3-8-21 Secret Faults and Presumptuous Sin

Secret Faults and Presumptuous Sin - Nathele Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com King David loved the Lord. That love was manifested in many psalms which praise God. Although many are filled with praise, they also hold petitions asking God to help him be a better person. Psalm 19 is one of those psalms that begins with such heartfelt praise that we can feel David's joy in serving the Lord. "[[To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David.]]. The heavens declare the glory of God; and the firmament sheweth his handywork. Day unto day uttereth speech, and night unto night sheweth knowledge. There is no speech nor language, where their voice is not heard. Their line is gone out through all the earth, and their words to the end of the world. In them hath he set a tabernacle for the sun, which is a bridegroom coming out of his chamber, and rejoiceth as a strong man to run a race. His going forth is from the end of the heaven, and his circuit unto the ends of it: and there is nothing hid from the heat thereof." Psalm 19:1-6. David had spent a lot of time watching flocks of sheep and had time to be in awe of God as he looked upon all of God's creation. His mind wasn't filled with questions about big bang theories, evolution, or any other fairytales that detract from God's truth. If we believe that evolution happened over many billions (or is it trillions) of years, then God is removed from moral guidance. If God didn't create the world and all that's in it, then the Bible must be wrong. If Scripture is wrong about creation then it must also be wrong about the wages of sin being death. In fact, without Biblical guidance, there's no moral standard at all. Make no mistake, the Bible is God's inspired word from the first verse in Genesis to the final verse in Revelation. David loved God and honored Him in songs of praise. Although King David was a sinner just like you and I, his desire was to be pleasing to the Lord. Loving God will result in praise, but it will also result in a deep desire to please Him. After praising God for His handiwork, David turned his thoughts to what God expects of His followers. "The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple. The statutes of the LORD are right, rejoicing the heart: the commandment of the LORD is pure, enlightening the eyes." Psalm 19:7-8. God has rules. David had a very honest assessment of the law and understood that there was no fault in the perfection of God's law. The word David chose that's translated "perfect" is "tamiym". It's the same word used in Genesis to describe Noah as being "perfect in his generation". "These are the generations of Noah: Noah was a just man and perfect in his generations, and Noah walked with God." Genesis 6:9. Noah's genome wasn't corrupted by the fallen angels, which is why God chose him and his family to be saved through the flood. It's also the same world used to describe the standard of selecting the Passover lamb. "Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male of the first year: ye shall take it out from the sheep, or from the goats:" Exodus 12:5. The sacrificial lamb was to be unblemished (perfect), as was our Lord Jesus Christ whose blood was pure and untainted by sin. This qualified Him to take our sin away through faith in Him. If we love Him, then we need to have the same respect for God's ways as King David. We need to desire to please Him. It's a sign of the end times as prophesied in Scripture that people have stopped fearing the Lord. The hatred and violence we see today is a result of a lack of love, respect, and fear of the Lord. "The fear of the LORD is clean, enduring for ever: the judgments of the LORD are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired are they than gold, yea, than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb." Psalm 19:9-10. When God is mocked and seen as a fairytale, there's no end to the evil that is then accepted. People will stoop as morally low as possible, just as it was in the days of Noah. There's a demonic spirit that's fueling moral decay and human hearts are growing colder by the day. The only thing that can turn away evil is fearing God and giving Him the respect He is due. He hasn't kept anything secret. His moral standards are clearly set forth in Scripture. When He is rejected and sin is embraced, His judgment will come. It will be made without prejudice and it will be a righteous judgment. If a person fears the Lord, they will turn to Him and honor Him. Fear of God will cause a person to live according to His moral laws. King David recognized how important it is to desire God's righteous ways. Christians have even more reason to desire to honor and respect God. We have placed our faith in the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we bear His name to describe our faith, and we know He's going to call us Home soon. We need to praise Him, respect Him, and submit our lives to His perfect way. God does give us guidance and warns us of the judgments that come