Chapter 1: What does it mean to be blessed through forgiveness?
Every Christian is a person whose sins have been forgiven, and to enter into that reconciled relationship with God by which our sins are forgiven is to enter into a state of blessedness. We are blessed not because we are righteous, but we are blessed because we are forgiven.
It is a marvelous thing to be a Christian, isn't it? To know that your sins are forgiven. Hi, I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and this is the Friday edition of Renewing Your Mind. In R.C. Sproul's series that walks us through Psalm 51, he concludes the series, not in Psalm 51,
but in Psalm 32, to allow David to paint for us the wonderful picture of the joy that comes when we know that we've been reconciled to God. And that's the message you'll hear today. But if you'd like to hear the entire series on Psalm 51, we'll send you the DVD and unlock the series and study guide for you in the free Ligonier app.
You give a donation in support of Renewing Your Mind at renewingyourmind.org. This is a one-day offer, so respond now while there's still time. Well, here's Dr. Sproul in Psalm 32.
When we began our study of repentance, I made the observation that as far as I know, the only cure for guilt is forgiveness. and the only necessity for forgiveness is repentance. So there is this inseparable relationship among these three qualities of guilt, repentance, and forgiveness. And anyone who has gone through the pain of genuine repentance is
I am sure has also experienced the unspeakable joy of forgiveness. And that's why I don't want to conclude our series on repentance without looking to the end of repentance or the goal of repentance, which is the restoration of the soul to fellowship with God and to the experience of that unspeakable joy of forgiveness. In Psalm 32,
The author of Psalm 51, David, gives us his feelings of forgiveness where he says in verse 1, "'Blessed is he whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered, and blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity, and in whose spirit There is no deceit."
These powerful words of benediction are quoted in the New Testament as the Apostle Paul, for example, sets forth the gospel in his epistle to the Romans. He appeals to these words from Psalm 32. We remember that one of the devices that the prophets used in the Old Testament to communicate the Word of God to the people was the use of the oracle. And there were two kinds of oracles.
There were oracles of doom by which the prophet would be God's spokesman to announce the impending judgment that he would bring upon the nation. And there was also the oracle of weal, w-e-a-l, the good news, and the bad news of judgment was prefaced by the term cursed be. And the good news that was announced in terms of the divine benediction was prefaced by the word blessed.
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Chapter 2: How does R.C. Sproul describe the relationship between guilt, repentance, and forgiveness?
I was like the drought in summer. And that's the language he uses, which everyone in Palestine was aware of that. And he says, my vitality was turned into the drought of summer earlier when I kept silent, when I was not confessing my sin before God. My bones grew old. Isn't that an interesting metaphor?
that I could hardly stand the weight of the bones in my body as they were getting older and older, and I was becoming calcified. And I was groaning all the day long, for day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My vitality was turned into the drought of summer, and I acknowledged my sin to you. And he said, and my iniquity I have not hidden.
I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord, and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. This is the prayer of David, prayer of thanksgiving, an expression of gratitude for having received the complete forgiveness and pardon of God. Beloved, this is the prayer of every Christian.
every Christian who has stood at the foot of the cross and who has confessed their sins and who has experienced the pardon and the remission of those sins from the hand of God. Then he goes on to say, for this cause, everyone who is godly shall pray to you in a time that you may be found. Remember the phrase, seek ye the Lord. while he may be found. Call ye upon him when he is near.
Let the wicked forsake his way and the unrighteous man his thoughts, for he will have mercy upon him and abundantly pardon." When I was a little boy and I had to go to church on a regular basis, not because I enjoyed it, but because my parents made me go,
One of the things that I was forced to do was to join the children's choir, and they had outfits that made me look like little Lord Fauntleroy, where I had the black hassock and the white surplice and then the stiff white big collar and the great big black bow at my throat, and you can imagine looking a little Lars Eastbrook looking like this angel in the choir loft.
And we had to sing, and occasionally— we would be joined by the adult choir. And my favorite anthem as a child, even though I didn't know anything about the things of God, was when we would sing with the adult choir and the lead tenor of the adult choir would sing the solo from that anthem, Seek Ye the Lord. And I can still hear it. Seek ye the Lord while he may be found.
Call ye upon him when he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts. And he would go on, and return unto the Lord, and return unto the Lord, for he will have mercy. And then he would say, he will have mercy. And then they would go on through the refrain, he will have mercy. He will have mercy and abundantly pardoned.
That was the refrain that still reverberates in my mind from my childhood. He will have mercy and abundantly pardon. That was the grace of God before my conversion that I was exposed frequently to the words of that anthem which were taken directly from Scripture because it is the fundamental truth.
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Chapter 3: What is the significance of Psalm 32 in understanding forgiveness?
Be glad in the Lord. And rejoice, you righteous, and shout for joy, all you upright in heart. Now here's a man who shouted before, who shouted in anger when Nathan told him the parable of the wealthy man who stole the ewe lamb from the poor man. And David shouted in anger against this person who would perpetrate such a crime in his kingdom.
And then he shouted with groanings of pain when Nathan revealed his sin to him, saying, "'Thou art the man.'" And David was groaning and crying out in his misery in Psalm 51, pleading with God for his mercy. Have mercy upon me, O Lord, and according to the multitude of your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. And that's where we are.
When we feel the weight of the pain of repentance, we cry out. Elsewhere, David speaks of his pillow being soaked and saturated with his tears from crying before the Lord day and night. But once he receives the forgiveness of God, once he experiences the pardon of God and enters into the blessedness of the forgiven,
Then his voice shouts with joy, because the bones which the Lord had broken are once again rejoicing, and God, indeed the God of his salvation, restores to David the joy of his salvation.
And that joy is what we experience as Christians. If you're not a Christian, you don't know the joy of forgiveness. R.C. Sproul explains more in his short booklet, What is the Gospel? And you can download a free copy at renewingyourmind.org slash gospel.
This is Renewing Your Mind, and Dr. Sproul's message today was a great encouragement to remind us where true joy is found, not in things, but in the one who can cleanse us from our sin. I'm Nathan W. Bingham, and I'm glad you're joining us today.
And if you'd like to go to the beginning of this series on David, repentance, and forgiveness, we'll send you the series on DVD and unlock the messages and study guide for you in the free Ligonier app. when you make a donation today in support of proclaiming this good news around the world through the daily release of Renewing Your Mind and all of the global gospel efforts of Ligonier Ministries.
You can give your gift and request today's resource offer at renewingyourmind.org or by using the link in the podcast show notes. And if you live outside of the US and Canada, We have a digital edition of today's offer at renewingyourmind.org slash global. But don't delay as this offer ends tonight at midnight. I've read the Bible for decades. I've read it cover to cover.
But if you asked me to tell you about the maid of Naaman's wife, I'd need a refresher. What about Moses' father-in-law Jethro? Beginning Monday, you'll hear a brand new series from Derek Thomas on some of the lesser-known characters of the Bible. So be sure to join us next week here on Renewing Your Mind.
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