Psalm 51, we're going to read verses 1 through
5. Be gracious to me, O God, according to your
lovingkindness. According to the greatness of
your compassion, blot out my transgressions.
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse
me from my sin. For I know my transgressions
and my sin is ever before me. Against you, you
only, have I sinned and done what is evil in
your sight, so that you are justified when you
speak and blameless when you judge. Behold, I
was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin my
mother conceived me. As we continue looking at
Psalm 51, There's a few things I need to make
known at the beginning with regards to the content
of Psalm 51. As we look at Psalm 51, it's important
to recognize, it's important to understand that
it's primarily directed to the saint. It's primarily
meant for, intended for the believer in Jesus
Christ. But that does not mean it's irrelevant
for the unbeliever. And here's why. As Psalm
51 encourages the Christian to consider true
repentance and faith, it's describing and presenting
faith and repentance. And as it does so, It's
describing the very instrument by which a sinner
is justified. So the only difference between
the Christian and their application of Psalm
51 and its repentance and faith is that its repentance
and faith for sanctification, for fellowship,
and for holiness. It's ongoing. It's repeated.
It's continual. But for the unbeliever and the
unregenerate sinner that does not know Christ,
you still need repentance and faith. You just
need it to be justified in the sight of God.
You need initial repentance and initial faith.
You need to experience saving faith and saving
repentance that you might be delivered from the
very wrath of God. So this is not irrelevant
for those who don't know Christ. I would encourage
you to listen closely and learn about what repentance
is, what it means to cry out for the mercy of
God. If you don't know Christ. Listen well to
what the text says about faith in Christ and
his sacrifice and his mercy. What it means to
trust in the Lord Jesus Christ for eternal salvation.
But I'd also encourage the Christian today as
we look at this text to thoroughly consider their
life. This is something that is an essential.
part of the Christian life. Faith and repentance.
Confession and dealing with sin before God. This
is something, brothers and sisters, that you
will deal with the rest of your pilgrimage in
this life. You will deal with this day in and
day out. If you don't deal with it every day,
then I fear for your soul that you don't know
Christ. So this is very relevant for the Christian
and the non -Christian. Today we're going to
look at three things in this text. We're going
to look at the motives for dealing with sin.
We're going to look at the manner and the method
of dealing with sin. And then we're going to
see the merciful result of dealing with sin.
We won't have any application following this
just because of the very practical nature of
the text itself. It's help for our lives as we
examine it. So beginning first with the motives
for dealing with sin. We read in verse 3, the
second half of verse 3, And my sin is ever...
Before me. David is saying. Listen. My sin. I
can't get rid of it. It's always on my mind.
It's always in my consciousness. I'm always aware
of it. It's always before me. It's stuck with
me. It's grabbed a hold of me. And I can't shake
it. So my question is. Why is that? Why can David
not shake it? Why is his sin ever before him?
Why is there an ongoing, a constant awareness
of his transgression, of his sin in his mind,
in his heart, in his consciousness, in his life?
What is it that is keeping his sin before him
at all times? What is it that's constantly pulling
his soul down? What is it that's constantly poking
him and pricking him and jabbing him? The text
gives us several things that keep David's sin
before him at all times. It's the ongoing sense
of uncleanness and impurity. He says, wash me
thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from
my sin. There is an ongoing, a perpetual, and
a continual sense of uncleanness and impurity
and unholiness in his life. Listen, he's been
dwelling and wallowing in this sin for a long
time. That means the effects of that sin are
going to linger in his soul. It's going to linger
in his mind. It's going to linger in his body.
It's going to linger in his memory. So there's
this ongoing, unending sense of impurity and
uncleanness in his mind and his heart because
of the iniquity he has taken part in. It's the
judgment and condemnation of God's Word. Upon
his life, upon his conscience. We see in the
second half of verse 4. So that you are justified
when you speak. Blameless when you judge. David
has been dwelling and living and wallowing in
his sin for a long time. And now, he no longer
hears. The promises of God's word. Now when he
hears the law of God, when he hears God speaking
to him through his word, what does he hear? He
hears the warnings and the threats of God's holy
and righteous law. It turns into a dagger that
cuts his conscience over and over. The word of
God. is convicting him and heaping judgment upon
his conscience and heaping condemnation upon
his life because he's been concealing his sin
for so long. That's what happens when a person
lives and dwells and breathes in unrepentant
sin, brothers and sisters. The word of God convicts
you. The word of God hurts you, but it does so
to help you. It does so. It hurts you that you
might be healed, that you might be restored.
