The Weight of Sin & Discipline
Before we get into today’s message, I want to celebrate two things, and the 1st thing is that we’re baptizing a high school student today, a young man named Zach Martin. So let’s praise God for that!...The 2nd celebration is that I recently received a testimony from somebody whose life has been transformed by Jesus, and here’s what they said…
“I came to faith in Jesus after years of believing I had to be perfect to accept him. I had a close friend who never gave up on me. She kept showing up with patience, love, and a joy in Christ I didn’t understand. She could have given up on me, but she didn’t. So one day I told my friend how stressed I felt, and she talked with me about God. But I told her, ‘I'm not ready to accept Jesus in my life, because I feel I need to be perfect first, and I'm far from that.’ She told me I didn’t have to be perfect; I just had to come to Jesus as I was. That same night, I surrendered my life to Jesus.
Since then, Jesus has been transforming me in real, visible ways. I used to push people away quickly, I struggled with trust, and I could be harsh with my words. I'm from NY, what can I say…The truth is, I’m still not perfect, but I’m a work in progress. I’m learning to give grace instead of cutting people off, and I’ve had people tell me they see the change. But that’s only because of the grace of God. He’s brought peace into my life, and he’s softened my heart. You don’t have to clean yourself up to come to Jesus. You come to him as you are, then he begins to change everything from the inside out, Our church often encourages us to invite others, to love people with patience, and to share the gospel. And that’s how I came to faith in Christ...”
Let’s praise God for this testimony!...This testimony is evidence that Jesus is still saving and transforming people’s lives today. It’s a great reminder for us to not just gather in the church; but also to scatter in the city to share Jesus with others. Jesus still wants to save and transform people’s lives in our city, so let’s keep gathering and scattering to share Jesus with others. Let’s keep Reaching People and Reaching The World, with the life-transforming message of Jesus...
Now today we’re starting a new teaching series on a book of the bible called Psalms. It’s a series we do each summer because the reality is life can be difficult and discouraging. But the book of Psalms teaches theological truths and practical prayers that can help give us melodies of encouragement for everyday life. The specific Psalm we’re studying today is about the Lord’s discipline. It’s about the Lord’s loving discipline when we sin. The truth is we don’t like the Lord’s discipline, because we want to do whatever we want. But if you’re a skeptic or a believer who agrees that children need discipline, then you should also agree that you need discipline. If you agree discipline is good for children, then you should also agree that the Lord’s discipline is good for you, and that’s what we’re talking about today. So let’s turn to Psalm 38 and get into it. You can find Psalms in the middle of the bible, and we’ll be in Psalm 38:1-22. The title of the message is The Weight of Sin and Discipline. The big idea of the message is the Lord’s discipline isn’t rejection, it’s loving correction...The Lord’s discipline isn’t rejection, it’s loving correction...
Here’s your context. Psalms is an Old Testament biblical hymnbook that contains 150 prayers and songs. In fact the Hebrew word for Psalms means to praise or songs of praise, which is why our series theme is about finding melodies of encouragement for everyday life. It’s because each Psalm is written by Old Testament biblical leaders who are expressing real, raw, honest emotions we can all relate with. Psalm 38 was written by King David who’s considered one of the greatest kings in Israel’s history. He writes this because he’s grieving over a sin he’s committed. He’s feeling the weight of sin and the Lord’s discipline, so let’s check out how he responds.
Psalm 38:1-22 states, “Lord, don’t punish me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath. 2 For your arrows have sunk into me, and your hand has pressed down on me.” David recognizes the Lord’s disciplining him for a sin he’s committed, and he’s accepting it, not rejecting it. He’s accepting it; he’s praying about it. He’s praying for the Lord to not punish or discipline him in anger or wrath. But if you put your faith in Jesus, you don’t have to worry about the Lord disciplining you in anger or wrath. It’s because Jesus already took God’s wrath when he died for your sins on the cross. Romans 8:1 says, “There’s now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus.” If there’s no condemnation in Christ, then it means the Lord’s discipline for believers isn’t condemning, it’s loving. It isn’t rejection; it’s loving correction. Proverbs 3, “Don’t loathe his discipline. 12 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, just as a father disciplines the son in whom he delights.” The Lord disciplines the one he loves, which means his discipline isn’t rejection, it’s loving correction. In fact there are two primary kinds of discipline we receive from God. The 1st is corrective discipline, which is where God disciplines us when we sin like a parent disciplines their child when they sin. When God uses corrective discipline, it’s his way of waking us up to things we’re doing that aren’t good for us. But the 2nd kind of discipline is conditioningdiscipline, which is where God is conditioning us for greater faith endurance. Just like a boxer can’t make it through a 12 round fight without conditioning, we can’t make it through certain battles in life without faith conditioning. So God uses conditioning discipline to prep us for future hardships. He’s being a loving parent by using corrective discipline when we sin, and by using conditioning discipline to strengthen our faith for future hardships. His discipline isn’t rejection, it’s loving correction and conditioning. What David’s experiencing here, is the Lord’s loving correction because of his sin.
