“How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep your servant from deliberate sins! Don’t let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin.” - Psalm 19:12-13 New Living Translation
Knowing that believers can be constantly bombarded with temptation that leads to sin, we must know how to combat these potential sins. Some folks think they may have sinned out of ignorance, not knowing something said or done was sinful. Let me make one thing clear, you don’t need to walk thru life with guilt weighing you down. It’s a good thing that you are astute enough spiritually to recognize sin or at least question what is being said or done by you or someone else.
You must have a heart after God to truly succeed in this life. Godly success looks nothing like worldly success. Worldly success showers accolades on mortal man for their wonderful achievement(s). Godly success breeds an attitude of humbleness in the face of what God is doing thru you.
David’s plea to God here is one that we should all embrace. You will stand before God untarnished by this world if you emulate Christ and seek to please God. * Those who regularly give in to the sins that lurk within them may need to fall on the mercy of God in the end, for repeated sin either shows spiritual weakness or a fraudulent redemption event. While guilt can be a means to salvation, for the believer it is a cross they need not bear. Ask God, as King David did, to cleanse you of all that is displeasing to him … both hidden and deliberate sins, that they do not grab a hold of and control your will and your heart. You are a child of God. Guilt need not eat you up. Be transparent with our Lord because he is aware of all things anyway. Do not be involved in the vain effort to conceal your sinful behavior, for God sees all and knows all. Come clean and ask for a deep cleaning of your soul and spirit. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing.
Richard Keller
Bread of Life Ministries
* Clarification: I am not saying emulating Christ and seeking to please God is necessary to be forgiven. Once saved we should be doing those things as a natural outcropping of our salvation. However, even after being redeemed some may tend to dabble in sin or experience a moment of spiritual weakness. These actions do not revoke your salvation and certainly don’t send you to hell unless you never repent and turn away from them. Even then the ultimate decision lies with God, who is the sole judge and jury in the end. His mercy and compassion is well documented in scripture. rk
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