JULY 27: GOD’S CONVICTION

Focal Passage: Psalm 38:1-8, 18-22

A 1963 episode of The Andy Griffith Show included a scene where the visiting preacher from New York City, Dr. Breen, preached a “sermon” (although he had no Bible and no biblical content!) on slowing down in life.  

As a few of the main characters exited the service, they met the visiting preacher and began to brag on his sermon. Barney, who had been dozing off during the sermon, replied, “Yessir, that’s one subject you just can’t talk enough about – sin.” 

As they walked away, Andy grimaced and replied, “He didn’t talk about sin!” While the scene was created for the purpose of comedy, it may have said more than viewers realized. The more progressive preachers were offering pulpit counseling instead of biblical preaching, so that even the mention of sin could no longer be assumed.

In Psalm 38 David provided a powerful description of the Holy Spirit’s conviction of sin in the life of the believer. As one familiar with warfare, he saw himself as a defeated enemy of God: “For your arrows have sunk into me and your hand has pressed down on me” (Psalm 38:2). 

He described himself as a man wracked with the symptoms of severe illness, including unsound bones, foul and festering wounds, and abdominal pain that had bent him over and brought him very low. 

He also lamented the emotional pain of sin as a man mourning and groaning in anguish under a burden too heavy to bear (Psalm 38:3-8). And yet all of these dramatic descriptors were preceded by his prayer, 

“Lord, do not punish me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath” (Psalm 38:1). David understood that he deserved the righteous wrath of God, but prayed for His merciful restoration and protection.

How often do the subjects of conviction of sin and repentance come up in your church? If everything in your corporate worship aims to be upbeat and positive, you’ll either redefine sin or refuse to address it. Although the failure to expose it may be masked behind ill-defined pleasantries like “encouragement,” the cancer of sin will not be satisfied until it consumes the body. The only way to deal with this cancer is to kill it through regular spiritual screenings. As the Puritan John Owen warned, “Be killing sin or it will be killing you!” 

The preacher must preach against sin as he declares the whole counsel of God. Preaching only on favored topics may never broach the subject. 

Corporate prayers and Scripture readings must include warnings against sin, calls to repentance, and the joy of God’s forgiveness and restoration. Biblical church discipline must be practiced to expose the inconsistency between a Christian profession and ungodly living, and warn other believers of the dangers of sin. 

While sin leads us to neglect worship, we need the purifying effect of regular encounters with God. Isaiah’s desperate cry, “Woe is me for I am ruined,” (Isaiah 6:5a) came only after he saw a vision of the glory of God. 

The awesome display of His glory provides a devastating contrast to the depraved state of sinful mankind! If we focus on man and his comfort, the glory of God will become an afterthought at best and repentance a dying priority. B&R — Rust is associational mission strategist for Holston Baptist Association.