Keep me from willful, deliberate, presumptuous sins.

Real talk; even though we are Christians, we still sin, don’t we? Well, I know I do. The big difference I’ve become aware of is that since becoming ‘born again’, I’m acutely more conscience of sin and as the bible implores me; I do not make a practice of sinning (1 John 3:9).

Just before going on a recent holiday, I was struck by this verse:

Keep your servant also from wilful sins; may they not rule over me. Then I will be blameless, innocent of great transgressions. (Psalm 19:13). Consequently, I meditated on this frequently and here are my thoughts.

As I was contemplating Psalm 19, I imagined the author, David, up early and looking out at the beautiful scenery before his eyes. He notices the awesome sunrise and he cannot but contemplate the author of creation and his heart is full of praise towards God. Then, as he contemplates how God has revealed Himself through creation, he cannot but also think about how the Lord has also revealed himself to us through His laws and precepts which reveal God’s will and show us some of His holy character. The natural progression then, as he thinks of the holiness of God and the righteous requirements of God’s law is to then realise how far short of the glory of God he is. He becomes aware of his own shortcomings and from looking outward, he now looks inward at the state of his own soul and because he desperately wants to please his Lord, he looks for help.

I just want to home in on these words: “keep your servant also from wilful sins”. You know, this really reveals David’s own heart. He was so honest before God. In modern parlance, it would be like David praying to God and saying “real talk”. He was an open book; he held nothing back and even though he was far from perfect (committing adultery with Bathsheba and then arranging for her husband to be killed!), his heart was always towards. God. Of course he suffered greatly because of his terrible transgression with Bathsheba and that is a huge lesson for us all. I just love David though and for me he and others like him in the bible make the bible so easy to relate to; so many flawed and imperfect people, just like me and you and yet God used them and was pleased to record their lives for us to learn and get inspiration from them.

So, the first thing I learn from this verse is to be real, open and honest. We know we wrestle with the flesh, the world and the devil. You know, salvation is a three fold process right?; freed from the penalty of sin, then we are in the process of being freed from the power of sin (ongoing sanctification), then finally, one day, we will be totally freed from the presence of sin. No one is perfect and sinless. There will be moments when, despite knowing that it’s wrong, our old nature will prevail and we will just go ahead and do it anyway.

Like David, we should be aware of our shortcomings and weaknesses and be honest and humble enough to to ask God to help us. It’s so like ‘the Lord’s prayer’ when we ask: “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil”. (Matthew 6:13).

Here are some simple things that we can do to avoid wilful sin:

1. ASK GOD FOR HELP

• I believe that when we pray this: “keep your servant also from wilful sins” and also “lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil’ it does things:

• God will lead and guide us – you know that He has given us freewill and so He is absolutely delighted when we choose to ask Him for his help and He will respond by directing our lives and circumstances accordingly.

• He will direct His angels to help us.

• And this is so crucial, I think, it gives us a mindset that will be ready to resist temptation when it comes. We will be reminded “but didn’t I pray this morning about being kept from wilful sin”. Also, we should be more aware of the scripture that says: “No temptation has has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. BUT WHEN YOU ARE TEMPTED. HE WILL PROVIDE A WAY OUT SO THAT YOU CAN ENDURE IT.” (1 Corinthians 10:13).

2. HATE SIN.

We tend to think of ‘hate’ as being a very negative emotion and it is something to be avoided at all costs. However, God has given us a huge variety of emotions, which can also be wrong in all sorts of different situations. For example, it’s good to laugh but not at someone else’s misfortune.

As we see and learn, first hand of the terrible consequences of sin, we naturally build up a good and healthy hatred towards it. I’ve found this really helpful.

3. LEARN FROM OUR OWN FAILURES.

As we grow and become more mature, wisdom should prevail and as we learn from our mistakes we should be better equipped not to keep repeating the same transgressions.

4. LEARN FROM THE MISTAKES OF OTHERS.

We have already seen how we van learn from a few incidents in David’s life. But, the bible, especially the Old Testament is just packed with warnings for us and it is there to show us how God dealt with transgressions; they are recorded, written down for us to warn and instruct us.

As I write this, I’m acutely aware that some, including myself, are reminded of the great warning in Hebrews 10 where we read about the consequences of keeping on deliberately sinning. I haven’t got the time to elaborate on this. But, personally, I do not believe that Hebrews chapter 10 refers to the possibility of a Christian ‘losing their salvation’. It is my opinion that this refers to someone who has never actually been re-generated in the first place. If you have a different opinion, please do not be offended just as I will not judge you for thinking to the contrary. I will not let such differing opinions to divide us. Let’s be honest this is a difficult passage and I at one time have switthered between both camps before eventually making my own mind up. I should add though that if you believe it does refer to the possibility of ‘losing your salvation’ then you could be better placed in the battle with sin than me with mine – but hey, I’m going to leave this subject now and move on quickly!

5. READ OUR BIBLES, PRAY AND GO TO CHURCH.

The Christian life is not that complicated really. We used to teach this to the guys at the rehabilitation centre all the time. If we just kept to these basics, then we could avoid so many pitfalls really.

WHAT DO WE DO IF, DESPITE ALL THIS, WE DO WILFULLY SIN?

If we confess our our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness . 1 John 1:9

WHAT IF IT IS A CONTINUING SIN THAT IS RULING OVER ME?

Confess our sin to a church leader or another believer who we can trust – Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective – James 5:16

One of the most humbling things I’ve ever experienced was sitting in with a group of men, in Florida. It was a Celebrate Recovery meeting, which uses the 12 step programme. To be honest, I was petrified as each man in the group took turns to share something that they were confessing to struggle with and then it came to me! After sharing just a few things myself it really felt like a burden lifting and I could feel healing taking place, just in that simple act. My heart also went out with these wonderful men who were so courageous to share and it also creates a bond of love and compassion.

Confession to another person has probably been given a bit of a bad rep because, as a ‘protestants’ we think that’s a catholic thing, Whereas it’s not, it’s actually a biblical thing!

Finally, this is controversial because I’ve witnessed, first hand, how this can be really abused, we can ask for deliverance. I’m not one that believes that a Christian can be possessed by the devil. However, I do know that we can be oppressed and sometimes deliverance is required. Because this is open to such abuse, I would only recommend going down this route via church leadership and certainly not attempted in a light and casual manner (maybe the subject for another time perhaps).

Well, I hope this is helpful? I know it always helps me to put thoughts down in writing. If you have any questions or comments, please put them down below. I would love to get some feedback and hear from you.  Blessings.

Here is a beautiful song that I have found so helpful over the years and I share it in the hope that it blesses you too.