Today's scripture is taken from 532 versus 1 through 5. Blessed is the one whose transgression is forgiven, whose sin is covered. Blessed is the man against whom the Lord counts no liquid and in whose spirit there is no deceit. But when I kept silent, my bones wasted away, through my groaning all day long. For day and night, your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was dried up as by the heat of summer. I acknowledged my sins to you and I did not cover my iniquity. I said, I will confess my transgressions to the Lord and you forgave the iniquity of my sin. Selah. May the Lord add a blessing to the reading and the hearing of his word. In 1903, the black sociologist and activist, W.E.D. Boyz, described a black person's experience in America as that of a double consciousness. It was his way of expressing the reality of seeing oneself as two things, or being divided in the two parts.
He suggested that a black person in America ends in one sense and American and in another since a Negro. And he suggested that a person, a black person in America is both Negro and American and it never fully either. The boys would probably say that much of what we see working itself out in our national conversation today and even on our streets is again black America continuing to come to grips with this idea of a double consciousness. And white America being forced to come to grips with the legacy of her in difference to this reality. Now, admittedly, I am sure that most of you did not log on for a lesson in the boys or sociology. And so I won't bore you with that lecture. We'll say that for another day. Even though I can hear some of you out there saying, hey man, and others you saying preach, pass the preach. I do however want to suggest to you this morning that Christians live in somewhat of a double consciousness. We live in this world with this double consciousness as well. The Christian in this world struggles with two identities. Both of which rightly defines him or her, but neither fully defines him or her in this world. But we have two identities that are at war to become the cheap drive of our hearts. We identify and struggle with being both saint and a sinner. Augustine, the North African church father of centuries ago, when he read some 32 he fell in love with some 32. And in fact he had inscribed upon the wall next to his bed so that he could meditate upon it even as he drew near to his death. Augustine suggested that in all of us there are two competing desires all the time. Desires to be both saints and desire to be a sinner. Also Paul understood this well as also, in Galatians chapter 5 and verse 17. For the desires of the flesh are against the spirit and the desires of the spirit are against the flesh. For these are opposed to each other to keep us from doing the things we you want to do. I would love it if we are honest this morning and I believe we should be the double consciousness of living as saint and sinner is in every day reality. Just as soon as we believe we have a grasp of our sainthood, the sinner in us rises up, we are left torn, frustrated and confused. And yet it's important to understand that this duality, this double consciousness is not lost on our heavenly father. God knows better than we do who we are. In fact, God's desire is for us to know Him better because in knowing God better we become better at knowing ourselves. And we know ourselves then as sinners struggling to be saints or as saints struggling with being sinners. Knowing that this morning, God says, Finland, I know your struggle. I've seen it in Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. I've seen it in Peter, James and Paul. And of course I've seen it and heard it in my beloved David. Beloved your struggle this morning is not strange to God. Not therefore would have us to understand that like with David believe it or not your struggle has been addressed. Believe it or not, whether you are currently consciously identifying with the saint in you or with the sinner in you this morning. I want to suggest to you this morning wherever you find yourself you are blessed. You are blessed. In fact, in looking at Psalm 32 I believe we are particularly reminded that there is a blessing in being a sinner. Did you hear what I said? That there is a blessing in being a sinner. I know that sounds ironic and it sounds contradictory and to some of our ears it may even seem blasphemous to suggest that there is a blessing in being a sinner. And yet there is, make no mistake about it. According to Psalm 32 there is a joy. There is a release and there I say there is a happiness in knowing yourself to be a sinner. David begins Psalm 32 the same way that someone begins with a Hebrew word as share or blessed. And like someone therefore Psalm 32 is here this be attitude and you might think of it this way. Psalm 1 is the blessing of being a saint but Psalm 32 is the blessing of being a sinner. And beloved David knew, I don't think anybody knew more personally the depths of personal failures as David did. And yet at the same time he also knew the immeasurable mercy and the indescribable grace that comes from trusting and resting in God. In fact beloved I would suggest to you this morning that there is a greater blessedness in Psalm 32 than there is in Psalm 1. I would not be alone in this but I would suggest to you that Psalm 32 is the superior blessing. James Montgomery boys the late James Montgomery boys put it this way. The happiness of the man speaking in Psalm 32 is greater than that of the man in Psalm 1. Psalm 1 is where we all aspire to be. Psalm 32 is where we are. As one commentator has said, happy are those