Psalm 51:5-6
For I was born a sinner—
yes, from the moment my mother conceived me.
But you desire honesty from the womb,
teaching me wisdom even there.
Humans have a real knack for self-deception. We choose to believe things that we should know are not true. We also enjoy passing on false information if it will make other people think better of us or worse of someone else. When confronted with a hard truth or with information that somehow offends our preferred view of reality, we quickly make all sorts of excuses for why it can’t be true. We would rather lie to ourselves than be forced to change our minds about certain cherished beliefs. Perhaps the hardest truth of all is that you are a sinner, that you were born with an inclination toward deception, greed, pride and lust. There is something broken deep in your heart, and it has been that way from the womb. The Bible, speaking by God’s own authority, testifies to this truth about human nature. You may deny it or ignore it, but the truth remains: you are a sinner and so am I and so was David.
In theological language, we believe in “original sin,” the Biblical teaching that because Adam and Eve fell into sin in the Garden, now every human carries a corrupted nature that inclines us toward sin. As David put it, we are sinners from the moment of conception. That reality may injury our pride, and some people will reject its premise along with the authority of scripture. We may want to imagine ourselves as good, honorable, noble people, but the undeniable evidence of human history substantiates the Biblical account: all people are sinners. David looked into his own heart where he saw not only the sins he committed during his adulterous affair with Bathsheba but also the deeply-rooted problem of sin that twisted his heart even from his mother’s womb. David also saw something else that we shouldn’t overlook. He recognized God’s presence in his life, there with him from the very beginning, calling him away from sin and toward honesty and wisdom.
You are a sinner, but that doesn’t mean that God will stop loving you. In fact, God shows up in your life, in mighty and transformative ways, because He wants to help you overcome your inclination toward sin. He woos you toward himself and toward the wisdom set forth in his word. He has promised to show you a way out of every situation in which you are tempted to sin (1 Corinthians 10:13). He sends his Spirit to direct you into right paths. Most of all, God has proven his unfailing love by sending Jesus to take away your sin. It is precisely because you are a sinner that Jesus died and rose again to save you. That is the Good News and the ultimate proof of God’s grace. With David, we confess that we were born sinners, and we rejoice that Jesus is our Savior.
Thank You, Lord, for loving me and for helping me overcome my sinful desires. Forgive me when I fall, and give me strength to obey You more and more. I love You and rejoice in Your grace, through Jesus my Savior. Amen.
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Pastor Mike Mirakian
