It's happened a number of times. I'm driving to church in the morning, heading south on Secor Road, and I'm able to see clearly through my windshield. Then I turn east onto Erie Road, toward the sun. Suddenly I see just how dirty my windshield really is, because the sun's illuminating every bit of dirt and grime. I turn on my windshield wipers and push the “wash” button. Water is squirted onto the windshield and shoved around by the wipers. Now I can hardly see anything at all; the water mixed with the dirt and grime almost completely obscures my view. I lean forward and squint, not wanting to slow down — because I’m a man, and we men lose points if we slow down. Eventually the wipers eliminate the dirt and grime and I have a clean windshield.

It's not always easy to see what needs to be cleaned or what's wrong with something. I didn't see how dirty my windshield was until the rising sun exposed the truth. There's a similarity, I believe, between that windshield and my soul — and yours, too! It's not always easy to see how we really are at our cores: our souls. Most of us value having an accurate view of things, being knowledgeable and insightful about this or that. We should, therefore, put the same value on seeing ourselves — at our cores, in our souls — as we really are.

I remember when the “check engine” light came on in my car. It was annoying; I could have put a piece of duct tape over it, but I didn't. I eventually — yes, eventually, not right away, I confess — took it to a mechanic and had him do a computer diagnostic test on it. Then I had him fix what had caused the light to go on. (That was pretty smart of me, don't you think?)

We're continuing our series on “Anatomy of a Soul.” Each week we're taking a close look at some aspect of who we are at our cores: at our soul level. We’ve come to the place this weekend where we need to deal with the reality that all is not well with our souls!

In a sense the “check soul” light is on for each of us, and we'd be smart not to ignore that reality. The Bible says, “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us.” (1 John 1:8) Those of us who are followers of Jesus, or those of you who might be giving serious consideration to becoming His followers, have realized that Jesus is the light that shines on a dirty windshield. You can't give your soul to Jesus without the Light of the World (a self-description by Jesus) showing you that all is not well with that soul of yours. That's the price we pay for getting close to Jesus, and that's why Jesus made the following assessment: “Men loved darkness instead of light because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:19) Most of us don’t want to fit that description, but if it costs us an honest examination of our souls in order to have Jesus, so be it!

GOD IS ANXIOUS TO FIX OUR SOULS!
Before we have any further discussion about the fact that all is not well with our souls, let me reassure you that God is anxious to forgive us of what's wrong and sinful with us! Let me tell you why I think this is so important to affirm right away.

When our son Dan was still a little boy called Danny, he'd sometimes get into trouble. I'd try to get him to see the error of his ways, but he often stubbornly resisted, staying mad and alienated from me. I learned that if I came on strong and harsh, he would stubbornly resist my insistence that he “’fess up” to being wrong. I had to calm down myself, refocus on my love for him, get down on one knee to be at his level, and approach him in a conciliatory tone of voice. Slowly but surely he would soften, and eventually he’d be sobbing on my shoulder, saying that he was sorry.

I think that when it comes to the Lord, we’ll be far more willing to “’fess up” about the sad condition of our souls if we’re sure that God loves us and is anxious to put things right between us! King David wrote a great psalm of confession that we're going to take a look at. At the very beginning of the psalm he affirmed the “unfailing love” of God (Psalm 51:1). God's love is unfailing: it's there for us all the time, no matter what the condition of our souls! The apostle Paul wrote about this love: “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8) He approaches us lovingly even while we have yet to come to grips with our sin. He creates a safe place for us to be honest with ourselves — and especially with Him. It's safe to confess our sin! He won't be angry with us; He’ll jump at the chance we've given Him to forgive us!

Now that we've been reassured that it's safe for us to take an honest look at our souls, let's do that. We're going to do it in the roundabout way of looking at the life and soul of a great man of God who was very far from perfect — like you and me! That person was King David.

DAVID’S SIN/OUR SIN
Let me give you the Reader's Digest version of the specific sin of King David that eventually culminated in the writing of Psalm 51, arguably the greatest single piece of literature the world has ever seen. I quote from John R. W. Stott's book on the psalms: “From his palace roof one spring afternoon, he saw a beautiful woman named Bathsheba, desired her for himself, and committed adultery with her. He had her husband, Uriah the Hittite, sent into the hottest part of battle with the Ammonites, where he would certainly be killed and, in fact, was killed. David then proceeded to taker her as his wife. Only when the prophet Nathan was sent by God to rebuke him did he feel his guilt, confess his sin, and plead for mercy.” (Favorite Psalms, John R. W. Stott, p.62)

Let me share with you some of the statements in David's psalm of confession. I believe that they can be great tools to use in developing our own confessing souls.