who know they are not righteous and who know what to do about. Amen. This is the blessing of the redeemed this morning. This is the blessing of those who humble themselves and know who they are. This is not the blessing of the Pharisee but this is the blessing of the tax collector in Luke 18 and 13 where he says God be merciful to me a sinner. This is not the blessing of the older brother but this is the blessing of the prodigal who has returned home and about whom the father says was dead but is alive again who was lost and it's found. This is not the blessing of the healthy and the wealthy but this is the blessing of the poor and the sick. Now Jesus said Mark 2 and verse 17 it is not the healthy who need a doctor but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous about sinners. This is the blessing of the sinner because these are the ones whom Jesus has come to call. But this is not even the blessing of the angels. But first Peter chapter 1 and verse 12 reminds us that these are the things that the angels long to look into. Why? Because these are the things and these are the blessings of those who are saved by grace. This is the blessed joy and happiness of those who are saved by grace and therefore someone has said and rightly so that Psalm 32 is the gospel song. It is the gospel song because it explains to us what Paul means when he said in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 8 for by grace you have been saved through faith. For by grace you have been saved through faith. What does it mean to be saved by grace? Well look at Psalm 32 verses 1 and 2. It means that your transgression is forgiven. It means that your sin is covered. It means that your iniquity is no longer held against you. It means that your spirit has been clean, washed and made new. Listen beloved it means that God knows you and you know that God knows you and you and God both know that you know Jesus. That's what it means to be saved by grace. This is the blessing contained in the short but powerful few but life changing words found in Ephesians chapter 2 and verse 4. But God but God you who were dead in sin but because of God's grace you are now alive in Christ. You who were once under the wrath of God but now are the recipients of the riches of his mercy. You who work once children of obedience but now are the objects of his great love. That's what it means. That's what it means to be blessed as a sinner means you're saved by grace. It means the guilt is gone. The guilt is gone. You know sin comes with it, carries with it two things. Right? It has a wage. Romans 6 and 23 reminds us that the wages of sin is dead. It has a wage. But it also has a wage and that wage is guilt. Listen to how the Psalmist puts it in Psalm 32 and verses 3 and 4. But when I kept silent my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long for day and night your hand was heavy upon me. My strength was dried up by the heat of summer. This is the nature of guilt beloved. Guilt weighs us down. Guilt taps down joy. Guilt extinguishes the fires of worship. It is a proverbial weight tied around the neck threatening to seek all of those who seek to swim in the waters of God's love and his grace. Is the enemies primary instrument? It is his most substantial weapon for sideline and weakening Christians. For guilt tells you you're not worthy. Guilt tells you you're not qualified. You're not worthy of singing that a song. You're not qualified to receive the communion. You're not worthy to serve or hold that position. Is the devil who comes to you and reminds you that you are unworthy, that you are a hypocrite, that you are a sinner. When the devil comes to you and tells you that you are unworthy, that you are hypocrite, that you are a sinner, then I want you to do like Christians said to Apollion in the pilgrim's progress. Tell me something I don't know. My word is not in me. My word is in him who gave himself for me and therefore when Satan tempts you to despair and he tells you of the guilt within. You remind him that Jesus is there. He's already made an intro on my sin. All of it, all of it, all of it, all of it, all of it. Colossians chapter 2 in verse 14 says, Jesus canceled the record of the charges against us and what do you do with him? He took him away by nailing nailing it to the cross. Sin and guilt are great weights. Jesus beloved is the greatest weight lifted the world has ever known. Ever known. Ever known. Samson in the chapter 16 and verse 3, the Bible says that Samson carried the gates of Gaza. That may just run right past you and you not even think about it, but he carried the gates of Gaza, the gates of the city, which undoubtedly weighed well over half a ton. And he carried them. The Bible says in John chapter 1, verse 29, that Jesus carried the sin in the world. You tell me who's the strongest. Recently, half doors, Bjornsen, better known to a lot of you, Game of Thrones folks, don't smile, don't tell on yourself. As the mountain recently lifted 114 pounds, beloved, that's over half a ton. And you watch him do that and you stand amazed. But then that you remember that Jesus lifted your sin and mine and he carried them to the cross and you have to ask yourself who's the greatest weight lift, who's the strongest man? We sing it, but do we really believe it? My sin, all the bliss, Horatio Spasford understood it because even in writing it, he paused and he said, my sin, and he said, wait a minute, all the bliss of this glorious thought. Before he could even get it down, it was a thought that overwhelmed him because he said, my sin, not in part, but the whole, the whole beloved. They are nailed to the cross and I