Discover even more places to enjoy Truth.Love.Parent.
LifeWork
Click the link below to download the PDF.
TranscriptIntroduction
Welcome to the Truth.Love.Family. podcast. I’m your host and resident biblical counselor, Aaron M. Brewster. I’m so glad you’re joining us for this short 2-part episode entitled Humility in Confession. We’re going to discuss the foundational truths necessary to understand the importance of confession as well as outline a number of practical applications for growing in the humble practice of confession.
You’ll notice that our usual free episode notes have been replaced with a piece of LifeWork. I recommend everyone who listens to these episodes should have their own physical copy in front of them so they can fill out the LifeWork as we go. And speaking of participants, this material is designed for the parents and children to sit down together and experience as a kind of family devotional or counseling session. I recommend you listen to the audio together, fill in the LifeWork, and save some time throughout the week to review the material as you strive to implement it into your family life. In the description of this episode (along with LifeWork), you’ll also discover a transcript and links to related resources that will help you dig deeper into this discussion. A short podcast episode isn’t enough to fully unpack these truths, but the accompanying resources should help continue the study. So, feel free to pause this episode if you want to print out the LifeWork, and then let’s begin. Topic
This study is going to primarily revolve around Psalm 51 which David wrote after Nathan the prophet confronted him about his sin with Bathsheba and his murder of Uriah. These events are carefully detailed in II Samuel 11-12:23.
If nothing else, I hope you have your Bible with you. We’ll be working through this passage, and it’s best if you can see the verses yourself. Also, if you have the LifeWork in front of you, we plan to cover pages 1, 2, and 3 on this episode and pages 4-6 on our next episode. I’ll move through the content quickly enough to stay within our time constraints today, but I want to express that this material could be the foundation for more involved study of II Samuel 11-12. Also, given the nature of David’s sin, I will be discreet in how I discuss it here. Lastly, I’ll be reading passages from the Legacy Standard Bible. And there’s one more thing before we continue. Whether this is your first time listening to this podcast, or you’ve been with us since the beginning, I hope it blesses you and helps your family. We create this free content to glorify God by equipping your family to please Him. However, this ministry is in great need of financial support. Will you please visit TruthLoveParent.com/donate to learn how you can become a monthly donor? We’re trying to raise enough money to continue ministering to families all over the world. Right now, we receive about $20,000 a year in support, but as thankful as we are for the sacrificial giving of our donors, that’s just not enough to cover our expenses. So, please visit TruthLoveParent.com/donate and become a monthly donor today. Alright . . . I’m hoping that most of you are familiar with who King David is. He was the second king of ancient Israel, he was described as a man after God’s own heart, and he wrote many of the Psalms. Unfortunately, we don’t have time to talk about all the amazing ways God worked through David’s life. We don’t have time to talk about Saul and Goliath and his careful leadership of the nation of Israel. Unfortunately, we only have time to talk about his most infamous sins and how—by the grace of God—he responded when he was confronted. So, in II Samuel II, we’re introduce to David’s sin. We’re not going to read this passage, but I encourage you parents to cover this material in as much detail as is valuable for helping your children grasp the heinous nature of David’s sin. 1. The Sin Here are a couple notes concerning the sin. First, keep in mind that when David was sinning with Bathsheba, he was convinced that what he was doing was right and acceptable. Also, remember that when David was having Uriah killed, David believed it to be the best course of action. And had David continued in his arrogant, delusional self-deception, he never would have been able to see his sin the way God saw it, and he never would have desired to confess and forsake his sin. We do the exact same thing. We sin because we believe it’s best. If we believed something else was better, we would do that instead. This means that—in our sin—we’re delusional. We aren’t able to correctly interpret reality. We can do truly horrible things like disobeying our parents, stealing, lying, cheating, being lazy, gossiping, lusting, and even murdering and truly believe we’re justified in doing it. However, just because we think we’re right doesn’t mean we are. What we need is to be confronted by truth. We need to be convinced of reality so we can see our sin the way God does. Otherwise, we’ll continue in our own personal lie. Praise God that—in David’s case—Nathan loved God and David enough to do the hard thing and confront the king with his sin. 2. The Reproof In II Samuel 12:1-6, we see Nathan using a metaphor to help David see the depth of his sin. It’s very helpful to see the wickedness of our own sin by witnessing it in someone else. Nathan was very wise to take the focus off David. When we’re in sin, we’re obviously believing a lie about ourselves. But it’s interesting that in the middle of believing our sin is right and good, we can so easily see the sin in others. That’s called hypocrisy. We’re all hypocritical in our sin. In fact sin makes us increasingly hypocritical. Knowing this, Nathan told David a story, and