Acknowledgment of Presence and Nature of Sin

The point: Learn how to scripturally deal with sin to avoid being crippled in sanctification.

David's confession is likened to a wounded stag, emphasizing his solitary, agonizing brokenness before God after Nathan's confrontation.

and yet by the grace of God found forgiveness and restoration and has left us this marvelous pattern of biblical confession and repentance. You remember the setting of the psalm? Is David's sin with Bathsheba and his subsequent murder by proxy of Uriah and his almost a year-long period of spiritual life, spiritual barrenness? Nathan comes as an instrument of grace toward David, and after giving his parable and then saying to him, Thou art the man, David's heart is smitten, and in his confession he goes as a wounded stag alone to bleed.

1:47 - 2:26 Read in full sermon

Driving home: one of the essential ingredients of true confession is not whimpering because of the results of our sin.

Esau's regret over losing his birthright is used to illustrate superficial remorse, not true repentance, as he only grieved the consequences, not the sin itself.

Many an unregenerate, professing Christian, and there are many such people, are deceived into thinking that whimpering over the consequences of sin is the essence of true repentance. It has nothing to do with it. Esau whimpered over the consequences of his sin, sold his birthright for the gratification of his belly. What is this birthright to me?

8:29 - 8:52 Read in full sermon

Driving home: one of the essential ingredients of true confession is not whimpering because of the results of our sin.

Judas's confession and suicide are presented as another example of regret over consequences, lacking true repentance for the nature of his sin.

Not because he'd acted like a beast and thrown off spiritual blessing for the sake of his belly, but simply because he was denied that which he wanted. He didn't like the consequences of his sin. His tears had nothing to do with seeing the true nature of sin. Judas came and made a great confession.

9:00 - 9:17 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: David's phrase 'my sin is ever before me' signifies conviction, leading to acknowledgment. Martin illustrates the misery of unconfessed sin from Psalm 32 and argues that…

Unconfessed sin is compared to the worm in Jonah's gourd, shriveling life's greatest privileges and preventing full enjoyment of beauty and fellowship.

And this is an indispensable ingredient of biblical confession of sin. There must first of all be that awareness which David describes in these very vivid terms my sin is ever before me. When I would look out and see the beauty of the world about me I cannot fully enjoy that beauty because there is this worm of a nagging conscience and a wounded spirit that acts like the worm in Jonah's gourd and makes the greatest privileges of life to shrivel and to lose all of their blessedness to me. When I'm in the association of lovers and friends

12:35 - 13:18 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: David's phrase 'my sin is ever before me' signifies conviction, leading to acknowledgment. Martin illustrates the misery of unconfessed sin from Psalm 32 and argues that…

A hypothetical scenario with a modern psychiatrist is used to highlight the internal turmoil and physical symptoms David experienced due to unconfessed sin, as described in Psalm 32.

Suppose you were to go to a modern psychiatrist and say look doc I've got some problems. He'd say well what's your problem? Well you say I just feel like everything's roaring on the inside. I'm about to explode.

14:58 - 15:08 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: David's phrase 'my sin is ever before me' signifies conviction, leading to acknowledgment. Martin illustrates the misery of unconfessed sin from Psalm 32 and argues that…

David's phrase 'my moisture is turned into the drought of summer' is explained as weeping so much that he had no more tears, only convulsive sobs, illustrating the depth of his distress.

Day and night. Night and night thy hand was heavy upon me and my moisture is turned into the drought of summer. He said I wept myself dry. Have you ever wept so much you had no more tears but just convulsive sobs?

15:25 - 15:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Don't think an absence of sin-consciousness is a mark of spiritual maturity; rather, be deeply sin-conscious to be deeply Christ-conscious.

The deep sin-consciousness of these historical figures is cited to counter the idea that spiritual maturity means an absence of sin-consciousness, arguing that their sensitivity to sin drove them to Christ.

perfectly suited for sinners in all the ramifications of sin not only its legal guilt justification but all the process of sanctification he has made unto us wisdom, righteousness sanctification and redemption and so the person who is most sensitive of his sin is the one who is most often driven again and again to Christ and he who is most driven to Christ is most occupied with Christ and most enamored with Christ and most fragrant with the love and the gentleness of Christ this used to trouble me because when I'd be taught and read of and be instructed in the usefulness of men like Robert Mur...

