"That I Might Not Sin Against You"
“I have hidden Your word in my heart that I might not sin against You” (Psalm 119:11).
If someone is a Christian who believes in Jesus with a sincere conscience, there is not a single one who desires to sin against the Lord. However, when we see ourselves committing sins we do not want to commit, we often find ourselves struggling in the mire of guilt, frustration, and despair. Why do we commit sins we don’t want to commit? Why do we fail to obey the Word of God that we desire to follow, and instead fall into sins we do not want? We can find the answer in Romans 7:13–25. The reason is “the sin that dwells in me” (verses 17 and 20). While our hearts desire to serve the law of God, we find ourselves serving the law of sin in our flesh. Seeing this conflict in himself, the apostle Paul confessed, “O wretched man that I am!” (verse 24). This is our reality as well. We fail to do the good we want to do and instead do the evil we hate (verses 15 and 19). So, what should we do? We must look to our Lord Jesus Christ (verse 25). In doing so, we must also strive to faithfully fulfill our responsibility. And that responsibility is nothing other than this: not to sin against the Lord. But how is that even possible?
In today’s passage, Psalm 119:9–16, we see four practical actions we must take in order to keep God's Word in our hearts so that we might not sin against Him.
First, we must pray to God.
The psalmist sought the Lord with all his heart (verse 10), because he did not want to stray from God’s commandments (verse 10). Therefore, he prayed and pleaded, “Teach me Your decrees” (verse 12). We too must pray that God would teach us His Word. With a humble heart and a desire to learn, we must earnestly ask Him to teach us. Sometimes, the very messages I’ve preached and taught come back to pierce my own conscience. In those moments, I realize I’ve neglected to teach myself. I am reminded that I need to build the habit of reflecting my heart and life against the spiritual mirror of God’s Word. The Lord shows me again that in diligently teaching myself, I must also teach others. I pray that I may become someone who receives teaching with humility. I desire to develop a good habit of praying regularly to receive the teaching of God’s Word.
Second, we must meditate on God’s Word.
The psalmist meditated on God’s statutes and paid attention to His ways (verse 15). We cannot simply sit idly after praying that God would teach us His Word. We must long for the Word. We must stay close to the Scriptures. We must also develop the habit of meditating on God’s Word regularly and diligently. And we must pay close attention to it. I believe it’s practically important to develop the habit of doing QT (Quiet Time or devotional meditation). It’s not enough to merely hear, read, or study the Word—we need to train ourselves to focus more deeply on it, to think and rethink what God is saying. Through such training, as with the psalmist, when we come to meditate on God's Word day and night, we will be able to fight and overcome sinful thoughts with God’s Word in the realm of our minds.
Third, we must obey the Word of God.
The psalmist declared with his lips all the statutes from the mouth of the Lord (verse 13). We must not stop at merely learning and meditating on the Word. As we learn and meditate on God’s Word, we must listen to His voice and follow it. In other words, we must obey the Word of the Lord. When we do so, that Word will be written on the tablets of our heart and become our possession (verse 56).
Fourth and finally, we must delight in the Word of God.
The psalmist confessed, “I rejoice in following your statutes as one rejoices in great riches” (verse 14). When we learn the Word of God through prayer and meditate on it, and as we obey the voice of God that He speaks through His Word, we begin to taste the joy of His Word. And when that joy is present, we will not forget His Word (verse 16).
To avoid sinning against the Lord, we must store His Word in our hearts. To do that, we must pray, learn, and meditate on God’s Word. In the process, we must obey the Word that He teaches us. Then, by tasting the goodness of the Word, we will find delight in it.
Desiring not to sin against the Lord,
Pastor James Kim
(Reflecting again on the Word from the first day of early morning prayer, Monday)