By E L Thornton
Sermon 29
(Ps. 51:1-12) “To the chief Musician, A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet came unto him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba. Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest. Behold, I was shapen in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me. Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom. Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice. Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities. Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me. Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me. Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.”
There was a pole taken in which was asked “What is the ugliest word in the human vernacular?” Some thought it was Death; others, Hell; others, Depart; and many voted for Lost. But what is the ugliest word? What is the word that is the fountain of woe, What is the word that is the mother of sorrows, What is the word that is the cause of death? What is the word that is as universal as human nature, as eternal as human history? What is the word that is the cause of all war, and violence, and hatred, and sorrow, and pain? What is the word which is mans worst enemy? That word is S-I-N.
The first time sin is mentioned, in the scriptures, it is depicted as “crouching at the door,” in one translation of the scripture. And there, ever since, with its sorrow and its woe, with its life taking sting of death, with its strong inducement for the unwary and the careless, sin has been crouching at humanity’s door, and will continue to crouch, until the world has been redeemed.
It is amazing that the first mention of sin, in the Bible, “has it crouching,” as though it is preparing to leap on the person that gets to close. When I conjure up the word “crouching,” I am reminded of the word in 1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:” I read a piece in Life magazine about the Lion in the wild in his search for prey. At first he stalks it and when he gets close he crouches, then with a roar leaps on his prey.
The first appearance of sin, in the garden of Eden, was the beginning of the long, sad chapter of sin. And I’ve read the end of the chapter of sin, (James 1:15) “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death. Do not err, my beloved brethren.”
But James 1:15 is not the end of sin, (Rev. 21:8) “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death.”
In the text, David said, “My sin is ever before me.” What he had done was stamped on the brain. Every time he became still, that one thing he had done that was so dastardly, the thing that was so degrading, the thing that was so debasing, the thing that was so depraved, would materialize in his thoughts, there it is again, he’s reliving it all again in his mind. It would have driven a lesser man crazy.
But that’s the way of sin. It writes with indelible ink. It scrawls with a point of diamond. It mares the conscious, it denigrates the character, it spoils the integrity. (Prov. 14:34 “Righteousness exalteth a nation: but sin is a reproach to any people.”
Sin separates from God, sin alienates from God. Sin places a barrier between a person and God. Sin is a deterrent to feeling the blessings of God on our life.
I. IT’S EVER BEFORE BECAUSE IT’S UNREPENTED OF:
Sin has a way of attaching itself to our life. It soils the heart, it stain the soul, it smudges the memory. Anti-Bacterial Glycerine Soap, enriched with Aloe Vera and Vitamin E, won’t ever wash away the sins that are ever before you.
“What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
What can make me whole again? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my pardon this I see. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
For my cleansing this I see. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Nothing can for sin a-tone. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Naught of good that I have done. Nothing but the blood of Jesus.”
O precious the flow, That makes me white as snow;
No other fount I know, Nothing but the blood of Jesus.
Your sins will be there crouching at the door until you repent and get washed in the blood. (1 Tim 5:24) “Some men’s sins are open beforehand, going before to judgment; and some men they follow after.”
That’s one reason that sin is ever before us, because it’s unrepented of. (Acts 3:19) “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord;”
At the beginning of Revelation, John declares, in verse five, that Jesus “……… washed us from our sins in his own blood,” to make us kings and priest unto God.
II. SOME SINS ARE EMBEDDED IN THE CONSCIOUS:
Bro. Scarbrough, in Orange Texas, was a merchant marine before receiving the Holy Ghost. He was a very rough tough man. The scares on his face, and arms, and other parts of the body was a constant reminder of sin. He told me, with tears in his eyes, “How can I ever forget the things I’ve done.” Forgiven? Yes! Forget? No!
Sir! You don’t really realize what you are doing when you are messing with sin.
When Cain let sin crouch at the door he did things that he would regret the rest of his life.
(Gen. 4:13) “And Cain said unto the LORD, My punishment is greater than I can bear.” His brother’s blood cried out from the ground to haunt him.
Sin has a way of coming back to haunt you. When Herod heard about Jesus his conscious resurrected an occurrence. (Mark 6:16) “But when Herod heard thereof, he said, It is John, whom I beheaded: he is risen from the dead.”
Some of us, some of you, will and have, done things that will haunt you to your grave because it’s embedded on the conscious. Mister! Be careful how you play with sin.
III. IT’S EVER BEFORE BECAUSE IT’S UNFORGIVABLE:
(Mark 3:29) “But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:”
In light of verse 28, of this same chapter, “Verily I say unto you, All sins shall be forgiven unto the sons of men, and blasphemies wherewith soever they shall blaspheme:” I’m not sure of what Jesus meant when he said what He did in verse 29. But I know one thing, you will have to go a long way to not find forgiveness. You will have to do a lot of things to not find forgiveness. And if you say anything that is blasphemous against God, it will have to come from the heart and not from the lips.
But that possibility sits there just waiting to happen. The point when you go too far. Sin will take you farther than you wanta’ go.
