Dealing with Sin Because it is Sin

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains the poetic language of 'hide thy face from my sins' as God turning away from something repugnant, and 'blot out all mine iniquities' as erasing an indictment or an…

Dr. Walter Martin refuted a Mormon's literal interpretation of God having a body by pointing out that if God has a face, feet, eyes, and ears, then passages about God having 'pinions and feathers' would mean God is a bird, highlighting the absurdity of literal interpretation of poetic language.

I heard the incident one time when Dr. Walter Martin, no relation to mine, except I believe a brother in the Lord, was in a meeting where some Mormons were present, and he was discussing some of the errors of Mormonism, one of which, perhaps the most basic, is that they teach that God is not spirit, but God has a body, and so the man was seeking to prove that God has a body, and he found the verses that speak of the face of God, speak of the feet of God, the eyes of God, the ears of God, and he said, see, you've constructed an entire body, and this to him was proof that God had a body. Well, M...

5:11 - 5:55 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains the poetic language of 'hide thy face from my sins' as God turning away from something repugnant, and 'blot out all mine iniquities' as erasing an indictment or an…

David's prayer to 'hide thy face from my sins' is likened to a person turning away from a repugnant or tragic scene, indicating God's recoil from sin due to its offensive nature to His holiness.

So it conveys a tremendous thought. And what does David mean, then, when he uses the poetic form, hide thy face from my sins? Well, he's using a figure that is obvious to all of us. Have you ever come upon a scene, perhaps there's been some kind of a tragic accident, and when you started to look at it, you turned away in awe.

7:40 - 8:01 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains the poetic language of 'hide thy face from my sins' as God turning away from something repugnant, and 'blot out all mine iniquities' as erasing an indictment or an…

Sin is compared to an indictment written against a person in a court of law, with charges entered into official records, illustrating how God takes cognizance of every sin and records it in the court of heaven.

Blot out, erase, strike from the record as it were my sin. Well, for the simple reason that sin is likened in the scripture under many figures, but there are two in particular that apply here. Every sin that we commit against the holy law of God, and God takes cognizance of it, He's aware of it, all things are naked and open before His eyes, causes, as it were, God in the court of heaven to write out an indictment against us. When you sin against the laws of the land and the powers that be become aware of it, an indictment is written out against you and there is entered into the official statu...

10:14 - 10:58 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin explains the poetic language of 'hide thy face from my sins' as God turning away from something repugnant, and 'blot out all mine iniquities' as erasing an indictment or an…

Sin is likened to an unpaid debt, as in the Lord's Prayer, where breaking God's law creates an obligation. David's prayer to 'blot out the debt' is like a creditor writing 'paid in full' and striking out the debt.

In the second place, sin is likened to unpaid debt. You remember in the Lord's Prayer, what we commonly call the Lord's Prayer. He said, After this manner, therefore pray ye, our Father, who art in heaven, et cetera. Then when we come to the matter of sin, it's mentioned in Matthew, forgive us our debts.

12:02 - 12:22 Read in full sermon

The point: Recognize that unblotted sin exposes you to God's judgment and earnestly pray for God to hide His face from your sins and blot out your iniquities.

Martin uses his own need for stacks of notes and reminders to highlight that God, being omniscient, does not need literal books, but the imagery is a 'word picture' for human understanding of divine record-keeping.

notes like I do. I always have a stack of them to remind me to do something, and another note to remind me to look at the note to remind me to do something. God doesn't need this. He doesn't need literal books. But it's the same figure carried on. God speaks to us in

19:32 - 19:46 Read in full sermon

Driving home: The only basis upon which God can hide his face from my sins is that he hid his face from his son.

The darkness over the land during Christ's crucifixion is presented as a symbol of God hiding His face from His Son as sin was imputed to Him, providing the basis for God to hide His face from our sins.

The only basis upon which God can hide his face from my sin is that he hid his face from his son. The only basis upon which God can blot out my sin is that in a very real sense he blotted out his son from his sight when he became sin for us. Do you remember as foretold in Psalm 22 and then repeated in the Gospels, the scripture tells us that when our Lord hung upon the cross there was darkness over the whole land from the sixth hour until the ninth hour. It's as though,

30:17 - 31:02 Read in full sermon

Driving home: you think that I'm like you are but God says the days coming wicked man when I'll set in order before your eyes not just in a general jumbled mass but God says I'll set down every one of your sins and in the very order t…

A businessman who cuts corners, cheats, and lies, yet is seen as honest, will have a 'sordid list' of sins spread before him on Judgment Day, illustrating God's meticulous record-keeping.

that time is no factor with God he dwells in eternity and the sins of a thousand years ago of men who've long been turned back into the dust of the earth are as vivid before the eye of God as though they were committed an instant ago and the day of judgment will reveal that when sinners will be shocked they stand before God and he says I will set your sins in order before your eyes hold your eyes oh God you mean you knew that yes I knew I saw my recording what a day of unveiling what a day of unveiling the shock of the day of judgment when the businessman

43:01 - 43:45 Read in full sermon

Driving home: David revealed in this prayer a basic attitude that only a Christian has namely that he knows and walks in the light of the all seeing eye of the living God

A husband who cheats and cuts corners under the guise of faithfulness will have all his hidden sins revealed on Judgment Day, emphasizing God's knowledge of secret actions.

who through the years has gained his present status and may be looked upon as a model of business honesty but pull the string here and cut a corner here and gypped here and cheated there and lied here and he stands before God and behold a sordid list is spread before him the husband who under the guise of faithfulness and fidelity to his wife cheated here and cheated there and cut corners here and there he stands in that day and it's all a sin the young person who said no mom doesn't see and the preacher I got him hoodlum

43:45 - 44:28 Read in full sermon

Driving home: David revealed in this prayer a basic attitude that only a Christian has namely that he knows and walks in the light of the all seeing eye of the living God

A young person who deceives parents and spiritual guardians will have their 'double-mindedness' and lies set in order before God's eyes on Judgment Day, showing that no sin is truly hidden.

who through the years has gained his present status and may be looked upon as a model of business honesty but pull the string here and cut a corner here and gypped here and cheated there and lied here and he stands before God and behold a sordid list is spread before him the husband who under the guise of faithfulness and fidelity to his wife cheated here and cheated there and cut corners here and there he stands in that day and it's all a sin the young person who said no mom doesn't see and the preacher I got him hoodlum

43:45 - 44:28 Read in full sermon