GOSPEL'S TRIUMPH
Susan Murray
Today’s Scripture: “Let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, with our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.” Hebrews 10:
Theme: We are worthy to draw near to God because Jesus has cleansed us from all unrighteousness.
CONSCIENCE
REGRET! I can wake up in the morning and the first thing that comes to mind is a list of failures. I sometimes lie there, rehearsing all the “If only’s,” becoming overwhelmed with shame, self-contempt, and judgment. I try to wriggle away from these negative feelings by using preverbal “fig leaves” as a cover. This includes excuses, blame shifting, listing my good traits or my successes, but it’s still there. Regret can drag me down into a deep hole of despair that seems impossible to escape. I want a “do-over” to save myself, but that is impossible. I feel worthless.
CLEAN HEART
However, there is something I can do about my failures. Instead of drowning in regret, I can choose instead to grieve my sins, leading to repentance and freedom. Grief is sorrow or sadness. I learned from Becky Allender that it is absent of contempt and judgement. Grief allows my heart to be open to comfort and receive forgiveness. You can find grief expressed in the laments recorded in the book of Psalms, as King David pours out his sorrow to God:
Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am in distress;
my eye is wasted from grief;
my soul and my body also.
For my life is spent with sorrow,
and my years with sighing;
My strength fails because of my iniquity,
and my bones waste away.
Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. (Psalms 31:9-10, ESV)
CONFIDENCE
David moved from grief over his sin to confidence in God’s ability to wash him clean. Listen as Jesus speaks so gently to the women caught in adultery in John 8:10-11, ESV: “Jesus stood up and said to her, ‘Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?’ She said, ‘No one, Lord.’ And Jesus said, ‘Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.’”
Sin and despair, like the sea-waves cold,
Threaten the soul with infinite loss;
Grace that is greater– yes, grace untold–
Points to the Refuge, the mighty Cross.
“Grace Greater Than Our Sin” by Julia H. Johnston (1910)
FAITH’S WORK
Now, when I wake up with regrets, I simply tell my pride and Satan (my accuser) to shut up. I chose to confess and remember the gospel AGAIN! I listen instead to Jesus’ gentle voice, saying, “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest” (Matthew 11:28, RSV). I move my confidence from my performance to Jesus’ completed work. He alone makes me and you worthy. “My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent” (1 Corinthians 4:4a, NIV). I am not innocent of sin but when I genuinely believe Jesus’ death makes me 100 percent clean, my conscience can become quiet. It no longer accuses me, and I am given peace, freedom, and obedience. I can put away the “fig leaves” because Jesus covers me. (Psalms 85:2)
Make It Personal: Are you weighed down by regret? What are the fig leaves you look to in order to save yourself? Repent of your specific sins (to yourself, to God, and to someone you trust), grieving with tears, then believing for the first time (or again for the 100th time) that Jesus’ death cleanses you of all guilt. Do the hard work to believe (see John 6:29) and remember that “with God, all things are possible” (Matthew 19:26b, NIV). God’s promise trumps your feelings.
Pray: Holy and Loving Father, I confess to you my sins of ________. I also repent of the pride in my self-pity over my failures. I believe in Your Son Jesus, whose death cleanses me of all guilt though I am not innocent. Make the sound of Your voice of grace greater and more real to me, till it drowns out Satan’s voice of condemnation giving, me a clean conscience. “I believe, help my unbelief!” (Mark 9:24 ESV). Amen.
Read: James 4:8-10; Romans 7:21-25; 1 John 3:19-24; Psalm 51
Weekly Memory Verse: “And Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the curtain of the temple was torn in two, from top to bottom.” Matthew 27:50-51a, ESV