12How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart?
Cleanse me from these hidden faults.
God’s Word is one of the primary ways that God speaks to us today. Indeed, as we discovered in our Bible study yesterday, it is the very Word of God to us. It highlights God’s great love for us, reminding us that we are His valued creation, dearly loved. It also highlights our sin. It is like a mirror, reminding us that we can never measure up to God’s standard of perfection because of our sin. Indeed, God’s Word reminds us that we need a Savior to rescue us.
As David acknowledged the gift of God’s Word to us in Psalm 19, he wrote that the instructions found in the Bible were “a warning” to him (verse 11). You see, as he considered the instructions in Scripture and the call to obey them, David must have been reminded of his sins, all of the times he failed to keep God’s Word. He wrote, “How can I know all the sins lurking in my heart? Cleanse me from these hidden faults…then I will be free of guilt and innocent of great sin” (verses 12-13). David understood that his sin was great. Indeed, all of our sin is great. It has separated us from our holy God God and it leads to death. He also understood that forgiveness and freedom can be found in God alone. He knew he could turn to God, and that God would forgive him and restore him. In David’s day, sacrifices were offered to God as atonement for sins. One day, Jesus, the perfect and final sacrifice, would come and lay down His very life to rescue and save all who place their faith in Him. Jesus said it this way in John 3:16-17, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent His Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through Him.” We have a remarkable Savior who stopped at nothing to save us from our sin. Why? Because of God’s great love for us. There is no greater love than this.
David’s story is no different from ours today. God’s instructions in His word reveal our sin and our need for a Savior. Praise God that He sent His one and only Son, Jesus, to die for us at just the right time. Because of Him, we can walk in the freedom that David expressed in Psalm 19, knowing that when we place our faith in Jesus and commit our lives to Him, we are, indeed, “free of guilt…and innocent of great sin.” He paid the price for us. What a wonderful Savior we have!
Moving toward action
So many people today are living in guilt and shame, and it does not have to be that way. If they put their faith in Jesus, they can experience freedom from sin and shame, and, most importantly, they can have the hope of eternal life with Him one day. Take a few moments to pray for the people in your life who need His hope. Then, as you go throughout your day, look for opportunities to share your faith with them and, when those opportunities arise, share the hope of Christ with them.
Prayer Prompt: Use this prompt to guide you as you pray.
“God, as I seek to make You known to those who are lost around me, use me…”
Going deeper
1There was a man named Nicodemus, a Jewish religious leader who was a Pharisee. 2After dark one evening, he came to speak with Jesus. “Rabbi,” he said, “we all know that God has sent you to teach us. Your miraculous signs are evidence that God is with you.”
3Jesus replied, “I tell you the truth, unless you are born again,[1] you cannot see the Kingdom of God.”
4“What do you mean?” exclaimed Nicodemus. “How can an old man go back into his mother’s womb and be born again?”
5Jesus replied, “I assure you, no one can enter the Kingdom of God without being born of water and the Spirit.[2] 6Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.[3] 7So don’t be surprised when I say, ‘You[4] must be born again.’ 8The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
9“How are these things possible?” Nicodemus asked.
10Jesus replied, “You are a respected Jewish teacher, and yet you don’t understand these things? 11I assure you, we tell you what we know and have seen, and yet you won’t believe our testimony. 12But if you don’t believe me when I tell you about earthly things, how can you possibly believe if I tell you about heavenly things? 13No one has ever gone to heaven and returned. But the Son of Man[5] has come down from heaven. 14And as Moses lifted up the bronze snake on a pole in the wilderness, so the Son of Man must be lifted up, 15so that everyone who believes in him will have eternal life.[6]
16“For this is how God loved the world: He gave[7] his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. 17God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.
18“There is no judgment against anyone who believes in him. But anyone who does not believe in him has already been judged for not believing in God’s one and only Son. 19And the judgment is based on this fact: God’s light came into the world, but people loved the darkness more than the light, for their actions were evil. 20All who do evil hate the light and refuse to go near it for fear their sins will be exposed. 21But those who do what is right come to the light so others can see that they are doing what God wants.[8]”
Translation notes (8)
- 3:3 Or born from above; also in 3:7.
- 3:5 Or and spirit. The Greek word for Spirit can also be translated wind; see 3:8.
- 3:6 Greek what is born of the Spirit is spirit.
- 3:7 The Greek word for you is plural; also in 3:12.
- 3:13 Some manuscripts add who lives in heaven. “Son of Man” is a title Jesus used for himself.
- 3:15 Or everyone who believes will have eternal life in him.
- 3:16 Or For God loved the world so much that he gave.
- 3:21 Or can see God at work in what he is doing.
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