David could clearly see the awful thing that the man in the story had done to his neighbor. David had an accurate—though extreme—response to the sin described in the story. Therefore, recognizing that David wasn’t so delusional as to miss the sin in the story, Nathan then rebuked David. He identified David as having been the one in the story who sinned. Nathan didn’t do this to make David feel bad. He didn’t do it beat down David. Far too often we feel like the people confronting us about our sin are being mean or harsh. But what Nathan was doing was loving. He wanted David to stop lying to himself and agree with God’s assessment of David's character. He also reminded David how many blessings David had received from the Lord so that he could instill and encourage godly shame in David. We have an amazing resource all about shame. Too many of us think that shame is all bad, but some of it is bad and some of it is very, very good. If we don’t recognize good shame, we’ll fight it. But David needed to experience the shame that comes from sinning against a righteous, holy, and loving God. And so do we. This is why Nathan detailed David’s sin in order to contrast it against the abundance of God’s blessing. And—by using the illustration and eliciting such a powerful response from David—before David could even respond to Nathan’s reproof, David had already outlined the consequences of his own sin. He too deserved to die and to make restitution fourfold. However, how impossible would that have been? You can’t make restitution to a dead man. Now, let’s stop here to consider what we normally do when our sin is presented to us. Instead of seeing our sin and hypocrisy and delusion, we argue for it. We double-down. We add to our sin. We multiply our strife. We increase our pain and relational carnage. Why do we do this? What is it in man that makes us so blind and aggressive toward truth? The Bible says that we are sinners, and the Bible communicates that sin makes us blind and stupid. Were incapable of seeing our sin, and we’re foolish enough to try to defend it. This is a result of pride and arrogance. We don’t have time to unpack the heinous and destructive nature of pride, but I will say this . . . we absolutely cannot see our sin apart from a work of God in our lives. That’s why when someone takes the time to open the Bible to help us see the destructiveness of our ways, we need to choose to humbly submit to that. God is lovingly trying to stop us in our tracks. We’re like blind people sprinting toward the edge of a cliff, but when He sends someone to stop us before we fall, we scream and kick at the person trying to save our lives. We need to stop, humble ourselves, truly consider whether or not we’re mistaken or in the wrong, and we need to submit to the Word of God every single time. Lastly, before we move on, I want to talk to those of us whom God wants to use to confront our family members when they sin. Nathan had to tell the king of Israel that he had sinned in wicked ways. Listen, if David had rejected the reproof, he could have easily ordered Nathan’s death. David had already had one innocent man killed, what was to stop him now? Nathan knew the only way to glorify God was to obey by confronting King David, and yet how often do we try to excuse ourselves from biblically correcting people. We’re afraid of the tantrum our child will throw. We’re afraid of our spouse’s reaction. We’re afraid what our parent may do if we speak truth in love. Now, I get it. People entrenched in their sin are scary, but we need to trust God more than we fear people. We need to obey God more than we submit to the terrorist demands of our family members. Of course, this two-part episode isn’t directed at the reprovers; it’s about the ones needing to be reproved. But we have plenty of resources that will help the reprovers to overcome their fear and obey God the way they should. The Anti-Terrorism in Your Home collection should provide aid. Also, I’ll link the Parent’s 5 Jobs as it discusses in depth what it means to Biblically reprove. Okay, moving on. 3. The Confession before Man Praise the Lord, that instead of arrogantly fighting and defending his sin and making excuses and remaining delusional, David humbly confessed his sin instead. By the grace of God, help from Nathan, and the power of the Holy Spirit, David humbly confessed his selfish self-worship, sin with Bathsheba, and murder of Uriah. Nathan then communicated that God had forgiven David, and that is a glorious truth. I wish we could take the necessary time to really praise God for His forgiveness. We don’t deserve it, but He forgives us anyway. And it’s unconditional. He will never hold that sin against us again. But that doesn’t mean there won’t be consequences. In David’s case, God’s forgiveness did not result in a removal of consequences, and it won’t in our case either. We have a whole series all about consequences: what they are, how to give them, etc. You should check that out if anyone in your home needs a better understanding of the doctrine of consequence. Now, we’re going to transition away from II Samuel. Remember, that was the historical account of David’s sin and correction, but Psalm 51 is David’s permanent, public record of his confession before God and man for his sin. You could take the time to pause this episode, but we’re going to interact with it a lot over the next couple weeks, so I suggest you can read it now, but you should also read it in preparation for next week, and the LifeWork will present even more ways of interacting with the Psalm. 