from ignoring His laws. "Moreover by them is thy servant warned: and in keeping of them there is great reward." Psalm 19:11. Is anyone able to perfectly live up to God's standards? No. The Apostle Paul called the law a school master. "Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith." Galatians 3:24. The law made it clear what God standards are but it was fulfilled by Jesus Christ. We no longer have to make animal sacrifices to show our sorrow over sin. By faith in Jesus Christ, we are made righteous before God. Every Christian should sing God's praise and desire to please Him. Our salvation is secure by our faith, so what's the reward in living a God-fearing life? Disease caused by immoral choices won't ravish your body because you won't choose fornication over sexual purity. You won't have the stress of remembering lies you've told. You won't have to live with guilt over hurting people with gossip or angry words. The rewards of a clean conscience are many. Knowing that you've pleased God by choosing to love other people rather than to be angry and hurtful in your words and actions will result in a happier life. Instead of trying to find a loophole so that he could sin and still be in fellowship with God, King David wanted God to show him his faults. It's easy to make excuses for our own sins, but when we truly desire to serve God, we'll ask Him to show us where we fall short. Sin can cripple our walk with Jesus and make us ineffective in witnessing to others. "Who can understand his errors? Cleanse thou me from secret faults" Psalm 19:12. What are the "secret faults" David spoke of? The "secret faults" are things we don't think anybody knows about and are able to justify in our own life. What do you look at on the internet when you think nobody sees? Pornography? Maybe you secretly harbor jealousy or hatred towards another person, but hide it behind a smile. When you go out of town on a business trip do you find it easy to cheat on your spouse? Things you think are done in secret are known to the Lord. "And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: all these evil things come from within, and defile the man." Mark 7:20-23. Even if those sins are kept secret, they need to be brought to your attention so that you can repent and turn away from them. God knows what we think and what's in our heart and will bring our secret faults to our mind and help us overcome the sin. David didn't stop with secret faults. He didn't want anything to come between him and His God. "Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression." Psalm 19:13. All sin comes between the sinner and God. Secret sins, "in your face" sins, and also presumptions sins. The Hebrew word "zed" is translated "presumptuous" and means "arrogant, proud, insolent, presumptuous". Pride is one of those "presumptuous sins" and we read in Proverbs "Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Proverbs 16:18. Do you build yourself up by putting down others? Do you take pleasure in the failures of others? Are you quick to be angry at someone over a misunderstanding or if they don't live up to your ideals? These things are all sin that become habits. Our desire should be to remove all sin from our way of life. Not only will you please God, but you'll be a happier person. Prayer is the best way to confess your sin and ask God to show you where you fall short. The way to know God's truth is to study Scripture. Be sure to read and study in context. Study with the purpose of knowing God's ways rather than looking for a loophole to justify your sin. "Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of my heart, be acceptable in thy sight, O LORD, my strength, and my redeemer." Psalm 19:14. Meditation is wrong if it's the Eastern type, contemplative prayer, or yoga inspired. Those practices will empty your mind so that any passing demon can enter your mind and destroy your life. Meditating upon God's word will let you see the errors you make in your life. Fill your mind and thoughts with God's word and really think about it. The Holy Spirit will guide you and Scripture will make much more sense with His help. Truly seek to please God rather than the world. "For the word of God is quick, and powerful, and sharper than any twoedged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart." Hebrews 4:12. Study Scripture and pray for God's guidance to change your heart. You can only change yourself, and for that you need God's help. Secret faults and presumptuous sin will come between you and your walk with Jesus. Praise God with all your heart, and ask Him to help you to remove those sins from your life in order to draw closer to Him. God bless you all, Nathele Graham twotug@embarqmail.com www.straitandnarrowministry.com ron@straitandnarrowministry.com Ron and Nathele Graham's previous commentaries archived at http://www.raptureready.com/featured/graham/graham.html All original scripture is "theopneustos" God breathed. If you'd like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries just drop me an email and let me know.