We are Not Perfect People

[Christsfreeservant]

Video Talk

Psalms 86:1-8 ESV

“Incline your ear, O Lord, and answer me,​

for I am poor and needy.​

2 Preserve my life, for I am godly;​

save your servant, who trusts in you—you are my God.​

3 Be gracious to me, O Lord,​

for to you do I cry all the day.​

4 Gladden the soul of your servant,​

for to you, O Lord, do I lift up my soul.​

5 For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving,​

abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.​

6 Give ear, O Lord, to my prayer;​

listen to my plea for grace.​

7 In the day of my trouble I call upon you,​

for you answer me.​

8 There is none like you among the gods, O Lord,​

nor are there any works like yours.”​

So, I was reading this passage of Scripture this morning, and something stood out to me about it. In verse two the Psalmist David claimed that he was godly, that he was a servant of the Lord who put his trust in the Lord, and God was his God (Lord, Master, Savior). So, he was walking in righteousness and holiness in obedience to his Lord, and not in sin.

But then I got down to verse five where it says, “For you, O Lord, are good and forgiving, abounding in steadfast love to all who call upon you.” And immediately this thought came into my mind, and I asked the Lord, “Why would the forgiveness of God be mentioned in a passage of Scripture where the one writing it was claiming to be godly?”

And the Lord reminded me of a song he gave me to write back in 2012 based off this Psalm. And so I read the introduction I had written to the song. My husband and I had both been sick at that time and neither one of us was doing well. Well, I walked into our bedroom and I turned on the light and immediately he responded in pain. He was in bed sick. And I felt so badly I cried. I wasn’t trying to hurt him. My mind just wasn’t all there.

And from that the Lord had me write the song based off this psalm about how loving and forgiving is God. Now, did I sin against God or my husband? No. So what this got me thinking about is the little things we do sometimes that are not defined as sin, and they are not deliberate or habitual, but sometimes we might say the wrong thing or not in the best way, or we might be distracted by something, or maybe we just have an area of our lives that needs some growth, and so there are things we need to work on and change so that we can mature in our walks of faith.

And this brought to mind another psalm of David, Psalms 19:12-13:

“Who can discern his errors?​

Declare me innocent from hidden faults.​

Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;​

let them not have dominion over me!​

Then I shall be blameless,​

and innocent of great transgression.”​

David had two categories here, one of hidden faults, and the other of presumptuous (willful, audacious) sins. The former he asked the Lord to declare him innocent of, so he was not talking about willful and secretive sins, but things perhaps he didn’t do so well at that he was not aware of. And the other is definitely describing sin which you know you are committing, and it is blatant, deliberate, and usually habitual.

So, the point here is that no matter how godly we are, we are still not perfect people. But lack of perfection is NEVER to be used as an excuse for deliberate, blatant, and habitual sin! But Jesus doesn’t demand perfection. He demands that we make godliness, holiness, righteousness, and obedience to him our practice, and that sin NOT be our practice. And if we should sin, we have an advocate, Jesus Christ (1 John 2:1-2).

But, if we are walking in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in holiness and righteousness, and not in obedience to our Lord, we do NOT have an advocate to speak in our defense. We have a God who is saying, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” for they would not yield control of their lives over to the Lord, and they would not obey him and walk in holiness and righteousness, in practice, but sin was their practice, instead. And so they will not enter the kingdom of heaven.

You are Loving and Forgiving

An Original Work / February 19, 2012
Based off Psalm 86

You are loving and forgiving,
Jesus, Savior, King of kings.
You provided our redemption.
By Your blood You set us free.
You are gracious; full of mercy.
No deeds can compare with Yours.
Great are You; there is none like You.
Glory be to Your name.

Teach me Your way, and I’ll walk in it.
O Lord, I will walk in Your truth.
May I not have a heart divided,
That Your name I give honor to.
I will praise You, O Lord, my Savior,
For great is Your love toward me.
You have delivered me from my sins.
Your grace has pardoned me.

You, O Lord, are full of compassion,
Slow to anger, bounteous in love;
Faithful to fulfill all You promise;
Glory be to Your name above.
Hear, O Lord, and answer Your servant.
You are my God. I trust in You.
Turn to me and grant Your strength to me.
You are my comforter.

 

[Philip_B]