4. The Confession before God In Psalm 51 David did an amazing job of biblically confessing his sin. He wasn’t just “sorry.” He truly saw and communicated the depth of his transgression. He used God’s vocabulary to describe his sin, but he also did something else very important. David couldn’t truly understand his sin and see it for how terrible it was, nor could he understand the consequences he deserved if he didn’t know who God was. A. David understood God. I think our cavalier attitude toward our sin is a direct result of the fact that we don’t know God the way we should. But listen to the 19 different ways David talks about God’s character during his own confession. David talked about God being gracious, loving, compassionate, forgiving, powerful enough to cleanse him, the main recipient of his sin, righteous, blameless, judging, truth, wise, pure, steadfast, relational, joyful, sustaining, the Savior, worthy of praise, and good. If you want to be someone who responds correctly to reproof with humble confession, you need to start now—before you get in trouble—truly understanding the glory and majesty of God. Only then will you see your sin for what it really is. And it’s David’s familiarity with Scripture that allowed him to do this next point as well. B. David understood his sin as God described it. First, of all he spoke biblically about his sin. As you read Psalm 51, you will find 4 different words David uses to describe his sin. The first we’re going to consider is the word “transgressions.” This Hebrew word is used to describe willful rebellion that “crosses over” a line. He also called his sin “iniquity.” This word carries with it an understanding of being guilty and deserving of consequences. Of course, he also used the word Hebrew word translated “sin.” This word is used of sin in general as well as the specific sacrifices required of those who sin. And finally, he talks about what he did as being “evil.” This word is used generally to describe a wide array of wickedness. But that wasn’t the only way David proved he was thinking biblically about his sin, Second, David didn’t blame anyone else for what he did. He says thing like “my transgressions” in verses 1 and 3, “my iniquity” in verse 2, “my sin” in verses 2-4, and he even acknowledges the fact that he was a sinner from before he was born in verse 5. God says that we’re responsible for our sin, and David—in his humility—was prepared to acknowledge that. Of course, it was David’s knowledge of God and his sin that clearly lead to the next point. C. David understood the necessity of consequences. In verse 4 we see that David understood that God’s judgement was always righteous and good, and everything that contradicted what God said was deserving of that judgment. Verse 4 says, “Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And pure when You judge.” Secondly, in verse 7 we read, “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” One of the Old Testament consequences for being physically unclean was an arduous cleansing process. David here acknowledges that he saw his sin the way God did and wanted to embrace God’s plan for internal cleansing. Third, David didn’t hate the fact that God “broke his bones.” In verse 8 he says, “Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have crushed rejoice.” David is referring to the metaphorical consequences of his sin, and instead of complaining about them, he rejoiced in God’s chastisement because he knew it was designed to heal. Fourth, one of the very real consequences of our sin is a dwindling of our joy. In verse 12, David asks that his joy be restored, not because he thought he didn’t deserve that consequence, but because he looked forward to reconciliation. And fifth, David recognized he was guilty of the blood of Uriah. In verse 14 he talks of his “bloodguiltiness.” He wasn’t trying to pretend that guilt wasn’t a legitimate consequence of sin, but simply that—again—he yearend for reconciliation. Before considering our final two points, let’s review. David sinned. Nathan reproved, and instead of pridefully being blind to his sin or deceptively trying to manipulate himself out of the consequences, David confessed his sin before Nathan and everyone present. But he also confessed his sin before God. His confession wasn’t a sort sentence. He wrote 19 verses about it. In that confession, he acknowledge God’s character—the chief recipient of his sin. He also showed that he had a right understanding of the gravity of his sin, and he also acknowledged the legitimacy of the consequences of his sin. The next thing we see throughout David’s humble confessions was . . . D. David desired to be reconciled to God. I alluded to this on our last point, but it’s important to talk about it here. David didn’t just want to escape the consequences. He didn’t want to merely get back into good standing with the people around him and have them see him in a positive light. He didn’t just want to do what he was told so he could move on with his life. David earnestly wanted his relationship with his God to be restored. In verses 1 and 2 he asked for grace because he knew the ultimate punishment for his sin was more than he could bear. “Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the abundance of Your compassion blot out my transgressions.” He knew God wouldn’t be gracious to him if he were simply playing a game. David was humbly asking God to forgive by blotting out his transgression. That would require mercy and grace. Second, David understood that consequences were part of the cleansing process. We saw in verse 7 “Purify me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.” But David also understood that regardless of how painful the consequences were, the cleansing they were designed to impart was a joyous thing. In the very next verse we read, “Make me to hear joy and gladness, Let the bones which You have crushed rejoice.” Consequence are uncomfortable, but