So the word of God is heaping judgment and conviction
and condemnation upon his conscience and upon
his life because he's been living and dwelling
in his sin. We also see it's a disciplinary hand
of God upon His life. Look at verse 8. The second
half of verse 8. Let the bones which you have
broken rejoice. What's David talking about there?
He's talking about God's judgment. God's discipline
against him. We read in Psalm 32 of the same
thing. When I kept silent about my sin. My body
wasted away. Through my groanings all day long.
For day and night your hand was heavy upon me.
My vitality was drained away as with the fever
heat of summer. What was it that kept David's
sin ever before him? It was the disciplinary
hand of God that was opposing him. God disciplines
those he loves. God disciplines those who are
unwilling to let go of their sin. God disciplines
and opposes those who willingly keep hold of
the transgressions that they have taken part
in. He opposes them. And there's a weight, there's
a burden that's upon the life of the person that's
in opposition to God and that God is in opposition
to them. David says, it's sucking all my energy
out of me. It's causing me to waste away. Our
body and our soul are connected, brothers and
sisters. God has made us whole people. So whenever
you are spiritually desolate, it affects. Your
whole person. So when God disciplines a sinner
who's living and dwelling in unrepentant sin,
it doesn't just affect their soul. It doesn't
just affect the spiritual man. It affects the
whole person. It affects the whole of your life.
It's a fearful thing to refuse. Repentance for
sin. It's a fearful thing to have the disciplinary
hand of God upon your life. But it's meant for
the good of God's people. We also see that it's
David's ongoing knowledge that he has committed
evil in the sight of God. We read in verse 4.
Against you, you only, I have sinned. And listen.
And done what is evil in your sight. What is
it that keeps David's sin before him? It's the
knowledge that he has willingly committed evil.
In the sight of God. His redeemer. It is the
knowledge. That he has done. Such a horrendous
thing. Against the God. Who covenanted with him.
A God who has been so gracious. And merciful.
And kind to him. All of these things. Prick the
sinner. All of these things remind the sinner
that something is wrong. All of these things
keep sin ever before him. All of them are powerful
influences, aren't they? Every one of these things,
it's mighty in our life. It affects us. We're
aware of it. We have knowledge of it. We sense
it. But that doesn't mean it's bad. Just because
it's painful and uncomfortable and it hurts us
doesn't mean it's bad. The world wants us to
think all of those things are bad. The devil
wants us to think all of those things are bad.
The disciplinary hand of God. The judgment and
condemnation of God's word when we're living
and dwelling in sin. An ongoing sense of impurity
and unholiness. The knowledge of what we've done
before God. Most of Christianity wants to avoid
those things. Don't preach on things that are
making people uncomfortable. Don't talk about
things that bring conviction. Don't use words
that cut and hurt and exhort, that convict. Because
in their minds, those things are bad. Make the
people comfortable. Soothe them. But brothers
and sisters, I tell you, these things are not
bad. These things are very, very good. These
things are graces. Why? Because they are meant
to keep your heart in an unsettled state until
you deal with sin in your life. They are meant
as warning signs in your life. Something is wrong.
You're in the wrong place. You're doing the wrong
thing. You're saying the wrong thing. You're
not glorifying God. You're dishonoring him. You're
bringing shame to Christ. You're bringing disrepute
to the name of your Lord. These things are meant
to be alarms. They're meant to shake you, rattle
you. They're meant. To act as motives for you
to deal with sin in your life. Brothers and sisters,
when you sin, when you break God's law, when
you take part in iniquity, you should feel bad
about it. Do you understand that? When you sin
against a holy and righteous God, you should
feel guilty. You should feel shame when you have
rebelled against Almighty God. And God has given
us these things as good. graces in our lives
to remind us to deal with the sin in our lives,
to get right with Him, to come and seek restoration
of fellowship with Him, to repent and to confess
our sins, to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
again, to trust in His sacrifice again. They
act as warning signs. So I say, lean into them.
