Covered…Uncovered

Psalms 32:1-2 (NIV)
1 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.
2 Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit.
David knew the blessing of being forgiven by the Lord.  Some commentaries say that this psalm was written side by side with Psalm 51, which is the psalm that David wrote after he committed adultery with Bathsheeba.  It is a blessing to know that God has forgiven the sin we committed against Him.  The word forgive in Hebrew means “to lift up”.  In Greek one of the words translated forgive means “to send away”.  When God forgives us He lifts up the heaviness of sin in our lives, sends away the guilt of our sin.

But there are times when no matter how much we ask God to forgive us, the guilt remains.  We have no assurance that God has really forgiven us.  What is it that gives us assurance that God has really forgiven us?
David said: Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.  What is it that covers our sins?  In the Old Testament it was the sacrifices they offered that covered, made atonement, for their sins.
Leviticus 17:11 (NIV)
11 For the life of a creature is in the blood, and I have given it to you to make atonement for yourselves on the altar; it is the blood that makes atonement for one's life.

The blood of the creature sacrificed was what appeased God’s wrath upon sin. This was what covered their sin.  But what about today, in the New Testament?  We have something else, or, rather, Someone else, who covers our sins:
1 John 2:1-2 (NIV)
1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense--Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

The Christian is made able not to sin.  This is by God’s grace and strength.  But there are times, when we are not careful in our walk, we do sin.  John said that when we do sin we have One who speaks to the Father in our defense.  The King James says “we have an advocate”.  When a Christian sins, the first voice God hears is not our own confession, but the intercession of our Savior, Jesus Christ, in our defense!  We have an advocate, an intercessor, seated at the right hand of the Father.  Why does Jesus do that?  Because He is our “covering”, the One who atoned for our sins.
2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

To atone means “to appease”.  The sacrifice of Christ is what appeased the wrath of the Father upon us.  And it is our faith in what Jesus did for us, His dying on the cross to atone for our sins, that brings this covering over us.  This is why the Father can forgive us, and why He continually does every time we sin.  Blessed is the man whose sin is covered! 

Have you ever made a mistake in the office, and you need some explaining to do to the Boss, and your supervisor comes and says “I’ll cover for you”.  That’s what Jesus does.
God forgives because we are covered by the blood of the Lamb, Jesus Christ.  This is why there is no forgiveness apart from Jesus Christ being Savior.  If we have not received Him, believed by faith in what He has done for us, there can be no forgiveness.  He COVERS our sin.

But that’s not all.
Psalms 32:5 (NIV)
5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the LORD"-- and you forgave the guilt of my sin. Selah

We are to trust in the atoning sacrifice of our Lord, but there’s something God wants us to do – acknowledge our sin and not cover up our iniquity.  God wants us to uncover our sins before Him.

To acknowledge simply means “to know”, to know we have sinned against our God.  We don’t just think we have sinned, or just claim we sinned.  In our hearts we know we have done wrong, we have transgressed.  And God wants us coming before Him and confessing it to Him.
To confess literally means “to speak the same thing”, or to agree – to agree with what the Lord reveals is sin.  Forgiveness is settled with the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ, but it is effective only when we acknowledge and confess our sins before our God.  This maintains our right relationship, our right fellowship with our God.
1 John 1:9 (NIV)
9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.

That’s God’s promise – if we confess He will forgive us our sins.  That’s how faithful and just He is.  God wants us to UNCOVER our sins.

So, to have assurance we are forgiven two things we need to know:
Covered.  We are covered by the sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, and it is made effective through our faith in Him as our Savior.
Uncover.  We confess, acknowledge our sin before our God and allow Him to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.