Becoming a Christian is a wonderful experience. The Bible says that a new believer has been born again, has become a new creation, and has been set free from his formerly sinful lifestyle. The change God makes in a new believer’s life is remarkable. However, every new believer quickly realizes that he still has the capacity to sin and still does sin at times. This can be frustrating after being made free from his former lifestyle. “I thought God promised to change me. How is it that I still sin? I don’t want to displease the Lord. How can I keep from sinning?” If you are a Christian, you may have had these same questions. Thankfully, the Bible gives us the answers that we need.
- What does it say? (Psalm 119:9-11)
How can a young man keep pure?
By guarding his path by what You have said.
With all my heart I have sought You.
Do not allow me to be led astray from Your commandments.
I have hidden Your word in my heart
so that I should not sin against You. - What does it mean?
As you can see in these three verses, the author of the psalm had some of the same questions we do. He asked, “How can a young man keep pure?” If you were to read through the rest of the psalm, you would notice that the author’s mood goes up and down. He has success at some times and failure at others. But he keeps going back to the Bible as what will give him the help he needs. Tonight, we will only be looking at three verses. But in those verses, we will see three important statements that will help us to keep pure for the Lord.
Believers must guard their lives with what the Bible says (Psalm 119:9).
The Bible is filled with accounts of God working through great heroes of the faith. One such hero was Shammah, one of David’s mighty men. When the Philistine formed a troop and attacked Israel, all of the people fled except for Shammah. He stood and defended the area and defeated a whole troop of the Philistines. As a result, he was able not only to guard the area but to keep the people from being affected by the enemy.
This is what every believer needs to do with his own life. He must stand strong and guard his life from any interference. But how does that work? Must a believer just develop intestinal fortitude? Must he just endure trouble whenever it comes? For instance, when a believer wants to keep from becoming unclean for the Lord, must he only resist or is there something else involved?
The key to this is found in the last part of verse 9. While there is a need to guard oneself from evil, it is what God has said that will keep the believer from becoming unclean. The author of this psalm was referring to what God had revealed in the Bible. At that time, believes had access to at least the first five books of the Bible. In these, God gave them concrete answers for life as Jewish believers. They had not only the Ten Commandments, but also commands about what they ate, what they wore, how they worshiped God, and how they interacted with other people. These commands were designed to keep them from becoming impure from sinful activities.
Summary: How can a believer keep himself pure? He must guard his life by obeying what God has said.
Believers must seek God’s help for obedience (Psalm 119:10).
The goal for every believer is to obey what God has said. Old Testament believers were given specific commands that showed them what God desired. New Testament believers have also been given specific commands. But as can be seen in many lives, believers often wander from what God wants. Think of Abraham’s nephew Lot. The New Testament calls him a righteous man, but his actions in The Old Testament reveal a man who progressively moved away from God’s ideal to the wickedness in Sodom and Gomorrah.
This is the same possibility for believers of every age. Wandering from God’s commands is not something that usually happens overnight. Instead, it happens slowly. The believer is led astray by his own desires or the influence of ungodly people. After a few missteps, he has turned away from what God has commanded in the Bible. How then can a believer keep from being led astray? How can a believer keep from sinning against God? How can it be done.
The key is found in the first part of verse 10. While we should not allow ourselves to be led astray from obedience to God’s commands, we can’t handle it alone. We need God’s help. This is why the psalmist said what he did. He earnestly sought the Lord’s help to keep him from being led astray. But notice how he describes his seeking of the Lord. It was with his whole heart. This means that it must not be half-hearted. God wants people who seek Him with their entire being. They know that they can’t do it on their own and so they pour out their heart to the Lord for the help they need.
Summary: How can a believer keep from being led astray? He must seek God’s help.
Believers must treasure the Bible to keep from sinning (Psalm 119:11).
The Bible addresses the fact that all believers sin. You can read about this in Psalm 51 and 1 John 1:6-2:1. In the first, David seeking to be restored by God after his sin with Bathsheba. You can tell by the end of the psalm that God had forgiven him. In the second, John was explaining that we all sin but that we can be forgiven by God due to what Jesus accomplished on the cross for us. Both passages reveal that believers do sin.
But notice what the psalmist says about sin at the end of Psalm 119:11. He says that sin is against God. David said the same thing in Psalm 51:4. He stated that his sin with Bathsheba was against only the Lord. I don’t think he was saying that he had not sinned against Bathsheba or her husband. He was probably saying that his sin was primarily against God. This is true. While sin often affects others, the primary victim is God because we have broken God’s commands. Every believer ought to think this way. When you sin, you are sinning against the One who loved you and send His Son to the cross for your sins. This should break your heart. How then can we keep from sinning against God.
The key is found at the beginning of verse 11. The psalmist tells us that hiding God’s word in our hearts will help us to not sin against God. The idea of hiding is not putting it in a box and burying it for safe keeping. The meaning is to value what God says as treasure and to keep it in our hearts. What this means is that we look at what God has said about our sin and value it more than the sin itself. When we know what God says about a certain sin, we choose to hold on to that instead of our sin. For instance, when we are tempted to lie, we put more value on pleasing the Lord than escaping a problem by telling a lie. When we are tempted to view something inappropriate on television, we value pleasing the Lord more than the temporary pleasure of watching a movie. When we are tempted to be unkind, we value pleasing the Lord more than venting our feelings.
Summary: How can a believer keep from sinning against God? He must value what God says more than the sin. - How does it apply?
Every believer has at some point wondered how he could keep himself pure. In this passage, we have been given three inspired answers to that question. But now it is time to make things personal. We must ask ourselves if we are willing to use the solutions He has provided.
Are you guarding your life?
As a believer, you will face the temptation to sin until the end of your life. But what are you doing about it? Are you carefully guarding your life against the temptations that affect you? It is true that it takes perseverance but that is not enough. Imagine if you were to furiously defend yourself from an enemy with a feather duster. It wouldn’t be enough. The same thing is true with your fight against temptation. You need to use the sword of the Spirit which is the Word of God. But to do that, you need to know what the Bible says about your sin and then act on it. So, take time to search the Scriptures for the answer to your sins and then guard yourself from sinning.
Are you seeking God’s help?
As you read the Bible and find God’s answers to your temptations, it is not enough to resist the devil by yourself. Remember what Paul said about the armor of God. We need the armor and the sword of the Spirit, but we need one more thing—prayer. And why do we need prayer? We need it because we are not strong enough to resist the devil without His help. So, seek the Lord’s help with your whole heart and find the strength you need.
Are you valuing what God has said?
Too often, people are enamored with the latest authors, theories, or techniques found on the internet or in books. They value what worked for someone else and think it will help them as well. While some of these things can be helpful, we are told to value what God has said so that we can avoid sinning against Him. Do you value what the Bible says more than what other people have written? When you get to the place where you believe that God knows what is best and that He has the perfect solution to your problem, you will be in a good place. God has given us “all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3). When you truly believe that, you will find the help that you need.
Conclusion
The author of Psalm 119 was convinced that the Bible was just what he needed for his fight against sin. He believed that with God’s help, the Bible would guard his life and keep him from sinning against the Lord. The question now is whether you believe that. If you do believe that, then start living like it. Start reading the Bible as if God has actually provided everything you need in it. Start praying as if God will listen and help you with your temptations. Then watch as God works in your life and helps you to live a life that is pleasing to Him.
Bibliography
Kidner, Derek, Psalms 73-150, Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 1975.
Leupold, H. C., Exposition of The Psalms, Grand Rapids: Baker, 1977, orig. 1969.
Perowne, J. J. Stewart, The Book of Psalms, Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1976, orig. 1878.