Now this doesn’t mean the Lord’s discipline always feels good, because it doesn’t. In vs. 2 David says it feels like the Lord’s arrows sunk into him. So the Lord’s discipline doesn’t always feel good, but it’s always for our good. Hebrews 12:10-12 states, “He disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant. But later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who’ve been trained by it. 12 Therefore lift your drooping hands, strengthen your weak knees, 13 and make straight paths for your feet...” So the Lord’s discipline can certainly feel like his wrath is coming down on us, but it’s really his loving correction sanctifying us and steering us back on the straight path. What feels like rejection in the moment is really evidence of the Lord’s loving relationship in the present. It’s evidence that he isn’t pushing away from you; he’s pressing deeper into his loving relationship with you. A neglectful parent ignores their child, but a loving parent disciplines their child in loving ways that are for their good and growth. The Lord loves you too much to neglect you, so he disciplines you in loving ways that are for your good and growth. It isn’t wrathful rejection, it’s loving correction.
Vs. 3, “There’s no soundness in my body because of your indignation; there’s no health in my bones because of my sin. 4 For my iniquities have flooded over my head; they’re a burden too heavy for me to bear. 5 My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness. 6 I’m bent over and brought very low; all day long I go around in mourning. 7 For my insides are full of burning pain, and there’s no soundness in my body. 8 I’m faint and severely crushed; I groan because of the anguish of my heart. 9 Lord, my every desire is in front of you; my sighing isn’t hidden from you. 10 My heart races, my strength leaves me, even the light of my eyes has faded.” What David’s describing is the crushing, heavy weight of sin. He says it’s affecting him both physically and emotionally. In vs. 3 he says there’s no health in my bones, meaning it’s affecting him physically. In vs. 8 he says he’s severely crushed because of the anguish in my heart, meaning it’s affecting him emotionally. His sin is affecting him both physically and emotionally. It’s because our physical bodies are closely connected to our emotional feelings. It’s why when you’re stressed, anxious, or nervous about something, it can affect your appetite, cause stomach cramps, cause headaches. In fact David says in vs. 7 his insides are full of burning pain. He’s describing the crushing, heavy weight of sin, and how it’s affecting him both physically and emotionally.
Vs. 11, “My loved ones and friends stand back from my affliction. My relatives stand at a distance. 12 Those who intend to kill me set traps, and those who want to harm me threaten to destroy me; they plot treachery all day. 13 I’m like a deaf person; I don’t hear. I’m like a speechless person who doesn’t open his mouth. 14 I’m like a man who doesn’t hear and has no arguments in his mouth.” Notice David’s sin is affecting him physically and emotionally; but it’s also affecting him relationally. He says my loved ones, my friends, my relatives, they’re all keeping their distance. They don’t want to be around him anymore. It’s because sin doesn’t just affect us physically and emotionally; it also affects us relationally. It affects our relationship with God and our relationship with others, causing us to feel isolated from the God and people we love. It can cause us to hide alone in guilt and shame. Dietrich Bonhoeffer states, “Sin demands to have a man by himself. It withdraws him from the community. The more isolated a person is, the more destructive the power of sin will be over him, and the more deeply he’ll become involved in it...Sin wants to remain unknown. In the darkness of the unexpressed, it poisons the whole being of a person. But in confession, the light of the Gospel breaks into the darkness and seclusion of the heart.” The point is sin always takes you farther than you want to go, keeps you longer than you want to stay, and costs you more than you want to pay...Sin always takes you farther than you want to go, keeps you longer than you want to stay, and costs you more than you want to pay. It’ll cost you physically, emotionally, and relationally. David’s feeling the cost, the crushing weight of his sin.