bear them no more. It is well with my soul. That's the blessing of being the sinner, the bliss of the glorious thought that your sin not in part, not just yesterday. But all of it has been nailed to the cross and you bear them no more, no more, no more, no more, you bear them no more. You know most of the time when I'm counseling people with struggling with their Christian faith, you know what they're struggling with, the guilt, what are sin, enemies swept in, tie that proverbial weight around their neck. And no matter how much you try to convince them, that you are floating now in the waters of God's grace and his love, all they can feel is themself sinking, sinking down, weighted down by their sin and guilt. I don't believe it. I want to suggest to you this morning and I want you to realize something that in dealing with your sin and your guilt, the first thing that you have to realize and come to grips with is that Jesus has already dealt with it. And therefore when it comes to sin and guilt, you just have to acknowledge and accept. So I want to give you four points here, four practical points so that you can understand truly the blessedness of being a sinner as the Bible would have us to understand as God would have us to live this morning. And acknowledging and accepting, first, acknowledge your sin. Yes, acknowledge it, acknowledge it. That's what he says, right? That's what the Psalmist says in Psalm 32, verse 5, I acknowledge my sin to you and I did not cover my iniquity. I acknowledge it, sin, we all have it, acknowledge it. In fact, first John chapter 1, verse 8, it tells us that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. We all have it. Your sin is no less real and offensive to God than mine is. We all come from the same gene pool. And we all have it. I remember 1988 when Jesse Jackson was running for president and he was at the Democratic National Convention. And he gave his speech. And then as speech he said, some of you, some of your four parents came to America on immigrant ships. He said, my four parents came to America on slave ships. But whatever the original ships, we all in the same boat tonight. And beloved, that's how we should understand the nature of sin. No matter what it is or where you are or what you have done, we're all in the same boat. So acknowledge that. Understand that. When you acknowledge that, then accept. Accept that Jesus has taken away your sins. We love it. Jesus did not come to this world. Suffer and die for our sins. For you and I to continue to live on a little weight and guilt of them. What would be the point of him dying of him suffering? He took your sin away. Hebrews chapter 9, verse 26, Jesus appeared once and for all. He did it once and he did it for all time. And what did he do to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself? Guilt beloved is nothing more than holding on to something that Jesus has already taken away. All your sin. All your sin. Ever bad. Heavy. It may be is gone. Gone. Gone. You name it. You name it. Gone. You name the sin. Gone. Have you acknowledged it? Then accept the fact that Jesus has taken it away. Gone. Gone. acknowledge your sin. Accept that Jesus has taken it away. And then acknowledge that grace is greater. Grace is greater. Romans chapter 5 and verse 20. The Bible says where sin increase. Grace increased all the more. Jesus takes our sin and he puts grace in its place. Grace is for sinners. Amazing grace is for mazes. Which one are you this morning? I want to suggest to you that don't be afraid. Don't let your sin troll you. But rather, when your sin appears big, remember that Jesus is bigger. However, great your sin feels. Remember that grace is greater. Grace is greater than all my sin. Acknowledge your sin. Accept that Jesus has taken it away. Acknowledge that grace is greater. And then do me one more favor. Accept that there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Isn't that what the Bible says? Romans chapter 8 and verse 1, beloved, the longer I live by faith, the more real this verse becomes to me. Now there is therefore no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Beloved God isn't like us. Isn't that good news? That is great news. God is not like us. God doesn't hold our sin over our heads. Accept that Jesus has taken it away. Accept that grace is greater. And now accept the fact that there is no more condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. God doesn't hold your sin over your head. He doesn't use your failures to manipulate you. It says your sin is forgiven. It is not going to be forgiven. It is forgiven. When he says your sins are forgiven, it is forgotten. We don't believe it. We don't believe it. That's why beloved, we don't experience the blessing even in being the sinner. When God says there, 43 and 25, he is not lying. He is not a man that he should lie. Or even that he could. I even am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake and remembers your sins no more. Done? Done? Gone? Blessed is the man whom the Lord does not count his nicotine. Who is sinned? John Newton, the preacher and famous hymn writer of the hymn, Amazing Grace, came to the end of his life. His friends were all gathered around him and he reached up and he whispered to one of his friends. He said, My memory is nearly gone, but I remember two things. I am a great sinner and that Christ is a great Savior. I have no other argument and I need no other plan. It is enough that Jesus died and that he died. That's the blessing of being the sinner and blessed are all those who know that they are not righteous and who know what to do about it this morning. Let's pray.