from the sinner’s perspective, they should be comforting as well because they recognize that the consequences are just part of having our relationship with God fixed. David longed for the reconciliation regardless of how difficult it was, and we see that in verse 9: “Hide Your face from my sins And blot out all my iniquities.” And finally, David understood that God was the only hope for salvation. We read verse 14 earlier where David pleaded with the Lord to deliver him from his bloodguiltiness. If you don’t care about God or wish to be reconciled to Him no matter the cost, you aren’t humbly confessing your sin . . . you’re arrogantly trying to move past the conversation so you can go on living for yourself. And finally, after recognizing Who God was, understanding his sin as God described, accepting the consequences, and yearning for reconciliation with God . . . E. David wanted to repent. To repent is to change. We have a bunch of episodes and series linked in the description of this episode all about the nature, necessity, prerequisites, and method of repentance. Teach Your Children to Apologize, How Your Children Respond to Sin, Biblical Conflict Resolution, and the Biblical Parenting Essentials are just a few. But for the sake of our conversation today, in order to see how David humbly acknowledged the necessity of repentance and showed his desire for it, we’re going to explain repentance in its most basic form and see what David says about it. In Ephesians we learn that the core of repentance is stopping the sin, thinking right about our sin, and starting the righteousness. We’re told to putt off, review our minds, and put on. I think that order is important because God says we need to stop sinning even if we don’t completely understand why. But it requires seeing our sin and ourselves the way God does in order to truly live righteously. Anyway, in Psalm 51 we see that the whole passage reveals that David was finally thinking biblically. His mind was definitely renewed. The whole passage also outlines both generally and specifically the sin David needed to put off. We already saw much of that. But because David was now thinking like God, and because David was going to remove so many sinful habits, he recognized that he needed to replace the sin with righteousness. In verse 6 we read that he wanted to live in truth. It also shows that he wanted to become wise. “Behold, You delight in truth in the innermost being, And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom.” In verse 7 we read about the ceremonial cleansing, and in verse 10 we read, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.” It’s clear David wanted to be pure. Verses 8 and 12 show that he wanted to rejoice in God. Verse 10—which we just read—exemplified his desire to be steadfast. We also see how he wanted to remain connected to God. Verse 11 says, “Do not cast me away from Your presence And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.” As we continue looking at the evidences that David wanted to put on righteousness and truly, humbly repent, we see in verse 13 that he wanted to teach others about God’s goodness. Verse 13 reads, “Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, And sinners will be converted to You.” Verses 14-15 show that he wanted to praise God. Verse 17 really exemplifies his humble repentance because he recognized that the only thing God wants is brokenness. “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; A broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise.” No matter how difficult or painful it would be, David wanted to have a broken spirit. He wanted to humbly see himself and his sin as God saw him. That requires brokenness and grief. He also wanted to be contrite. We see that as well in verse 17. Contrition is feeling sorrow and remorse for improper or objectionable behavior. And finally, David wanted to truly obey God in complete righteousness (the right thing in the right way for the right reason and in the right power). In verse 19 we read, “Then You will delight in righteous sacrifices, In burnt offering and whole burnt offering; Then young bulls will be offered on Your altar.” Now, the four-fold nature of biblical obedience isn’t seen in this one verse, but as we study the Scriptures—especially as it has to do with the Old Testament sacrificial system—we see that going through the motions was never enough. Please listen to our Teach Your Children to Obey series to go through a more thorough study of the Bible to understand what true obedience is. Conclusion
And that is humble confession. That is the only way we can truly please the Lord and be reconciled to Him and the other people in our lives.
A lot of empty words are spoken when we’re caught in our sin, but we must all pursue true repentance, and that will require humility. Now, you may think you respond humbly in reproof—and maybe some of you do. But if you’re anything like I am, then what you think about most of your responses is wrong. It’s your pride trying to convince you that you’re humble. So, be sure to join us next week for the conclusion of this two-part episode as we humbly consider what needs to change in our own lives. Also, please share this episode with your pastor, friends, and family. And never hesitate to email us at [email protected] or leave a voicemail at (828) 423-0894 if you need help with any of the things we’ve discussed today. And then join us next week for Humility in Confession, Part 2 | the application. I’ll see you then.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
Receive UpdatesJoin The TLP Family and receive email updates when we publish new articles and episodes.
Subscribe to Our Podcast Categories
All
Archives
August 2026
|
||||||||
RSS Feed
