Psalm 51:2
“Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.”
It is easy to pass over the time frame from David’s sin with Bathsheba to the time when the Prophet Nathan approached him. Close to a year had passed from the time that David committed adultery to the time his sin was revealed, and in that one year sin had taken a toll on David. This is why David said, “Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.” David knew the affect of sin on his life, and he wanted them completely removed.
What is more troubling to me is that after one year David saw sin’s affect, yet many Christians have gone years in their sin. Imagine what sin has done to their lives. Just like cancer eats away at an individuals health, sin also eats away at the Christianity of many Christians. Psalm 51 shows us the affect that sin has on a Christian’s life.
First, sin leaves a person guilt ridden. Verse 3 says, “For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.” I truly believe one of the reasons many Christians do not have a good spirit is because they are carrying the guilt of sin. When Nathan approached David about the story of a man taking the lamb of a poor man, David’s guilt got the best of him when he declared the penalty. A Christian cannot commit sin and guilt not take their heart. I seriously doubt the salvation of a person who commits sin and feels no guilt. Sin grieves the Holy Spirit, and because the Holy Spirit indwells the believer, His grieving will bring guilt upon the Christian.
Second, sin causes a person to make bad decisions. David said in verse 10, “Create in me a clean heart…” The heart is the source of all decisions. Proverbs 4:23 reminds us of this when it says, “Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life.” Sin always affects your decision-maker. This is why a person who sins often makes more bad decisions. Sin affected their heart, the source of their decisions.
Third, sin affects the spirit of a person. In verse 10, David acknowledged that his spirit had been affected. You will always find that a person’s spirit is not what it used to be when they are in sin. People who once used to be patient will become short with others. People who once used to be loving will become hateful. It doesn’t matter how hard you try to avoid it, sin always affects your spirit.
Fourth, sin robs your joy. David asked God to restore his joy. Christian, God wants you to live a joyful life, but sin will rob you of that joy. Sin will make the things of the Christian life seem like a prison sentence. It is always amazing watching people who get right with God begin to enjoy the things of God again. Sin’s affect on your joy is tremendous, and you will never enjoy serving God as long as sin is in your life.
Finally, sin takes your security of freedom in Christ away. David begged God, “uphold me with they free spirit.” What happened? Sin caused David to feel that God no longer loved him. Friend, that security you have in knowing that God loves you will be removed if you let sin reign in your life. This is why many people who are living in sin doubt their salvation. Sin took their security away.
We can never be reminded enough of the importance of quickly dealing with our sin. It is a little too late to avoid these affects of sin when you let sin roam free in your life. Deal with your sin immediately and you will find these affects will flee away. To the person who has allowed sin to reign in their life for a long time, God can still cleanse you and the affects of sin, but you must go to Him and confess them before He starts removing them from your life.