Don't avoid them. Lean into them, brothers and
sisters. Embrace the guilt and shame and see
where it drives you. Because it ought to drive
you to Christ. It ought to drive you to repentance
and confession. It ought to drive you to deal
with your sin and your life. Lean into them.
But it's also important to recognize that these
things, are not infallible because they're part
of us. More than our conscience, more than a
sense of judgment and condemnation upon our life,
we need to constantly be exposing ourselves to
the Word of God and letting the Word of God to
tell us when we are in sin. Our conscience, our
sense of impurity and unholiness because of sin
or whatnot in our lives, these things can fluctuate
and change because of the nature of our flesh.
They're not infallible guides, but the Word of
God is. The Word of God is very clear. about
when we are in sin and when we are not in sin.
So we need to constantly be exposing ourselves
and reading the Scriptures and studying the Scriptures
and meditating on the Scriptures and learning
the Scriptures so that we know when we need to
deal with sin in our lives and that way our conscience
and our mind is formed and molded according to
the Word of God. So we are given graciously these
motives for dealing with sin in our lives. So
here is what we need to do. We need to listen
to those motives. If you're here today and you
are living and you are dwelling in unrepentant
sin, listen to the shame and the guilt in your
life. Hear it out. And let it drive you and motivate
you to deal with that sin in your life. Let it
motivate you to go to Christ. To turn away from
it and forsake it, to confess it and expose it
to God and His holy presence. This leads us to
the second thing we must look at this morning.
The manner and method of dealing with sin. When
I say the manner and the method, the manner is
I speak of more of a demeanor or attitude in
which we deal with our sin, in which we go to
God to deal with our sin. When I say method,
that's very straightforward. It's what we are
to do. It's the means, the steps we are to take
to deal with God that we see David taking. To
deal with God. So what's the manner that we ought
to approach God's throne when we seek to deal
with sin in our lives? Because that's what we
see in this text. In verses 1 through 5, we see
the word transgression, iniquity, and sin nine
times. And the variation and the allusions, much
more than that. What do we find in these first
five verses? We find David. wrestling with his
own iniquity, wrestling with his own sin and
his own transgressions. He's dealing with the
sin he's held so dearly for so long. So the manner,
it's important. The manner in which we go to
God is important. The way we approach him, our
attitude, our demeanor, it is important. David
comes to the throne, he comes to God with antagonism
toward his own sin, toward himself. He doesn't
come to the throne antagonistic and argumentative
with God. He doesn't have an iota of rebellion
in him. He's coming to God who is sovereign,
who is holy, who is merciful, who is compassionate,
who is full of loving kindness. He's in full
and absolute submission. Total sincerity and
honesty. He is willing to accept whatever comes
in his life. Because he's dealing with these
things at the heart level. David is not simply
talking about external reformation or conformity.
David is dealing with sin and it's personal.
It has to do with his heart and the depth of
his being. If you come to God and you are unwilling
to deal with sin in you, in your heart, brothers
and sisters, you're not ready to deal yet. If
you come to God and you say, I'll change my behavior,
but I'm keeping this in my heart, you're not
fully ready for grace. We have to be willing.
to deal and address the issue inside of us at
the root, at the core, at the foundation of the
problem, our desires, our longings, our wants,
our very hearts. Brothers and sisters, this is
why dealing with sin is a distinctly Christian
duty. Non -Christians do not deal with sin. Unbelievers
do not deal with sin. Sin deals with them. Your
sin is dealing with you if you don't know Christ.
Your sin holds the reins and you are subject
to it. But the believer, who's a new creature
in Christ, who has a new heart, a new mind, a
new will. The believer can deal with their sins
in experimental godliness, as Dustin said this
morning. Because the Spirit of God dwells within
us, and sin no longer reigns in our lives. Because
we've died with Christ, and we've been raised
in the newness of life with Him. Christians.
Deal with sin. Sure, non -believers can conform
their behavior. They can change things up on
the outside because they're fearful that there
might be repercussions from God. But brothers
and sisters, if you don't know Jesus Christ,
you are not dealing with your sin because it
grieves the heart of your Lord and your Master.
You're dealing with sin for a selfish reason.
With a selfish motive. To protect yourself. To
keep yourself safe from the wrath of God. Not
because it transgresses the holiness and the
righteousness of a sovereign God who saved you
and redeemed you. Christians deal with their
sin. And Christians must deal with their sin.
