“So that I may not sin against You”

“I have stored up Your word in my heart so that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11).

On the news on December 25th, Christmas Day, there was major coverage under the headline “Christmas Massacre” about a murder incident that happened in a city called Covina. A 45-year-old divorced man, dressed as Santa Claus, went to the house of his ex-wife’s parents around 11:30 p.m. on Christmas Eve, where a Christmas Eve party was being held. He opened fire indiscriminately on the people there and set the house on fire, resulting in the deaths of nine people, and later committed suicide himself. Hearing about this horrific crime made me realize that the shock of divorce can lead to such tragic consequences. I thought that the man’s inability to control the hatred, anger, and impulses in his heart caused him to commit this terrible crime.

Besides this news, many other crime reports we hear on TV make me think that if the heart is filled with evil things, crime inevitably follows. I believe this is also true for us, believers in Jesus. If our hearts are full of ugly and sinful things, we cannot avoid sinning against God. But if our hearts are gradually filled with God’s word, the sinning against the Lord will gradually decrease.

To achieve this, we must make a firm decision and dedicate ourselves. We must decide not to sin against the Lord. And to do that, we must dedicate ourselves to storing the Lord’s word in our hearts.

Looking at Psalm 119:11, the psalmist confesses that he stored God’s word in his heart so that he would not sin against the Lord. How can we store God’s word in our hearts? I thought about five ways:

First, to store God’s word in our hearts, we must pray to God. We must pray, “God, please teach me Your word.”

Look at Psalm 119:12: “Blessed are You, O Lord; teach me Your statutes.” The psalmist prayed to God to teach him His word so he could store it in his heart. Likewise, we must pray to God to teach us His word. The reason is that the author of the Bible is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit dwells in us who believe in Jesus, and He must illuminate God’s word so that we can understand it.

If we lack a heart that desires to learn God’s word, we should repent before God and pray for a heart that longs for and wants to learn His word.

Second, to keep God’s word in our hearts, we must pay attention to God’s word and diligently meditate on it.

Look at Psalm 119:15: “I meditate on your precepts and consider your ways.” The psalmist paid close attention to God’s word and meditated on it day and night. We too, like the psalmist, must pay attention to God’s word. We must draw near to God’s word. We should meditate on it diligently and regularly. While reading the Bible, we must chew over God’s word. With a prayerful heart, we should think deeply and repeatedly about God’s word. In that meditation, we must humbly listen for the word (the voice) that God wants to speak to us.

Third, to keep God’s word in our hearts, we must share the word we have meditated on.

Look at Psalm 119:13: “With my lips I declare all the judgments of your mouth.” The psalmist declared all the Lord’s statutes with his lips. We too should share the insights given to us while meditating on God’s word with the brothers and sisters around us. Especially, we should share the gospel of Jesus Christ that we understand while meditating on God’s word. The word stays more in our hearts when we share it. By writing down and sharing the meditated word, our hearts become even more filled with God’s word.

Fourth, to keep God’s word in our hearts, we must delight in God’s word.

Look at Psalm 119:14: “I rejoice in your statutes as much as in all riches.” The psalmist delighted in God’s word as much as in all riches. We should delight in God’s word as much as we delight in material things. It may not be easy to delight in God’s word from the beginning. But as we meditate on God’s word and taste the understanding God gives, we will begin to understand the psalmist’s confession that God’s word is sweeter than honey (verse 103). Eventually, the more we taste the sweetness of God’s word, the more we will inevitably delight in it. In this delight, we will long for God’s word even more and meditate on it even more.

Lastly, fifthly, in order to keep God’s word in our hearts, we must not forget God’s word.

Look at Psalm 119:16: “I will delight in your statutes; I will not forget your word.” The psalmist delighted in God’s word and made the decision not to forget it. We must also have this determination. We must commit to God that we will not forget His word. As we pray to God and meditate on His word, the more joy we receive, the more we will not just keep God’s word in our minds but write it deeply in our hearts and consciences. The more we do this, the more we will not forget God’s word and live a life where the word becomes personified in us. A believer who lives this life increasingly fully will not sin against the Lord.

When people in the world sin, we who believe in Jesus must not sin along with them. When sins abound in worldly families, families who believe in Jesus must not commit those same sins. When all kinds of sins are committed in worldly organizations, such sins must not occur in our church. To do this, we must put God’s word in our hearts. We must fill our hearts with God’s word. To do that, by praying to God, meditating on His word, sharing the insights we receive during meditation, and through the joy and delight God gives us, we must not forget His word. Therefore, I pray that you and I may keep God’s word in our hearts and not sin against God.

Desiring not to sin against the Lord,

Pastor James Kim
(Trusting in the blood of Jesus)