and teaches us with joyful wonder in Psalm 51:17: “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise (ESV).” May it lead you to go to confession where forgiveness, life, and salvation is waiting.