Christians must address the sin in their lives.
It's not optional, brothers and sisters. We're
commanded to. Do you want to grow in the grace
and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ? Do
you want to know your risen Lord more and more?
Do you want to be more godly tomorrow than you
are today? Do you want to be more holy tomorrow
than you are today? Do you want to honor the
Lord Jesus Christ tomorrow more than you did
today? Then you must deal with sin in your life.
It's necessary. It's required. It's an absolute
necessity. So what is the method that we deal
with it? The first thing we do in dealing with
our sin is we must recognize sin as sin. This
is exactly what David does. He uses the terms
transgressions, sin, iniquity. He recognizes
it as God recognizes it. What does he call it
in verse 4? What has David done in verse 4? Evil.
Evil. That which is opposed to all that is good
and holy and righteous. This is what David has
done in the sight of God. He recognizes his actions.
as that which God views as evil and offensive.
How does David define his sin? He defines it
as God defines it. He takes God's view of his
own actions. He adopts God's recognition of what
he has done as his own. He recognizes sin as
sin. He doesn't rationalize it away, does he?
He doesn't lessen it and say, well, that's what
all the kings are doing these days because that's
what all the kings were doing. He doesn't rationalize
it into failure, into error. Into a mess up.
No he says transgression. Iniquity. Sin. Evil.
Which God hates. Which God despises. And that
is what he has willingly taken part of. All spiritual
growth. All godliness and holiness, renewal and
restoration with the Lord, brothers and sisters,
it begins with the right view of sin. It begins
with knowing what you're doing is wrong and accepting
that it's wrong and saying that it's wrong. We
live in a day where black is called white and
white is called black. But the Christian church
must always, always define sin as sin. The Christian
who is seeking to know Jesus Christ more and
better must always define sin as sin. Don't tell
me... that the world hasn't creeped in to our
minds. Because it has. There's always a tendency,
because of the inclination of our flesh, to lessen,
to rationalize, and to redefine our actions.
We can't do it, brothers and sisters. God tells
us what we do is wrong or isn't wrong. A transgression
of his law or obedience to his law. God defines
sin and God alone because sin is transgression
of his good character. Not ours, not our neighbor,
but him. So we define it and we recognize it
as God does. And we must. And we must continue
to do so. If we are to deal with our sin, it
means recognizing your actions as sin. Your desires
and your longings as sinful when they break the
law of God and they're not in accordance with
His law. Recognize it as God recognizes it. So
David recognizes his sin as sin and we must do
the same thing. We see secondly, Taking full
responsibility for sin is necessary. David says
in the text three times, my, my, my. Then he
says, I, I, I. He is accepting fully, completely.
Absolutely. Fault and responsibility for what
he has done. He's not trying to get out from
under it. Part of taking responsibility for sin,
as David has done, is willingness to accept the
consequences and repercussions because you know
your guilt and your culpability in the matter,
regardless of what it means. But you're willing
to accept it and you're willing to deal with
it. David didn't get off scot -free, friends.
Just because he's restored with God doesn't mean
he got off without any injury, without any harm,
without any pain or suffering as a consequence
of his sin. His child died because of his sin.
His kingdom shattered and fell apart. His family
turned on him. Why? Because of his sin. But he's
still willing to accept full responsibility for
it. Because it's the right thing to do before
God when you're responsible for it. And this
is what he does. If we seek out grace and pardon
and forgiveness and mercy and compassion, who
needs that? A guilty party. Somebody who's at
fault. If you're going to the throne and you're
unwilling to accept your responsibility, you
don't want grace. You don't need grace. You're
going to the throne and you're saying, hey, look
at me, I did pretty good. I messed up a little
bit, but for the most part, I'm good. If you
want forgiveness of sins, brothers and sisters,
then embrace the reality that you are a guilty,
wicked sinner. Because those are the people that
need it. God opposes the proud, but gives grace
to the humble. We must accept full responsibility
for our actions and their consequences before
God Almighty. He knows who's responsible. He
knows exactly who's responsible. Why? Because
it was committed in his sight. It wasn't like
David did this deed and he committed this iniquity
and he was out of the sight of God and God didn't
see what was taking place. God knows full well
who's responsible. He knows who's guilty. It's
our responsibility to take full responsibility
for our sins. James 1. Says, let no one say when
he is tempted, I am being tempted by God. For
God cannot be tempted by evil and he himself
does not tempt anyone. Listen, but each one is
tempted when he is carried away and enticed by
his own lust. Then when lust is conceived, it
gives birth to sin. And when sin is accomplished,
it brings forth death. What's the source of sin?
