Preparing to meet the Savior

The law of the LORD is perfect, reviving the soul. The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight to life. Reverence for the LORD is pure, lasting forever. The laws of the LORD are true; each one is fair. They are more desirable than gold, even the finest gold. They are sweeter than honey, even honey dripping from the comb. They are a warning to those who hear them; there is great reward for those who obey them.

How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep me from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me. Then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin. May the words of my mouth and the thoughts of my heart be pleasing to You, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer (Psalm 19:7-14).

Christmas is only a few weeks away. Are you ready to celebrate the coming of our Lord? The people in Jesus’ day were not ready; they were preoccupied with their jobs, their families, and their social standing. Their attention was focused on making money, being popular, and living life to the full. In other words, they were like us.

God sent John the Baptist to prepare the people for Jesus’ arrival. John did his ministry far away from the distractions of city life; those who came to listen to him would find no fancy worship center, no beautiful banners or scented candles. The man who stood before them was not dressed fashionably, nor was he concerned that his message be politically correct. This simple man, standing in the barest of surroundings, gave a simple yet profound message: repent!

This simple message was what the people needed to hear before Jesus came among them. Repent! This simple message is what we need to hear before we celebrate the anniversary of our Lord’s coming among us. Repent! Before you do your Christmas shopping, repent! Before you get involved in Christmas parties, repent! Before you make your holiday travel plans, repent! Strip away all the paraphernalia that distracts you from the coming Christ; focus on the one thing needed to prepare for His coming—repent!

Sadly, we don’t repent as we should. To repent is to change your mind about your sin, to make a 180-degree turn in your attitude. When you repent, your heart should be saying, "I never, never want to do that again." But our repentance is often only half-hearted. It’s like when your parents made you apologize to your brother or sister. You may have said "I’m sorry", but what you really meant was "I’m sorry that I got caught." You weren’t truly sorry; you had no intention of behaving differently in the future. You just apologized to get your parents off your back.

That is often the way that we apologize to God. We know that it makes Him mad when we skip church. We know He gets angry when we forget to pray to Him. We know that it is not smart to rile God up by disrespecting our parents, getting into fights, experimenting with sex outside of marriage, taking things that are not ours, spreading gossip, and being selfish. To make God angry is to invite His discipline in life and risk damnation in hell. So we apologize to God to keep Him happy.

But do you think the Lord is really fooled when our repentance is not sincere and heart-felt? Jesus repeatedly showed His ability to see into the human heart; one example is found in Matthew chapter 9: Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts?" Jesus is well aware of the times when our "I’m sorrys" are nothing more than empty words. Our Lord knows us better than we know ourselves. In Psalm 19, King David says the following words: How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults. The fact of the matter is this—part of the reason we don’t repent properly is because many times we aren’t even aware that we are sinning!

How many times have you found out that someone was mad at you for something you don’t even remember doing? We are sinners through and through—sin blinds us by distracting us. We get so wrapped up in pursuing some goal that we don’t notice the pain our actions are causing others. People cut each other off in traffic; often times the offender doesn’t even see the look of fright or anger on another driver’s face. Bosses change things at work to increase profitability, not realizing that the changes are causing stress for the employees. Husbands and wives make decisions without first consulting their partner, and are surprised when resentment is the result. It’s like being on a lake when a speedboat roars by; even though the boat doesn’t hit you, the waves from its passing make the water choppy for everyone in the area. In the same way, sin urges us to zip about our business, heedless of the resultant troubles caused by our wake.

Sin also blinds us by keeping us in the dark. Psalm 19 says, The decrees of the LORD are trustworthy, making wise the simple. The commandments of the LORD are right, bringing joy to the heart. The commands of the LORD are clear, giving insight to life. Do you have a question about what is right and wrong, what is ethical and unethical? God provides the answers in His holy Bible. But sin doesn’t want you spending time with God’s Word; sin wants to keep you ignorant. That way, when you sin, you won’t even realize that you’ve done wrong. If you don’t know that God hates divorce, then you might suggest splitting up to a friend whose marriage seems to be on the rocks. If you don’t know that God expects us to forgive everyone as He has forgiven us, you might feel perfectly justified in holding a grudge against someone for years. If you don’t know that God speaks of life as beginning at conception, then you won’t see anything wrong with working for a doctor who performs abortions. You can be sinning, all the while thinking that you are behaving properly.

Life is confusing. God tells us that everything is black and white—God-pleasing or evil. The world, on the other hand, keeps throwing ‘ifs’ at us—the words ‘but what if…’ muddy the distinction between what’s right and wrong. The world wants us to believe that there is no black or white, just shades of gray. We are constantly being told that there is no such thing as absolute truth—what is true for you might not be true for me—each person must find his own truth.

