Cleverly, God’s people, when in a back-slid state, stubbornly rationalize themselves to go right on behaving in their particular sinful ways. The old nature within ever craves to sin, especially when we fail to walk in the Holy Spirit.
The amazing thing is that God patiently works with us, enduring much, but ever directing us to walk in His ways. He is long-suffering but, at the same time, His very being always prizes righteousness and holiness. And, if and when we persist in our own ways, He will at last let us fall and we then learn lessons the hard way, sometimes painfully so.
The prophet Isaiah lamented Israel’s stubborn evil ways. Seeking to impress upon them the error of their ways, he said a most curious thing to them. And, this verse is a warning to all of us. He said, “For You (God) have hidden Your face from us and have delivered us into the power of our iniquities” (Isaiah 64:7).
When we sin we lose our closeness to the Lord and He gives us over to the power of our sins. The word translated “delivered” means most basically “to melt.” In other words, if we persistently continue in our sins we fuse or melt into them. We become so enmeshed therein that we are under their power. This, of course, is a most dangerous trap in which to find ourselves.
How do we escape? The answer is most clear in Scripture. God does not despise a humble and contrite heart. “If we confess our sins He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” To confess is more than merely saying “I’m sorry.” It’s to say about the sins(s) the same thing God says about them. He hates them! And, in our confession, we must do likewise. When we do, God's grace and power set us free.
At salvation, He delivers us from the guilt and penalty of sin, once and forever. But day by day, in the process of living our Christian lives, step by step He sets us free from the power of sin. Sin’s power is enormous but God's grace and power are greater, all because of Calvary. Where sin abounds grace abounds all the more.
And, here’s a comforting verse to encourage us in the knowledge that the Father welcomes us home: “He that covereth his sins shall not prosper: but whoso confesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy” (Proverbs 28:13).
Dick Christen