What's the source of iniquity? What's the source
of David's transgression? His own lusts, his
own desires, himself. There's no room to blame
God for our transgressions and our iniquities
when we come to him. We must take responsibility.
for our sins, our iniquities, and our transgressions,
before an all -knowing, sovereign, holy God.
Because those are the ones who need another righteousness.
Those are the ones who need mercy and grace.
Those who are at fault. Those who are guilty.
So David recognizes sin as sin. He takes full
responsibility for his sin. And he openly confesses
his sin. Look at the first part of verse 3. For
I know my transgressions. He's acknowledging
his sin. He's confessing his sin. In Psalm chapter
32. Sister Psalm to this with regards to his
transgression. We read, I acknowledged my sin
to you and my iniquity I did not hide. I said,
I will confess my transgressions to the Lord
and you forgave the guilt of my sin. David openly
declares. and expresses his guilt to God. He
confesses and uncovers and opens that which he's
been concealing and covering and hiding for so
long. Sometimes you have to fully open up the
wound in order for the healing salve to be applied,
don't you? The same is true with regards to our
sin. We must lay our souls bare before our God.
We must confess to him that we are indeed guilty,
that we are sinners, and we have done that which
is evil in his sight. Confession. is very, very
important, actually, with regards to the Christian
life. We read in 1 John, with regards to fellowship,
1 John 1, 5 -10, this is the message that we
have heard from Him and announced to you, that
God is light, and in Him there is no darkness
at all. God is light. He's holy. He's perfect
knowledge. He's absolutely pure. If we say that
we have fellowship with him and yet walk in the
darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth.
But if we walk in the light, as he himself is
in the light, we have fellowship with one another
and the blood of Jesus, his son, cleanses us
from all sin. If we say that we have no sin,
we are deceiving ourselves and the truth is not
in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful
and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness. God is light. God
is holy. God is purity. He's perfect. He's blameless.
And those who have fellowship with him, not those,
not those. who are justified, this is in the
context of fellowship, communion with the Lord.
Those who have fellowship, communion with him,
must walk in the light and the truth as he is
light. Meaning, if we want to have ongoing fellowship
and communion with God, we must walk in a manner
that is consistent with his character. So when
we consistently get out of the light and walk
in the dark, what do we need to do to return
to the light? Confess our sins. It's a dependent
clause. It's contingent. Our fellowship, our
communion with God, not our justification, our
atonement, our salvation, but our warm, sweet,
unbroken fellowship with that God who justified
us by grace. is dependent on confession of our
sins. That's why Jesus tells us to ask for forgiveness
in the Lord's Prayer. We don't need to be forgiven
in order to be justified. We need forgiveness
that we might be right with God in our fellowship
and relationship with Him. In our communion with
Him. David confesses his sin. In order to deal
with it. And we must do the same. We must. Lay
our souls bare. Before God. But all of these
things. Recognizing it. Taking full responsibility
for it. And confessing it. Must be. With the
intention. Of forsaking it. Of letting it go.
Of throwing it behind us. Of turning our backs
on it. on giving it up. Proverbs 28, 13 says,
he who conceals his transgressions will not prosper,
but he who confesses and forsakes them will find
compassion. Carries the idea of abruptly letting
something go. A lot of people try to coddle sin
and gradually let it go. Just slowly open a hand.
Maybe it'll fall away. That's not what this text
is teaching us, friends and brothers and sisters.
This text is teaching us to drop it, to forget
it, now, immediately. without hesitation, and
leave it there with no intention of ever picking
it back up again. Do you know why this is so
important? Because if you are willingly living
in unrepentant sin, you are willingly rejecting
Christ. If you are embracing your iniquity and
your transgression, You're not embracing the
Lord of glory who died and spilled his blood
for you. Forsake your sin to lay hold of the
Lord Jesus Christ. Give it up and gain him. Is
he not worth forsaking your sin? What pleasure.