Of course, this is hogwash. Jesus said, I am the way and the truth and the life (John 14:6). The only place where the problems of life can be seen clearly for what they are is in the light of Christ’s wisdom. But sin is so much a part of our lives that even at the best of times, the light of God’s truth looks like headlights on a foggy night. Our sins always obscure what ought to be clear. So we must say with David, How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? The answer, of course, is that we cannot. Our sin blinds us to many of our own failings. And so true repentance must include these words—‘Jesus, forgive me for my hidden faults.’ This is why, when we gather in worship, we ask Jesus to forgive us for all our sins—both the sins that are troubling us, and the ones we aren’t even aware of.

David speaks of another kind of sin as well; he prays: Keep me from deliberate sins! ‘Deliberate’ means intentional, something that you decided to do. We are not merely helpless slaves to our sinful impulses; much of the time, we are willing, eager partners! Frankly, sin is fun. Sin feels good. If sin brought no pleasure, no one would be tempted to disobey God. It’s fun to share gossip. Sex feels good, whether you are married are not. And who doesn’t enjoy pigging out on chocolate?

The world around us is filled with opportunities to make yourself feel good. And most of the time, you are encouraged to make yourself feel good. Nike’s commercials crystallize into one short sentence the urging of sin: Just do it! Go ahead and tell your parents what you really think—getting them to shut up and leave you alone will make you feel good. Go ahead and beat down that person who annoys you, either with your words or with your fists—it will make you feel powerful. Go ahead and have sex now—why should you wait for marriage to enjoy yourself? Go ahead and cheat on your test—the easier it is to get a passing grade, the better you’ll feel—and on top of that, it’ll give a you thrill to outsmart the teacher! Go ahead and tell another lie—the truth is often painful, but lying can keep things going your way. Go ahead and fill your mouth with generous amounts of alcohol, nicotine, sugar or marijuana—you’re tough, your body can handle some serious fun.

Sin can be fun, but there is a price to pay for sinning. Arrogant people rarely gain true respect from others. People who enjoy fighting never find rest from conflict—Jesus said, all who draw the sword will die by the sword (Matthew 26:52). Sex with multiple partners can result in a life-changing disease. Those who lie or cheat or steal find themselves worrying that they are being played for fools by those whom they would like to trust. People who abuse their bodies find themselves facing large medical bills and a shortened lifespan. Sin always comes back to bite you in some way.

You would think that the painful results of sin would teach us to stop—but we have selective memories. Just as a new mother quickly forgets the pain of childbirth, so we quickly forget that the pleasure of sin comes with a painful price—all we can see is the promise of pleasure right now, so we go ahead and enjoy ourselves, heedless of the price we will inevitably pay.

And there is an inevitable price for sin. That price is God’s righteous anger which results in damnation to hell. No matter how much we kid ourselves, sin will result in the worst loss imaginable—the loss of all hope forever. Hope is what makes pain bearable; a man suffering from stomach flu finds some comfort in the knowledge that in a few hours, the nausea will subside; a woman in labor holds on to the hope that she will soon hold a baby in her arms. Hope gets us through suffering.

But hell is the one place where there is no hope. Once in hell, the door to happiness is closed forever. The pain, the regret, the frustration, the terror and loneliness of hell will be never-ending. That is the price for sin; that is what we must bear in mind each time we decide whether or not we will commit a sin.

If we could just resist sinning, we’d have it made! God would be pleased with us, and life would continue for us beyond the grave, free of everything that spoils our happiness. But when we honestly look at our lives, we see that such a thing is impossible—we’ve already committed more sins than we could ever count, and our prospects for a better future are doubtful at best. David also realized the impossibility of his situation. That’s why he prayed, Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Keep me from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me. He knew that he could only be freed from the guilt of his past by God’s gracious hand. He knew that he had no hope for a better future unless God intervened in his life, changing his joy of sinning to hatred of evil, and strengthening him to better resist each temptation.

You and I must also pray these words to God: "Cleanse me from these hidden faults. Cleanse me from the guilt of all my mistakes for the sake of Jesus, who suffered Your anger at my sins and died the death that I deserved. Keep me from deliberate sins! Don't let them control me. Change my attitude about my sins; fill my heart with disgust for the evil that I have foolishly loved, and help me to resist the enticement of pleasures which You have said are hurtful and wrong."

John the Baptist wanted the people of his day to repent of their sins, so that when Jesus came they would welcome His offer—His offer of forgiveness and a new start as God’s children. John’s words come to us across the years to prepare us for our Lord’s final return, when He will send everything evil to hell and restore paradise for the children of God. Repent, so that you too might find joy in the Lord’s forgiveness and a new start as a child of God. There is no better thing you can do to prepare for the coming of the Savor, than to repent.