Bible in a Year: Genesis 4–6 Matthew 2
Cleanse me from my sin. . . . Then I will teach transgressors Your ways. —
Psalm 51:2,13
Today’s Scripture:
Psalm 51
If followers of 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (God) and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤔𐤏 (Jesus) were more honest about their own sinfulness, they would be more effective in reaching nonbelievers. The problem is that most people in “religion” have forsaken the Torah which is the first 5 books of Scriptures. Since they don’t know what sin is, they don’t know they are living in it.
Philip Yancey told of a prostitute, sick and without food, who asked an inner-city Christian worker for help. When he suggested that she should go to an assembly, she replied, “An Assembly! Why would I go there? They’d make me feel worse than I already do!”
Those who go to an assembly regularly tend to put on a happy face or look pious on a Sabbath morning. This may give the impression that they never struggle with temptation or fall short of the high standards of the Torah. No wonder many street people or down-and-outers who visit assemblies get the feeling that they are the only bad ones there.
This is not to suggest that we should make public all our sinful thoughts and actions. Rather, the solution to this situation begins with total honesty about ourselves like that expressed by David in Psalm 51. If we admit to ourselves our own sinful tendencies and recognize our own capacity for evil, we will not convey a holier-than-thou attitude. Down-and-out sinners will sense this, and 𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (God) will then be able to use us to “teach transgressors [His] ways” (Ps. 51:13).
Reflect & Pray
Prayer
𐤉𐤄𐤅𐤄 (God), please help us to be honest about our sin
and our need of Your grace. Help us to be
the kind of people who draw others to You who are seeking your face.
To know the potential for sin in our own heart gives us a more sympathetic heart for sinners.