Confession and Forgiveness

There has been a lot of talk about Tiger Woods and his very public apology. Many pundits have been speculating about his sincerety or lack thereof. I would like to focus on what God has to say about what it means to confess our sin and seek forgiveness. One of the best places to see this is with David in Psalm 51. This psalm was written after David's adulterous relationship with Bathsheba. Here are some of the key elements in his confession of sin. First, he calls it what it is, sin. He uses terms like trangression, evil, iniquity. No beating around the bush, no making excuses, no calling it something that sounds nicer than what it is. David also acknowledges that he not only sinned against Bathsheba and her family, but he sinned against God Himself. And so he appeals to God for mercy, to be cleansed from his sin, to be washed whiter than snow.
One contrast I want to make between David in this psalm, and Tiger Woods in his public apology. Tiger emphasized that he was going to overcome his problems through increasing his personal efforts in the pursuit of Budhism. David emphasizes in Psalm 51 that it is not by his own personal efforts, but it is by the power of God that he can be made whole again, "O God, renew a right spirit within me.... restore to me the joy of your salvation and uphold me with a willing spirit." The other truth we see revealed here is the importance of the heart, which is what makes up all that we are on the inside, our desires, emotions, motivation, hopes, dreams, fears, etc. No amount of human effort can take away the guilt of our sin, and no amount of human effort by itself can overcome sin. David acknowledges this truth by praying to God, "create in me a clean heart, O God, renew a right spirit within me."
As much as Tiger Woods may or may not have been sincere in his apology, sincerety alone does not bring about deliverance from sin. That can only happen as we humble ourselves before the true and living God of the scriptures, who alone has the power to truly forgive sin and make us over as a new creation. As David prays, "The sacrifices of god are a broken spirit, a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise. Devlier me from bloodguiltiness, O God. O God of my salvation, and my tounge will sing aloud of your righteouness."
Do you struggle over the guilt of your sin? Have you experienced the blessing of knowing that your sin is forgiven? The only way to know this is to know the God who became man in the person of Jesus, the one who lived the life we can never live to pay a price we can never pay.
Blessings,
Dr. Paul