Good Morning Friends,
"Blessed are they whose transgressions
are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.”
(Romans 4:7-8)
Paul is quoting from the Old Testament writings
of David in these verses. It is a passage from Psalm 32:1-2.
The point that both Paul and David are making
is that God’s blessings are on those who are forgiven.
God’s blessings are not on the righteous. That’s
good, because then none of us would qualify for God’s blessings. Because --
“There is no one righteous, not even one.” (Romans 3:10)
God’s blessings are not just on the perfect.
That’s good, too, because if only the perfect qualified then we would have to
be better than the Apostle Paul to qualify. He knew he wasn’t perfect -- “Not
that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made perfect.” (Philippians
3:12)
God’s blessings are not on those who are able
to hide their sins. David continued in Psalm 32, “When I kept silent, my bones
wasted away.” (Psalm 32:3)
God’s blessings are not on those who claim
that they don’t have any sin. John wrote, “If we claim to be without sin, we
deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8)
But God’s blessings are on those who
acknowledge their sin and in doing so, find God’s forgiveness. As John said,
“If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins.”
(1 John 1:9)
One requirement of God’s blessings is that we
admit that we fall short of His will -- that we are sinners. It is that
admission that opens the pathway to forgiveness and the blessings of God.
So, don’t try to hide your sins from God. Don’t
try to talk yourself into believing that you aren’t a sinner. Don’t try to
persuade God that you really are righteous. Instead, cast yourself in humility
and confession upon the grace and mercy of God. He’s waiting to pour out His blessings
on people like that.
His, by Grace,
Steve
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