DAVID ADMITTED HIS SIN
David could have denied or ignored his sin when he was confronted with it by the prophet Nathan, but he didn't. He wrote, “For I know my transgressions, and my sin is always before me.” (Psalm 51:3) We can't be close to God unless we pay the high price of honesty about ourselves. We need to be clearly aware of our own sinfulness. It can be almost cute to see a child look guilty, because we know that there’s something inherently good about it. The same is often true of us: there’s inherent goodness in a healthy kind of guilt.

We may think that we're not too bad compared to some people, but we need to think again! Let me do the unpleasant task of reading a list of sins that the apostle Paul gave us just before he gave the famous list of the fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5. Here's his list (pay attention, because we can certainly find ourselves in the list in one or more places): “The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.” (Galatians 5:19-21)

There's something in this list that everyone can identify with! David saw his sin; may God help us to see ours! As David wrote in this psalm to God, “Surely you desire truth in the inner parts; you teach me wisdom in the inmost place.” (Psalm 51:6) We’re meant to have honest souls!

DAVID ASKED GOD TO DO HIS HARD WORK OF FORGIVING HIM
David asked God to “blot out my transgressions. Wash away all my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. . . . Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:1-2,7)

The phrase that David used when he asked God to blot out his transgressions denotes the removal of writing from a book. God erases our long list of offenses in forgiveness.

When David asked God to wash away all his iniquity and cleanse him, he wasn't talking about washing machines that have pre-soak and gentle cycles. He would have had an image in mind of women beside a stream, scrubbing their dirty laundry on cold, hard rocks with as much elbow grease as they could muster. It was a vigorous process. David was willing to air his dirty laundry before God and let Him vigorously wash away the sin.

When David asked God to cleanse him with hyssop, he had in mind the Mediterranean plant that was used in the Old Testament as a ceremonial brush. While the people were in slavery in Egypt God instructed them to dip the plucked hyssop plant in blood from a sacrificed animal and wipe down the sides and tops of their doorways. They did so, and the angel of death passed over their homes — but the firstborn in the homes of the unbelieving Egyptians were slain. That event is celebrated today as Passover, because the angel of judgment and death passed over the Israelites. David wanted God to anoint him with the hyssop of forgiveness.

David asked God to do the hard work of forgiving him. Jesus has done the hard work of dying for our sins so that we, too, can be forgiven. We need to simply ask Him to forgive us.

DAVID KNEW THAT HIS SIN WAS DEEP-ROOTED
David prayed, “Surely, I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalm 51:5) We’re born with a sinful, fallen nature. The spiritual DNA that gives form and substance to our souls is flawed: there's a bad chromosome in there somewhere. The defect of evil is present at our deepest level. The reality is that we aren’t sinners because we sin; we sin because we’re sinners!

This called original sin. We’re sinful at our cores: in our souls. We’re sinful before we have a chance to sin. We don't have to learn how to sin; we come by it naturally! Anyone who's had children or has taken a turn in the church nursery knows that kids pick up sinning on their own.

That’s why David prayed that God would remake his innermost being: “Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me.” (Psalm 51:10) That's a prayer that we all should pray. It's a prayer that won't be completely answered this side of heaven, but we give God permission to begin now! David wanted things to be different right away, and we should want that, too!

PRAYING FOR A JOYFUL, PRODUCTIVE LIFE
The best part of confessing the sinfulness of our souls is the joy of God’s forgiveness and the renewed relationship we can have with Him. David prayed, “Restore to me the joy of your salvation . . .” (Psalm 51:12a)

After our little son Danny cried his confession on my shoulder, he was like a new boy! He was happy and bubbly; all was well with his world! That's the joy of forgiveness, and God wants to restore that joy to us. Once we've asked forgiveness, we can know we have it; the Bible promises us that. Earlier in this message I quoted 1 John 1:8. I want to quote it again now, but I’ll add verse 9: “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us from all unrighteousness.” (1 John 1: 8-9) If we confess, God forgives us; it’s guaranteed!

One of the main reasons we can have joy as followers of Jesus is the amazing, profound sense of relief that comes from knowing that our sins are forgiven and that we're no longer distanced from God! We have the joy of being relieved of the sin in our souls!

This fact should be so amazing that we shouldn't be able to keep to ourselves the good news of what God's willing to do for sin-sick souls. David couldn't keep it to himself; he wrote, “Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.” (Psalm 51:13) One way or another, every chance we get we should let people know that there's an amazing God who loves them so much that He won't let anything keep Him from them! The only thing that can keep His forgiveness and love from them is if they don't open themselves up to it! Maybe, by God's grace working in our lives and theirs, we can help them to be convinced of that! What could be a more productive way to live than to be an example of what God can do with someone imperfect and sinful?

I don't know who first said it, but I know that King David would agree that it's true; so would I, and I hope you will, too: CONFESSION IS GOOD FOR THE SOUL!