Vs. 15, “For I put my hope in you Lord; you will answer me, my Lord, my God. 16 For I said, ‘Don’t let them rejoice over me—those who are arrogant toward me when I stumble.’ 17 For I am about to fall, and my pain is constantly with me. 18 So I confess my iniquity; I’m anxious because of my sin. 19 But my enemies are vigorous and powerful; many hate me for no reason. 20 Those who repay evil for good attack me for pursuing good. 21 Lord, don’t abandon me; don’t be far from me. 22 Hurry to help me, my Lord, my salvation.” David cries out to the Lord for hope and salvation. David was experiencing physical, emotional, and relational pain from his sin. But he was also feeling the strain his sin put on his greatest relationship, which is his relationship with the Lord. When you grieve the weight of sin, you need to check what you’re really grieving over. Are you grieving the consequences, or grieving hurting God’s heart? True repentance doesn’t just grieve the consequences; it grieves hurting God’s heart. If you just grieve the consequences, then as soon as the consequences go away, you’ll go right back to that sin again. It’s because your heart was really just grieving over the consequences, instead of grieving over hurting God’s heart. Tim Keller states, “Regret is all about us. How I’m being hurt, how my life is ruined, how my heart is breaking. But repentance is all about God. How he’s been grieved, how his nature as Creator and Redeemer is being trampled on, and how his repeated saving actions are being trivialized and used manipulatively.” David starts out grieving the consequences of his sin, but he ends grieving over his sin hurting God’s heart. He ends up grieving over his sin hurting his relationship with God, and he desires to be close with God again. So in vs. 18 he confesses his sin, and in vs. 22 he cries out to the Lord for salvation. The Lord’s corrective discipline worked, because David finally repented and turned back to the Lord. If you’re experiencing the Lord’s corrective discipline, then repent and turn back to the Lord like David did. 1st John 1:9 says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins...” If you repent and turn back to him, he’ll forgive your sin, set you free from carrying the weight of that sin, and restore your relationship with him.
Like David, many people today are walking around carrying the weight of sin. Every time we choose sin over God, we start carrying the weight of sin too. You feel light and free before you sin, but heavy and crushed after you sin. If you never sinned, then you wouldn’t have to carry the weight of sin. But every time you sin, you carry the weight of sin again. Sin always looks appealing in the moment, but it eventually starts wrecking your life. It’s like a cancer that slowly grows, slowly eats away at your life, until you cut it out. How do you cut it out? By turning to the greatest surgeon you can find, which is Jesus. We cut sin out of our lives by doing what David did, by repenting and turning to the Lord for salvation. I know some of you might be like, “I’ve done that before, but it didn’t work! I’ve repented for my sins and turned to Jesus for help, but I still struggle with the same sin. I turned to Jesus, but it didn’t work!” No it worked, it’s just you chose your sin over Jesus again. You chose to eat the same poison you knew was killing you before, and now that cancer’s growing in your life again. Jesus cut it out, he set you free, but now you need to make another appointment with Jesus so he can do surgery on your soul again. Repenting and turning to Jesus always works, but every time we choose our sin over him, we’ll feel his loving correction and the crushing weight of our sin again. David feels the crushing weight of his sin, but he keeps turning to God, not away from God. He keeps turning to God, keeps praying in the pain and shame of his sin. It’s because David knows the Lord’s discipline isn’t rejection, it’s loving correction.
The big idea of the message is the Lord’s discipline isn’t rejection, it’s loving correction... The Lord’s discipline isn’t rejection, it’s loving correction...Psalm 38 teaches us that the Lord’s discipline doesn’t always feel good, but it’s always for our good. The Lord’s discipline is always for our good, and nothing proves that more than the cross. Nothing proves God’s love for us more than Jesus coming to die for our sins on the cross. If Jesus didn’t love you he wouldn’t have died for you, but he died for you because he loves you. The cross proves you don’t have to run away from Jesus when you sin, instead you can run to Jesus when you sin...The cross proves you don’t have to run away from Jesus when you sin; instead you can run to Jesus when you sin...I know the weight of your sin is heavy, but the good news of the gospel is that the grace of Jesus is greater than the weight of your sin. Jesus carried the weight of your sin on the cross, so you don’t have to carry the weight of your sin in life. Both skeptics and believers put your faith in him today, and let him do surgery on your soul. Repent of your sins and run back to the Father again like David did. Trust his discipline isn’t rejection, it’s loving correction. In the words of Tim Keller, “The gospel is this: We are more sinful and flawed in ourselves than we ever dared believe. Yet at the very same time, we are more loved and accepted in Jesus Christ than we ever dared hope.” Let’s pray...