In this world. Is better. Than the blessed son
of God. What attitude. And action. Is worth more.
Than his infinite and eternal blood. What is
greater than his death. And his sacrifice. What
is more precious. Than the risen Lord Jesus Christ.
Who ministers to the saints. At the right hand
of God right now. What do you hold so dear in
your life that you're unwilling to give it up
to have sweet fellowship with the Lord Jesus
Christ? It's not worth it. It doesn't have that
value. It's not good for you if it's not good
for your fellowship with Him. Drop it. Forsake
it. Get rid of it. Leave it alone. Never pick
it up again. Lay hold of the Lord Jesus Christ
by faith. Enjoy the blessed grace and mercy that
comes from His throne. The Spirit of God working
in your soul. Hope. Confidence. Love. The manifest
fruit of the Spirit in your life. It's not worth
it. Forsake it and give it up and lay hold of
Christ. He is worth giving up anything in this
life. Nothing in this life is so dear that we
ought to forsake him. So we must forsake our
sin in addition to recognizing it, taking responsibility
for it, and openly confessing it. These things
must be done unto the Lord. You're not simply
dealing with yourself. You're not working within
the confines of your own mind and your own heart.
These things are to be done unto the Lord in
prayer. And these things are the ground of spiritual
profit. And holiness and godliness and sanctification
in your lives, brothers and sisters. This is
the ground on which you grow in the grace and
the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. This
is the ground where joy does in fact grow. Dealing
with your sin. This is the ground where confidence
and boldness and assurance of faith actually
grow and blossom. The ground of dealing with
your sin. And this is where you find mercy. This
is where you find grace. This is the last thing
we see in this text. The merciful result of dealing
with our sin. We see in verses 1 through 2. That
David's crying out for mercy. He says the great
compassion. According to your great compassion.
Your loving kindness. Have you considered in
this text, why does David cry out for compassion,
grace, and mercy? Why is it that he's compelled
to cry out for those things? Because he's dealt
with his sin. It's because he's come to the realization
that there is nothing in himself that can save
him. He has come to the end of himself. In dealing
with his sin. And he's been forced. To look outside
of himself. To the Lord Jesus Christ. In dealing
with sin. Genuinely. Sincerely. In a heartfelt
manner. With authenticity. We will always. Always.
Be driven to the cross. Every single time we
will be driven to the blessed person of Jesus
Christ. Because when you deal with your sin,
what are you claiming? To be guilty. You're claiming
fault. You're recognizing that you have in fact
done that which is evil on the side of God. How
could you stand on your own basis? What hope
do you have in the presence of God by yourself?
You don't have any. You must go to Christ. You
must run to him. He alone is your refuge and
your fortress. He alone is your shield, your
mighty bulwark. He alone is your place of safety
and help. If we are dealing with our sin in a
manner that does not drive us to the person of
Jesus Christ, then you're not dealing with it
correctly. If you are dealing with your sin in
such a way that it's pointing you somewhere else
other than Christ, then you're not really dealing
with your sin. Because dealing with your sin
empties yourself of you. And it points you...
To the Lord Jesus Christ. It shows you your poverty.
The fact that you are a beggar. And that you
have empty hands. And that only empty hands receive
the fullness of grace. The cross is never changing.
It's never going to go anywhere. It's never going
to disappear for the believer. The sacrifice
of Christ is never going to be insufficient.
It's never going to be inadequate. It's always
going to be effective. It's always going to be
present. And the person of the Lord Jesus will
remain and continue. His sacrifice will continue
to be utterly perfect and utterly effective for
the forgiveness of sins. It's as though there's
a banquet that's always taking place. If only
the prodigal would return home. We have to realize
that when we're dealing with our sin, it's not
that the Father goes anywhere. It's not that
the Lord runs away. But who is it that goes somewhere?
It's us. It's our hearts. It's our flesh. It's
our desires. It's our longings. It's our sin
that takes us away from God. So brothers and
sisters, the cross is there. Christ's sacrifice
is there. Run to it. Trust in it. Believe in
it. Rest in it. His righteousness remains. Your
justification remains. Recognize your sin as
sin. Take responsibility for it. Openly confess
it. Forsake it. And experience the blessed grace
of the Lord Jesus Christ that comes from his
life, his death, and his resurrection. And enjoy
it. And revel in it.