19:20 - 20:05 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the word despise here means not so much active hatred as a smug disregard

Esau's attitude toward his birthright is used to explain the meaning of 'despise' in 2 Samuel 12, clarifying that it means 'smug disregard' or treating something as unworthy of serious attention, not active hatred.

attitude of hatred and deep abhorrence you say I despise that kind of food or I despise that person but the word despise here means not so much active hatred as a smug disregard it's the same word used of Esau in Genesis that he despised his birthright now when he came in from the field and Jacob began to scheme with him he didn't turn around and clench his fist and bear his fangs and say I hate that old birthright no he just said birthright smurf right who cares I'm hungry I need something to eat so who cares about the birthright you see he regarded it as an unworthy object of concern or an o...

28:58 - 29:43 Read in full sermon

Driving home: the word despise here means not so much active hatred as a smug disregard

David's disregard for God's commandment is likened to Esau's flippant attitude, 'birthright smurf right, who cares,' to emphasize how he devalued God's law for his own desires.

of my obedience grant me grace in this circumstance that was one alternative to regard the law of God and the God of the law as things worthy of obedience and regard or the other alternative was to say the commandment says thou shalt not but I'll treat it like Esau treated his birthright I'm hungry birthright who cares my passion rages I want Bathsheba who cares about the eighth the seventh commandment God is worthy of obedience God is worthy of my homage God is worthy of my subjection but at this point I don't care about the worthiness of God

32:41 - 33:26 Read in full sermon

The point: Meditate on the fact of the one against whom you've sinned – your Governor, Judge, Creator, Sustainer – to bring you to true repentance.

Martin recounts David's past experiences of God's favor – slaying the lion and bear, defeating Goliath, preservation from Saul, mighty victories, and penning hymns – to underscore the enormity of his sin against such a privileged relationship with God.

treated God or unless he had treated God like a little unworthy toy to be cast aside for the moment sure he sinned against Bathsheba she was a creature he sure he sinned against Uriah he was a creature but he did something worse than this he sinned against the mighty creator and not only his creator but notice who's confessing this sin against thee and thee only have I sinned I David to whom you revealed yourself when I was but a lad I David who've known what it is to be out there in the field and see the lion and the bear come amongst my sheep and to be clothed with a power not my own and tea...

34:11 - 34:55 Read in full sermon

The point: Meditate on the fact of the one against whom you've sinned – your Governor, Judge, Creator, Sustainer – to bring you to true repentance.

Stealing in front of a police officer is used to illustrate the 'high-handed kind of brazen effrontery to law' that David's sin represented, committed 'in the sight of God.'

that I could have despised you that's the curse of my sin I think that's what he means when he says against thee and thee only have I sinned and done this evil will you notice the word in thy sight and that's part of the indictment that was brought upon him by Nathan the prophet notice wherefore hast thou despised the commandment of the Lord to do evil in his sight bad enough if a man steals but if he sees a cop standing on the corner and steals right in front of him that's the most high-handed kind of brazen effrontery to law

35:39 - 36:24 Read in full sermon

The point: Young men preparing for ministry, let Moses (God's law) do its work in bringing conviction.

A hypothetical scenario where modern theologians try to 'fix' David's psychological problems by downplaying sin and moral standards, illustrating the contemporary erosion of conviction-producing truth.

it is for there to be any true confession without true conviction and how impossible that there should be true conviction without a recognition of God as the governor of his creatures and his law as an inflexible standard of his will you see if David had been living in our day there'd have been some young theologians who'd have loved to get their hands on him and they'd have sat him down and said now look David I understand you're having tremendous psychological upheavals because of what you did but now all I want to ask you was your relationship with Bathsheba meaningful to you and to her wel...

43:04 - 43:48 Read in full sermon

The point: Young men preparing for ministry, let Moses (God's law) do its work in bringing conviction.

Martin references Whitfield's preaching, where thousands would sob, to highlight the power of biblical preaching of God's law in producing deep conviction and penitence, contrasting it with the lack of such response today.

wouldn't you long to be in a congregation when I read about it in Whitfield's journals it makes me wish that somehow I could be transported back two hundred years when it said preaching to thousands ten twenty thousand out in the fields there in England that a gentle sob would spread through the whole world the whole congregation no bedtime stories you read his sermons packed full of theological statements charged with impassioned pleas scriptural pleas the gentle sobbing in men crying out literally for mercy well I know much of that can only be resolved

45:18 - 46:02 Read in full sermon