• “I HAVE SINNED!”
(Part Two)
• These are words that if we are honest with ourselves we admit we have said.

• Introduction
• Perhaps we have had to say them over and over.
• We are certainly not alone.
• The Bible is clear in saying that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23).
• We are even told that if we say we have no sin, we lie (1 John 1:8-10).
• But when we have to utter these words, especially publicly, it is not an easy thing to do.
• But at times it is necessary.

• Introduction
• In the Bible (NKJV), the expression, “I have sinned” is used some 19 times.
• Today we want to take a few moments and notice some of these.
• We will also make some observations about those who used the expression.
• You might be surprised to consider the various attitudes that accompanied this expression.
• Notice those who have expressed these words.

• King Saul
• In 1 Samuel 15 we find recorded Samuel instructing king Saul to utterly destroy the Amalekites.
• He was explicitly told not to spare anyone or any living thing (vs. 3)
• Saul took his army and easily defeated them.
• But he spared the king and some of the livestock.
• When he returns from battle he is confronted by Samuel who in essence asked why he had not obeyed God.

• King Saul
• King Saul disagrees.
• But when he finds that he has been “caught” and made excuses (blaming the people, supposed just reasons, etc.) and been told God rejected him as king,
• ““Then Saul said to Samuel, “I have sinned, for I have transgressed the commandment of the Lord and your words, because I feared the people and obeyed their voice.” (1 Samuel 15:24)
• He begs forgiveness.
• When it is not granted he further says in vs. 30, “I have sinned; yet honor me now, please, before the elders of my people and before Israel, and return with me, that I may worship the Lord your God.””

• King Saul
• Sadly, this was the beginning of the end for King Saul.
• In confessing his sins, notice how Saul makes excuses.
• He seeks to offset his guilt by passing the blame to others.
• We should become very concerned when someone confesses sins and then they say, “BUT…” and they proceed to blame someone else.
• True repentance is about YOU making things right with God and others if you have sinned against them.

• King Saul
• It is an attitude that is very prevalent in our society where far too many do not want to be held accountable for their own conduct.
• The intent of their letter becomes clear very quickly.
• Such conduct is suspect!
• Passing the blame and making excuses is seeking to lessen the seriousness of one’s own sinful actions and attitudes.

• King David
• David on more than one occasion sinned and had to confess his sins.
• One time was the sin of David and Bathsheba that he attempted to cover it.
• His cover up only made matters worse and led to the death of Uriah, Bathsheba’s husband.
• 2 Samuel 12 records Nathan’s challenge and confronting David for his sin.
• 2 Samuel 12:13 says, “So David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die.”

• King David
• NOTICE how David doesn’t blame anyone else.
• He confesses his own sin and is ready to accept the consequences.
• He has genuine remorse which is demonstrated in the surrounding text and in some of his psalms.
• Psalm 41:4 - “I said, “Lord, be merciful to me; Heal my soul, for I have sinned against You.””
• Psalm 51:3–4 “For I acknowledge my transgressions, And my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, And done this evil in Your sight— That You may be found just when You speak, And blameless when You judge.”

• King David
• This is the attitude we need.
• Our confession needs to be sincere and remorseful.
• Another thought we might have about David.
• We might wonder if he was relieved when he was finally exposed.
• He could now move on and make restitution to the best of his ability.

• Nehemiah
• Nehemiah was the cupbearer to King Artaxerxes in Shushan.
• He was a Jew in captivity.
• When he inquires of the state of affairs in Jerusalem he is told the city is still in ruin.
• As a result Nehemiah prays to God.

• Nehemiah
• In his prayer he says, “please let Your ear be attentive and Your eyes open, that You may hear the prayer of Your servant which I pray before You now, day and night, for the children of Israel Your servants, and confess the sins of the children of Israel which we have sinned against You. Both my father’s house and I have sinned.” (Nehemiah 1:6)

• Nehemiah
• We see here a prayer that involved the sins of Israel.
• But we also see in this a personal acknowledgment of sin.
• And that is where our confession needs to begin.
• We are told in Matthew 7:1-5 before we worry about the splinter in our brothers eye we need to deal with the plank in our own eye.

• Nehemiah
• True repentance is only going to come when those who are involved make a change.
• You can only deal with your own personal sins.
• You do your part – that is what matters to you.
• The rest of the book demonstrates how Nehemiah took care of his part.

• Judas
• Judas is the apostle that will forever be known as the betrayer of Jesus.
• For 30 pieces of silver, he was willing to sell out his Lord.
• What was going through his mind we don’t know but later when he realized Jesus WAS going to be put to death he changed his mind.
• Matthew 27:3-4 says “Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, saying, “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.” And they said, “What is that to us? You see to it!””
• Judas then throws down the money and goes out and hangs himself.

• Judas
• With this example we begin to see the genuine attitude of repentance.
• Judas was remorseful.
• There is no need to question his sincerity.
• But he did not take care of it properly.
• He went out and hanged himself.
• When we repent and confess our sins, we need to do what we can to take care of it.
• And we need to do the right thing!

• The Prodigal Son
• We have here another example of true repentance and heart felt confession.
• This is a parable about a son who receives his inheritance and goes and wastes it all.
• When he is broke and hungry he resorts to feeding slop to pigs.
• While there “he came to himself” and realized his deplorable state and how his father could get him out of it.
• But he knew that he had to confess his sins with humility.

• The Prodigal Son
• Luke 15:18 finds him reasoning about this.
• So he goes to his father who is waiting for him.
• When his father sees him he runs to him and kisses his neck.
• The son confesses his sin (vs. 21).
• His father forgives him and rejoices that he has returned.

• The Prodigal Son
• In this parable Jesus is ultimately making reference to our heavenly Father is waiting for us to truly repent.
• When we do, He is there with open arms ready to forgive and to receive us to Him again.
• This is the attitude that ought to accompany our confession of our sins.
• TRUE repentance is demonstrated with his humility and a willingness to accept the consequences of one’s conduct.

• Conclusion (Part Two)
• When we are guilty of sin, we need to repent and confess that to God.
• At times we need to make public confession.
• But, as we have seen in this lesson, simply saying, “I have sinned” is not enough.
• These words need to be accompanied by true repentance and obedience.
• If you are not a Christian that means obeying the gospel (Acts 2:38).
• If you are an erring child of God that means confessing your sins to Him (1 John 1:9).
• Have you taken care of your sins?

By Carey Scott from an outline by Thomas Thornhill Jr.

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